contessasmith

Hi,
I'm deciding between Prague, Amsterdam, and Dublin for a five week law school summer abroad. Having a hard time picking one!!
Has anyone been to all three and have a favorite? I like to run, go to museums, eat and drink. Also concerned with ease of getting to other cities (I'll have every weekend free).
Thanks.
Emily

centralmainer

I have been to all three -- unfortunately for your decision process, all three would be worth a five week stay. From Dublin, you could explore many Irish cities on the weekends; from Prague, much of the Czech Republic (Budapest & Vienna might be too far for a weekend trip from Prague) From Amsterdam on weekends you could go to Belgium and parts of Germany.

Dublin and Amsterdam have some good parks to run in. All three cities have excellent night spots. Prague has the least expensive prices on food and drinks.

For me, I would select Prague because I believe it has the "more difficult feel" to it.

Sandylan

If you are spending five weeks in a city there is a lot to be said for spending it in an English-speaking city such as Dublin. In that time you can easily get to know some of the locals and with a bit of luck make friends for life.

smueller

Amsterdam would certainly be a better base city to explore other European cities and countries than Prague or Dublin.

contessasmith

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

Kutya

Hi, contessasmith.

Wow! I really envy you your choice here.

I've been to all three cities. I enjoyed Prague and Amsterdam most. I've returned to Amsterdam many times since my first visit there.

If the choice were mine (yes, big personal bias here), I'd go for Amsterdam. I also think it fits all your criteria very well.

It's a great place for running (it's flat), and the Vondelpark is full of runners, cyclists, skaters, and skateboarders, and is a very pretty place, great for people-watching and just wandering and relaxing in too.

There is a huge variety of museums in Amsterdam, eg 'The Big Three' of the Rijks, the Van Gogh and the Stedelijk, and fascinating places like the Museum of the Tropics, the Resistance Museum, the Theatre Museum, the Bible Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Sex Museum, the Cat Museum, the Maritime Museum, etc. Some of these are set in gorgeous 17th century canal houses on the Canal Belt, the interiors of which are well worth seeing.

The restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs are also many and varied. Many different cuisines are well catered for. Indonesian restaurants in the Netherlands are great, and the traditional brown bars are the cosiest, friendliest bars I've ever been in.

I don't know if this is important to you, but nearly every Dutch person speaks exceptionally good English, and usually at least one other language. I have made a number of really good, very dear friends and acquaintances in Amsterdam over the years, whom I see every time I return there.

Other towns and cities that are pretty (or very) easy to reach include Brugge, Antwerp, and Gent in Belgium, and Utrecht, Den Haag (and the seaside town of Scheveningen close by), Leiden, Delft, Haarlem (only fifteen minutes by train), and Maastricht in the Netherlands, and Cologne in Germany. (I agree with smueller, one of the previous posters on this thread.)

I'd love to hear where you eventually decide upon. You really can't go wrong with any one of your choices.

I wish you all the best with your decision.

wondering

I don't there is a bad choice here. They are all good spots. Having been to all three as an OLDER traveller, I think as a 20-something (are you?) I would choose Dublin. There are so many young professionals as well as students. I understand the music scene is really good there too... You might want to consider summer weather in your decision too...(If we could all have such difficult decisions...ha!)

nytraveler

Have been to all 3 cities and love all of them.

It's true that not everyone in Prague speaks English - but many do and it's becoming more common daily. Naturally they do in Dublin and I've never met anyone in Amsterdam that didn;t speak at least basic English (they show British and American TV shows in English there and it;s required in all schools).

Are the courses identical in each place?

I would probably do Dublin in the summer just because the weather is likely to be not as hot as Prague, with Amsterdam a close second. (But then I HATE hot weather.)

leather1026

True, three great choices but I too would go to Amsterdam, I lived there for 7 years and have also made wonderful friends, Prague too, is great but if you want to travel on weekends then Amsterdam is the better choice, cheap flights to other european cities on easy jet, berlin air, virgin express etc, plus of course the train, and also there are many wonderful cities and towns in the Netherlands,

contessasmith

Well, I chose Prague. Mostly because I like challenges, and I think going there alone will be challenging. But also because the Amsterdam program had closed by the time I was ready to apply!
Thanks for all of your help. If anyone has suggestions on Prague in general I would love to hear them.
emily