Denisse

Hi everybody. I would aprecciate your help very much. I´m planning to go to Europe with my husband, (he is 32 and I´m 28) the first 3 weeks of april 2001. We would like to go to London and stay there for 5 days, Paris for another 5 days, and Brugges , Amsterdam, Leysin ( in Switerzland just for one day to visit an aunt) , Salzburg and Hallstat. so if you can give me an advice about: 1) How many days in each city and in which order (route), 2) I don´t know if is better to do all by train or some routes by car. 3) Charming hotels or hostels , if they´re with view, the better. And if it´s possible cheap. Thank you to you all

Carol

Denisse: <BR>You can find tons of information on this board, but be more specific. <BR> <BR>Have you been to Europe before? What is your hotel budget or your overall budget? <BR> <BR>If you do some searches, you'll get lots of good info and if you post more specific questions, you'll get tons of great answers!

Karl

Denisse <BR>Here are some thoughts. I base on these on assuming that you have not made air arrangements yet - if you have then these might not work. <BR> <BR>Fly into London, spend 4 days of so there seeing all of the sights (get a good guide book to help you). <BR> <BR>From London, take the Eurostar (the chunnel train) to Brussels (3 hours), then connect by train to Amsterdam, maybe 2-3 days there, which could include a day trip to Brugge. Personally I would go to Brugge and spend 2 nights and one whole day. <BR> <BR>From Amsterdam (or Brugge) take the train to Paris, then spend about 4 days there seeing all the sights and enjoying (again get good book). <BR> <BR>From Paris you can train to Zurich (not sure where Leysin is, may want to train to nearest city Geneva? Bern? whatever) and then either train from there to Leysin to see aunt or rent a car for a couple of days. <BR> <BR>From Switzerland a car would be useful, then you could drive to Salzburg and Hallstat, then into Bavaria for Newschwanstein castle, etc, then on to Munich. <BR> <BR>Fly home from Munich, or if you still have time drive the romatic road to see Rothenburg ending up in Frankfurt and fly home from there. <BR> <BR>One thing to consider, picking up car in Switzerland and dropping in Germany will involve huge drop off fee. You might consider taking train from Paris to Munich, picking up car, then driving trip to Salzburg, Hallstat, over to Leysin to see aunt (if not too far), then you can return car in Munich or Frankfurt when you fly home. <BR> <BR>Have fun. One of the funnest parts of any trip is the planning. Spend some serious time reading, researching, and you will come up with a reasonable plan. <BR> <BR>Good luck.

carolyn

Denisse, we spent a night in Leysin. We were told it was about three miles from Montreaux, and that was true--but the three miles are straight up and there are no guard rails. I was awakened at 4:00 a.m. by church bells chiming the hour. There was a full moon and a cool breeze blowing in the open french doors. I went out on the balcony and had a private travel moment. <BR> <BR>We did some sightseeing in the area. Montreaux is on the lake and is charming. If you have not visited there before, you may want to allocate some time for it.

Denisse

Thank you very much to all of you.Carol: I went to Europe about 11 years ago but it´s my husband'first time <BR>there. I spent one month studying in Cambridge, a long weekend in Edinburgh, ant then Paris, Zurich, Innsbruk, Zurich, Venice, Florence, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Luxemburg. I love travelling, and it´s was the happiest time in my life, and that´s why I want this trip to be as good as the other. I want my husband to know and to experience the same happiness that I felt in Europe. And I want it to be a very romantic trip as we´re planning to have a baby the following year. As to know me better, I especcialy loved Paris, Austria, Switerzland and London but not liked very much Florence and Barcelona. About our overall budget we are not sure yet as we intend to save more money in the next months, we supposed about 6.000 or 7.000 dollars, but we are from Uruguay in South America and the flight tickets from here to Europe costs around 1,250 each. <BR>In London and in Leysin we already have accomodation as we have relatives there. <BR>Karl: I really liked your ideas. SOme questions: Is it safe and easy to drive around Austria and Switerland? As we´re from and small country with no freeways, we´re a bit afraid to get lost or have an accident, although I think that driving around Salzburg, Hallstat and Leysin must be better than taking trains as I imagine this route has magnificient scenery. We still haven't made air arrangement. I agree with you that planning is the funniest part of a trip, I'm already enjoying this trip, I spend several hours in the internet searching for information, and I appreciate your help very much. Thank you again and happy holidays.

Sjoerd

Hola Denisse! Where in Uruguay are you from? I have been there many times: I love Montevideo and Punta del Este. <BR>Try to find an "open-jaw" ticket flying into London and back to Uruguay from Paris. Varig flies to both London and Paris so they should be able to offer you a good fare. <BR>I would do the follwoing itinerary: <BR>1. arrive London and stay four nights <BR>2. Take Eurostar train to Brussels and connect to Brugge, stay 2 nights <BR>3. Take train from Brugge to Amsterdam, stay 3 nights. Do a day trip to the flower fields (tulips!) near Amsterdam which are their best in April. <BR>4. Fly from Amsterdam to Geneva with Easyjet. Very cheap if you book early (see: www.easyjet.com) Visit aunt in Leysin one night <BR>5. Take train to Salzburg, stay in Salzburg two nights <BR>6. Hallstat one night <BR>7. Train or plane to Paris, and stay 7 nights. Day trip to Loire castles recommended. <BR>Have a great trip (un viaje barbaro!) y Feliz Navidad

Denisse

Sjoerd: I'm happy you like my country . I think is a really cool place to live if you have the opportunity to travel. Now I'm in Montevideo, where I live but tomorrow I'm going to Punta del Este as we`re going to spend Christmas with my parents there. Have you been here for holidays or because of work? And where are you from? I really like the itinerary you've made for us, thank you very much. I will continue searching the internet to make the best of this trip. I also noticed that you've learned some typical words in spanish , congratulations. And Feliz Navidad to you too.

dick

Denisse <BR> <BR>I emailed you direct <BR> <BR>did you receive? <BR> <BR>Dick <BR> <BR>

Denisse

Dick: ´Thank you very much for your information. I mailed you back but my server return my email saying that it was imposible to deliver it. do you have another email address?

Bob Brown

I think you need to take a good look at your travel times before you start making hotel reservations. It is easy enough to get to Lausanne from Paris on the TGV -- the scheduled time is about <BR>4 hours. From there, Leysin is about another hour plus. The trip from Leysin to Salzburg is a non trivial time requirement: nearly 10 hours of train time. Driving is no easy chore either because it is a long ways. The shortest in terms of distance way is through the mountains, which takes you over some twisting passes. <BR> <BR>We spent 5 days in Paris on our first trip, and quickly decided that a return trip was in order. You can put a good dent in the list of "must see" items in Paris in 5 days, but this leaves no time for side trips. <BR> <BR>I think two full days, perhaps 3, will be sufficient for Salzburg. We were there for 1.5 days and that squeezed it a little. We were on the go constantly, and did not get down to Heilbrunn Castle. We did have time to tour the churches, the Festspiel House, take a Sound of Music Tour (wretched tour), and visit Hohensalzburg -- the big castle on the hill. <BR>Trying to do London in 5 days is about like doing Paris in 5 days. You can see a lot, but there will be a few things you will miss. <BR>Because of the travel time involved in your side excursion to Leysin, and the cost of getting there, it seems to bad that you have such a short time in those beautiful mountains. I would not underestimate that aspect of your trip. <BR> <BR>You did not indicate what kind of a budget you are on, but I can suggest the Gasthaus Hotel Zur goldenen Ente in Salzburg. (At the Golden Duck.) <BR>It is in the old city and is a quaint place. The food there, including the breakfast was good. The breakfast was postively outstanding.

Bob Brown

Hi again Denisse. <BR>In thinking more about your trip, I have one suggestion. Visiting Salzburg is a major travel time investment. In essence, you will invest 2 days coming and going. Unless you are absolutely committed to visiting Salzburg, why not save it for the next time? Invest your time in Paris, London, Brugge, Amsterdam, etc. <BR>True, I was there last summer and enjoyed it. But my wife lived quite happily and well for over 62 years before she ever got there. Interesting yes, essential no. <BR>