Need suggestions for a one week trip in October coming from Detroit

Greece is too far to go for just one week... and its a destination that's meant to be seen between April & Late September in my view (so much of it is about the islands & sea). Italy has a longer season... I was in Italy in early October, and it was lovely. But if I were you I'd think about your Amsterdam-Bruge-Brussels scenario

TIME FRAME -- Be realistic: if you must leave after work on a Friday (even if you sneak out early) your earliest departure would be about 7:30 right? Well, going to Italy ... with a 7:25 departure, your earliest arrival in Rome (given the 6 hour time loss) would be 4:05 pm Saturday on Delta, changing in Amsterdam. Do NOT consider Air France with a change at CDG if you value your sanity... So going to Italy you really would have 7 days realistically. However, if you choose Amsterdam, you arrive 7:25 am Saturday -- a whole extra day!

I love the Amst-Bruge-Brussels idea... the trains make it so feasible... and the cultural & historical side is unbeatable.

Either group works well given your short time. Rome might be a better choice that time of year over northern Europe. You could include Florence and a swing out to Pisa and down the coast back to Rome. Or loop south to Naples/Pompeii and the Amalafi coast Greece, and especially the islands, would be more limited since the island start shutting down in Oct.

You might consider open jaw. A couple of couple of years ago we flew into Rome, Florence, Milan, and home from Zurich.

Another route we like was into Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Granada, and home from Malaga in Spain. That was a fast ten day trip. That would be a high historical trip. And a big contrast to your prior European experience.

So it sounds like Greece is not really the best destination in October? I'm happy to hear that since I'm leaning towards the Amsterdam/Bruge/Brussels idea. Husband suggested Greece but that doesn't have as much appeal to me, but I said that we could put it on the list of possibilities.

Pat, tell your husband to think about Greece for 2011 May or June, and I'll spin you a heckuva trip (I do a lot of itineraries for people), as long as you could do 10 days, 2 weeks would be rreally ideal.

At that time of year, I suggest Italy (expecially since you've never been). If you do an open-jaw flight you could do Rome and Florence or Rome and Venice and have a good amount of time for each.

I would also suggest Italy based on your interests....maybe Rome and Venice? Both very romantic, very different cities with loads of culture and history. Frankly I could easily spend a whole week in Rome - you could rent an apartment, or, if you can and want to splurge, get a nice suite somewhere. There is something magical about staying in one place and really "living" it for a week. Rome is my favorite "big" city in Europe - the central historic district is completely accessible on foot, so you wouldn't have to rent a car, and you could always venture out for a day trip or two using public transit.

I think you should go where you want to go, and October is usually a pretty good month for travel throughout Europe, with the caveat it may rain a lot in some locations.

Personally, I'd be quite happy to go to Greece in October, but if you wouldn't be, don't go.

You need to get with your husband and work this out. Brugge couldn't be more different from Italy.

Discuss what you want to eat, what kind of art and ambienc you want to experience, how much effort you want to expend, etc etc.

Italy is a hugely popular sight on this board, but most Italophiles have never been to Spain or Belgium.

Like I said, more discussion with your travel partner is the first step.

If you are museum people, Amsterdam is certainly interesting (some of Europe's best museums there), but there's a big, big con to Amsterdam-Brugge-Brussels: the season. What they are calling summer there is being called late November in most other countries, and in October, the likelihood of really awful weather would be too high for me. Also, Brussels is an extremely difficult city to visit: personally, I like it very much, but I know for sure that I only like it because I had a good friend living there when I visited last time, so I was guided by local knowledge. City planning has been a major desaster for decades there, and from one quarter to another, you are changing, so to speak, from a West European metropolis to a third-world city - not because of immigrants, don't get me wrong, no: because of the condition of buildings and neighbourhoods!! They allowed whole blocks to be taken over by speculators, and those blocks are crumbling... literally: they are waiting to be knocked down, formerly beautiful neighbourhoods in the city center... no infrastructure is left there, and those areas are pretty dangerous after dark. So you really need to do your homework before traveling since you need to know precisely where to go (remember, the difference is really from one block to the next!).

Athens, on the other hand, is a great October destination, and a wonderful, heavily underrated and actually defamed city where one week (with one or two daytrips) wouldn't certainly be too long.

I would base in Antwerp rather than Brussels if you pick that area. For me, one of the "cons" for museum people visiting Amsterdam is that the Rijksmuseum is still under renovation and the Stedelijk is still limping in temporary quarters.

If you go to Athens, the Kolonaki is marvelous. I really don't think the extra two hours on the plane makes it "too far". But your lack of enthusiasm for it is important.

No reason why you shouldn't consider Greece in October. Too many people think Greece is only about islands and beaches. Athens without the summer heat would be marvelous.

But not for nine days. There are more interesting places than just Athens.

They would only have 7 days in Greece. Starting on Friday evening from Detroit, the earliest they could arrive in Athens airport would be about 5:30 pm (1730).

HOWEVER, I reverse my original advic e, I totally agree that Athens can be wonderful weather in October, certainly better than in the other destinations listed. The only reason I didn't recommend was that the listing was "Greece" and I thought maybe the husband was thinking islands & beaches. If it's mainland .... GO for it.

If it's Athens, there's PLENTY to occupy at least 3 days.... Museums and ancient sites Galore! Stay in Plaka area (try Airotel Parthenon Hotel, or Hotel Phillipos) ... here is Fodorite stanbr's slide show of the glorious sites right outside your door ...

AND it would be easy to drive or bus to Nafplio for 2-3 nights. Especially if this is a wedding anniversary celebration! Nafplio is such a beautiful (and romantic) setting that it's well-known as the "proposal capital" of Greece!!! Only 2.5 hours away by comfortable reserved-seat bus ... here's Fodorite stanbr's slide-show of the beauty of this peninsular Old Town gem ... http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/551991579dJbWvh

For a room with balcony looking down on Old Town & bay, HOtel Leto is ideal budget choice ... if you want to be near the Square, try Hotel Athena ... or for a Splurge, the HOtel Grande Bretagne Nafplio....

Re first Paragraph: should read ...earliest they could arrive in Athens Airport would be about 5:30 pm SATURDAY.

And I left out the link to the Athens Plaka slide-show!! Too hasty. Sorry! http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/570719132pdjjHG

Hi Pat in Mich-- there will be four of us flying out of Detroit October 13 - 22nd to Italy... We booked our flights (Delta) leaving on Wednesday-noon, getting into Rome at 7:30am - where we will hit the ground running and fall into bed exhausted later that night! (We did this when we went to Ireland and it worked well so you don't really miss a whole day of your vacation. We are planning 3 days in Rome, 3 in Tuscany 3 TBD and then head back to Rome - I have been wathcing the ticket prices and they are really good right now, so if it's Italy you may want to book (currently about $50 lower than the previous few months.

I would opt for Rome combined with Florence personally. October is one of my favorite months to visit, especially Tuscany, as the fall foods are just wonderful, the summer crowds have left and the weather is generally good.

I would fly into Florence via Milan or fly into Rome and train straight to Florence. Check into Antica Torre Tournabuoni, a lovely and intimate boutique hotel right in the center, perfect for an anniversary trip. Of the dozen or so places I have stayed in Florence, this remains my favorite.

Stay 3 or 4 nights, depending on your priorities, then train to Rome (90 minutes) and spend the rest of your visit there. We like Sofitel Roma and Hotel Capo d'Africa for nice hotels out of the tourist hordes.

From Florence you can dayy trip into the beautiful countryside, visit wineries, spend a day in Siena and much more. It is one of my favorite trips.

I have been to Greece and prefer Italy but we are all about food, wine, scenery and love walking, sipping a glass of wine while people watching at a piazza and just drinking it all in.

My second choice would be Amsterdam and Bruge for ease of the trip.

But for a special occasion like this, I vote for Italy!

I live in Italy and I love the food in Greece, and the people watching. I'm not pushing Greece, but it has lovely food and a stellar cafe life. Lousy wine, but better sweets!

Wow, thanks for all the great comments, I'll have take some time to think about this some more.

Just to clarify a few things as to what we're looking for. We are totally not islands and beaches types, husband sunburns really easily and I have never enjoyed sitting out in the sun. I get hot and bored very quickly. So for Greece we're probably thinking more of Athens and other mainland destinations.

Although this is an anniversary trip we're not really thinking romantic destination. We're just not romantic people. Our travel style is to get a fairly early start to the day, see a lot and walk a lot.

I didn't realize the weather was that unpleasant in Amsterdam-Brugge-Brussels at that time of year.

Well, walking a lot and seeing a lot works very well in Athens & Nafplio & the argolid area too. So a decision between Italy & Greece may well be made on transportation factors and your relative interest in sites ... Roman ruins/churches vs Greek ruins ... and cuisines.

Pat-in-Mich,
Coming from the US for 9 days including travel, celebrating 30th years of marriage,... sneaking out of the office on a Friday to be back the next sunday, ... presuming your age in between 50 and 60, running all day through the burdens of life,... and finally a moment for the 2 of you,...

Why take more than one destination? Why spend more time travelling once you are over the pond?
One destination, Rome, one week in a hotel close to Via Veneto, culture more than you can handle, city strolling guaranteed, roman cuisine at every corner, nice autumn weather,... What more do you want?

PS: I was born in Brugge and know Brussels and A'dam fairly well, but still.... Rome in October? Where do I sign?

Um, considering that you're going to get out of Detroit and go somewhere else, wherever you pick is probably a good idea.

Brussels is just the home of the Eurocracy, not much else and baldrick's anti-endorsement speaks volumes. Belgium is a faux nation cobbled together from Wallonia and Flemish lands and created as a constitutional monarchy for Leopold I (whose heirs ran perhaps the most brutal slave colony in world history -- the ironically named Congo Free State [now Democratic Republic of the Congo] as their own private holding from 1885-1908 until international opprobrium became too strong to ignore).

Greece is for summer and the islands. Athens is viewable in 1.5 days (ooh! Acropolis, ooh! Olympic area, ugh! whole city is full of socialist housing blocks spread for miles) and the best attraction of Greece is its islands. That country is such a poorly run basket case it makes Italy seem like Switzerland.

I'd pick Italy in a heartbeat over your other proposed destinations. Do Venice and Rome. Venice because it is what it is (and it's nicer when it's not summer-hot); Rome because it is a great city. You can split your nights 3 and 5, respectively.

Italy...Italy...Italy. If you must do two places I would go to Rome and Florence - if you can fly into Pisa or Rome and out of Pisa or Rome... I would stay 3 nights in Rome and 5 in Florence and take the time to see Tuscany. Lovely!

Hmmm, Italy is starting to sound awfully appealing!

No doubt that Venice OR (not and) Rome would be perfect October destinations, but BigRuss, if you think you can see Athens in 1.5 days, you're probably not talking about Athens, Greece, but Athens, Georgia. I spent one entire week in Athens (Greece!) few years ago, just as Pat_in_Mich would, did 1.5 days of daytripping (half a day to Aegina, one day exploring Attika, i.e. Kessariani, Vravrona, Cape Sounion, to which you should add Daphni, which was closed for restoration when I was there but seems to be accessible again - check before going!), so had 5.5 days in Athens, and it was hardly enough time. Of course, Athens is not just the Acropolis; what about the Greek and the Roman Agora, the ancient theaters on the slope of the Acropolis, the Plaka, the Archeological Museum (one of the truly great of its kind), the Kerameikos, the Flea Market, the Temple of the Olympian Zeus(that's NOT the Olympic area - never heard of anybody who would be wanting or even willing to visit that one!), the Philopappou Hill... did you see any of these, BigRuss? Plus several other museums that I still haven't seen.

Pat_in_Mich, I'm the last one who'd advise against Venice or Rome (just against Venice AND Rome - you could as well stay home and watch video documentaries on those two overwhelmingly rich cities instead if you have just 7 or 8 days). I just think you should consider Athens seriously since it's so popular to demean it, which IMHO is just plain silly. Athens has terrific ancient sights second to none, and while it's true that the modern city isn't pretty, it's a lively, friendly, likeable place where streetlife easily makes you forget the not-very-inspired architecture (non-romantic people may be able to appreciate that all the more). Plus: the Plaka and Acropolis aside, it's charmingly untouristy. Most people seem to think 1.5 days are enough to see it.

BigRuss, your post was hilarious! You managed to diss one U.S. city and two countries in three short paragraphs.

Italy is a beautiful country, and well worth consideration. It's many years since I was last there, but have fond memories of the country.

Greece, and yes, I did mean more than just Athens in my earlier post, is equally good IMO. I love the islands, but there is much, much more on the mainland. Delphi is stunning, and although I have never visited Nafplion, know that travelerjan can recommend that and many nearby sites to keep you busy for a few days.

Just last week I spent 1.5 days in Athens, and managed to see little more than the new Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum. I have seen most of the other major sites before, and the weather was very hot, so decided to concentrate on museums this time. There is no way you could get more than a superficial view of Athens in 1.5 days.