Off the beaten path ideas
 

Hello,<BR><BR>I am headed off on my first trip to Europe on April 21. I plan to hit many of the places list here and in the guidebooks in Paris, London and Amsterdam (will be there for Queen's Day). <BR><BR>I would like to ad a few "off the beaten track" activities to my itinerary. I love to walk, am a sweet eater, would like to find a few quaint pubs or cafes. I am not big into museums or art (but do plan to hit the top spots), love musicals, beautiful scenary and interesting stories.<BR><BR>Also, since I am a woman travelng alone, tips of things to stay away from would be helpful.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance!!

Linda, go immediately to http://www.whatsonwhen.com for plenty of ideas.

Linda, you don't have to post the same question multiple times.

Thank you very much for the great responses. This board is terrific (I have become an addict in only 2 short days).<BR><BR>I realized a little too late that I could do one post and select multiple countries (vs posting in each country).<BR><BR>Thanks much for all the tips and ideas all over this board!!!!<BR><BR>-Linda

You don't even have to select multiple countries, Linda. The selection box is for searching, not posting. Welcome to Travel Talk.

Linda<BR>Be sure to take one of the excellent guided walks when in London- we took 'The Famous Square Mile' walk last Thurs which was excellent. There's so many to choose from, see the website www.walks.com or tel.020 7624 3978. You simply turn up at the stated time and pay the fee (about 5 GBP)<BR>'Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang' is the new musical in London & has good reviews.<BR>A sail up the River Thames from Westminster to Greenwich is interesting and scenic or a longer trip to Hampton Court would also be good.

Linda,<BR>You won't have any problems finding sweets in Paris, it seems like they're a pastry shop at every street corner in Paris. Make sure you have the croissants and the eclairs they are wonderful and completely different than in the US. You can just walk around and find quaint cafes in Paris, we found that if we always made sure there was a decent crowd the food was always good - if not, avoid it. We found a really neat little resturant on a quaint street near the Pantheon, take the road that goes north directly on the side of the Pantheon. Take it about 3 blocks or so, there's a quaint little resturant I belive it was called Sud Ouest (or something like that), the salmon and turkey were wonderful and so was the creme brulee. London is the place to go to the theater. I didn't see a musical, but I'm sure you'll be able to find some good ones. Also, make sure get lots of chocolates in Amsterdam.

Michelle & Meg, <BR><BR>Thanks for the additions!!!!<BR>-Linda<BR>P.S. Creme Brulee is my FAVORITE.

If you like bike riding, most train stations in the Netherlands will rent bicycles. I enjoyed riding around the Hague and up to the seaside.

Hi Linda, Not off the beaten path but in Amsterdam we throughly enjoyed the Ann Frank house. It was on the top of my list of things to do in Amsterdam. Also visited the Van Gough museum which was wonderful. Our daughter and her friends went to the red light district. Very colorful I hear! So many bicycles there. We saw a man in a business suit riding his bike and talking on his cell phone. Lots of canal cruises etc. you can do there as well. As for Paris, we leave on May 31. I can't wait to be there and try out some of those sweet shops found on every corner as a previous poster stated. Also, plan to visit all the famous tourist places and maybe take a day trip on the train to Giverny to the Claude Monet house and gardens which I hear is spectacular for photographing scenery etc. Have fun whatever you do!