Hey everybody

I'm planning two months from mid-Jan to mid-March, and while the beginning and end of my trip are somewhat set, I have about 20-25 days in the middle to work with.

So far my itinerary (with no. of nights) looks something like:
7 Sicily (starting in Palermo, working to Siracusa)
4 Sorrento (and Naples/Vesuvius/Amalfi areas)
4 Rome
5 Tuscany (base either in Florence or smaller town)
2 Cinque Terre
2 Venice

!!!!! help me fill in this gap (22 days in this itinerary mockup) !!!!!

2 Canterbury
4 London
4 Oxford
1 Nottingham
3 Glasgow (whence I fly back)

The beginning of the trip in Sicily and Italy is with my girlfriend and follows a slower home-base approach to traveling until she flies home. My last two weeks are visiting relatives and checking out London. As a result I am happy to fill the middle period traveling at a bit of a faster pace, but I still wouldn't want to spend less than two nights in any one place.

At the moment I am debating between taking the route North through the heart of Europe (stopping in Austria, Prague, Germany and BeNeLux,) or West along the Mediterranean to Spain (I have an uncle in Madrid) and Portugal. Either route can finish in Paris. Also, because I am willing to spend a couple of weeks sprint-traveling, is there a way to combine the best of all; mashing Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, Prague, Berlin, Koln, Amsterdam and Paris into a single 3-week run?

My personal interests are in history, culture, architecture and urban development. Also, music performance is my profession and so checking out as much local music culture as possible factors into my plan. I am most drawn to larger cities, but want to balance them with smaller locales where I can get a stronger taste of local life.

And although I appreciate the world's natural wonders, living in Canada I have several in my backyard and so am only interesting in seeing the natural sights that are the most unique to Europe. (Black Forest doesn't rank high for me.)

My budget is shoestring but ample, and I am willing to modify either the beginning or end of my trip. Also I am a 24-year-old male and will be with my girlfriend for the beginning, traveling solo in the middle, and meeting up with family for the end.

Help me plan a trip of a lifetime - thank you!!

David
Pianist in Toronto

<< music performance is my profession and so checking out as much local music culture as possible factors into my plan >>
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hi David,

i know that music is your thing, but is it your only thing? you are ending the italian leg of your trip in venice, which is not very far at all from the dolomites - have you thought of doing a bit of skiing? only a few days would refresh you for the next part of the trip, which i would suggest you spend in southern spain - not just for flamenco, but for the weather you'll find there that time of year - it's almost bound to be better than nothern europe.

or if you really don't mind more snow/rain and it has to be music, head for Prague or Vienna - there is loads going on in both places for the musician. from either place you can head for Berlin, then Amsterdam and Paris.

I think you should take le Cinque Terre off your list. Your time frame is too early.

You wrote:

"My personal interests are in history, culture, architecture and urban development. Also, music performance is my profession and so checking out as much local music culture as possible factors into my plan. I am most drawn to larger cities, but want to balance them with smaller locales where I can get a stronger taste of local life."

All that says to me you should spending a lot more time in Napoli, one of the most extraordinary cities in the world for studying layers of human settlement and urban planning, and what can go wrong as well as right. Plus, it has a phenomenal local music scene. And please realize that if you want a taste of "local life", it isn't necessarily happening in the small towns -- especially not the small towns where tourism has displaced the tradition life.

I highly recommend that you include Arezzo as part of your tour of Tuscany.. (Arezzo is where the musical scale was invented, and has a beautiful town core that is not dependent on tourism for its economy.) From there, you could rent a car and visit both Urbino --one of Italy's most famous town planning dreams that actually became reality (most didn't) and you could also visit Pienza.

Since you have an uncle in Madrid, I'm going to suggest you leave Italy and head for Barcelona, another fascinating city for lovers of architecture, urban planning and music (and with better winter weather). Then on up to Madrid, also with a great music scence and a free place to stay! But do take a day trip to Cordoba.

I would skip Sicily, painful as that sounds, to give yourself more time in Napoli and more time with the Renaissance. You are spending so little time in Venice, I suggest you save it for another trip. From Madrid fly to the British Isles (and hope for an early spring!)

Have a great trip wherever you go.

PS: I meant to add that from a base in Arezzo you can visit Florence very easily.

One another PS:

After Italy/Spain/Great Britain, I wouldn't go as far north as Scotland (days are so short in March). Instead, take the train toward Paris from London, but I would do a stopover in Antwerpen (great music), do day trips to Ghent and Brussels for the right-and-wrong of urban planning, and on to Paris, which is short on music but long on great architecture and important urban planning.

Go visit your uncle in Madrid! Although flamenco comes from the South, this is the flamenco capital of the world. The best artists tour the Madrid scene on a regular basis, and you could have lifetime experiences at tablaos such as Casa Patas, Cardamomo, Las Carboneras and others. To be assured of the real deal, consider going to Peña Flamenca Duende in the Vallecas district south-east of the city center. They stage fenomenal artists on every each or second Friday night: http://www.kanalduende.com/

Updates on flamenco performances in Madrid theaters: http://www.deflamenco.com/agenda/events.jsp?barrio=1

Rising star Belén López dancing at Casa Patas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hbhkIWSX-Q

>I wouldn't go as far north as Scotland (days are so short in March).<

Ignore this. By mid March day lengths in Scotland are almost identical to Paris and London.

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldcloc...&afl=-11&day=1

Where do some ideas come from? Of course the days are not shorter in Scotland in March. That is in Nov/Dec/Jan. After that the days get much longer very fast.

On March 15 sunrise/sunset in Glasgow are 6:30AM/6:20PM. In Paris they are 7:05AM/6:55PM so exactly the same daylight hours.

Oh - stilldontknow . . I completely missed your post. It just bugs me when we get "authoritative" posts that give totally incorrect info.

Thank you all for your helpful replies!

I am reconsidering Sicily - I agree that the time saved would be well spent in the Naples/Salermo areas. My two biggest draws to Sicily are the excellent Greek ruins (as well as Norman,) as well as what I assume would be considerably warmer weather at the end of January, compared to mainland Italy. Am I assuming correctly? Or would I get warm enough weather and satisfying Greek ruins (Paestum) if I just stick to the south of the mainland?

Skipping Cinque Terre would be a harder pill to swallow, though I agree it deserves a longer timeframe and a warmer opportunity. I'll probably decide on that on the fly. Same goes for Venice.

The consensus certainly seems to favour Iberia over Central Europe, in terms of maximizing warm weather and musical experiences. Fortunately I am under no pressure to completely make up my mind until I get there. That being said, I think there is no way I would be able to make up my mind without planning my "next trip to Europe" at the same time, so that I can see the places I missed.

Perhaps I can compromise by squeezing a little BeNeLux (minus the Lux) after Iberia, and then on a later trip I can take the central road all the way from Scandinavia to Greece, through Berlin, Prague and others.

So many difficult decisions!

Also, the trip must end in Glasgow as my Father's OTHER brother lives there, and I have already booked a very open-jaw return that flies back home from Glasgow.

Thanks again everybody, it is extremely helpful to discuss this with other people and gather their experiences. Any other points to consider? I suppose my next step is figure out the Sicilian question....

As for ruins, the single best preserved Greek temple in Europe is Paestum. Plus Napoli was originally a Greek city/colony, and you can still pick out and tour some of the remains of the ancient city, much of only accessible by underground passageways.

The weather in Sicily is not likely to be "considerably" warmer than the southern coast of the Italian mainland -- although someone will surely come winging in here with historic averages off the internet. I was once in Sicily in April when it snowed! No telling what you'll get in winter.

I live near le Cinque Terre, year round, and visitors best enjoy it in fine dry weather, which is harder to come by in the time frame you are traveling. Besides, people have different reactions to the place, and while some people adore it, you also can find plenty of opinion on Fodor's and other message boards that it is overrated as an international travel destination. (I agree with that view, especially for people looking to experience local small towns traditions. They have been displaced by mass tourism in le Cinque Terre.) The Italian Riviera is a wonderful place to eat, relax and ponder a great many things, but come in the nice weather and pick a spot less touristy than le Cinque Terre. Go 20 minutes in either direction on the coast and you can have that for a song.

If it really breaks your heart to not even glimpse the Riviera, there is an overnight ferry from Genoa to Barcelona that runs all year -- but check which days! As you move north through Italy, you veer off from Florence, spend one night on the coast, and then catch the evening ferry to Barcelona.

As for what people consider a short day, there's nothing "authoritative" about my opinion, ever, so you all can relax (if that's possible for some of you!) . Having visited all these often overcast places -- and it will still be winter mid-march -- the daylight hours felt oppressively brief (maybe I should get up earlier!). But thank goodness for Google.

If you need to fly out of Glasgow, sounds great, especially for a musician interested in local culture, music and urban planning.



Have a great trip!

Oh wait! I take back "often overcast." Never mind I said that.

> But thank goodness for Google.<

But thank goodness for living there. Google was only used in case you disputed the facts.

I didn't need google either -- since I've actually <i>been</i> there in March (and just about every other month). "<i>Google was only used in case you disputed the facts.</i>" Same here since . . . well you know . . .

Maybe if you live there you get used to not seeing the sun in the winter. dcatkison needs to fly out of Glasgow, but is Glasgow now going to get recommended as a winter destination? I once posted on Fodor's that Glasgow should be considered as a possibility for a rewarding tourist destination as well as Edinburgh, and janisj rushed in to accuse me of "misleading" the inquirer, authoritatively declaring Glasgow was too "difficult" to see!!! (Her getting "bugged" in this therad is about me, not what's posted.)

I've never lived in Glasgow in March, but I have lived in London and Paris in March (and San Francisco), and the fact that the sun was rising or setting behind the low overcast or rain wasn't a lot of consolation. I still had the lights on indoors.

But I hope dcatkinson finds nothing but sunny skies in Glasgow in March!

Weather could be anything in Glasgow in March, but it's the point where the day length starts changing really fast, which I always rather love....loads of things for you to see and do....any questions, do ask! Make sure you get a tour of the City Chambers....

Glad to see someone reintroducing subjectivity into travel advice. I travel with Einstein.

http://www.dictionary-quotes.com/whe...bert-einstein/

Well, it seems that the uncles lobby in Scotland is stronger than the one in Madrid...

Sorry! I meant to type 6:45!