kperez8789

I am traveling with my daughter to Europe for 18 days. We will be going to Scotland, France, Italy and Germany. Besides the popular places, what would you consider a must see. This is our first time and my only time I will be able to go. Thank you in advance for your tips.

mjdh1957

That's four big countries in less than three weeks. Where in each country do you most want to go? I could give you a list of places that I would like to go to in all of them but that may not be the kind of place you want. What interests you in each one and why have you chosen these four countries? Do you want cities or small towns or rural?

Also, allow time to travel between countries. It will be a full day for each transfer most likely.

StCirq

I don't know how anyone could answer this question without loads more information from you about your interests and what draws you to those countries. I could list 4,000 things I would consider "must-sees" in France alone. The "popular places" in those four countries could keep you busy all by themselves for a few years.

Why did you pick those countries and is it really the only time you'll be able to go?

nytraveler

Seeing even parts of 44 countries in so few days will be ahuge rush. Trying to add something to the "popular places" will make a trip months long.

You do need to tell us more.

For instance - what do you see as the "popular place" in Germany? Munich? Berlin? romantic road? Rhine valley? Black forest? alps? there are dozens of options.

The same for all the other countries.

If you give us someplace to start - interests? Time of year? Budget? How you plan on getting from one place to another (air? train?) people can begin to make recommendations.

kperez8789

I realized once I pressed the button that I did not give much information. Thank you for replying anyways. We are going in July 2012. My aunt left me a little money and that is why I can afford to go this one time. We are still trying to decide what it is we want to see. In Scotland we will be going to the Tweed Valley area for three nights. We will be in Frankfurt, Germany for three nights. Paris for four nights, Florence, Italy for four nights and Rome for four nights. I was thinking of traveling mostly by plane. We would like to visit places off the beaten track in France and Italy. We want to see the popular spots also. I guess what I am asking is if I can only see one extra place near Florence, Rome and Paris, what would you suggest. I do not have a big budget. I would say it is a modest budget. Thank you again for taking the time to help me.

Michael

Frankfurt--with all due respect to its residents--is not one of the must see cities of Germany. Munich would be a better choice, giving you the opportunity to take a day trip to Neuschwanstein, among others.

For what you want to do, a tour might be the best, perhaps a tour for the Continent and a separate tour of the Tweed valley. We had a car in Scotland, and I can't imagine seeing the Tweed valley via public transportation.

StCirq

Skip Frankfurt - huge bore. Add more time to the other places. And even if you do, you hardly have time to get outside the big cities to visit other places (other than Florence, where a daytrip to Siena or Pisa or some other Tuscan town would be a good choice).

You're not going to be able to do the Tweed Valley without a car.

adrienne

<< Besides the popular places, what would you consider a must see >>

I'm not sure what you mean by "popular" but you're not giving yourself enough time in any destination to see what the first-time visitor usually sees. For instance, you'll have about 2.5 days in Paris which is not enough time to take in the Eiffel Tower, well-known museums, Arch of Triumph, Notre Dame, etc.

You also want to leave the city to see something "off the beaten track" which means going a ways outside Paris. There are probably hundreds of small towns that would be considered off the beaten track but why would you want to go to any of them. There won't be anything of much interest to a first-time tourist (or really to any tourist) and especially someone who only has a short time in Paris. You'll also need to rent a car since many towns won't have public transport or if they do, the public transport will be limited and may not be every day.

You'll have a day and a half in Paris and one day outside Paris.

You'll have the same situation in the Florence/Rome area - rental car to explore small towns and cutting down the time in Florence and Rome.

I think you need to be realistic with your 18 days to ensure an enjoyable trip. It's really no fun to run around and spend lots of time getting to places that are far from each other. And short times in each destination won't give you a taste of the towns/cities.

Here are my suggestions for places outside Paris, Florence, and Rome but they are definitely not off the beaten track. They are known to tourists.

Paris: Compiegne - the closest, most off the beaten track town I know of. But I would recommend staying in Paris or seeing Versailles or Giverny if you want a day outside Paris.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/11/02...2hourfrom.html

Florence/Rome: Orvieto - you can stop here overnight between Florence and Rome.

Although I enjoy Frankfurt I do agree with Michael, above, that some place in Bavaria would be better (more picturesque).

Why did you choose places like the Tweed Valley and Frankfurt?

kperez8789

Thank you for your replies. I do genealogy and my family came from the Tweed Valley and from Germany. After your advice, I will look up just where in Germany. I am grateful for your comments. It looks like I will have to scale back on my expectations. Thank you all very much.

easytraveler

You have a total of 18 days, of which 8 days are in Italy. Is there something special about Italy that makes you want to spend almost half your time there?

I'd agree with the others - definitely not Frankfurt unless your family tree leads you there.

Sassafrass

Since this is your first time (and you say, the only time you will ever be able) to go to Europe, plus you have only 2&1/2 weeks, I suggest that you start by reconsidering your trip this way.

Do not think of countries, but of the three or four places or cities that you have dreamed of seeing your whole life or at least for a long time. Kind of connect those three geographically and decide how much time for each.

Then look at the next two or three places you may have dreamed of and see if they might fit logically with the first group. If those do not work, stick with your first places and see what is near them that you would like to see, or tell fodorites exactly what you are most interested in and they will help with suggestions. What are the things you want most to see: museums, cathedrals, etc.? What experiences do you hope to have: hiking by a river, sitting at a sidewalk cafe, etc.?

With the time you have, and wanting to see major sights, there isn't much time for "off the beaten path" stuff, but some fodorite might be able to make suggestions if they know what you like.

You do not want to spend a lot of your precious (and expensive) time in Europe sitting on a train, bus or airport/plane.

I must 100% agree with Michael. I lived in Frankfurt for three years, like the city well enough, and for a variety of reasons have flown into and out of it, but Frankfurt would for sure not be on my list of places to visit on a first and possibly only trip to Europe.

With trips, one person's budget hotel is another's luxury, so hard as it is to talk in real terms, an actual dollar amount is useful for giving advice.