Kat79

Ok trusty Fodorites!

I am only four weeks away from my super exciting trip to Europe. I wanted to see if any of you had any great recomendations for 'hidden treasures'. Maybe a favorite restaurant, museum, church or shop that is off the beaten path! We won't have too long in each city, but I am definetly open to any and all recommendations whether its a historical spot, neighborhood, coffee shop etc.... We aren't too worried about budget constraints as far as expense of a restaurant, but would prefer not to spend over 100 euro on a nice dinner

Here is a list of the cities we will be in.

London
Harrogate
Paris
Amsterdam
Prague
Innsbruck
Florence
Rome

Thank you all again for your wonderful responses so far! I look forward to all of you suggestions!

Thanks!

Kat

annhig

ok, Kat, here are my best shots:

London: the Temple [got into the 2011 fodor's guide on the strength of that recommendation]

Harrogate : Betty's tea rooms - http://www.bettys.co.uk/

Paris : anywhere

amsterdam : Haarlem [ok, it's not amsterdam as such but it's very quaint and pleasant]

Prague: the black [puppet] theatre of prague,
the restaurant in the basement of the municipal theatre
the opera restaurant http://zahradavopere.cz/index.html,

Innsbruck - Der goldenes Dachl; the imperial palace

Florence : the cafe on the corner of via cavor and piazza san marco [fabulous sandwiches and light lunches, and the best waitresses uniforms I've seen anywhere];
Fiesole [get the bus from piazza san marco]

Rome : the area where we stayed near the via coronari. loads of local character, perfect for sightseeing, great restaurants. and the galleria doria pamphilj

http://www.doriapamphilj.it/ukhome.asp

hope that gets you started!

Kat79

Wow! Thank you so much for your quick response! I am extremely excited and want to find the fun places that not everyone knows of. This is definitely a great start!

hetismij

If I told you I'd have to shoot you

Seriously though in Amsterdam the Begijnhof is a hidden gem. http://www.begijnhofamsterdam.nl/

Ons Lieve Heer op Solder http://www.opsolder.nl/

Museum Geelvink http://www.museumgeelvinck.nl/

Also the Hortus Botanicus http://www.hortus-botanicus.nl/Index.asp

Vondelpark is not hidden but still a gem, as are the Oosterpark and Amsterdamse Bos.

Kat79

Thank you Hetismij! But please... don't shoot! We really want to get a well rounded visit in each city... although tourist attractions are a must, I know there is more to each city than that!

Kat

DalaiLlama

London: The below-ground aquarium and the above-ground (tree-top) catwalk in the glass building of the Kew Gardens.

Paris: The Bar des Théâtres that is featured in the pricelessly charming movie Fauteuils d’Orchestre, in English released as Avenue Montaigne (rent it!), in - you guessed it - Avenue Montaigne roughly across from the concert hall Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (just up from the Alma Flame fountain that is now the unofficial shrine to Princess Di since she died below in the underpass).

Amsterdam - it’s not “hidden” but surprisingly little known among first-time visitors: www.tropenmuseum.nl

Prague: The snack dispensary next to the music school at the bottom of the descent from the Hradschin’s rear entrance, down the zig-zag path through the steep shrubberies. Afternoon coffee with Bach being practiced by an advanced student. Nice.

Florence: The non-touristy youthful pizza-and-loud-conversation joints frequented by lively student types in the back streets of the Oltrarno.

pja1

Hi Kat,

I can only comment on Innsbruck area. We enjoyed our visit to Schloss Ambras.

www.khm.at/en/ambras-castle

Hall in Tirol is our favorite old town near Innsbruck (6 miles away).

http://www.regionhall.at/en/hall-tir...sity-town.html

Dinner at the Burg Taverne in Burg Hasegg (Hall in Tirol) was excellent. Nice medieval atmosphere also.

The very charming old town of Sterzing/Vipiteno is 30 or so minutes away from Innsbruck just over the Italian border.

www.sterzing.com/en/home.html


Paul

cherrybomb

It's not secret if people tell you. The best gems are places you accidentally find away from the tourist rut.

Kat79

Cherrybomb, I completely agree that the best places you generally stumble across, I am just trying to get an idea of some places off the beaten path.

cherrybomb

Do you want some areas/ neighborhoods off the beaten path? That I can help with.

Kat79

Yes, that would be wonderful!

cherrybomb

Let me refuel and come back to this tomorrow then. I can only help with half your trip if you want recent info. But what is your age-ish and interests? Bars, food-fiend, youngish scene, hip, ethnic, etc?

peterSale

Visit Samuel Johnson's house in London.
http://www.drjohnsonshouse.org/

Have drink at the Old Chesire Cheese Pub too if you are nearby. It is one of the oldest pubs.

HMS Belfast is well worth a look. The Old Bailey as well.
War cabinet rooms.
Imperial War Museum - the Blitz Experience and the Trench Experience are very thought provoking and realistic even if you do nothing else at the museum.


http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en...ed=0CBgQ8gEwAA

Have drink at the Old Chesire Cheese Pub too if you are nearby. It is one of the oldest pubs.

HMS Belfast is well worth a look. The Old Bailey as well.

Lifeman

Harrogate: Forget Betty's-it's just a tea room and not that great. Plenty of other smaller establishments have better afternoon teas. If you want a really good seafood meal in Harrogate, try the Drum and Monkey.

http://www.drumandmonkey.com/

You will need to book in advance at busier times.

Mucky

"Call someplace paradise....kiss it goodbye"
(Henley, Frey)

bilboburgler

The visit to Betty's is not for the food, but for the people watching, the listening to other's conversation and the awareness of the shear pleasure of it. Drum & Monkey is ok, particularly for fish. Maybe try something else and go out to Harlow Carr garden which also has its own Betty's

LSky

I find the best hidden gems by following my interests.

Kat79

Petersale, thank you for the great recommendations! Cherrybomb, my husband and I are in our early 30's. Not really into the club scene, but always looking for a great place to sit back, relax and have a pint!

Thanks again all!

Kat

peterSale

No Worries. If you do a boat cruise to Greenwichcome back on the bus to see some of the "normal" part of London. We found it fascinating, but we don't get to big cities much.