Hello, I am temporarily relocating to London for work for months of November and December. I'm from NYC and I've never been to Europe in my life and I'm pretty much clueless.
I am aiming to take weekend trips to different European cities (Fri night - Sun night). I have already picked out Paris, Amsterdam, and Brussels to travel with friends.
Other weekends, I will be traveling alone. I've thought about Madrid, Barcelona, Prague, Milan (I would like to do Italy and Greece some other time when I get two fulls weeks), Canary Islands and Morocco (is it too dangerous for a female traveler?) for weekend trips.
Any suggestions or tips? I'm a 25 yr old female that love good eats, bars, clubs, culture, museums, beaches, skiing, etc. I'm pretty much open to anything.
I will also like any feed back on which (decent value) hotels to stay in, which tourist sites are must see, what to eat and where to eat, in all major cities.
Also, what's the best way to travel to each city from London? Which airline and trains are the cheapest?

Any response is very much appreciated!

- Clueless in Europe

I'd go to a local bookstore and get some European travel books like Rick Steves Europe Through The Back Door and others (Fodors is good, Lonely Planet is more of a starving student's guide to Europe) and find some ideas about what you're interested in.

Flying between European cities will be a good option since flights can be purchased cheaply and could cut down some travel time.

Personally if I had that kind of time, the cities you mention are good, but I'll guarantee you'll need more than one weekend in Paris. I'd count on spending at least three there.

And don't forget to give London its due, as well as other cities in the UK.

A weekend in Scotland or Ireland are close and would be a lot of fun, and you might find some of the people you work with willing to go somewhere close by with you as well.

If you're in New York, nowhere in Europe is more dangerous than NYC. The big cities of the world are all pretty much the same. You watch where you're going, don't get drunk in a bar alone, and you can pretty much go anywhere.

Happy travels,

Jules

Start by clicking on DESTINATIONS above. There is good info about most every major city in Europe.

Then decide which 4 or 5 you might want to visit. Do remember that Nov and Dec are cold/wet and have short daylight all over Europe.

Also - the "low cost" carriers are only low cost if you book well ahead. Last minute booking can be VERY expensive. So unless money is no object, you should try to buy your air tix as soon as possible. Even before you get to London.

I most definitely would not try to leave London/the UK every weekend. There is a LOT to see and do in London and if you are gone every weekend you will miss most of it.

You are so lucky!

www.whichbudget.com will tell you the budget carriers that fly from London to other destinations in Europe.

The Eurostar train to Paris is nice and doesn't take very long. It is very easy, since it runs from the center of the cities.

With your wide array of interests, you really can't go wrong anywhere.

I would say to definitely see Prague if you are interested in a beautiful Baroque fairy tale of a city.

And while Milan is a great jumping off point for the Italian lakes (probably not the best destination in Nov. and Dec.), the city itself is not very pleasant in my opinion.

Definitely Edinburgh and maybe Glasgow too.

Bruges may be more fun than Brussels.

Cologne or somewhere else with a good Christmas Market

cko,
I notice no German cities on your list. I would definitely recommend Munich for a solo female traveler. The inner city is very walkable, with a great variety of restaurants and sights, and Bavarians are so friendly. On our recent trip we just spent an afternoon and evening wandering around, but there are also supposed to be some great museums if the weather isn't so good.

Skyscanner's web site gives you good flights at cheap prices but basically just go on the stansted airport web site and see where they fly to. For someone based in London this gives the best cheap flights.

Look at taking the train to Paris and Brussels. If the French are your thing then you can take more trains to other cities or fly there. Bordaux (sp) and the southern cities are all charming while the food is great and you can learn so much of old europe by visiting France's countryside cities.

Amsterdam/Rotterdam good by ferry or flights, well worth a weekend and English is spoken very well here if you lack language skills.

After that tak to work mates

do not limit your airfare search to budget airlines.. especially from stansted, as travel times and fees to GET to airports must be taken into account.

remember to check ALL airlines, as many of the traditional ones have better schedules and leave and arrive at more conveneient airports for little more (SOMEtimes!).

have fun.

so nice you can do this!

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I will definitely have to research more and take every city into consideration...
One last questions - what are the difference between all of London's airports? There are so many! Which is the best one from heart of the city?

There are 5 main airports - London City is flat easy - It is practically in central London - well just a bit east.

Then Heathrow and Gatwick are about equally convenient. Gatwick is farther out but has very good rail connections to different parts of central London. Heathrow give you the choice of Tube, train to Paddingtion, or a car service.

Then Stansted and Luton are north of the city - Luton being the farthest away.

One note - the Eurostar to Paris or Brussels/Brugge is really great, but just like flying, walk up fares are very expensive. Discounted excursion tickets must be purchased well in advance.

Thanks for all the information!
I've been trying to find out the difference on London airports on web but was helpless. Fodor's really is the best!

Planning trips to 7 different cities in span of 2 months is quite a torture for me! I'm still clueless...

I am arriving London Oct 15.
I'm considering a solo trip to Edinburgh for oct-21/22. Should I fly out or take the train?

My boyfriend is coming to visit Oct 27th so I was thinking I can tour all of London with him instead.
The following weekend, we are planning to spend 3 days in Paris.
Weekend after that, Nov. 11, we are planning to spend Friday night and Saturday in Amsterdam since he is leaving Sunday.

My friends are visiting the following weekend, so we are planning to do Paris/Brussels in 3 days.

Weekend after that, I will be flying back to NYC for Thanksgiving.

Month of December is still wide open. I can't decide on which city I really want to check out! There are too many to choose from!

What's the city to be in for New Year's Eve?

I know you guys might think I'm crazy with my scheduling, but I'm very active and I'd rather forfeit sleep for adventure!

With two months, and one weekend flying back to NYC... well I think 7 places is too many. Do you really want to (and can you afford to?) to away every single weekend?

My personal three must see favorite cities would be Amsterdam, Paris, and Venice.

I don't really think Morocco or Greece fits in very well. Not because of 'dangerous' just it's seems hardly worthwhile for quick 2-day trips.

As far as choosing, don't you have any feelings pro or con towards people, language, places??? Places you've dreamed of wanting to see?? I guess for me I'd say something like I'm drawn to the French culture but not so much the German (no offense anyone), for example.

Edinburgh is the one palce you really should be on New Year's it is one big Hogmanay. I wouldnot go in Oct as you haver planned, and I would fly but you need to book this up for New year now as the demand is high. Everyone want's to be in Edingburgh for Hogmanay.
Does you boyfreind really want to do Paris. You have planned Paris again with Brussels when you friends arrive. I think a much more romantic trip to do with your boyfriend is Prague.

I really wouldn't plan on so many trips. Especially if you are on any sort of budget. Even a low-end weekend will cost you $500, and as much as $1000 w/o any splurging.

Have you considered taking some time at the beginning or end of your time in London and take a couple of weeks to tour around? It would be a LOT cheaper since you'd only be flying from/to London once. Plus you'd have more time in each city.

In two months - and taking into consideration how much there is to see/do in London, I wouldn't want more than 2 or 3 weekends abroad.

You don't say what type of work you will be doing, when you move to London for a few months. This may have a knock on effect of helping to decide what you can and can't do. You may have a very demanding job that will wear you out, or have to do long hours so weekends may end up being shorter than you thought. I must admit Imy first thought wow was she is going to try and do too much. Then I thought about it more. Hey your still young, moving to Europe to work, you want to make the most of it. I am not sure what your circumstances are, and let's face it no can predict what may happen, but you may never get such a good chance to see as much of Europe as you can again. I say go for it, you may live to regret it when older if you did not make the most of it, but don't forget to save some weekends for the UK to chill out and see places like Bath etc. Easyjet is one of the cheap airlines that I know flies from London, not sure who else does.

Scotland is the place to go for new year's. But don't restrict yourself to the capital. Try the Orkneys for example and the strangest game in the world is played that day.

Amsterdam is good but you want to book rooms ahead. either try small hotels in the circle of cannels near the centre or try a different town HArlaam is nice and the trains can take you in and out as you please

"What's the city to be in for New Year's Eve?"

Edimburgh is THE city for New Year's Eve (known as Ho,gmanay in Scotland), but it's vastly popular so if you fancy it, you'll need to book NOW (flights and hotel). You'll also need to get tickets to get into the main street party. Go, you'll never regret it.

http://www.edinburghshogmanay.org/

No one mentioned Turkey. Yes, you will sit on the plane for another hour, but it will be warmer there and Turkey is much cheaper than the rest of Europe.

I think the idea to take a couple weeks off after the assignment, if this is possible, is a MUCH better one than trying to fly somewhere every single weekend. It would also be much more cost effective.