First Time visit to Europe- Mar/April Need Suggestions...
 

After years of working my way through my home of N. America, it is time for me to finally get to Europe. I have a free flight to the following cities: Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Rome, Madrid, and Frankfurt.

I have a short time frame, 10-15 days. Of course I want to see it all. I have family in Italy, so Rome is out because I will probably do italy as a duo (northern and southern trip).

Right now I was planning on flying into Paris, staying with a chef I worked with (I bartend for fun), then shooting up to Brussels via train, then on to Amsterdam. Recently I have had the urge to go to Prague as well.

So, I am really confused on what would be a solid trip for a young 30something. I will be travelling alone.

Any advice on a grouping of cities (I am open still) would be greatly appreciated. My language skills are depressingly nill! My eating/drinking skills are a ten.

My flights must be confirmed by this friday, the 28th of Jan.

Thanks for helping me on my first adventure in Europe!!!!

Sorry....correction. Cannot fly into Amsterdam....Zurich instead.

Definitely hit the museums in Paris if you are into art. I would highly recommend going to Barcelona if at all possible. Great if you are single! Lively scene in the evenings. Plus it is so gorgeous!

I am definately into art, but I hear horror stories about lines for the Louvre. Any suggestions on alternate museums if the Louvre line is too much?

How far is Barecelona (by train) from Paris? The next question would be...how long to stay in Barcelona!

Fly to Paris, train to Brussels, budget airline to Barcelona, fly home from Barcelona.

Any good leads on budget airline sites?

The one caveat is that I have to fly home from the city I fly into (ie. the original ones I listed) both from and to the U.S.

With a Paris Museum Pass you can bypass the lines at the Louvre - and elsewhere.

Thanks everyone...keep the info coming, it is appreciated. I have this unexplainable rush now that I am planning this trip!!!

You'll appreciate more of where you have visited, if you:

a) only visit two countries, or at most a 2-day sampler in "country #3"; France and Spain would make (a) good number(s) one (and two).

and

b) allocate no fewer than two days in ten (or up to 4-6 out of 15) to smaller towns or the countryside of the country or countries you choose...

And not to detract from the Louvre, which is a repository of more collections than you can count, of the <i>world's</i> greatest art - - but the repository of the greatest <i><b>French</b></i> art is Musee d'Orsay.

So, when in France...

Best wishes,

Rex

Amsterdam and Paris are the only places i've been on your list and had a great time in both. i'd try for the longest time you can get away (duh) and go for 3 cities with 5 days in each place. Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels would be logistically a reasonable plan. Lots of people enjoy Zurich, since that's now in the mix.

The more I talk to people, the more I agree with spending more time in less places.

Originally i was keeping Spain as a seperate trip (a combo of spain and portugal) for a later date and with friends).

For some reason I have this Prague fetish (for the lack of a better word).

Would everyone agree that Paris would be the starting point as for the cities I listed for flying in and out of? (Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, Zurich). Basically, only that needs to be decided by this week. The rest of the trip I can plan over th next few weeks.

Thanks for the museum advice as well.

As for travel to the towns around the cities, what is the best way to do so?

We went early in the day to visit the Louvre and it was not to bad. Yes, there were lines to see certain things but all in all it was not to bad. We also tried to see the Musee d'Orsay, but the day we went a mysterious bag appeared in a hallway and the entire place was shut down for the bomb squad etc. to investigate. We gave up after standing in line for just so long and went to Jules Vernes for a late lunch. Also very enjoyable. Paris is just wonderful. We had a week there on our own with friends who knew their way around really good. And knew a little French as well. The mass transit is wonderful. Very easy to get around. Lots of day trips you can take from the city. Also enjoyed Amsterdam. We visited Ann Frank's house as well as the Van Gough museum and had the scarriest taxi ride ever. But well worth it. Our young people who were with us on the trip visited the &quot;red&quot; light district and had a good time as well. I would love to go back. I had to do a double take when I saw a man in a business suit riding his bike to work I imagine and talking on his cell phone! How funny! Lots and lots of bicycles there. Go and enjoy!! I did not see much of Burssels but Burges and Ghent are like they are out of a ferry tale. And we are going to Prague in Sept this year. Can't wait. Sorry for my spelling!

Been to Italy, France (Paris 2 dozen times), Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, and I think I missed a few countries. Your best bet is to fly into Paris as starting point. Then go to Raileurope website and there are numerous options for train passes for one country, two countries, or several countries. I've been to Amsterdam numerous times. You can see all of it in approximately three days (leisurely). I would recommend you alot more days for Paris (I still haven't seen everything there is to see). Train travel is by far the best option to visit small towns. I would never recommend driving in the major cities, suicide and no parking. If you plan on going from Paris to Prague, I would recommend taking a flight, you can get cheap ones. Haven't been to Prague but it is a must on my list. Now is a good time to go to Prague before they switch to the Euro.

15 days - Fly into Paris (5 days), train to Brussels (1 day), train to Amsterdam (4 days), fly to Prague (5 days), fly to Paris (1 day). You don't usually need a railpass unless you are making multiple train trips.

10 days - Fly into Paris (4 days), fly to Prague (5 days), fly to Paris (1 day).

I think you can easily see Paris, Amsterdam and Prague in 15 days. Spend 5 days in Paris, 2 or 3 in the French countryside, 3 in Amsterdam and 4 in Prague. The train works between Paris and Amsterdam but a plane would be better for Prague. And definitely get a museum pass for Paris. It will allow you to skip the lines at the big museums and visit a number of the small ones - don't miss the Cluny, the Rodin and Ste. Chappelle.

Thanks everyone. I am going to extend the trip to 15-16 days.

For the villages/countryside around Paris, any suggestions would be appreciated. As for train travel to those cities, where can I get rail info?

Considering my non-existant French (I could crash course it for about three weeks), will I have major problems in Paris and/or the countryside?

Over 1/2 of my relatives live in Holland. Holland is a beautiful country once you get outside of Amsterdam. You can take 30/40 minute train rides to small towns to see the REAL Netherlands. Amsterdam is an entirely different world. Volendamn is touristy but will give you an idea of what I am talking about. Try small towns like Hoorne. Depending on weather you may even see some tulip fields starting to bloom in April if you cover the country by train. As for language...try and get them to speak Dutch.

kybourbon has a pretty good plan...No reason to stay in Brussels for any length of time. There are some good side trips to take including (but not limited to) Delft, Rotterdam, Cesky Krumlov, Karlovy Vary &amp; Maastricht.

Try &quot;Les Plus Beaux Villages de France&quot; translation &quot;the most beautiful villages of france&quot;. They have a website that translates to English. It is a non profit organization in France. The villages have to meet certain criteria/standards each year to stay in the list. In October of 2003 we rented a car and drove throughout france for 17 days. My friends drove and I planned the trip and was the navigator. I had picked out one village to visit each day on our route and labeled them today's mystery city. Each one was breathtaking and my friend's loved the surprise. As for speaking French. Just know the polite necessities Please, thank you, good morning, goodbye and the people will give you a warm reception. The French are only rude to those that are rude to them. The south of France/Dordogne region is about the only place I have found a Minimal language problem. I have found Tripbuilder (Barnes and Nobles $6) to be an excellent guide book for major cities. It is all I carry in Paris. To get good train/bus info I found the Lonely Planet guide books to be the most informative. Time out guides are good also. Raileurope is a good website for train info.