Hi there,

I'm new to this forum and I like it very much... lots of useful information. I'm going to Europe for two months this summer. It's not my first time there (and hopefully not the last) and I actually travel quite often, so this is not one of those "once in a lifetime" trips where I want to "see everything in seven days". Part of my trip I will be alone or with European friends (Prague to Budapest, see below). The rest of my itinerary is with my wife and our teen daughter. All travel plans are made (flights, car, accomodations) and itinerary is set to the detail (and I'm very happy with my choices). I am looking for advice on specific local activities - good restaurants/pubs, reasonable "cheap eats", must-see stuff. Anyway, here is my trip listed by overnight city:

arrive Frankfurt July 4, get Renault short-lease car,
Luxembourg 2 nights
Reims 1 n
Thaon (Normandy - invasion beaches stuff) 2 n
Dinant (Belgium) 1 n
Frankfurt 1 n (stop for an airport pick-up)
Rothenburg 1 n
Nuremberg 2 n
Gad Gastein, Austria 7 n (RCI resort)
Heidelberg 1 n
Frankfurt 1 n (stop for airport drop-off)
Prague 3 n
Vienna 3 n
Graz 2 n
Budapest 2 n
Bucharest 2 n
Salonic? 1 n (stop-over drive)
Corfu, Greece 7 n
ferry Corfu - Bari 1 n
Rome 4 n
Tuscany 5 n (base is Florence/Chianti area)
Cinque Terre 3 n (Monterosso)
Rome 1 n (airport drop-off)
Sorrento 3 n
Colmar 1 n (I know, long drive
Strasbourg 2 n
Frankfurt 1 n (fly back to Canada Sep 1st)

I would appreciate any local advice and information ref. Luxembourg, Prague, Vienna, Graz, Corfu, Rome, Tuscany, 5T, Strasbourg (all new places for me), for example a good restaurant or beer house in Prague/Vienna/Graz, a Greek taverna, or a Tuscany wine/culinary tour idea.

Many thanks,
Chris

Oh, and what do you think about my itinerary? Took a long time to put together, flights, rooms, etc, to accomodate different requiremtns, work schedules & stuff... I'm quite proud of my work so far

Looks like an awful lot of moving about, a lot of time driving. 26 different places to sleep in about eight weeks. But that's how some people like to travel ...

I'd never to it myself. And I <i>like</i> road trips. Some of those one night stands leave you barely any time in the town.

Thaon > Dinant takes about 6 hours so you just have the one evening free.

Reims > Thaon is nearly a 5 hour drive so you'll have a little over 1 day in Normandy

Then you have legs like Colmar > Strasbourg which is less than 50 miles/1 hour.

Much of it is just very confusing.

I agree, Peter, normally I wouldn't advise this to someone else, but I am one of those people you refer to, and I am not new to Europe. Also, many driving trips between cities are only 1-3 hours long. We travel light so check-in/out hotels are not a problem. All places have convenient parking, I actually save a lot of time and money by driving.

Hi Janis,
Dinant is just a stopover for us on the road back to Frankfurt. The few evening hours in Dinant is all we need. I agree I wished I had more time for Normandy on this trip, but I'm planning to return very soon, so this is more like a recoinassance trip (pretty sure I misspelled that!)
Colmar we're visiting during the day then short drive to Strasbourg.

I agree it could be confusing for a third party, but like I said there's lots of planning into this to accomodate different things.

correction: between Heidelberg and Prague there is no night stop in Frankfurt, just a quick drop off at the airport.

I can help you with Prague and Beer Houses,lots of great ones
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members-reviews/unclegus
if you look through my various reviews you will see lots of places I have visited in Prague some of which are Micro breweries.
U Medvudku has a small micro brewery through the back and up thr stairs ,well worth visiting,the whole bar/resturant is very good with Tankova Budvar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bctTkRVRRQI
this link explains what tankova ber is and the Bar called U Veverky which is reviewed twice by myself.
Klasterini Pivovar does some of the best beer I have tasted ,in the Strahov monestry complex,food is also very good in there,not the cheapest but worth it in my opinion.
Jihomestsky pivovar is a bit difficult to find but worth the effort great beer and excellent food.
Novomestsky Pivovar is pretty central and does great beer,I have not been in there for a few years ,last time I was in the food was bloody terrible but I have heard it has since improved.it can get very busy with large grouos in the evening.
U Fleku is the biggest tourist trap in the city but a fun enough place and the beer very good and quite unusual, the accordian music will drive you mad after a while.
There are lots of good beerhalls in the city and this link will give you a good selection.
http://www.classiccitybrew.com/prague.html
I have been to most of these the only one I did not really like was Branicky Sklipek, got chucked out at 9.00at night after one beer,no idea why.
A new place to try lots of beers is The Prague Museum Pub (see my review)
It is owned by a guy from California and has about 30 beers to try,food is no great shakes (very limited choice) but beer excellent.
another place is Zly Casy, mostly locals but a few beer hunters find this place and are well rewarded for their efforts,not the nicest looking place but I liked it.

This is your friend:

www.inyourpocket.com

Likely that every site in the former Iron Curtain will have an entry and they cover the major German cities too.

Picking Greek tavernas is fish in a barrel - just go and don't sweat it.

Think that reverting back to Frankfurt is daft (the whole itinerary is ambitious). There has to be a way to open jaw this trip so you fly back to Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver (whichever) from Rome or Milan.

What are these airport drop offs? Dropping the car to fly and then getting a new car at the next site?

Have you considered and verified re: restrictions by rental companies for taking their cars into ____ (e.g., Czech Repub or Hungary or Romania)?

Vienna

Griechenbeisl
A-1010, Fleischmarkt 11
Tel: +43/1/533 19 77

Thai Kitchen
Schonbrunnerstrase 23
Tel: 01 586 78 85

Da Capo Ristorante Pizzeria
Schulerstrasse 18
Tel: 512 44 91

Ilona Stuberl
Wien, Braunerstrasse 2
Tel. ++43 (1) 533 90 29

Pizza Bizi
Wien, RotenturmstraBe 4
Tel. 513 37 05

1516 Brew Company
Krugerstrasse 18
Schwarzenberstrasse 2
Tel: 43-1-961-1516

Trattoria Santo Stefano
Dorotheergasse 3

Trzesniewski
Dorotheergasse 1,

Zum Basiliskin
Schonlaterngasse 3

Florence

Trattoria Marione***
Via della Spada 27R
055 214756

Trattoria al Trebbio
Via delle Belle Donne47/49 R

Trattoria Pizzeria Dante *****
Piazza Nazario Sauro 12 R

Acqua Al 2
Via Della Vigna Vecchia, 40
(Angolo via Dell’Acqua)

Coffee Shop Maioli
Via Guicciardini, 43

Osteria Santo Spirito
Piazza S Spirito, 16

Osteria del Rosso
Via Costa al Rosso 20
Grassina

Pizzeria Jimmy***
Via Costa al Rosso 19
Grassina

Ristorante Pizzeria Lorenzo De’ Medici

Ristorante Perseus*****
(Fiesole)
Piazza Mino 9R

Via del Giglio, 49/51r
Via del Melarancio 10r

Trattoria Garga
Via del Moro, 48

Trattoria Sostanza – Troia
Via del Porcellana, 25r

Rome

Al Boschetto
Via del Boschetto 30

Bartolomeo
Via Salaria, 215
(Owner of PontiSisto)

Brasserie Ristorante
Aperto tutti I giorn
Ore 19,30-1,000
06.4880457

Da Checco *****
Via Benedetta 10-13

Da Marco e Gloria
Via della Scrofa, 31

Cucina Romana
Da ot ello in trastevere
Via della Pelliccia 47
Pizza S. Egidio 53

Fagianetto
Via Filippoturati 21

Forno *****
Campo De’ Fiore, 22
Bakery & Pizza

Gino ai Funari
via dei Funari 21,
(Piazza Mattei)

Grappolo d’Oro
Piazza della concelleria, 80-81

Harry’s Bar
Via V. Vento 150

La Cabana
Via del Mancino 7/9
(btw SS Apostoli / Venezia)

La Piazzetta Ristorante
Vio del Buon Consiglio 23/A
06-6991640



L’Antica Birreria Peroni***
Via S Marcello, 19

La Romanella Ristorante
Borgo Pio, 124

Mille Panini
Via Eudossiana 20

Bakery / Panella *****
Btw SMM / SJL
L’Arte dei Pane
Via Merulana 54-55

Pierluigi Ristorante ***
Piazza de Ricci 144
06/68.61.302

Pontesisto *****
Via di Ponte Sisto, 80
065883411

Al Tavolino
Via G Fara 23

Ristoranto Asador café Veneto
Via V. Veneto 116

Ristorante Il Drappo
Vicolo del Malpasso 9
00186
06.6877365

Il Ristorante delle Due Colonne
Via del Seminario 122

Tre Pupazzi *****
GREAT PIZZA
Borgo Fio 183
Via dei Tre Pupazzi 1

Trattoria da Luigi *****
MY FAVORITE
Piazza Sforza Cesarini,24
06 6865946

BigRuss, airport stops during my trip are for family pick-ups or drop-offs. Renault short-term lease lets you take the car into any european country, no restrictions, and full insurance. Thanks for inyourpocket.com, I wasn't aware of it.

Cufflnx & Unclegus, thanks a bunch!

There is a popular eccentric place on Corfu, about 8klms from Town, around Kynopiastes villages, called "Trypas". Decoration is old fashioned bottled and barrels etc covered on hige spider nests! Although it is sort of a local attractions, and some years ago I was dissapointed to see that some nights there was a folclor touristy Greek dance show, food is yummy,although popularity reflects on the prices. I haven't been for some time on Corfu, but a friend visited last summer and said this place was still going strong and he really enjoyed his dinner.
On Thessaloniki, I am sure your hotel will give some suggestions and directions, If you are looking for something a bit "cult" there is a tiny tavern among the maze of narrow streets of market area, called Myrovolos Smyrni. Off Komninon street on arc Modiano. Heavy Northern Greece and Asia Minor Greek cuisine, some times live Greek music, this place is even mentioned on some old Thessaloniki songs. Be aware, not for everyone, you have to be a bit familiar with local culture and cuisine to appreciate it.
(I strongly suggest to try and fit a couple of nights on Salonica. It is a very interesting city with rich history, plenty of sites and museums, and a very vibrant ambience.)

you're welcome. I will be back in Prague in May for the Beer Festival and also spending a couple of nights in Brno so hopefully there be a few more places added to my review list.