First time travelling to Europe.
 

Hi, just wondering what people suggest to do for our first trip to Europe... We are planning 5 days in London, 3 in Paris, 3 in Amsterdam, 4 in Berlin, 7 in Greece and 7 in Italy...
What are the must see's and do's?? Travelling In May and Don't want to miss out on any excitement!! :)

<i>What are the must see's and do's??</i>

That depends 100% on your interests, which you have neglected to state. Someone suggesting two dozen museums and pre-Reformation churches won't do any good if you don't like museums or churches.

Why five days in London but only three in Paris? Where in Greece? Where in Italy?

You have shortchanged Paris and Italy in my view and experience. However, without knowing where you want to go in Italy, and what your interests are, it is next to impossible to be of much help.

Who is traveling? Ages? Interests - museums, churches, nature, hiking, boating, food, wine, cities, countryside? Since most of what you have mentioned are cities, that may be a clue. And what do you mean by excitement? The running of the bulls in Pamplona? Climbing the towers at Notre Dame? Eating a great meal?

Help us to help you. You seem to have about 29 days. I would cut back a bit, perhaps skipping Greece for this trip, so that you can actually experience the other destinations. And I would get a couple of guidebooks to give you ideas. Then come back with more information and you will get more specifics. Have fun planning.

I agree about Paris. It's not my favorite city by any means but three days really isn't doing it justice.

Also, you need to factor in travel time because you may end up with less time than you thought.

Suggest you lay your trip out day by day to see how much time you actually have in each place. Three nights in a city is actually only 2 days there - not 3 days - or god forbid 4 days as some tours list it.

You need to allow between 1/2 to a full day when you travel between two cities.

And for Italy - where do you want to go? Just Rome - that's another 4/5 days (5/6 nights) or two week if you want to go to a couple of other places.

First you need to start with some guidebooks to figure out what you want to see and do, where you want to go. For instance what places in Greece and Italy? Also research on the web, like at Fodors Destinations in an orange bar on the upper left of this page. And there are videos such as those of Rick Steves on TV. Lots of information out there.

The most common rookie mistake is to cram in too many stops, too many sights. The more you read and research the more things you want to see and do. Resist. More is less.

Next you need to work out the details of your transportation. From home, get open jaws plane tickets into one city and then out of another. In your case maybe into London, out of Rome. (Choose the multi-city option on airline websites.) Such tickets should cost about the same as round-trip and save you the time and money spent backtracking.

Then work out how you're going to get between destinations. Plane? Train? Car? It will take you a minimum of a half day to transfer from one city to another, checking out of one hotel, finding and checking into your next hotel. The more cities and towns you go to, the more time spent in transit, the less time to sightsee.

Fortunately you've got lots of time to research. When you get a first itinerary, post it here. You'll get plenty of advice.

Does your proposed itinerary include your travel days? If yes your time at each destination will be significantly shortened. Trying to fit 5 countries into 4 weeks is really not enough time if you want to relax and give yourselves enough time to enjoy your surroundings.

are you going by train, plane or car or bike or what?

Probably by train to such far-flung bit cities - where cars are more and more useless creatures, banned from any city centres. For great resources to plan a European train trip check out these IMO fantastic sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropettravel.com - be sure to download the latter's free and superb IMO online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of rail-themed itinerary suggestions and a bevy of good tips.

I would eliminate Greece from your itinerary and add those days 2-3 to Paris and 4-5 to Italy.

What cities in Italy are you planning to go to?

Too many places too far apart. Greece may need to go. Three in Paris not enough. Three in Amsterdam too many.
You don't say "why" you particularly want some of these--such as Berlin. Some just seem sort of off the beaten path for a first trip to Europe, although they may be just right for you. what do you like to do/see when you travel. Are there any budget constraints?

If you want to see Amsterdam, I would dwefinitely keep at least 3 days. I don't think that's "too many" at all.

Other option would be to cut it out entirely because it's furthest north (out of the way from the other places) and you've got too many places on your initial list.

I think a good place to start would be to think about a week in each country and do day trips from 1 base. It could be a city in each country or a place in the countryside, especially if you keep Greece & Italy. I have on occasion stayed in a small town outside a city that interested me and got the best of both.

Moving saps funds, time and energy so I'd say, first thing in this process, reduce the number. Eliminate 2 countries, giving you a better chance at a decent experience in the 4 you choose.

While I'd probably also eliminate Greece and add the days somewhere else, I did similar timed trips and enjoyed them a lot. Of course 3 nights in Paris won't allow you to see everything but a heck of a lot of people go for a weekend to Paris and have fun.

As for must-do's, just look at any website of the destinations and you'll find a list of them which will fill your time. I think there's a reason why the most popular sights are on top of the list. So just pick the ones which interest you and don't care too much about hidden or unknown sights.

But some things that work for me:

a) If you wouldn't dream about doing it at home, don't do it on vacation just because it's in a must-do list. A tacky wax museum is still a tacky wax museum even if it's in London.

b) If you need to spend ages queuing to get to a sight and then have 20 seconds in the middle of several tour groups to enjoy it, skipping the sight and buying a postcard instead is a real alternative.

c) Some of my most treasured vacation memories are about spending a day in a beer garden or playing pool. I'm sure I missed some famous sights because of it but I don't regret the choice I've made.

<i>A tacky wax museum is still a tacky wax museum even if it's in London.</i>

This. A thousand times this.


<i>Some of my most treasured vacation memories are about spending a day in a beer garden or playing pool. I'm sure I missed some famous sights because of it but I don't regret the choice I've made.</i>

And this.

That tacky wax museum is one of the very top if not top sights in London for Brits - that is one reason I wanted to see it- think of its history - the Madame Tussaud ('toosods' in British) connection to the guillotine, etc.

But again I rather enjoy tacky things but can see why some think it pablum and a huge waste of money - very expensive entry fee because lots of folks are willing to pay it.

jessica,

a common error made by first time travellers to europe is to imagine that the only places worth visiting are cities. Far from it - many worthwhile destinations are in the countryside. and a trip that mixes town and country is probably one which is going to be more fun and more relaxing.

I agree about going away and doing some more work on where you want to go and why but you also need to take account of how you're going to get between your different destinations. for example, a trip that starts in London, uses the eurostar to get to Paris, then flies to Venice and gets the train to Rome, is going to be more restful than one that starts in Amsterdam, then goes to Paris, Berlin, London and Venice.

finally, I do agree that even with a month or so to play with, you're trying to do too much. I would drop Berlin and GReece, and probably Amsterdam. THat would give you time to spend time in the countryside or on the coast of France and Italy, or even the UK.

<<That tacky wax museum is one of the very top if not top sights in London for Brits >>

I have never met a British person who has been there. We look at the queue of eager tourists and we ask "why?". It's like bullfighting and eating snails, just not British.

I've never felt the slightest urge to visit Madame Tussaud's in all the 30+ years I've lived in London as an adult - but there are plenty of other things to see and do in London and the rest of the UK. Don't forget to factor in public holidays (there are quite a few in Europe in May) when a lot of museums, not to mention shops, may be closed, reducing your 3 or 4 days to 2 or 3. I'd leave Greece off your bucket list for this trip, to give yourself a bit more time in some of the other places you want to visit.

I have never met a British person who has been there>

You obviously are moving in the wrong circles of Brits - no Brit you know probably says they go to Blackpool either though zillions of them do - ditto for Tussauds - one of the top sights in the U K for Brits, like it or not.

Lots of replies.. but I'll add my 2 cents. For your first trip, you might consider a rail pass - that way you can go between the countries easily.

This is all so subjective, but I would do 4 days in Paris and 3 in Berlin. Getting between the islands is Greece usually takes some time so you might keep that in mind.

My other advice is to think of this as your "first" trip to Europe, not your "last" so if you miss anything this time around you can catch it next time. Have fun!

I would recommend adding more days to Paris and not going to Greece on this trip. May is a good time to go. Let us know what your interests are and we can give you some recommendations. Do you like history?

<<You obviously are moving in the wrong circles of Brits - no Brit you know probably says they go to Blackpool either though zillions of them do - ditto for Tussauds - one of the top sights in the U K for Brits, like it or not.>>

If it was remotely true I wouldn't like it. But it really isn't.

OPs have not mention their interests, then still people suggest one place upon an other. Maybe they are keen on Ancient civilizations, Greek taverns and water sports. I do not see why they should keep Amsterdam and drop Greece in that case or whatever...
I think OPs should come back and comment further on specifics before making further suggestions.

Mariha

The majority on this forum thinks that Greece should be visited in a single trip, without being combined with any other country...

Whenever threads with multiple countries appear that also include Greece, the first advice is always to skip Greece...

Also when people are wanting to visit Italy and Greece , or Turkey and Greece, they are usually being told to focus on either Italy or Turkey and save Greece for another trip.

All i can think of is that there is a lack of information on Greece, and people mostly associate it with the islands and the summer.

Mariha has a good point: the fact that Jessica is tentatively planning half her trip in Italy and Greece indicates to me that southern Europe is a priority. Glibly suggesting she drop Greece without knowing her interests is unhelpful.

Heimdalll - had the OP said that she just wanted to visit Italy and Greece I'd agree with you, but there are a lot of other places on the list as well, with which Greece just doesn't fit so well.

I by no means discount it, in fact I have a friend who goes every year and has even travelled by ferry from Italy to Greece, so I know that they can be combined, but it's going to be a stretch to get everything else AND Greece into the same trip.

Actually the ferry from Bari through the Corinth Canal is a wonderful trip--if you have a lot of time.
I agree with Annhig--the itinerary is far north and far south and not enough time to do it particularly well. I asked a similar question about why the various places were chosen--it is fine and great--it's her trip--but unless there are some reasons, it may need some paring.

Greece fits pretty well with Italy, in fact (2 hrs flying time between Rome and Athens). Perhaps there are some northern destinations that could be dropped, but that's not for us to say. For goodness sake, everyone is trying to change her itinerary without even knowing her interests! ;-)

Oh, and this is a 29 day trip by my math, which is a lot more than most people have for a trip to Europe.

I would spend the entire 29 days in Madame Tussauds and the hell with everybody else.

After slogging through years of these boards, people who ask for the bests, must-dos, are excited about their trip and will not know what they wanted to see until they are headed home.

There are many seasoned travelers here and that is why they recommend expanding the time Paris and shortening or eliminating Greece.

Jessica86 was probably born in 1986 which means she will return to Europe again and again whether she sees Greece or not. And as a first timer she does not realize that you will overwhlemed once you get to any of those places by the sights, sounds, and differences.

You can get lost in France, England, and Italy for a month each and never regret it. So I would eliminate something and savor what you are seeing.

Perhaps Jessica86 is 86 years old and always wanted to see Greece, and allocated 7 whole days for that :)

lol, clauser! ;-)

Here is one "seasoned traveller" who finds going between London and Athens almost routine. It's about 3½ hours flying time, only a few minutes longer than a flight to Rome.

Rather than playing detective, let's wait for Jessica to come back and tell us what her interests are, and why she included those destinations in her original post. Whatever her reasons, she allocated more time to Greece than any other destination save Italy. Perhaps she wants to see Santorini, spend some time island-hopping, or take in a few ancient sites on the mainland. If her interests don't coincide with what Greece has to offer I will be happy to recommend going somewhere else. :-)

Perhaps Jessica86 is 86 years old and always wanted to see Greece, and allocated 7 whole days for that :)
______
In that is the case she'd better hurry, hop on the next plane and not wait for our opinions.

lol @ Heimdall
You just made me feel like Inspector Clauseau ;)

Sure, I'm OK with that. If she wants to cut London and Amsterdam but keep Greece and Italy, that would work too.

I don't think people are trying to 2nd guess her interests, rather just trying to smooth out her timeline for a better overall experience.

Here is one "seasoned traveller" who finds going between London and Athens almost routine. It's about 3½ hours flying time, only a few minutes longer than a flight to Rome.>>

but you don't go via Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, and an unspecified number of places in Italy, do you?

If you fly in Europe, the distance isn't relevant for anything but the price (and even for this there are so many deals available that a distance-price relationship isn't simple).

Checking in and out of a hotel, getting to and from an airport and checking into the flight plus the very common delays are the most important factors. Whether you fly one or three hours isn't that important in comparison.

So if someone wants to fly from Berlin to Greece is in my opinion no big difference from wanting to fly to Munich.

Except for flight time. ;)

That's right, annhig, but if I were travelling from Rome to Athens the trip would be even shorter. Actually I think jessica86's itinerary looks pretty good for a four week trip. I have covered more territory than that in two weeks by car. :-)

Anytime someone tags a post with five different countries, everyone jumps in with their own preferences. Yes, I will admit that after travelling to every continent more than once, my favourite destination is Greece. I have made every effort to be impartial, only suggesting that we wait until the OP makes her interests known before telling her what to include and what to omit.