Hi,<BR><BR>I've never been to Europe, nor has my boyfriend. We have 2 weeks... what would you recommend doing/seeing? I would really appreciate your thoughts.<BR><BR>Heidi

My personal favorite is Italy. Antiquities, good food, and shopping; Rome and Florence if you like larger cities and the hilltowns like Siena and Assisi if you enjoy smaller areas. Marilyn

thanks for your reply! A friend of mine told me to do this... let me know what you think. Fly into Paris, spend 3 or 4 days then take the train to Marsailles stay there a couple days then rent a car and drive along the Riviera to see the Wineries etc...

Flying into Paris would be a good start. But I'd pass on Marseilles and the Riviera. We spent a week on the Riviera and a week in Provence two years ago and I'd never go back to the Riviera. There are lots of great wineries in Provence and the scenery is incredible. So many charming hilltop villages. The Riviera just isn't indicative the France to me - busy, hot, expensive, glitzy...and I've heard nothing much that would recommend Marseilles to me.

Heidi, This is where you have to pick up a couple of guidebooks and see what interests you. I would be more inclined to do Venice, florence, Rome for two weeks or Paris, Venice,Florence. I am not a fan of the French Riviera and Marseilles is not an attractive place. It depends on if you prefer villages and you could rent a car and go at your leisure, or seeing all there is to see in cities like Paris, Florence etc. Once you start to read through books and more of the posts here it will start to make sense. Not to mention, this is your first trip to Europe but probably not your last.

Heidi,<BR><BR>You have to start with "why". Why do you THINK you want to go to Europe? What does it mean to you? Castles? Cathedrals? Fast cars? Paris fashions? Food? what kinds? Wine? or Beer and Pretzels? Hae you learned just enough about a language, history, culture, art, literature or some geographic wonder that you want to go see? go explore? go learn more?<BR><BR>I always recommend a good long hour (or three) at the library or bookstore - - or both - - with BIG picture filled books, coffee-table-sized books - - and find what makes you drool, what makes your heart go pit-a-pat.<BR><BR>Bring us back a list of ten places you think you'd like to see, and "we" - - the "regulars" (but newcomers have important contributions to make, even after one trip, otr sometimes just reading up, preparing for that first trip) - - we will help you pare it down to 2 or 3 and then add back a string of related places and easy side excursions to make it all work out for cost and logistics.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Thanks so much all of you for your reply. The only reason I want to go to Marsailles is because a friend of mine went a while back and loved it. When I go to Europe I would like to shop eat well, drink nice wine and maybe even go to a winery or 2. My main goal is to see history. I've only ever travelled to places like Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The reason we weer looking at doing the French Riviera is because my boyfriend has his heart set on seeing Monte Carlo, he loves to gamble. I love hearing what you guys have to say..... more if tou can

Heidi:<BR><BR>Europe is a continent with many, many disparate countries and cultures. If you want casinos, go to Las Vegas and spare yourself the expense of the casinos on the Riviera. Go to the library and/or a bookstore and READ (yes - new concept, eh? - about Europe - what catches your fancy?0 The hill towns of Tuscany?The beaches of Normandy? The pastry shops of Salzburg? Big cities like Paris, Rome, Copenhagen, Frankfurt? Do you prefer northern Europe or Southern Europe, the Baltic or the Mediterranean? YOU need to do some basic research before you come here and ask where should I go? How should we know? We don't know what you're interested in.<BR>Marseilles would be about 129th on my list of cities to visit in Europe, by the way.

You should find a travel agent. He/ She will help you choose based on your age, your interests and your budget.

Oh Heidi,listen to me. Go to the library and see if you can check out some Rick Steves travel videos for the areas you think you want to visit. Once you have decided where, then buy his books. These will give you general itinerary ideas but are not complete. You might also like Fodors or the Green Guide for more details. Also, look at the Rick Steves web site for ideas.<BR><BR>Monte Carlo? Don't forget a tux! <BR><BR>

There is no requirement for a tux in Monte Carlo - - not even in "The" Casino (and besides, there are some "other" casinos). A coat and tie pretty much IS required - - and a passport - - ON you at the time - - is absolutely required.<BR><BR>I think you re well on your way to planning a trip and there is no reason that it needs to encompass any geographic area any bigger than the south of France. You wouldn't grow bored there in two MONTHS.<BR><BR>I'll probably write more on this. What month(s)? How old are you? (only slightly relevant, actually - - as to whether you can rent a car, for example).<BR>

Heidi: I can't believe this is your name, because my dream trip in Europe came about because I always loved the movie, "Heidi." <BR><BR>What did you ever read in a book or see in a movie that made you say, "I'd love to see that!"?

to the top<BR>

Thanks again all of you for your responses. I live in the Turks and Caicos Islands and we don't have a library here. So my only source for info is here on the net. Plus we do have travel agents here but they are not much help with travel in Europe. My main reason for asking for your help was to get a feel of where peoples favorite places were. Rex, I'm 25 and my boyfriend is 31. What about this idea... fly into London stay for 4 days, take the chunnel to Paris and stay there for 4 days then take the train to Barcelona and stay there for 6 days......

Hi Heidi,<BR><BR>Kelly from Canada here. Have you heard about Contiki? That is how I was initiated into travelling. Now I feel comfortable to travel on my own, which I will be doing later this year. Contiki has a number to different trips for different budgets. Try the website. www.contiki.com, as see what you think! I would recommend that, from experience.

Don't you have two of these threads going, Heidi? I've lost track.<BR><BR>What happened to Marseilles and Monte Carlo?<BR>

Hi Rex,<BR><BR>Unfortunatley I do have 2 going. Sorry.<BR>This is my first time using this site and I screwd up. We have canned our plans for Marsailles and Monte Carlo as I got so much bad feeback about those places. Everyone raves about Barcelona, Paris and London.... so we thought we'd try that.

Heidi, I think your London and Paris plans are good, but to me Barcelona would really be on my C list (not even B) of places to see. (Not to mention there seems to be a fair amount of actual mugging--with weapons--there.) At any rate, no way would I spend 6 days there.<BR>If you don't have a library, go on-line and buy an overall Europe book to look at (Frommer's Europe, for example)--for such a trip you need to invest a little in research. Previous posters have suggested Rome, Florence, Venice, and there's lots of history and art there. When are you traveling? If you are traveling by train, you could go from Paris to Nice (and see Monte Carlo), thence to Italy. Are you buying open-jawed tickets (land one place, leave another)? How about London-Paris-Nice-Rome and home? Or shorten your London-Paris trip by a day each and include Florence or Venice.

topping again<BR>