ozrick33

Greetings from Australia. My wife and I are taking our first trip to Europe, next April. We have four days in Scotland (Edinburgh), five days in London and six days in Rome. Any suggestions about what to see, avoid etc would be most welcome. Thank you, Rick

pjsmart

With respect to Rome, start with a good guide book for the city, such as DK Eyewitness Travel. Do not rent a car in Rome. Get a hotel convenient to public transportation (unless you plan to hire a private car). Venere.com is good for hotels.
Then, decide what types of places you most want to visit. The Colosseum, Forum and other sights in central Rome are a natural. Start early in the morning for the Vatican Museum.
If you're interested in early Christian history, go to the Catacombs at San Callisto. You can get there on the 118 bus, which departs across the street from St John Lateran. There's a small trattoria, where you can have lunch, adjacent to the bus stop if you arrive when the catacombs are closed at midday (noon - 2:30).
You'll see a lot of places in six days, but you'll just scratch the surface with regard to what there is to see in Rome.

Melissa5

Rick Steves guidebook for Rome is among the very best. Just get a guidebook for Rome which is very readable for you...one that you'll actually read.

pjsmart is right, don't drive in Rome. Decide what you want to see and then try to get a hotel in an interesting fairly central neighborhood...we loved staying within walking distance of the Pantheon. You can walk or take cheap public buses if you choose a good hotel location in Rome.

Have to go right now, enjoy!

traveller1959

Hi Rick,

good to hear that you will come and visit us here in Europe.

I know all three places you are planning to visit.

However, your question is rather unspecific to give proper answers. Tell us a little more about your interests, look into guidebooks, and ask more specific questions. Then we will be able to help you better.

ozrick33

Thank you all for excellent responses. I will try to be more specific here. I have been reading Rick Steves guidebook extensively and I am amazed what a brilliant resource that is. Very practical and helpful. I cannot imagine that I will be driving in Europe. It seems a bit daunting and not driving is for me a holiday in itself.

My wife and I are in our 40’s so getting about is easy and we have travelled overseas quite a bit so we don’t mind trying new things and using public transport etc. We have generally found people are very helpful all over the world; just have to ask for help.

We don’t drink so wineries etc hold no interest to us but history certainly does. Love good food and good art.

Here are some specific questions:

1. In London are there any day tours that might take in many of the major attractions without feeling “rushed” through them?

2. I have seen a day trip to Paris suggested that uses the chunnel train. Has anyone done a trip like this?

3. How easy is it to get out of Rome for a day to a coastal or countryside town and are there any recommended towns to perhaps get a less urban feel of Italy?

Thanks so much for your help, Rick from Australia

traveller1959

Hello Rick:

(1) You can easily explore London on your own and at your own pace. Many attractions you can simply reach by walking, otherwise the underground train system is very convenient. We found it never necessary to take an organized tour.

Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's, Kensington Palace, the Tower etc. - just go there, buy a ticket and enter.

My tip: When visiting the Tower, go there as soon as they open and see the crown jewels first, before it gets crowded.

(2) The Eurostar takes around 2:40 from Waterloo Station to Paris-Gare du Nord and runs about once an hour. Reserve your ticket in advance. From Gare du Nord you can reach everything with the Metro within a couple of minutes.

(3) You will already get a less urban feeling when you visit the catacombs just south of the city (take a taxi). Other options are

- Tivoli with Hadrian's Villa, the most impressive Roman ruins. 20km from Rome.

http://www.villa-adriana.net/
http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/901_Hadrians_Villa.html

You take the Metro line B to Ponte Mammolo and from there the Cotral buses.

- Ostia Lido (beach) and Ostia Antica (the ruins of the Roman harbour)

http://www.ostia-antica.org/

You take the metro to Piramide, Basilica San Paolo or Eur-Magliana; then change to the train to Ostia

- Fiumicino (where the airport is) has a nice harbour and good restaurants with local seafood.

janisj

traveler1959'sinfo re the Eurostar only applies until next week. From then on the train will use St Pancras Station in Londonn and will take less time getting to Paris.

A few comments -

A day trip to Paris is certainly doable, but I would not recommend it since you only have 5 days in London which won't even scratch the surface.

Also - Edinburgh is a terrififc city but it is small and doesn't take 4 days. (and 4 days isn't long enough for Edinburgh plus much of anything else in Scotland)

If you wanted - you could cut a day from Edinburgh and a day from Rome and do an itinerary someithing like this:

Edinburgh 3 days, London 5 days, Paris 2 days, Rome 5 days. 2 days isn't long enough for Paris of course - but 1000% better than a rushed day trip.

ozrick33

Thank you all for such helpful information. Our flights are alreday booked as we are using frequent flyer points for all of them but I am sure we can make these dates work. Perhaps we will get out of Edinburgh and explore Scotland a bit further out.

KayF

Hi Rick,
We are Australians too and have lived in the UK for a while now and done heaps of travelling. It makes such a difference being so close to Europe - it's fantastic.

I would also suggest having a few days in Paris if you can manage it. A day trip to Paris using the Eurostar is possible but would be quite tiring. Maybe better than nothing. The further ahead you book your Eurostar tickets, the cheaper it will be so don't leave it until the last minute. Easy to book online through the Eurostar website.

Edinburgh is great, make sure you visit the castle, there is a nice cafe for lunch inside the castle grounds, it overlooks the city. We had hot soup and a roll and it wasn't too expensive. You will find all of Europe, but especially the UK, very expensive on the Aussie dollar but there are ways to save money, such as picnics, eat away from the main tourist spots, look for special deals such as 2for1 offers etc.

If you get an apartment in London you can make some meals and that saves money, we also find we get sick of eating out for every single meal. The UK supermarkets (Tesco or Marks and Spencer) have lots of 'ready meals' which basically just need zapping in the microwave or oven. They are not too bad and easy to do if you have an apartment.

Near Edinburgh, you might enjoy the Falkirk Wheel, my husband thought it was amazing. They have a website. Also Roslin Chapel is nearby, if you have read the Da Vinci code, and even if you haven't.

For London, definitely do at least one guided London Walk with www.walks.com We have done about 4 or 5 since arriving here and they are really good. The Thames Pub Walk on a Friday night was excellent. They also have day trips with guided walks to places like Oxford, Cambridge, Canterbury etc.

If you like history, you would enjoy a day trip to Hampton Court Palace, easy trip by train from central London. Allow plenty of time, there is lots to see. Also Greenwich, we did a guided London Walk there and then spent some time on our own afterwards. This included a boat trip down the Thames complete with commentary - really interesting.

I could go on and on, lots to see and do. We find the Lonely Planet guidebooks the best, they are big on facts with great maps.

Best wishes
Kay