Europe in 20-25 days in the Summer
Mar 24th, 2014, 09:29 PM
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Europe in 20-25 days in the Summer
Hi, my family and I are planning our very 1st trip to Europe and since we don't know when we'll have a chance to go back we took a while to figure out what each one wants. Budget is an issue and we're aware that during the summer we'll have to sacrifice that a lot more than let's say Soer-Oct but our daughter is 13, starting HS next year so u fortunately that is out of the question.
Our ideal trip would Include Germany for my husband with possibly a trip to Audi/BMW/Mercedes plant. He's not very particular about any cities in Germany. My daughter wants to see Italy; Pisa, Florence, Venice, Rome (I'd dare say my husband would like and even be happier to see Ferrari plant than the others). And for me, I'd like to see France, Paris of course is a must and I'd love to see any city that is more country style, vineyards perhaps.
I'd like to plan this on my own. I got some websites for. Europe that have cheaper flights and trains rides between countries but I'd like tips and opinions on itineraries as well as an hi est account of how hard it was to communicate or navigate there on your own the 1st time. We speak English, Spanish and Portuguese but I've heard that in Oaris and Italy locals tend to be not very helpful or patient with non-speakers. Although to be honest, I've always heard that New Yorkers are rude but every time we travel there we always find very helpful people. I'm a big believer that you get what you put out there. So that's that.
Does anyone recommend renting a car?
Our ideal trip would Include Germany for my husband with possibly a trip to Audi/BMW/Mercedes plant. He's not very particular about any cities in Germany. My daughter wants to see Italy; Pisa, Florence, Venice, Rome (I'd dare say my husband would like and even be happier to see Ferrari plant than the others). And for me, I'd like to see France, Paris of course is a must and I'd love to see any city that is more country style, vineyards perhaps.
I'd like to plan this on my own. I got some websites for. Europe that have cheaper flights and trains rides between countries but I'd like tips and opinions on itineraries as well as an hi est account of how hard it was to communicate or navigate there on your own the 1st time. We speak English, Spanish and Portuguese but I've heard that in Oaris and Italy locals tend to be not very helpful or patient with non-speakers. Although to be honest, I've always heard that New Yorkers are rude but every time we travel there we always find very helpful people. I'm a big believer that you get what you put out there. So that's that.
Does anyone recommend renting a car?
Mar 24th, 2014, 10:30 PM
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Stick to Florence (day trip to Pisa), Venice and Rome as concerns Italy. Drop Germany. Visit the Ferrari factory instead--it might be possible to do it as a stop between Venice and Florence.
Then go to Paris. That will fill your 25 days.
Then go to Paris. That will fill your 25 days.
Mar 25th, 2014, 12:29 AM
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I agree that in that length of time you have an awful lot of ground that you want to cover. The distances are staggering. Stick to either France and Germany, or France and Italy. Then fly or take high-speed trains when possible. Already a lot of your time will be spent just travelling between cities.
Mar 25th, 2014, 01:41 AM
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There is a big difference between 20 and 25 days when it comes to getting to all the places your wants to see. Even with 25 days it would make sense to fly between some of your destinations. Cheap flights are available if you dig around. So are cheaper train tickets if you book in advance. Some cities have incredibly easy connections to their airports that make it possible to fly in and start sightseeing with 90 minutes of landing. (Amsterdam, Munich, Pisa). Others like Venice or Rome and Paris get much more complicated depending on where you are staying.
But I don't think anybody on a message board is going to be able to crunch the numbers for you and work out optimal logistics, especially without knowing what airports would be best for you in terms of beginning and ending. Don't get stuck in the mindset that you have to keep traveling in a straight line from north to south or vice versa. The best way to go might involve taking a flight from Amsterdam to Pisa at some point or an overnight train from Rome to Munich.
If the family wants to experience something of Germany, Munich has its BMW tour and museum and is well connected to other parts of Europe by cheap flights and overnight trains. But if your husband would rather see the Ferrari factory and skip Germany entirely, that would save some time (although Munich is very easy to get to from most of Europe). Amsterdam also has cheap flights (to Pisa, Venice and Rome) and good train connections to Paris, so you might be able to work it into your trip, but it will come at the expense of being able to see the other places in greater depth.
Where I would begin is figuring out how many days you would realistically need in Munich to make it worthwhile to go there, ditto Paris, ditto Amsterdam, ditto Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa. Figure you would need at least 1 day to visit the Ferrari factory and 1 day to visit a French town smaller than Paris as a day trip. Forget formulas that say you NEED X DAYS in some city. Your family might need more or less. But be realistic and if you have more sights than you have days, obviously you will need to eliminate destinations.
But I don't think anybody on a message board is going to be able to crunch the numbers for you and work out optimal logistics, especially without knowing what airports would be best for you in terms of beginning and ending. Don't get stuck in the mindset that you have to keep traveling in a straight line from north to south or vice versa. The best way to go might involve taking a flight from Amsterdam to Pisa at some point or an overnight train from Rome to Munich.
If the family wants to experience something of Germany, Munich has its BMW tour and museum and is well connected to other parts of Europe by cheap flights and overnight trains. But if your husband would rather see the Ferrari factory and skip Germany entirely, that would save some time (although Munich is very easy to get to from most of Europe). Amsterdam also has cheap flights (to Pisa, Venice and Rome) and good train connections to Paris, so you might be able to work it into your trip, but it will come at the expense of being able to see the other places in greater depth.
Where I would begin is figuring out how many days you would realistically need in Munich to make it worthwhile to go there, ditto Paris, ditto Amsterdam, ditto Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa. Figure you would need at least 1 day to visit the Ferrari factory and 1 day to visit a French town smaller than Paris as a day trip. Forget formulas that say you NEED X DAYS in some city. Your family might need more or less. But be realistic and if you have more sights than you have days, obviously you will need to eliminate destinations.
Mar 25th, 2014, 06:22 AM
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Michael, I'd agree and trying to even figure out what to do and see in Germany is hard as it's not a country I ever thought of visiting, I'd like to just do France-Italy but I do want to keep the husband happy.
Sandra. Our days are somewhat flexible that's why I said 20-25 days. I heard before Oaris is a great city to use as a base city and it'd make sense as you suggested to travel by train to Amsterdam and from there to go to Munich to Pisa.
Men.... The tough part is trying to figure out how to make an itinerary in Germany when all he said is that he wants to see "all" and when I pushed he said the cars manufacture. =\
Thank you all so much for taking the time to answer me,
Has anyone use sites like airbnb and local nomad to rent an apt. I found good deals in places that I'm told are safe like 14 district in Paris.
Sandra. Our days are somewhat flexible that's why I said 20-25 days. I heard before Oaris is a great city to use as a base city and it'd make sense as you suggested to travel by train to Amsterdam and from there to go to Munich to Pisa.
Men.... The tough part is trying to figure out how to make an itinerary in Germany when all he said is that he wants to see "all" and when I pushed he said the cars manufacture. =\
Thank you all so much for taking the time to answer me,
Has anyone use sites like airbnb and local nomad to rent an apt. I found good deals in places that I'm told are safe like 14 district in Paris.
Mar 25th, 2014, 06:58 AM
#8
I'm married to a car nut, so I've had itineraries influenced and impacted by the lure of factory tours and car museums.
Ferrari is not like most. If you don't own a Ferrari, the only factory tour is on a bus that moves through the assembly area. No getting off the bus, no photos allowed, advance reservations required. The museum is open to all.
The German factories are very automated. The romance of watching (mostly) robots was lost on me. But I did enjoy the Porsche factory tour (Zuffenhausen), although I don't know if it's available to non-owners.
My favorite tour is Pagani in Modena and favorite museum the Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse.
http://www.pagani.com/huayra/default.aspx
[click on "Contact" for tour info]
http://www.citedelautomobile.com/en/home
Ferrari is not like most. If you don't own a Ferrari, the only factory tour is on a bus that moves through the assembly area. No getting off the bus, no photos allowed, advance reservations required. The museum is open to all.
The German factories are very automated. The romance of watching (mostly) robots was lost on me. But I did enjoy the Porsche factory tour (Zuffenhausen), although I don't know if it's available to non-owners.
My favorite tour is Pagani in Modena and favorite museum the Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse.
http://www.pagani.com/huayra/default.aspx
[click on "Contact" for tour info]
http://www.citedelautomobile.com/en/home
Mar 25th, 2014, 08:51 AM
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Actually, in Mulhouse you could kill two birds with one stone and see the Route des Vins in the Alsace region of France as well as its very nearby. What about not doing Munich but visiting the Porche and Mercedes factories near Stuttgart (as mentioned above Porche is in Zuffenhausen). Then travel south west, through Strasbourg to the Route des Vins and Mulhouse for the car museum there. From there, Paris is 3 hrs by train.
