OT: Suggestions for my Vacation

[tzznandrew]

So I'm going to be in a number of major European cities this year. Some are going to be more or less day trips on part of the commute. Others I'm still planning out an itinerary for. As a collective, you guys seem to know a little something about everything, so I was wondering if any of you had suggestions of things to do--or not do, in these places we're spending more than 1 night:

Rome
Venice
Munich
Arles
Barcelona
Paris

 

[NJHusky]

So I'm going to be in a number of major European cities this year. Some are going to be more or less day trips on part of the commute. Others I'm still planning out an itinerary for. As a collective, you guys seem to know a little something about everything, so I was wondering if any of you had suggestions of things to do--or not do, in these places we're spending more than 1 night:

Rome
Venice
Munich
Arles
Barcelona
Paris

I'll give you some comments on RomeVenice...two of my fav cities.

Do all the touristy stuff...Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Coliseum, Forum, Vatican/St. Peters. I find Rome fascinating..so much history and wonderful food. First trip was 4 days and that was barely enough time

Lots of traffic, Italians are crazy drivers..walk when possible. The lines at the Vatican can be crazy long....getting a tour guide let's you skip the general line..go early. Get a guide at the forum...otherwise you won't fully understand all of what you are seeing since there isn't much left. I think the view at the forum/coliseum at night is fantastic.

Assuming you are with a significant other, have dinner in the courtyard by the Pantheon...good restaurants and great view on a clear night. I don't think i ever had a bad meal in Rome...

Venice is really really cool. Like no other city...you will get lost walking around...but your gps will work if you want to use it. You can sign up for a private tour of the Doge's Palace..this is really great as you go behind the scenes of the palace...but book it soon as they only have a limited number of spots--highly recommended.

Take a water taxi to your hotel..I tried walking 1/4 mile and nearly threw our luggage into a canal after carrying our bags over the 10th bridge..

We stayed on the fringe because we were there during the film festival...i would stay close to St Marks if possible

 

[huskypantz]

So I'm going to be in a number of major European cities this year. Some are going to be more or less day trips on part of the commute. Others I'm still planning out an itinerary for. As a collective, you guys seem to know a little something about everything, so I was wondering if any of you had suggestions of things to do--or not do, in these places we're spending more than 1 night:

Rome
Venice
Munich
Arles
Barcelona
Paris

Not sure if it's one of your day trips, but don't miss Florence. I visited Europe last year and spent time in London, Paris, Milan, Venice, Verona, Florence and Pisa (along with a few other smaller towns/cities in northern italy). Florence was easily my favorite.

Paris - line for the eiffel tower is nuts. Get these really early if you go up, otherwise you will waste lots of time. It's possible to walk to the Arc de Triomphe from there, but it's a little bit of a haul. Sacre Couer is nice and the area around it (restaurants & shops) is cool. Louvre and Notre Dame are together and there's plenty to do in that area, you can walk to the french quarter.
Venice - we only spent a day. We did a boat tour to one of the islands (Giudecca?) where they do glass-blowing. It's nice yet it's basically an informecial where they try to get you to buy stuff. Had a really nice meal there. Other than that, just walked the streets, saw the Palazzo Ducale, Scuola Grande, St. Mark's Basillica. Ate lots of gelato.

Other things - wear a money belt. Don't mess around, the eiffel tower is pickpocket heaven as are most of the attactions you'll visit.

 

[boba]

Couple of things... It used to be if you bought the museum pass for Paris (one ticket good for all museums, IIRC 3 - 5 days) that you could enter through the groups entrance and as such bypass the throbbing horde at the gates. Highly recommended as the hordes throb in Paris, especially at the Louvre or Musee D'Orsay. If you are in Paris during the flea market, (Saturday and Sunday?) it's always an adventure. (watch for pickpockets)
Munchen is about as provincial as they get, you might be surprised. Nonetheless, it's a pretty cool city. Be sure to have a weisswurst in the morning, that's when they are best. If you can, spend the afternoon at the Andechs Brewery. It's a pilgrimage destination, for a very good reason.
Be aware (if this is your first trip) air conditioning is neither common nor usually operational, even in the good hotels. Not sure how you are getting lodging (I always just went to the tourist office in the train station) but you may wish to bring up the subject when reserving a hotel. Rome is especially bad for that, as is Venice.
Don't try and see everything, you can't and you just end up tired and lacking beer. Spend an afternoon at a Cafe on the left bank just sitting and watching, it's always fun.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

So I'm going to be in a number of major European cities this year. Some are going to be more or less day trips on part of the commute. Others I'm still planning out an itinerary for. As a collective, you guys seem to know a little something about everything, so I was wondering if any of you had suggestions of things to do--or not do, in these places we're spending more than 1 night:

Rome
Venice
Munich
Arles
Barcelona
Paris

I've spent a decent amount of time abroad. I spent 4 months in Florence in 2011, and then backpacked for over a month last summer.

Of your list I've been to Rome for about two weeks to stay with local friends of the family who live in the city center, Barcelona for 4 days, Paris for 4 days, and Venice and Munich for 1 day each.

I've also been all over Italy to more than 20-25 cities/towns I'd guess and I've also been to Amsterdam, Prague, Salzburg, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest. If you have any specific questions or wanna know more about these places feel free to ask as is hard to give a general synopsis without knowing what you're looking for.

Also, If you're traveling from Rome to Venice, considering stopping in Florence for at least 2 days. It shouldn't be missed.

 

[B1GEast]

airfare to Syria or the Ukraine are cheap right now

 

[8893]

For Rome, get Rick Steves's book and follow his itinerary for however many days you have. He also has podcasts and audio tours that you can download for free. Make sure you do the "Night Walk Across Rome," and definitely purchase all of your tickets on-line and well in advance for the Vatican, Colosseum/Palatine Hill, etc.. Although picking a date and time far in advance seems like a PITA, it is the difference between walking right in versus waiting several hours in line.

Stop in every church you see along the way, even if not an obvious tourist stop. Each one has incredible works of art and historical artifacts.

Drink wine.

Eat pizza.

Eat gelato.

Drink espresso.

 

[tzznandrew]

Thanks...this is helpful in planning things out.

We will hit Florence: I bought a all-day Walks of Italy Tour for Florence. It's 8 hours, does the Ufitzi, Academia, Duomo, etc. I know I can't do everything, so I sort of half-skimped on Florence.

 

[8893]

Thanks...this is helpful in planning things out.

We will hit Florence: I bought a all-day Walks of Italy Tour for Florence. It's 8 hours, does the Ufitzi, Academia, Duomo, etc. I know I can't do everything, so I sort of half-skimped on Florence.

I know you need to make compromises on these trips; Florence in a day is a brutal one, but we did the same, driving from our accommodations near Siena and spending a jam-packed 10-plus hours doing the Uffizi, Accademia, the Duomo (outside only--line was too long), Ponte Vecchio, Mercato Centrale and a few others. I trust that your tour includes admission that allows you to pass the lines; otherwise each of these has a line that will be several hours long.

Plan to end your day in Florence with a nice meal at a restaurant that has outside seating and make a reservation ahead of time if possible (even calling the day before or that morning makes a difference). And if you, like me, plan to get the signature bistecca alla fiorentina (i.e., Steak Florentine), understand that it has nothing to do with spinach (common misconception here), and that it comes rare, period. Not medium rare; not medium; not well-done, etc. If you don't like your steak rare, order another dish, as they generally will not prepare bistecca alla fiorentina any other way. But if you get a good one, it is a wonderful piece of meat.

 

[Dove]

Stay away from hostels. That's all I got.

 

[8893]

Assuming you are with a significant other, have dinner in the courtyard by the Pantheon...good restaurants and great view on a clear night. I don't think i ever had a bad meal in Rome...

I loved that area around the Pantheon; we also had a great meal there.

One of the many great suggestions in the Rick Steves book was to visit that area at different times of the day. In one day I was there three different times and observed three completely different scenes, and to this day each one stands as a distinct memory of a different facet of life in Rome. I took an early morning run and ended up there in between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m., at which time it was fairly quiet and uncrowded; there were mostly mothers going about their day's business, meeting with others, with their children running all around the area, which was wide open. I returned in the early afternoon with the family to check out the inside of the Pantheon and then have lunch. It was a mob scene, loaded with tourists and lots of hustle-bustle, but it slowed down considerably as it got to mid-afternoon. We returned that night in the middle of our "night walk across Rome" and it was a completely different scene yet again, with street performers galore (including a vocal group to rival Il Divo), lots of couples and families. Very vibrant and cool.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

If you are a car guy like me you should make a trip to the Ferrari factory! Maranello is not far from Milan and although it's a bit of a trip, it's worth it. Lamborghini, Pagani, and Ducati are close by as well.

If your have some extra cash (250-1500 euros) that you feel like spending you could always take a test drive!!

Edit: When you're in France eat crepes. Lots and lots of crepes.

 

[NJHusky]

For Rome, get Rick Steves's book and follow his itinerary for however many days you have. He also has podcasts and audio tours that you can download for free.
.

This is a great suggestion....we did this in Venice...

 

[Samoo]

Guggenheim Museum and the Arsenale Maritime Museum in Venice, also take the vaporetto to Murano and walk around early or late in the day after most of the other tourists have gone back to Venice. If you want to venture north, Bassano del Grappa is a great little town at the foot of the Alps with a beautiful bridge, also home to the original grappa factory.

 

[B1GEast]

Barcelona is beautiful, if you go you'll spend time in "las ramblas". It's just a great city. If you have time, hit the gold coast of Spain, we stayed in Torremolinos for a week before hitting Barcelona. From there you can easily travel to Granada, Cordoba and Seville. The food is great and the people are beautiful. What ever you do, hope you have lots of fun and a safe trip.

 

[huskypantz]

Good note on checking places at different times of the day. One thing that turned me off to Paris was my morning runs (around 630am) - lots of drunks stumbling around and trash everywhere on the streets (they have an army of guys in green that clean each morning) including the park of the Louvre where I would run.
A few other notes:

• On a brighter note, the Euro sunsets tend to be very late. Paris sunset is 9:53pm today.
• If you like museums, just note that museums are closed certain days in some cities (ie mondays) - we missed seeing the Last Supper in Milan because of that.

 

[Dry Tortugas]

These are the places I always try to get to in Rome. Have a pizza at La Montecarlo, eat cafeteria style at Volpetti Piu in Testaccio, dinner at Pierluigi near the Campo di Fiori and Ditirambo in the same area, gelato at Giolitti, go to all the big tourist sites if you can but some off the path galleries and museums like Baracco and Doria Pamphilj are really good, walk as much of Trastevere as you have time for. My favorite restaurant in Paris is L'Avant Gout.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

These are the places I always try to get to in Rome. Have a pizza at La Montecarlo, eat cafeteria style at Volpetti Piu in Testaccio, dinner at Pierluigi near the Campo di Fiori and Ditirambo in the same area, gelato at Giolitti, go to all the big tourist sites if you can but some off the path galleries and museums like Baracco and Doria Pamphilj are really good, walk as much of Trastevere as you have time for. My favorite restaurant in Paris is L'Avant Gout.

Good call on Pierluigi. Antico Forno Roscioli around there is good too.

 

[OviedoFLHusky]

Lots of great suggestions here; brings back fond memories of my semester abroad (lived in London and visited lots of places in Europe).

Definitely check out Murano while in Venice. The glass made there is beautiful. And I had the best fried calamari I ever had from a street vendor in Venice. If time permits, take a trip "down south" to Naples, Pompeii, and the island of Capri. I remember waking up in the morning at the youth hostel in Naples and seeing Mount Vesuvius out the window -- wow, very cool! (Otherwise, yes, stay away from hostels. They are gross. We only did hostels to save money; otherwise, we stayed in "pensiones.")

Wherever you go, as long as you feel safe doing so, try to get up as early as possible and just walk around the city. Obviously there will be fewer people; and as long as it's not overcast, the lighting will be great for pictures. I got up early the first morning I was in Rome and went for a walk -- didn't bother to take a map because I wanted to be surprised -- and I turned a corner and all of a sudden, there was the Coliseum, all golden from the early morning sun. It was awesome! Also in Rome, definitely make as many gelato stops as you can!!

We had a really fun time in Munich. You can visit the BMW Museum; drink humongous beers at the Hofbrauhaus; visit the Olympic stadium (although we were "asked to leave" after attempting to run around the track...ah, good old college days...); and see the giant glockenspiel do its thing on the hour in the town square.

To be honest, we were disappointed in Florence. Yes, we did it in a day, it's definitely possible to do; and we went to all the places mentioned above. Though the art is beautiful, we found the city to be quite dirty and the people unfriendly.

Of all places, beware of the train stations the most. Many low lifes hang out there. At the train station in Rome, a gang of young Gypsy kids tried to steal our bags, and it nearly became violent.

Paris -- yes, eat crepes! -- and croissants! -- and cheese and wine!! Can't remember what it's called, but be sure to go to the museum that has all the Impressionist art (Monet, Van Gogh, etc.). Go to the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa (it's surprisingly small) and then jog through the rest of the place (the Louvre is huge). Paris was where we encountered the most anti-American sentiment. I literally had some guy come up to me and say "Yankee, go home!"

Make sure you have Italian, Spanish, French, and German phrase books. People are much nicer when you attempt to speak their language. They don't care if you mangle it; they appreciate the effort, as opposed to being the stereotypical American who expects everyone to know English. Also, wherever possible, use your charge cards to buy things; charge card companies get better exchange rates when it comes time to pay the bill.

Sorry this was so long. Have a great time and be safe!

 

[tzznandrew]

Just got back. Thanks for all of your advice--I appreciate it, and some of the advice very clearly made the trip better than it would have been...and it was a great trip.