ironchef1111

My wife and I are going to Europe for a week in December for our 10th anniversary. We are arriving in Munich. s there advice on where to eat and things to see. We would like to see other areas such as Rome or Amsterdam, but others advised us that. was too far. Any advice for us? Thank you.

adrienne

You could spend 4 days in Munich and 3 in Amsterdam and fly home from Amsterdam. Fly between the 2 locations or take a night train.

Get a couple of guide books from your library or click on "destinations" above to learn about Munich. Why did you decide on Munich if you don't know what there is to do in that city?

adrienne

I just realized that your thread title is "5 day itinerary" but you say you have a week which is 7 days. Please confirm how many days you have in Europe.

janisj

There are hundreds of options and we don't know what you'd like to do. Give us something to work with.

You chose Munich so you probably have some ideas what you want to see/do there. W/ such a short trip you could spend the whole time in Munich/Bavaria and still not see everything. Or you could do a day trip to Salzburg.

And yes - please clarify how long the trip is - a week 'on the ground', or 5 days, or ??

nytraveler

Agree that how many days you have - not counting arrival or departure days - is the deciding factor. If you only have 5 day on the ground I would stay in Munich and do one day trip - perhaps to the castles of Mad King Ludwig.

If you have 7 full days on the ground you might divide between two places - but you would be doing short shrift - and would need to fly or do overnight in between.

ironchef1111

Thank you for your advice, I believe it will be 5 days on the ground since I am including the flight to and from Europe. We both love culture, food, and history, and would like to see the Christmas markets if they are still open. We chose Munich for the old world charm of Germany and my wife wanted to see the area.

I wish we had more time, I am contemplating a flight to Rome and back for a day to see the Colosseum. Leave early and either do a overnighter or fly back late.

A couple of other questions, how much should we bring for food/transport/souvenirs?

Also how much snow does Munich have at that time of year an can we take trains to avoid driving (Had several bad experiences with snow and would like to avoid driving on roads if possible.
I know this may be a bit ambitious, so I am asking for help to make the trip the best it can be.
Thank you

nytraveler

Flying back and forth to Rome in one day is close to madness. Given all the time dealing with getting to and fro airports, waiting on security lines and then doing the same at the other end you would end up with only a few hours in Rome.

Snow is in the mountains. In the lowlands is may or may not snow at all. With so little time renting a car makes no sense at all - at any time of year - take trains to wherever you go outside of Munich.

I urge you to do some research and determime what you want to see and figure our how long it will take - then decide if you have time to leave Munich. Remember that even with no snow in the lowlands you will get cold/chilly weather and possibly sleet and very cold rain. Also check out the hours of daylight - europe is north of most of the US and days can be considerably shorter (light at 8 am and dark before 4 pm).

adrienne

With 5 days, stay in Munich.

A 1 day trip to Rome is crazy as you'll have so little time to see anything. You'll have the flight time plus an hour ahead at the airport each way. In Rome you'll spend 1.5 hours getting from and to the airport (not sure about Munich but let's say 1 hour round trip).

Total time would be approx. 4.5 hours plus flight time if there are no delays. Please do the math before you begin to plan long trips.

<< how much should we bring for food/transport/souvenirs? >>

You don't bring any money except what you need for the US airport. Use an ATM card to get Euros upon arrival. You get the best rate using credit cards and ATM cards.

You can take trains or buses - no need for a rental car. Germany has a wonderful public transportation system.

Sassafrass

I am going to give completely different advice.
You will be spending a lot of money (and time) to go to Europe when days are short and you have practically no time to visit things you want to see. You are buying very little for the money you are spending, and I am afraid you will feel cheated sight seeing wise.

Save your money for a bit longer. Plan for more time - ten days to two weeks on the ground, and make your money buy more of a vacation for you. You are already buying airfare. The extra time mean only more hotel nights and food. Take more time to plan the trip and get what you really want out of it.

Gretchen

Why Munich, if you have never been anywhere else. Paris is iconic for a reason, and it is easy to navigate and is compact for sightseeing--and enjoying. Going to Rome to "see the colosseum" is pretty impossible on this time frame--rome itself is very spread out.
If I could only spend 5 days "somewhere", Paris would give me a LOT of bang for that buck.
And before I get jumped on, I know it is their trip. Just an opinion.

Sassafrass

I totally agree with Gretchen. It is a good opinion. If you have only five days and simply must go to Europe, Paris would be a great first choice.

London is not bad either for five days if you enjoy museums and theatre.

Rome alone for five days works too, and I have done it, but it seems a shame to be so close to so many other wonderful places and not see any of them. Since I had been to Italy several times and never enough time in Rome, I did just that, but also had a free flight.

However, if there is no interest by the OP in any of these cities, and Munich intrigues them, as you say, it is their trip. OTOH, they do seem to want to see other places and it can't be done in five days on the ground, landing in Munich.

janisj

>>Save your money for a bit longer. Plan for more time - . . . <<

Great advice -- except -- I fear they have already purchased their flights. If so, its no good telling them to go later, go longer, go to Paris instead, save more $$

So to make the best of what is -- stay in Munich/Bavaria and day trip around.

On the other hand -- If you haven't paid for your flights . . . all bets are off and you have tons of options . . .

sandralist

Last time I was in Munich there were many signs advertising the cheap trains that go from Munich to Verona -- where you can see a Roman arena in Verona that is actually in better shape than the Colosseum in Rome.

It's a highly scenic ride but it is 5 hours. What might be exciting is to take an early morning train to Verona to see the Arena and a few other sights and then a train to Venice to spend the night. The next day hopefully you could find a flight back to Munich leaving very late in the day.

One of the most interesting museums in Munich is the Bavarian National Museum. It's a wonderful rainy day or cold day activity: It is more interesting than the Residenz Museum which many tourists are steered into because it was a state palace. But the Bavarian National Museum is stuffed with great treasures (including an entire basement filled with elaborately carved Christmas Nativity scenes -- perhaps the most important and extensive in the world).

If you are at all interested in European art then the Lenbachhaus collection of Blau Reiter works is unique.

The one church not to miss is the "Asam church" (the Church of Saint Johann Nepomuk).

For an easy day trip from Munich consider Augsburg for its Christmas market

http://www.germany-christmas-market....mas_market.php

http://www.germany.travel/en/towns-c.../augsburg.html

sandralist

(I got curious and looked and there is an 8pm flight from Venice to Munich which takes an hour. So if you went to Verona and then spent the night in Venice you could spend the next day sightseeing in Venice until it got dark and then fly back to Munich.)

Sassafrass

Wow! Absolutely beyond brilliant advice from Sandralist! It is such creative thinking - talk about making lemonade out of lemons. The colosseum in Verona is really impressive, but what sold me is throwing in a day in romantic Venice. Ironchef1111, This would work for you!

msteacher

Assuming you haven't bought plane tickets yet, if you really want to visit more than 1 city, plan to fly into one city and home from another. Use the multi-city option when booking online... price is often the same or just slightly more expensive. But you will save money and precious time by not having to return to the first city.

Another idea if you really want to visit more than one city is to think carefully about which cities pair well together in terms of geography/ ease of transport. For example, it's an easy train ride from Munich to Salzburg, or Rome to Florence, or Paris to London or Amsterdam. Some other combinations though, like Munich to Rome, can eat up a lot of time and money. Again, you would fly into the first city and home from the second, with a train ride in between. Happy travels!

nytraveler

Sorry - to do Rome as a day trip from Munich you would need to:

Leave Munich at 7 am to catch an 8:55 flight to Rome

Arrive in Rome between 11:30 and noon

Leave Rome at about 5 pm for the last flight to Munich (getting back to Munich hotel abut 10 pm)

Giving you a max of 5 hours in Rome - if there are no delays, with the last hour after dark

And that means getting out of your Munich hotel by 7 am.

Just makes no sense at all.