rtwin80days

Hi all,

My fiancé and I are in early 30s, vegetarians, teetotallers. I have travelled a bit in Europe (Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna, Salzburg, Venice, Florence, Rome, Perugia, Amalfi, Madrid, Segovia, Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Barcelona, a bit of Tuscan & Umbrian small towns). I love Europe (especially Italy) and I love travelling. My fiancé hasn’t travelled much in life in general and hasn’t been to Europe (except staying in London for work for few months), but he is very excited about travelling.

I love nature, culture, history & art, food, landscapes, immersing in local culture, taking long walks in the city centre, cooking classes, cycling, etc. He is not much into museums and art but loves nature, beach, lakes, playing guitar, Spanish music, long walks, food, hiking, skiing, etc.

We are getting a last minute chance to take an 8N/8D break in Europe next month, i.e., November 2015. It is pertinent to note that the trip would be to and fro London. We are open to overnight train travel to get to the destination, if need be (given we shall start the trip on a Friday evening post-office).

I am hoping for this to be a romantic trip. It would not only be his first trip to Europe, but also our first trip together. So it is special all the more. I do want to showcase the quintessential Europe to him. So it should be a mix of something that a first-timer should see, and not only chosen because of its proximity to London, although that is a factor to consider. I would also like to avoid going to places I have already visited. I do not want to cram too many places in this short trip either. The idea is to enjoy what we see without rushing, and believe that we shall be blessed to keep coming back to Europe for decades to come. I would appreciate if the helpful posters here could suggest an itinerary and sequence for the same.

Thanks a lot in advance.

greg

There is not much time to travel.
I presume your return flight from London is in the morning? Then you need to overnight in London unless you risk missing your flight home. This leaves you with 7 nights assuming you are arriving in London early in the morning and you can immediately travel elsewhere. With 7 nights, you have 6 full days. This is not much.

I presume for whatever reason you have to fly into/out of London even though UK is not your destination according your tags?

Paris is trivial although you don't want to go there because you have already been. Paris and Bruges (a romantic city) is also possible. You can do a simple triangle - London - Bruges - Paris - London. Beyond this, you are "cramming too many places in this short trip."

Also, where you are heading and the time of the year is not congruent with his interest. It is between hiking and skiing season, not beach season (ok for walking), not Spanish anything (Spain is not on your list.)

Christina

It took me a long time to figure out what 8D etc was.

I can make a suggestion but I think it is impossible to do what you want and rule out the places you've been. Because those are some of the typical things a first-timer wants to see.

Given his interest in guitar and Spain, I would think Spain would be a natural, but you've already been to all the usual suspect cities. And for November, it would be a good destination, also. YOu could combine it with Lisbon, for a change, and where you haven't been. That would be one idea. And you could go to some new place in Spain although I really wouldn't suggesting eliminating all of Madrid/Seville/Barcelona as I think those are the 3 best places. Toledo is wonderful and you haven't been there. Malaga would be a new place and nice on the coast, although for a first-timer, I probably wouldn't suggest it as the top sight.

Eight days isn't that long, you could do Lisbon, then Salamanca or Bilbao, Toledo and leave from Madrid--you've been there but that would be the only repeat and it makes sense logistically. YOu could take a night train from LIsbon to Madrid (not that I'd recommend that, I just know you can). Now there is a direct train from Lisbon to Salamanca, though, takes about 6 hours. So you could just do Lisbon-Salamanca-Madrid. YOu could do Toledo as a day trip. Or just knock off Lisbon and stay in toledo a couple days. Obviously, I would think you'd fly from London to/from Madrid.

The other option would be totally new, and that would be Prague and Krakow, where you haven't been. They aren't that easy to get between, but if those were your two main destinations, you'd have enough time, as that train takes up a day--or stop somewhere en route. Not sure how enticing they are in NOvember, though, and then it has nothing to do with his interest in guitar/Spanish music. But they are romantic enough cities, I think. YOu can get a flight to Prague or Krakow from London. And they are cheaper cities than some others.

annhig

how about Valencia? new to you both, a great city, and lots of nice day trips to do.

also fast trains both to Madrid and/or Barcelona if you wanted to add in somewhere else.

Grindeldoo

I second annhig - Valencia, and I'd add Barcelona. If you go to coastal towns in southern Spain it will be a fair bit milder than places like Madrid and Salamanca, in the mid 50s F rather than the mid 40s F. There's heaps to see and do in Barcelona as you doubtless know, Valencia is smaller and a bit quieter, both are attractive places. As an alternative, have you thought of Southern France. Marseilles and the smaller towns along the coast is a possible alternative, most of which are on the main rail route towards Italy and easy to get to from London (Eurostar, then change in Paris).

rtwin80days

@greg, if you count Friday night all the way to next Friday night, it is indeed 8 nights. Work brings us to London, and flights from our home base would be via London. Logistically, Paris and Bruges, as you pointed out, are the easiest. Out of all places I have visited in Europe, Paris is a good city to repeat, given I spent just 4-5 days there and a lot was left unexplored. Plus it is romantic How would the weather be in 4th week Nov? I know it is hard to generalise or predict, still some pointers are welcome.

@Christina, sorry, I thought it was a standard nomenclature. My bad. I would love to take him to Spain, but I thought of creating a trip dedicated to Spain in the next couple of years. IF I do decide to repeat Paris (tough to find a city as stellar as Paris for a first-timer to Europe!), is it possible to club a Spanish destination with easy transfers from Paris? Few hours by train, or even an overnight train is alright. If we are doing Paris, I would like to spend atleast 5 nights there, leaving us with 3 nights for the other destination. Or if it would be a waste of time to travel for 6-8 hours each way just to spend 3 days, maybe a closer destination within France near Paris might be workable. After all, I might have visited Paris but have not been to any other place within France. Any ideas?

@annhig, hopefully will be covered in a future (and much longer) trip to Spain.

@Grindeldoo, as the trip is fairly short, and if I am passing via Paris to reach the destination, it makes sense to stop at Paris, no? Weather-wise, would south of France make more sense in end Nov, as against Paris? Been on my radar for sure, for a romantic trip with him.

rtwin80days

I guess we shall just go to Paris and spend the whole time there, maybe take couple of day trips. Am thinking maybe Chantilly and Giverny. There is ample to do in Paris. And it is logistically easiest, it is romantic, it is one place I don't mind repeating at all. Thanks a lot to everybody for your help!

Mimar

Giverny closes for the winter on Nov. 1.

For other options, a frequent poster here, FrenchMystiqueTours, has a great list of daytrips from Paris; look in this thread: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...from-paris.cfm. (I believe he's updated this list but I don't have a link to the latest version.)

rtwin80days

Mimar, thanks for the valuable info about Giverny closing.


We need visas to enter UK and Europe. Owing to paucity of time, we have had to very sadly let go of our plans to visit Europe. We have applied for our UK visa, and usually it takes 2-3 weeks on an average to get UK visa. Lucky us!

So the plan (?) is to now spend an additional week in UK, outside of London.