Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - First trip to Europe

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First trip to Europe

My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe to celebrate turning 50, which will have us in Europe from June 18 to July 12, 2003 (to cover both birthdays). Where do you recommend that we start; where should we end; what areas should we definitely see?

No one here can do your itinerary for you. You need to do your own research and decide how much time you have and how many places you want to see. For a first trip, assuming you have 2 weeks, I would spend at least a week in 2 major cities (you pick). You will get a lot of advice from experienced travelers about the countryside but for first timers, I would start with the big cities. Just don't overdo it by trying to see everything at once. Europe is a big place. The entire Continent is a museum. You just have to decide what part you want to sample. Remember, it is a VACATION,not a forced march.

Ever consider reading before preaching, Lauren? She said June 18 to July 12... and you reply "assuming you have 2 weeks"

With two years to plan (and get excited for your trip!), you will have plenty of time to read about a variety of places to see what you are interested in. Because this is your first trip, I assume you want to SEE things rather than relax on a beach for a week. I would do the following things to get myself organized: #1--I would read lots of posts from this webpage. You will get a sense of what places delighted other travelers. #2--I would read Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door. I don't think you will necessarily want to use his guidebook for your actual trip, but it is divided into chapters which describe geographical areas and the highlights of each. His book has limited value--since entire books are written regarding the major cities, for example, he only provides a "big picture." But at this stage, that is what you need. Once you read through his book, you can then begin narrowing your choices. As a personal comment, on my first trip to Europe, I really wanted to see London and Paris. Each will take a minumum of three days (and you may decide you want to spend much more--or not at all). If you decided to do those two cities, then you would want to decide where else. The Bavarian area of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Northern Italy are easily drivable in 10 days to 2 weeks, if you just want a taste of each area. Just my 2 cents worth. Have fun with your planning! Deborah

xyz, whoever you are, there is no reason to be snippy for the sake of being snippy. I did read right over the dates (mea culpa, mea maxima culpa with breast beating), but you gave absolutely no advice and posted--conveniently anonymously--to just draw out your rapier for the joy of spearing me. In my book, that is an improper use of the board, but apparently not in your book. My advice would still hold as to not to do too much, but to do a week each in 3 major cities instead of 2. Extra days could be tagged on to one or more of the cities for side trips. An alternative would be to intensively visit a country of the poster's own choosing. In any event the poster needs to do research and answer her own question. General questions such as the one posed cannot really be answered on these boards because they are too broad and we don't know what the poster's priorities are.

Deb: Begin by going to the library or your favorite bookstore and reading books about Europe. What interests you? What frightens you? What is your budget? How do you want to get from place to place? You need to get a handle on the basics before you ask others to join in with the planning. Do you speak European languages? Are you more likely to travel by train or by car? Do you like beaches and casinos or ruins and castles? Europe is HUGE in all respects - no one can tell you where you want to go or what you want to see without knowing a HUGE amount of information about YOU. Subscribe to a travel magazine, go to the library, get on the internet and get SOME idea of where you want to be in Europe, what kind of experience you want to have. Then come back and I'm sure we can help you.

Everyone's given you excellent advice, may I add: 1) When you think of Europe, what comes into your mind? Write down those places, sights and things to give you a starter. 2) Get a map of Europe to see how big that sucker is, and what's next to what. 3) Go to a travel agency and pick up a few brochures on tours to Europe to get ideas (remember, though, that you won't be able to do as much in your 3+ weeks as the tours do, as they have guides who take care of a lot of the legwork you're going to have to do yourself - and that is time-consuming). 4) Planning a trip is daunting, so don't be put off. Make lists, get a calendar for daily things to do before the trip, spend a couple of the days at the library (look at the picture books!Guidebooks are expensive, so use the ones in the library for research, then buy only the one or two that suit you the best), rent videos from the library or video store on places you'd like to see. 5) Take a class in a foreign language (you won't be able to learn every language that you'll encounter on your trip, but pick one for the sheer fun of it!) 6) Grin secretly because you know what's coming....you've got two years of hee-hee to enjoy...

Almost all of us who call ourserlves "regulars" have attempted to write an answer to this kind of question at tone time or another. And some of the longset (and perhaps best written) answers appear on one of numerous message "threads" here. I have listed four of the beter ones below: ======================================= How do you plan your European trip? http://www.fodors.com/forums/crossro...messagesframe& ======================================= Married 30 somethings-1st trip to Europe - suggestions? http://www.fodors.com/forums/crossro...messagesframe& ======================================= How do I begin to decide where I should go for a first trip to Europe? http://www.fodors.com/forums/crossro...messagesframe& ======================================= PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO EUROPE ? http://www.fodors.com/forums/crossro...messagesframe& ======================================= On two other threads (but none of the above), I have tried my own hand at expressing what various others have said in one form or another. I seem to have trouble finding these from time to time, so I am pasting them into this message to be easier to find, in the future. ======================================= Don't ask WHERE is the best of Europe nor how to get there fastest or cheapest. Ask WHY you want to go to Europe. Find out what Europe means to YOU - - and you will undoubtedly find out that it is not the place you thought it was. It is much more wonderful than you ever imagined - - more a mixture of old and new - - more familiar and more totally, overwhelmingly foreign - - if you are from the USA. Make a list of why you THINK you want to go - - to France - - to Liechtenstein - - to Poland - - to the Vatican - - to the church where your great-great-great-great grandparents were married - - and keep taking trips and revising the list, as long as you live. ======================================= With many such open-ended questions about a "vague" trip to Europe - - the first question is not "where" but "WHY"? WHY do YOU want to go to Europe. There are a million good reasons, but what are YOUR reasons? There are as many good reasons as there are people going to Europe. What does Europe mean to you? to your partner? to the kids? Has anyone studied a language other than English? Would you prefer to go to the British Isles? Can you connect family origins to Europe? Are you attracted to Prada stores? Porsches? Would you like to taste an onion tart? ======================================= Best wishes, Rex

Although everyone gave great advice re determining what interests you, I'd like to note something that helped me my first time over: We went to London first and it was great because you are able to acclimate yourself easier to customs unfamiliar with you if you have one advantage--in this case, speaking the language. Less fear wandering streets, getting lost, asking directions, ordering food, etc. We didn't have the chunnel then, but having it now means you can spend a long weekend in London, get your bearings and be in Paris or Brussels in 3 hours OR take advantage of the great inter-contenintal fares to fly on to Rome or any other European city. Just a thought...

All of the above posts gave great general advice; have a great time planning! I visited Europe for a month in 1990 (France for 2 weeks, Austria & Switzerland for 2 weeks), and here are my pointers for a long (long for me; haven't been able to take a trip that long since then) trip: - I got really tired of moving from place to place. Try to schedule several stops that are longer, maybe even a week. If there's a spot that really interests you, town or country, rent a house or an apartment and spend a week there. - I got tired of eating in restaurants, waiting for my food to be served, and waiting to pay to leave (the Europeans are oh-so-polite in letting you stay at your table as long as you want, but the converse problem is snaring them to pay when you ARE ready to leave!). Try to schedule picnics and even self-serve places (or fast food if you must) to vary the eating routine. - Once you've narrowed down your destinations a little, break down your planning by region or country. I found it easier to plan "2 weeks in France" and "one week in Austria," and so on, separately. Somehow it was easier to digest. - On the trips where I've visited more than one country, I have problems with the languages. I'm the self-designated language person of my family, but have a hard time boning up on French and Italian (for example) at the same time. Maybe each of you can work on learning some of different languages. Have a great time!

Hi deb All of the above advice is terrific. We have been 3 times and the last 2 were much better than the first. The reason was better preparation. This entailed 1. Finding a travel book that was in tune with how we like to travel (or opinionated enough to provide options). In our case it was Rick Steves and a good European Atlas for indedpendent driving. 2. Devising an itinerary that took in the type of activities we like and wanted to see, as well as variety. (not every day in a museum or church, limiting one night stops. 3. Reasonable amount of luggage (there are whole threads devoted to this subject.) 4. Good coordination. Reservations in advance (this is also debated elsewhere), email set up for communications, ATMs for cash. 5. A sense of adventure and humor when things do not go quite as planned. Have a wonderful trip!

Decide what you like and what you have always wanted to see. Don't move around too much and leave slack days in the itinerary so you can stay longer when you find a place you like. But do plan carefully for major sites so you will know when they are closed, best hours to visit, how to get tickets in advance, etc. Start with easy countries where people are friendly and tourists are welcome (British Isles/Ireland, Scandinavia, Italy, Turkey) and skip or spend minimal time in nationalistic countries that go out of their way to be rude/unhelpful and make you feel unwelcome (Spain, Germany). To me, about one third of the fun of a trip comes from meeting the people, one third from sightseeing, and the rest from food, wine, travel-magic moments and new experiences.