jackd

Hi!
I'm planning a trip to go backpacking through all of Europe and have most of it decided but I still have some things undecided, I need these 6 places narrowed down to 3:

London
Paris
Česky Kremlov
Lake Como
Athens
Florence

I want my trip to mostly focus on going to urban cities but wanted to incorporate some beachy and warm places. I will be going near all of these cities anyway which is what makes it hard for me to narrow down.
Thanks!

bvlenci

How much time do you have for these places? At what time of year will you be traveling?

jackd

I will only be staying 2-4 days in each and I will be going over the summer.

bvlenci

So, as I understand it, you want to go to three places in a total of nine or ten days. One problem is that the places on your wish list are very far apart, so some of your time will be consumed in getting from one to the other.

It would be best if you could fly into one city and home from another. That would save some time backtracking, and usually it doesn't cost more than a round trip, if you choose "multicity" instead of one-way or round-trip on a booking site such as Expedia. (Sometimes you find it under "other options".

It's hard to tell you which three to drop without knowing something of your interests. For the "beachy" part, I would suggest finding a beach near Florence, instead of Como, which isn't very beachy. You might even be able to make a day trip.

elbegewa

Ahh, the great bane (and delight) of travelling: how to winnow.

All of them would be great. How to choose?
Are you backpacking via hostels, or arranging everything in advance? Two of many options:

1. Don't choose now. Leave some "lag time" in your itinerary to allow for spontaneous decisions en-route. In hostels lots of information gets exchanged, often trips get revised because of new-found friends or learning new information or just spur-of-the-moment whims.

2. Define for yourself what interests you the most. Have an internal discussion with yourself what you'd really like to see and what interests you.

Each of those cities offers a different vibe. Are you a party animal? Amongst your choices, London. Are you interested in art? Florence. Are you interested in classical history? Athens Will you need some time off to decompress and just lay back and enjoy surroundings? Of the places you mention, Lake Como, though there are many other places

Let us know the outlines of your trip, and especially your interests, and you'll get more helpful responses.

PS
If young backpacking with a backpack, try some backpacking sites like http://www.letsgo.com/ or http://www.roadjunky.com/ or http://www.travelpunk.com/ or a more standard travel site like http://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Christina

Cesky Krumlov isn't really a city, it's a very small town. I'd drop it, your itinerary doesn't involve any other time in the CR or Austria and it doesn't have great transportation options by train anywhere else (and the train station isn't even at the town) because it is so small. Will take up too much of your time.

I don't understand why you say you'll happen to be near it, anyway. It isn't remotely on the way from Paris to Italy. Switzerland or southern France would be. In fact, the only beachy place that would fit into your itinerary easily probably would be the French Riviera, between Paris and Florence, for example. Or Lake Como itself, but I think it would be easier for you to drop Lake Como and go from Paris to Florence by train, stopping somewhere along the way for a beach in France or Italy.

suze

Keep Paris!

travelnaia

Hello: A "beachy" area somewhat "near" Florence is Cinque Terre....or Punta Ala. Cinque Terre can be reached by train from Florence, but not sure about
Punta Ala. Being a backpacker, you might even like hiking the hills of Cinque Terre as well.

Have fun.
Travelnaia