Some advice for my first trip to Europe?

Old Feb 20th, 2012, 10:58 PM
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Some advice for my first trip to Europe?

Hello,

This year, sometime in late spring - summer, is going to be my first trip to Europe. I have a basic plan, some input would be very helpful.

I started off with travel guides in the library for some initial input, as there are obviously too many awesome choices. Ok, so for this trip, I am thinking of doing either of the following:

1. Barcelona and Paris - flying into Barcelona (staying 3 days) and flying out of Paris (staying 6 days), for a total stay of 9 or 10 days.

2. Paris(6 days) and Swiss Alps(3 or 4 days), flying in and out of Paris

Do these seem like doable options, given the amount of time I have? Also, if I were to pick a city and beach destination in France, what would Nice and Paris be a good choice?

For Paris, would it be better (price-wise), to look for small studios/apartment for the days I'm there, or am I better off getting a hotel?

With English, some very very basic Spanish, and a few French words, getting around in Paris should be ok, I'm hoping.

Your input is appreciated. I am still in the initial stages for this trip - thought I'd get some input here before finalizing plans. Thank you.
zatrams999 is offline  
Old Feb 21st, 2012, 01:34 AM
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first of all congrats on finding your way here, and congrats on not trying to cram your first trip with every country in in europe. you've made an excellent start.

secondly, all of the places you have mentioned would make the basis of an excellent trip in late spring/early summer. certainly i wouldn't want to leave it any later to visit Barcelona as it can get very hot in mid-summer.

either plan would be fine - do you want to see two contrasting cities, or the variation of Paris and the mountains? in the end, only you know that answer to that question.

and our language skills should be fine - it's more than most travellers have!
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Old Feb 21st, 2012, 01:35 AM
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oops, that's "YOUR" language skills, of course.
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Old Feb 21st, 2012, 01:51 AM
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Congrats on your trip and welcome.

eurocheapo.com/paris great info for you budget hotels better than apartments careful many scammers here and there always pay with CC.Either alternative is doable. Personally prefer Paris then regional trains to the alps from there many beautiful places on your way. beaune.com gstaad.ch zermatt.ch some of my favs.Barcelona ok farther away not as pretty for me. ok though.

xl.com ceap flights to/from PAR this year might have a look.

Have fun, PM if needed many do.
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Old Feb 21st, 2012, 02:26 AM
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Yes, congrats on your trip and thanks for doing some preliminary research before coming here. Your ideas are quite doable with the amount of time you'll have.

Not sure what you're asking about the Nice/Paris beach bit. Are you suggesting another option - to do Paris and then Nice or just trying to go to the beaches in Nice? Please explain more and we can give you some suggestions.

Are you traveling alone? For your stay in Paris, lots of us would suggest that you at least check out some of the apartment rental websites. I made a list of many of them and you'll find it by clicking on my name. There were also a few additions made by other posters. An apartment has some advantages over a hotel room. It's particularly nice for a couple, friends or families because of the common areas to gather in the evenings and the kitchen to keep snacks or cook full blown meals. Generally the price for an apartment is somewhat less than for a hotel but then you don't get the dailiy maid service or concierge services either. Depends on what's more important to you.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 12:00 PM
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Appreciate the warm welcome, and thank you, annhig, qwovadis and CYESQ for the input/suggestions.

annhig, Paris and mountains or Paris and ocean were the two plans I started to work with. Both Nice and Barcelona seem to be cities by the beach; for getting in the water, which would be a better choice in your opinion?

qwovadis, I'll check out the websites you mentioned, and read up about taking the train to the mountains.

CYESQ, yes, I am traveling by myself and honestly like it; it gets me out of my comfort zone, I meet more people, make new connections. Thank you for the input regarding apartments, I think that will work perfect for me. Ok, so I looked up VRBO, and some on tripadvisor. I was going through your posts and they are very helpful for me - do you know around what date the consolidated apartment listings post was made, that you mentioned about.

For staying, should I choose the right bank or left of Seine? Looks like 1,4,5,6,7 are central - am I better of trying to pick an apartment in this area, in your opinion?

Sorry I was not clear about the Nice question - I simply was looking for a good beach destination to add to Paris. (Had picked Barcelona initially, as it has history/culture and is also a beach city.) Are there beach destinations that I'm going to be able to day-trip to from Paris?

Thank you for your help.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 12:18 PM
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I would note that if you do Paris/Swiss, I would nto backtrack to Paris to fly home.

I like your ideas, most people try to see too much on their first trip, and end up moving place to place rather than enjoying more thoroughly where they are.

Apartment rentals tend towards week long stays, but some agencies do have short term. You will find some links here for that.

No problem using english for where you will be in Paris. As a help, most restaurants will post their menus outside, so with some 'menu convertor' help, you can ease that worry. Paris will be a bit more formal, but nothing that will interfere with your enjoyment.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 12:21 PM
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I think all of your ideas are good ones, and your allotment of time is good for each.

No, there aren't beach trips do-able from Paris as daytrips, really,except very long ones to places with cold water. Your Paris-Nice idea is good if you want beach time.

Your first time in Paris you might want a hotel so you can ask at the desk for information/suggestions. You seem pretty resourceful, though, so look at a few apartments and see what you think.

There are dévotés of both Right and Left Banks. I prefer the Left. It doesn't really matter, as Paris's public transport is so good you can easily get anywhere. You might want to look into the Oberkampff area if you'd like to meet lots of young people (it's a relatively inexpensive area, too).

Good luck with your planning, and bonne route!
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 12:40 PM
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Boy, you have the best possible reason to travel, getting out of your comfort zone.

If I had ten days for a first trip AND it had to be in the summer (May and October have advantages) AND I wanted some of it on the beach, I might just stay in Paris. Look up Paris Plage. They turn the banks of the Seine into a beach! If you need to get out of town, there are beaches on the Atlantic Coast of France that are cooler and probably easier to get to than the Nice/Cannes area.

Many (most?) beaches in Europe are not sand beaches but shingle, small stones like cobblestones, so that might be something to look into before you make up your mind.

If you can go in late spring, then your Barcelona 3/Paris 6 days would be a lot of fun.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 01:01 PM
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Try the TGV train from Paris to Nice. http://www.eurorailways.com/products...ets/parnic.htm
TGV stands for Tres Grande Vitesse which translates in English to Very High Speed.
The overnight trains are popular. You avoid staying in a hotel for the night.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 01:20 PM
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>

Actually, it's trains à grande vitesse, but good advice.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 01:21 PM
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And Paris Plage doesn't start until about the third week in July and lasts 4 weeks.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 02:57 PM
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My high school French was 45 years ago. I'm a bit rusty.
Downloading an English-French dictionary onto a Kindle or IPad along with a tour guide would be wise.
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Old Feb 22nd, 2012, 10:32 PM
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Thank you, Michel_Paris, StCirq, Ackislander and tomfuller for the helpful input, appreciate it.

I'm still deciding between Paris+Swiss Alps vs. Paris+Beach Destination, hopefully will get this part figured out soon.
Being from southern CA, I am more inclined to do the Paris+Swiss Alps for a completely different feel. But still deciding...and looking into both options at this point.

Taking into advice from Michel_Paris, I'm looking into flying into Paris and out of Zurich/Bern/Geneva. Fortunately, the price is similar to in/out of Paris, so that saves me time.
Btw, the "menu converter" you were referring to - do I need a digital pocket dictionary or an app for that?

Great point StCirq on getting input at the help desk for a first-timer. Looking into 5 or 6 day apartment rentals, also shall look on kayak.com to see how things look in comparison.
Shall look into Oberkampf, thank you for the tip.
Great to know that public transport is excellent in Paris, so I don't need to rent a car.

Ok, so if I go with adding a beach destination to Paris, Nice and Barcelona are good options if I want to get in the water. Between the two, any input on what would be a better choice for a first timer?

Tomfuller, thanks for the information regarding the Paris-Nice fast train, I'll look into it. Thank you for the tip regarding the dictionary, I was looking into a downloadable app as you stated, for French/English - do you have any recommendations? Apparently, the one by Larousse does not need wifi, wondering if you had a chance to use it?

I appreciate the encouraging feedback from you guys.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2012, 07:45 AM
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If you decide on the Paris & Barcelona combination I'd spend at least 4 nights in Barcelona if it's your arriving location after starting from Los Angeles. You'll need a day to recover from jet lag and Barcelona really deserves at least 4 days on it's own.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2012, 08:19 AM
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Here's a link to a French menu translator I helped put together many years ago:

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/restaurants/glossary.htm
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Old Feb 23rd, 2012, 08:22 AM
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I would vote for Paris and the Swiss Alps. And if doing the Swiss Alps I'd suggest either Lauterbrunnen area (Interlaken) or Zermatt. Train travel from Paris to Switzerland would work just fine. For info; the "beach" in Nice has no sand at all; it's all rocks for at least several miles. It's not like any beach you are likely accustomed to. Language should not be a problem anywhere you go.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2012, 10:12 AM
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Between Barcelona and Nice, I would definitely choose Barcelona. Caveat being, I have never been to Nice. I loved the culture of Barcelona, the cafes, the art and architecture.

Paris + Swiss Alps would be more different from CA, I do agree. But if I were going to the Alps, I'd want to do some hiking, and wouldn't find that as enjoyable as a solo traveller as I would wandering through the Bari Gotic in Barcelona, or sitting at a cafe for hours, people-watching with a glass of wine and a succession of tapas.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2012, 05:34 PM
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If you decide to rent a vacation apartment in Paris make sure that its a legal rental. Would you be likely to make use of a kitchen? If not, you may consider a smaller hotel. There are many in Paris. If you travel in the summer you may want to consider whether you need to have air conditioning, It can be hot in Paris in the summer.

The beaches in Nice are shingle and pebbles. Not sandy at all. However, there are many cultural activities in Nice, lots of museums, and you can walk along the waterfront, and eat in outdoor cafes in the old town. Nice is a city though not a beach resort.

The Alps are a nice contrast to Paris. You can travel to the French Alps or to Switzerland by train. Zermatt is a small village with lots of shops and restaurants. It doesnt take long to get from one end to another. In the summer its nice to take the cog rail in town up the mountain and then have a leisurely hike down There are cafes along the way where you can eat or drink, and the views are terrific. Interlaken is definitely larger and you can take the train to other areas as well. If you travel to Switzerland you can fly home from Zurich or possibly Geneva and need not return to Paris for the return trip unless you have a connecting flight.

Barcelona has beaches, and the nicer ones are a bit out of town. Most people go to see the cultural sites, rather than the beaches.

All of these are good choices. Enjoy!
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Old Mar 4th, 2012, 03:08 PM
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Thanks CathyM, StCirq, Skip1, Lexma90 and maxima for the very helpful input, appreciate it.

Made up my mind about the trip - for this time, I'll be visiting Paris (5 days) and Swiss Alps (3 days). Flying LA-CDG, flying back from Bern/Geneva/Zurich, as advised here.

For Swiss Alps, thinking of Lauterbrunnen for this time.
Train or Easyjet are two options; thinking of taking the train - would that be a good choice, given the time I have? Still need to look into the Switzerland part of the trip - would 2 full days be enough for this part of the trip?

For Paris, the first day(day after I get there), thinking of taking the Seine cruise, to get an overview first. The top attractions I have looked into are:

Eiffel Tower
Musée du Louvre
Sacré Couer
Cháteay de Versailles
Arc de Triomphe
Jardin du Luxembourg
Musée d'Orsay
Notre Dame
Champs-Elysées
Centre Pompidou
Sainte-Chapelle
Cimetiére du Pére-Lachaise

How many of there top attractions would I actually be able to fit in during this trip, without having to rush? Thank you for your input.
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