First time in Europe- HELP!!
 

My husband, 13 & 10 year old sons, and I will be attending a business conference in Nuremburg, Germany in May. We have never been to Europe and want to see as much as possible in a 14 day period. We were thinking of doing Nuremburg-Munich-Salzburg-Venice-Paris-Nuremburg. Is that a reasonable itinerary? Should we definitely go by train or is driving a car in Europe (especially the larger cities) doable? Any other cities in that general vicinity that we shouldn't miss?

I don't have enough experience with those areas to speak to whather it is reasonable to do it all in two weeks. However, I would certainly recommend traveling by train, for two major reasons: One, all are major cities, and therefore easily accessible and reached quickly by train; and two, I would not recommend driving in and out of most cities.

If you do come to the conclusion that you will go by train, then I would suggest building your itinerary around those routes, taking advantage of express trains and possibly sleepers. It's a lot of ground to cover, so you will want to be very efficient about it. Also, pack light-- you will be carrying your own bags a lot of the time!

Hopefully you will get some more helpful response on the details.

You wouldn't want to drive in Munich, Venice or Paris. If I may suggest, if your husband goes to business conferences that take him (for example) to Nuremberg, perhaps next year it would be in (for example) Lyon. If it's a rotating-city conference, then I'd suggest just stick to southern Germnay this year (with perhaps a side trip to Prague), and another region next year. That would give the boys a good on-site educational opportunity in European history 1935-1999, as well as the Middle Ages. Paris has charms of its own, but most large European cities are superficially quite similar to most large US cities. I find it's in the smaller towns where one can better appreciate the fact that one is in a different culture. If you should decide this makes sense to your family, advise back, and you can get plenty of help in learning things which would interest a family with teen boys in Bavaria.

Hi Mary

I, too, would suggest limiting your choices to Germany/Austria. I would also look into getting a Railpass of some sort (www.railpass.com - I've used them twice with good results).

Many folks on this board don't recommend railpasses, but the passes are very convenient and if you travel a lot, very economical. The trains are fast, efficient, and very nice.

Concentrate on Germany and maybe Salzburg/Lake Districts (very beautiful area!). In 14 days you can see a lot and have wonderful memories for you and your boys.

mom

Hi Mary,

>We have never been to Europe and want to see as much as possible in a 14 day period.<

That is a very common mistake.

You will go back.

You will be much happier limiting yourself to 2 countries in 2 weeks.

I take it that you will see Nuremburg during the conference.

Trying to see 4 cities in 14 days is an expedition, not a vacation.

Also, there is no need to fly in and out of Nuremburg. Fly out of the last city you visit. The rates are almost the same (sometimes less).

You might want to consider Nuremburg-Munich-Salzburg-Vienna and save Italy and France for another time.

You certainly don't want to drive in the cities.

Check your itinerary at www.railsaver.com to see if a railpass would be worthwhile.

I don't think that you want to be driving with two kids.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

<<[a]Trying to see 4 cities in 14 days is an expedition, not a vacation.

[b]Also, there is no need to fly in and out of Nuremburg. Fly out of the last city you visit. The rates are almost the same (sometimes less).

[c]You might want to consider Nuremburg-Munich-Salzburg-Vienna and save Italy and France for another time.

[d]You certainly don't want to drive in the cities.

[e]Check your itinerary at www.railsaver.com to see if a railpass would be worthwhile.

[f]I don't think that you want to be driving with two kids.>>

Six points. Some soundly right. Some, I disagree.

[a] - - maybe ira meant "FIVE (far-flung) cities (in three countries spread apart)"; I agree with dropping Paris from this itnerary. The other four don't constitute an "expedition", to me.

[b] partially agree; there can be good reason to rent a car and return it in the same country, but that is also likely to be negated if Venice is in the itinerary, where a car is an expense (to park) of no value to you.

[c] agree about Paris.

[d] disagree, with regard to Nuremburg, Munich and Salzburg. Pleasant and fairly easy to navigate... though <i>intra<i>-city sightseeing is not the province of having a car. But all three have good reasons to want to get out of the city limits and see nearby environs.

[e] strongly agree.

[f] disagree.

Best wishes,

Rex
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Thank you all for the replies. Actually, we won't get back to Europe before my oldest son moves out, so this is our one shot as a family. We can afford a decent trip only every few years, and after this European excursion we'll be going back to Russia. My husband's main &quot;want&quot; is to experience the Alps. I really want to see Salzburg (Sound of Music is my favorite movie) and Paris (I'm a collector of Marie Antoinette memorabilia). Would it be easier to skip Venice? I'm so confused. Thank goodness I have several months to figure it all out!

Also, we are planning on staying at the ArabellaSheraton Hotel Carlton in Nuremburg. Any experiences there or better suggestions?

I think 5 cities is too much for 2 weeks, especially needing to return to your starting city.

I would definitely go by train instead of renting a car. It is quite simple between cities in Europe.

If Salzburg and Paris are your &quot;must see&quot; list, I'd do those. Maybe skipping both Munich and Venice?

My caution for a 1st timers is always, often people don't realize how much time, cost and hassle it will be every time you change locations. Pack, check out of hotel, transpo to train station, take train ride, transpo to next hotel, check in. Even for a short distance it kills 1/2 day you could be sight-seeing.

IMO, no matter how important Marie Antoinette is to you, Paris just doesn't belong on this itinerary. As mentioned, a HUGE amount of time is spent on just moving from one place to another, detracting from enjoyable vacation time. If Paris is that important, you can find a way to get there on another trip.

With 4 people, I expect that car will be cheaper than train. Train may be worth it to anyway for stress-reduction since you are newbies. It also depends on how much you will move around. Once you have a travel plan, use websites to estimate your comparative costs of car or train. You cannot use a car in Venice.

My rule of thumb, especially with kids in tow, is to avoid spending less than 3 nights per locale (although an occasional night on the road in transit is ok). Otherwise the whole trip seems like too much packing and transiting, and not enough enjoyment. By this rule, in 12 days you can visit 4 cities.

I vote for Munich, Nuremburg (and neighbors like Bamburg, Rothenburg, etc while one of you attends the conference?), Salzburg, and through the mountains to Venice. Fly out of Venice.

Here's an analogy (although I can't guage the distances very well). Restricting to Germany/Austria would be like a tour of the east coast from, say Boston to Philly. Going to Venice would be a bit farther, like maybe D.C. Paris would be like taking a side trip to Chicago (IMHO, kind of out of the way). How much distance does your family like to cover in 2 weeks?

Also, you wouldn't be flying into Nuremburg from the U.S. -- it'll be Munich. You can fly out of Salzburg or Venice.

Hey, I looked it up.

Boston to Philly is 516 kilometers driving distance. Munich to Venice is 508 kilometers. So its closer than I thought.

There are air travel connections from Nuremburg via many Europe airport gateway cities... London, Paris, etc.

Connecting in Munich may or may not be the gateway of choice, depending on the US gateway needed.