Pulkit7

Hi all,
This might cause a feeling of dejavu coz I have asked variants of this before. But they all had in them a certain assumptions based on my little understanding. I want to keep it open this time as I can glean from my previous posts that we have got a real learned and experienced community over here to aid each other.

So I am coming from India to attend a conference in Bremen from 14-19 september. This will be my first trip out of the country. I have to reach Paris by 23rd september from where I have my return flight. I need route recommendations which take me from Bremen (post 19th) and make me arrive at Paris by 23rd. So I have a 4-day window to travel around. All kind of suggestions are welcome.

Things I had like to personally witness:
European indoors and nature.
Some good clubs for drinking, dancing and meeting people.
One famous city (Paris is already covered; so other than that).
Good beers and wines (Pubs, breweries, beer gardens etc).

So feel free and throw back your suggestions (from most random to most organized; from wildest to most bland: all will do). Thank you.

nytraveler

So you have a TOTAL of 4 days - including time to get to Paris.

I fear you are trying to stuff 25 pounds of whatever in a 5 pound bag.

Realistically you have time to travel to one place, spend a couple of days there and then travel to Paris.

If you want to see a famous city head to Berlin where you will find lots of beer and nightlife plus plenty of museums and indoor sights. Not sure how great the nature is there though.

Another option is Munich - ditto on the beer halls and aindoor activities and you can take a day trip to the Bavarian Alps, see a mountain top - and if you really rush see one of mad ludwig's castles as well.

Let me make it clear there cities are either OR - not both - or you will just be sitting on a train the whole time.

adrienne

You could visit Amsterdam.

If you want to experience nature, why are you limiting yourself to famous cities? What constitutes a famous city for you?

The easiest thing to do would be to look at a map, choose a few cities, read about them, and decide which one is most appropriate for what you're looking for

It's probably too late to get accommodations in Munich because Octoberfest will be going on.

Pulkit7

That exactly is my problem. There are so many cities in so many countries. e.g. A noob foreigner like me knows of Madrid or Barcelona but not San sebastian. So that is precisely where I need help as to if there are cities that are globally less famous but have more to offer . I know I cant do lots of things in a 5pound bag but if I were to take a certain route I won't mind sneaking out here and there to visit less popular but far better places.

Also to remove ambiguity, I want to reach Paris by 23rd as I could meet a friend. But my return flight is on 25th september from Paris.

adrienne

You said in your first post that you wanted 1 famous city. Now you want a city that is not famous? What do you mean by this?

San Sebastian is very famous so it's not a good example.

I honestly have no idea what you're looking for.

Pulkit7

Well I realized after reading nytraveler comment that I dont have enough time to do many things. So I would want to put nature before the famous city. Anyhow I am going to Paris so that covers one thing. What I meant was that e.g. if Amsterdam is famous and if I can take a route to Paris via Amsterdam, so is there a possibility of visiting any other less known city which lies on the way.

adrienne

Perhaps you want a small city rather than a lesser known city?

You can travel from Amsterdam to Paris via Bruges, Ghent, or Antwerp. These are all well-known cities but smaller than Paris. Bruges is very pretty but filled with tourists, especially on weekends. You could rent a bike and ride outside the city to Damme and see windmills. Damme is a small town.

You can also stop in Lille.

Investigate these cities and then decide.

My recommendation is to stay in Amsterdam. You only have 4 days and will spend 1 of them traveling between Bremen, Amsterdam, and Paris. You can easily visit Amsterdam and then go to areas on the outskirts (possibly Haarlem) by train or, again, rent a bike and get outside the city for some nature.

Pulkit7

^Now that is exactly what I am looking for. Perhaps I didn't articulate my doubt nicely . Thank you. See all these cities you mentioned are new to me. Will surely take a look at them.

lavandula

We have driven from Bremen to Amsterdam a couple of times, or the reverse. From memory it took about 4 - 5 hours. Once we stopped at Leeuwarden, and once in Groningen. Groningen has quite a bit to see. If you did travel by car, you could drive over the Afsluitdijk, which is a dyke built to keep in the IJsselmeer.

From Amsterdam you can get to Paris quite directly with the Thalys, or you could go via Brussels.

I would just pick one or two destinations if you are not driving. You won't have a lot of time to sightsee.

Bremen is quite a cute city. Make sure you have a day to see it!

Lavandula