wunderbar

Hi,

My son started college last September, St. Andrews in Scotland. We live in New York and this was his first legitimate foray into traveling abroad. He's got spring break starting 3/26 and I'm meeting him in London on the 29th. I thought I'd surprise him with a small trip 'somewhere' in Europe for a quick 3 day getaway. He's already been to Prague Amsterdam with his fellow students, and one of his friends lives in Paris so he'll be going home with her on their next long weekend. He's a history nut (his major is art history) and would enjoy an historic jaunt somewhere. I'm looking for interesting recommendations on a 3 day trip from London or Edinburgh (closest big city to the school) and I'll entertain air / train options as I'm up for anything intriguing. I just need to be back in London by 3/03 for flight back to New York.

Thanks...

Michel_Paris

Istanbul?

hetismij

Berlin?

bettyk

Vienna. There are enough top notch history and art museums in Vienna to keep any art history nut happy as well as the Hofburg Palace and Schoenbrunn Palace. The architecture is definitely worth a look and the food is great.

The "old town" is compact enough with excellent public transportation so you could see alot in 3 days.

It's a beautiful city with much to offer.

jamikins

Barcelona? Almost anywhere in Western Europe is reasonable from London for 3 days. What interests your son (and you?)

KTtravel

If you want to leave the country, I would probably check Ryan Air or Easyjet to see what the fares are to different places as sometimes they can be quite cheap as long as you don't incur extra charges like luggage fees. Of course, if he hasn't had a good chance to visit London, you might just want to stay there and explore the city.

When my daughter studied abroad in England, she took quick trips to Dublin, Barcelona, Copenhagen, and Vienna with the above mentioned airlines. She had already been to Italy so didn't repeat a visit there.

NinaSearching

Agree Vienna would probably interest him.

Also maybe Krakow? I have no idea how long the flight would be from London. But it's beautiful, fairly inexpensive, and some of the most moving, intriguing and varied artwork I've ever seen is in the cathedrals around town. I would think the Salt Mines would also be amazing for an art history person, but with only 3 days that'd probably be too much of a detour.

flanneruk

FWIW, art historians in my experience (I've spent most of my adult life surrounded by them):
- are rarely interested in history. It's the art that counts
- often have very strongly biased preferences in the art whose history they really get off on.

My friendly domestic art historian is almost physically allergic to Vienna. On the other hand, she'd happily spend her entire life meandering round Europe's Piero della Francescas. Or maybe just those in Umbria and Tuscany

Now your son might be different from all trhe art historians I've known. Or he may not.

But I'd never dream of deluding myself that any serious art historian would be pleased with a trip to Vienna (or Madrid, or Berlin, or even Paris) just because it's stuffed with art galleries. Everywhere is

Find out what's enthusing your son now, and come back here. If it's the pre-Raphaelites, Birmingham's the place to be this spring. Victorian revival: a night at the St Pancras hotel (taking reservations from March 14) would excite him far more than boring old Prague. If it's David, he'd love a day going round just that bit of the Louvre - whatever his future plans might be about Paris. Classical? The Parthenon Museum.

He now lives just a couple of hours from almost anywhere, and thanks to Ryanair it's cheaper flying to Lisbon than getting the train to Edinburgh. He'd be a million times more chuffed if he thought you'd looked at his "treat" from his point of view

wunderbar

Those are good suggestions, thanks. My son's interests are varied for an 18 year old; photography, art, modern art, architecture, and most recently, food. If you've stayed in Scotland long enough you know how 'good' the food is there and it's worse at the dorms. Great food would be a huge plus.

KTtravel

Mmm, good food and art. I'd vote for Italy.

wunderbar

As far as my interests go, I'd like to go and explore and I wish I had the time to do it on a bike. I wouldn't mind seeing Keukenhof Gardens since it will be open and Brugge sounds interesting for a few days. What about Brussels? My son loved London (he went with a group of friends for 4 days in December). Maybe he'd like to explore it more, I'm not sure. Whatever we do, I'd like to get him out of his currently atmosphere in St. Andrews which is lovely, quaint, but very rural. BTW, he saw Prince William and Kate on their last trip to St. Andrews and my son's in the same dorm that William roomed in.

The bottom line is that I want to spend some quality time with my son, just the two of us...

jamikins

Keukenhof is by Amsterdam and you said he had already been there. Bruges might be a bit tame for him. I'd say go somewhere like Rome, or Barcelona, or Berlin as they are not rural at all. There are lots of things to see but also lots of places to relax with a nice drink/coffee and chat, and of course yummy food!

Sassafrass

Rome or Barcelona