leila_06

Hello. I'm planning my first euro trip this fall. I'm planning 10-14 days. Not sure where to start. I prefer places that are not overly touristy. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

adrienne

What are your interests? What type of weather do you want?

Major cities are overly touristy for a reason. There will also be people who live in those cities looking at sights and eating in restaurants. If this is your first European trip you should consider a couple of the highlights. Start with a country that appeals to you and choose a large city and a smaller city or a large city and some countryside.

Recommendations:

London
Paris
Rome

jamikins

Head to your local library or bookstore and browse the travel section to see what grabs you.

sparkchaser

<i>I prefer places that are not overly touristy.</i>

Cluj-Napoca, Odense, and Sevastopol spring to mind.

StCirq

Or the Auvergne.

jamikins

You could start here http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/

Honestly, we all have our favourite places (non-touristy for me is Le Marche in Italy) but only you know what your interests. There are a million places to visit in Europe. You need to find what interests you to narrow down your request to get helpful advice.

robertcoon

Hungary, Croatia, and Montenegro are all places that come to mind.

Gretchen

What non-touristy places do you want to see-and why?

griz_fan

The nice thing about going in the Fall is that you avoid the busy summer season, which definitely mitigates the "touristy" aspects.

I'm with adrienne on this; don't shy away from from the big names, they're big for a reason. For example, with 14 days, fly into London and fly home from Paris would be a great trip. Those are two amazing cities and a great introduction to Europe, and only 2 hours apart by Eurostar.

Just be sure to get a good map and appreciate how big Europe actually is. Pick a 2 cities that are reasonably close and focus on enjoying those 2 cities. Don't fall in the trap of trying to visit too many places, give yourself time to enjoy the experience.

nytraveler

Agree that I wold do London and Paris in 10 days - in 14 I would either add Amsterdam or I would do a day trip or two each from L and P - depending on your interests.

Since we know nothing about you (female?, age, travel companion(s), interests, budget) it's practically impossible to make really useful recommendations.

And if you really want to avoid all tourists you probably need to rent a car and head into deep countryside - for whatever you want to do there.

jockwiz

Montenegro was my first choice it was beautiful and relaxing place to go.
http://www.rcmodelswiz.co.uk

Gretchen

I also think that Americans often equate "tourist" to "US/us" in our nationalistic way of thinking it is all about us.
Being a tourist is just not a bad thing--you are seeing something new, exotic, interesting, educational, and most of all, FUN, if you plan correctly. Being the "ugly American IS a bad thing, so learn something about where you are going, some polite phrases in the language, and enjoy it. think about it. So please don't bypass the "biggies"--as said above, they are BIG for a reason, and very worthwhile. ;o)

pempem

One of our favorite trips was:

Fly into London
London (4 nights)
Paris (4 nights)
Belgium (2 nights: Brussels/Bruges)
Amsterdam (3 nights)
Fly from Amsterdam

Great intro to Europe! These are touristy, but you can stay in non-touristy neighborhoods and have a great time.