7 Days in Europe
 

After reading through some of the other posts, I am hoping that I have found the right place to ask for help! There are some great insights and ideas here, so I thank you.

Here's my situation:
My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe for the last week of April 2009. I have been working full time and in school full time and I have barely had a chance to plan (very out of character for me).

We have talked about taking more time on this trip to stroll through parks, and spend more time outside, and possibly a stadium tour of a local football club, but I just can't get my head around where to start for the "inside" sights (museums, attractions, etc).

Here's where it gets crazy (or so I'm told) - We have a travel itinerary to visit the following places - Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris, and London, in seven days.

We've been to Dublin and London together, and wouldn't mind some off the beaten path suggestions. Five years ago, I went to Amsterdam for a day, and Paris for 7 hours, but would like to know what others consider "must-see" places/activities, that we could incorporate into our trip together.

As for expense. We have cashed in airline miles for r/t Gatwick and we are using hotel points for accommodations, so that leaves us a bit more cash for entrances and light shopping (not a priority, just when we come across something unique).

I would like to know what you would do if you had limited time in each place. We have 1 1/2 days in Amsterdam; 1 1/2 days in Dublin; 2 full days in Paris and 2 full days in London.

Any and all help is gratefully appreciated.

Well with that itinerary you certainly won't have any time to stroll through parks, or to spend much time outside railway stations or airports. Sorry but to me it is just crazy - you need a break not a route march! Pick two of those destinations if you must but not all four!

hi queen,

<<Here's where it gets crazy (or so I'm told) - We have a travel itinerary to visit the following places - Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris, and London, in seven days.>>

yep, you're right. it is crazy. every time you move you lose at least 1/2 day. so you're down to 5 1/2 days already. then you may have jetlag - lose another day.

as you've been to London and dublin before, why not just A'dam and Paris? 3 nights and 4 nights respectively would give you a great trip, except that as it's April and prime bulb-field time, I might reverse it and do 4 nights in A'dam, 3 in Paris.

Give yourselves a BREAK. europe will still be here another year.

promise.

regards, ann

<i>We have 1 1/2 days in Amsterdam; 1 1/2 days in Dublin; 2 full days in Paris and 2 full days in London. </i>

Sorry, you don't. Every time you move, you lose at least 1/2 day. So, you actually have:
1 day in Amsterdam, 1 day in Dublin, 1.5 days in Paris, and 1.5 days in London.

If you've been to London and Dublin before, why are you going back to either one? With such a short trip, I'd stick with 2 cities MAX, ie, Paris and Amsterdam.

Is there any way you can change your FF tikcets so that you fly into Paris and out of Amsterdam (or reverse), instead of London Gatwick?

If not, I'd look into:
Fly into Gatwick
Immediately fly from Gatwick to Paris
Fly from Amsterdam into Gatwick to catch your return flight home

Just remember, every time you move from one place to another, not only you waste lots of precious travel time, you also spend more money on transportation.

Alternatively fly into Gatwick and explore a bit of SE England - lots of strolling relaxing, good food to be had there without going near a city. Probably not a football club though, unless you go to Brighton or somewhere like that. Which isn't as daft as it sounds actually. You may really enjoy Brighton!

Thanks - I will keep Brighton in mind. I really appreciate suggestions of what to do when we get there.

My husband really wanted to go back to Dublin, otherwise it would have been a three city trip. There isn't anything he has to do when we are there - he just wants to be back in the city.

Transportation is booked. We land in Gatwick on the 25th and depart for Amsterdam around noon. We arrive about two hours later (3 w/ time change) and have the rest of the evening to relax, and yes, walk around the central part of the city, where our hotel is located.

We have all of the next day (Sunday)in Amsterdam (and I have checked, everything seems to be &quot;open&quot; on Sunday). We depart on Monday morning for Dublin. We have from noon - 5:30 to &quot;do&quot; things and a couple of hours after that for checking out the parks that it was too dark for us to see at night when we were there in October/November. We have until 4 the next day before we have to think about being at the airport, and plan to go straight to our hotel when we arrive in Paris around 9). We then have two full days in Paris. Friday morning, we take the train to London, and have the rest of the day, as well as all of Saturday. We depart to come home Sunday mid-morning.

As for jet-lag, we just run through it. There is a place to freshen up (shower/change) at the airport before we take our next flight and we plan to rest as much as possible there. On our last trip, we never felt the jet lag - guess we are hoping for more of the same on this trip.

BTW, assuming you're from the US, or if you're familiar with cities in the US, your tentative itinerary would be equivalent to:

Visiting Chicago, Washington DC, New York City, AND Boston in ONE week.

That's equivalent to amount of things to see/do, and the approx distances between those European cities you wish to visit.

Can you give me an itinerary of how I can visit all those 4 US cities in one week?

Visiting Chicago, Washington DC, New York City, AND Boston in ONE week.

At least those would be in one general direction (no backtracking). The OP's itinerary is Amsterdam - Dublin (head west) - Paris (head east again) - London (head west again)!

I guess I was wrong about finding the right place for help. Thanks for the wonderful insights.

Was the &quot;help&quot; you were looking for a blanket affirmation that your proposed itinerary is perfect?

Unfortunately, it's not. Four cities in ONE week will mean that everything will blur together and you won't remember anything but being on airplanes or being exhausted from rushing around.

The members of this community are telling you the truth. If you choose to think that's not &quot;helpful&quot; then all I can do is wish you a good trip.

And lots of luck.

No, you did find the right place for help. You should have asked for help before you planned this insanely rushed schedule. Then you might have been able to benefit from our advice. Now you are locked in.

Please consider using our services again, earlier in your planning process.

Enjoy your trip.

:-)

OK, I understand your frustration with the responses so far, but you can't blame them. It's a really daft itinerary and most normal people wouldn't even attempt it.

That said, it's been too long since I was in Amsterdam and Paris and I've never been to Dublin so I will stick to London.

I would spend some time in one of the several lovely parks. Don't know where you are staying but my favorites are St. James Park and Regents Park. Both are lovely and should be nice in April.

If you haven't seen the Cabinet War Rooms (not far from Parliament, Westminster Abbey), then it's a great way to spend a few hours. These rooms are underground and it is where Churchill directed WW2. All the rooms were left as they were when the war ended and it's a fascinating look back in time.

It's also close to Westminster Bridge and the London Eye. Nice area to walk along the Thames.

The Tate Modern would be a good gallery nearby.

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/

Depending on where you are staying, there may be other attractions or sights more convenient to your accommodations.

Thanks Sounddiva - &quot;The members of this community are telling you the truth. If you choose to think that's not &quot;helpful&quot; then all I can do is wish you a good trip.&quot;

However, I was not seeking opinions or confirmation about my itinerary. It's done. It may not be perfect for you. But I know it will work for us, because it has in the past.

I have done other trips in this same way, and have remembered a great many details about the experience. We are all different in that way, I suppose.

Nukesafe: Thank you. I appreciate that and I will visit sooner if there is a next time.

However, this is the way we travel - I don't have the money to go every year, or several times each year. I may never have the opportunity to go to Europe again, after this trip. So this is how we travel


And instead of getting ideas about places to visit (w/ the exception of one) I get a criticism of my itinierary. I was actually looking (which apparently got lost in my itinerary) for IDEAS of UNIQUE or different places that people had on their MUST SEE lists for certain cities.

For those who understand my frustration - it's good to know - thank you :)

Thank you Bettyk - perfect location as we are staying at County Hall, right next to the London Eye. The Cabinet War Rooms is just the type of thing I was looking for! Thank you!

I travel at a faster pace than most of the posters here, but unfortunately I have to agree that this itinerary is crazy! All I can think of is what a waste of the points that you have accumulated. Your memories will be largely the inside of airports.

I don't really know what other help the people here can give you. Only you can decide what attractions in a city interest you. Browse this website and a few guidebooks to find the sights that sound appealing. If you have logistical questions once you have chosen sights (best way to get there, how much time needed, etc) then perhaps more assistance can be given.

Best of Luck!

If you want to know MUST SEES, can you at least tell us what your interests are?

Do you like museums? Art galleries? Churches? Palaces? Cemeteries? Markets? Castles?

My London MUST SEES are:
National Gallery, Tate Modern, Westminster Abbey, opera at Royal Opera House

My Paris MUST SEES are:
Seine Cruise, Louvre

My Amsterdam MUST SEES are:
Van gogh museum, Rijksmuseum, modern art museum

The most beautiful site you could visit in Holland the last week of April will be Keukenhof Gardens. Don't miss it!

http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/130/Redirect.html

We took an excellent tour of the AJAX Stadium in Amsterdam also.

http://english.ajax.nl/web/show

There was actually a free tour day of the stadium when we wanted to go, so joined the crowds. The line moved quickly in the morning. Paid tours were suspended on that date.

I have a trip report of this trip, probably posted in May 2007 on this site, if you're interested in the details.

Ok, I'll reply to the question that was asked.

Of your list, I've only been to London and Paris, so here are some less-common (I wouldn't call them unique or off the beaten path) activities we've enjoyed:

- London, Cabinet War Rooms have already been mentioned. I also liked the recreations at the War Museum.

- My DS and I really enjoyed going to one of the big bookstores in London and picking up books by favorite British authors before they came out in the U.S. (my picks were by Victoria Clayton).

- In Paris, we love watching the cars whiz around the Arc de Triomphe. It's hilarious!

- The last time we visited Paris, we had an informal &quot;competition&quot; to try macarons (the French kind) from every bakery we could find. Laduree won - for that trip.

- I enjoyed (DH and DS, not so much) the market on Rue Mouffetard, despite there being only one group of street performers (supposedly, there are usually a number).

- In Paris, the Pantheon. A beautiful building, and if you're a fan of Victor Hugo or Marie Curie, they're buried there.

With the amount of time you have in Paris, however, if I were you, I'd focus on the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, a trip on the Seine at night, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the gorgeous Sainte Chappelle. Those are all (ok, except for the Eiffel Tower, as I have a fear of heights) on my must-see list, and I revisit each of them each time I visit Paris.

Here's an idea for your London time, keeping to a few things that are close together:

1. Banqueting House, Whitehall (a good insight into royal London in a small space with a good video introduction and an audio guide for walking around to learn about the art and architecture)

2. changing of the horse guards (this is just across the street from Banqueting House and is not the one at Buckingham Palace, check but I believe it happens everyday at 11 am)

3. Churchill museum and cabinet war rooms (on the same side of the street at horseguard parade)

4. walk through park through the back of Churchill museum

You can use www.fancyapint.com to find a pub nearby for refreshment when necessary.

No these are not necessarily the &quot;big&quot; sights of London but I have enjoyed them all and think together if you just had a day or so you would have a variety of activities and get a nice &quot;feel&quot; for London.

In the evening, consider just a stroll on the south bank from the Marriott County Hall or theatre in that area at National Theater, Old Vic or Young Vic.