misterstimulation

My girlfriend and I will hopping around Europe in Sept. We've decided to go to Paris, Amsterdam and.... London. However, we have room for ONE more city. We didn't know if we should go to Barcelona or Milan. Milan is said to be a busy city and the center or fashion, yet Barcelona is said to beautiful and engaging.

Can anyone help us make a decision. We know so little and like so much.

Thanks!

JoeTro

How long will you be there? The whole month, or just a week or two?

misterstimulation

We will only be there for 3-4 days (sadly).

Dukey

I like both cities but IMO Barcelona offers more to see and do. I think you can get budget flights from both (or nearby both) to London.

misterstimulation

It's hard to for use to choose. We assume that the food in Barcelona is wonderful, but no so little about the food in Milan. We don't know what there is to do in Milan. I've found a few budget flights to both (which weren't bad)..but make this choice a bit harder.

nessundorma

Given your existing itinerary and your interest in great food, how about Antwerp, with a day trip to Brugge or Ghent?

Then you could do everything by train.

Otherwise, I would suggest San Sebastian for spectacular eats and a nice, undemanding, soothing seaside break. You would need to fly to Bilbao and take a 70 minute bus.

For that itinerary, I would look to fly to Amsterdam, train to Paris, fly to Bilbao then fly to London (back through Bilbao).

nessundorma

PS: The food in Milan is wonderful, but I don't see any real reason to make it a stop over someplace like Barcelone or even Madrid. (Ahhhh, Madrid.) It would probably be more fun to go to Torino if you go to Italy.

laclaire

I went to Milan last year and really aside from the food an shopping, we could have skipped it. Actually, the shopping was on par with other Italian cities, so it wasn't even that special. BCN on the other hand, has it all, and certainly won't leave you wondering what Milan would have been like.

Dukey

It would be controversial HERE so I am glad you aren't deciding between Barcelona and Madrid...THAT would be a hard choice to make IMO (except for those die-hard Madrid haters..what COULD they possibly be thinking????).

misterstimulation

Antwerp, Brugge, Ghent? San Sebastian... Bilbao.. Torino... I need to find these places..

Actually we fly to Paris then Amsterdam -- then --??-- and then to London. I know there is a good deal of shopping that can be done in Paris, but we were under the impression that Italian shopping sprees were different. Is this not so?

What is BCN? LaClaire mentions BCN. Is that a city in Italy?

I have sooo much to look up now.
thanks!
Kwame

misterstimulation

BCN - airport code for Barcelona..
Ok - I feel silly.

weber6560

I agree with nessundorma, San Sebastian would be the best. [IMO it's the best of everything] but I would opt for BCn over Milan. It seemed to me to be a much more "manageable" city.

fishee

The shopping in Milan is truly great in January when all the boutiques and shops put their entire winter stock on sale, usually 50% off but we saw up to 70% a few times. If it weren't for these sales, we wouldn't have been able to afford a thing and we would have been bored stiff. If you're opera lovers (or even likers) La Scala is a must-see in Milan. But I'm with laclaire -- Barcelona is fabulous in terms of shopping, food, scenery, architecture -- Milan really doesn't compare, and BCN is much more affordable in terms of lodging and food. The only problem with BCN is that you'll hate yourself for not planning more days there...

nessundorma

If it's "Paris then Amsterdam -- then --??-- and then to London", I strengthen my vote for Antwerp, a fashion capital of Europe, and the food is great.

misterstimulation

Dear, nessundorma.
I've been searching around the web for info on Antwerp. I've found info on the site and some on the food... but nothing on it being the fashion capital of Europe.. I thought that was Paris...

Can you point me in the right direction? Any sites? Anything would be appreciated..

I just want to learn as much as I can before I make a choice between BCN and Antwerp.

Thanks!

nessundorma

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...;feature=30006

nessundorma

And this one too:

http://www.modenatie.com/FFI/home-ffi.htm

misterstimulation

Fantastic! Clothing as expensive as Paris?

JoeTro

Sorry ... my original question was about how long you are going to be taking for the full trip. If you have a few weeks, then add another place. But Paris and London are huge, so I wanted to make sure you weren't short-changing them.

I think Barcelona is a good choice because it can be seen in 3-4 days no problem.

ddjwms

We have been to both Milan and Barcelona, and I'd say Barcelona is much more interesting. Just a few hours of Milan was more than enough for us, but we have returned to Barcelona several times and still feel we haven't seen it all.

However, we are not big shoppers, so if that is your goal, maybe Milan would be better for you. But as far as things to see,Barcelona is my choice...