9orange9

Trip Report London – Paris – Sitges - Barcelona – Berlin

London

Got to experience London the following Thursday after the first terrorist attack. Used the Underground with no hesitation or fear, as there was so many people on the system you feel safe. Stayed near Piccadilly Circus so it was a bit noisy with all the pubs and people at night so it was a bit hard to fall asleep but would definitely stay in that area again. Seen all the sites and would have to say that my favorite sites were the Houses of Parliament for their architecture, Buckingham Palce for the beautiful gardens out front, and the many parks (St. James & Hyde Park) that provide great green space in the city. I found London to be a clean and pleasant city to spend a few days. We had lunch at a Pub one day and some Vietmanese food in Soho the other day and was very satisfied with both meals. We flew out of Luton on easyJet to Paris Charles de Gaulle and was quite pleased with the easyJet experience.

Paris

Arrived at our hotel in the Latin Quarter and was very impressed with the sight of the many cafes and restaurants around us. Pairs was my favorite city because of the architecture and urban layout of the city. I really enjoyed the Louvre and would recommend a visit to anyone with an appreciation for art or history. Notre Dame really impressed me as well. I found the food to be decent but not great but the pastries in France are second to none. We flew out of Orly to Barcelona on easyJet and were once again satisfied with our choice.

Sitges

Took a wonderful public bus from the Barcelona airport to Sitges that only cost 2,85 Euros. Was very happy with the wonderful clean beach and walking path that we used everynight and the beuty of this area. Many great inexpensive places to eat and the service at the resturants was spectacular. This was a much needed beach vacation in the middle of our European journey. We than took the train from Sitges to Barcelona and had no issues at all.

Barcelona

Stayed on Las Ramblas which was a great place to walk up and down during any part of the day. Seen all the Gaudi architecture and was very impressed with his work. We really enjoyed the city bus tour which took us to la Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, and a number of other cool places. We really enjoyed walking in the Gothic Quarter during the early evening and found it a great place to eat and do some shopping. We than flew once again by easyJet to Berlin with no issues.

Berlin

We arrived at our hotel in the Mitte district and were very pleased with our choice. There were numerous places to eat within a 5 minute walk. We enjoyed this city but since most of the buildings are new it did not have that feeling of the other European cities we visited. The best sites we found were the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate. Berlin was however the best city to eat in my opinion as we loved the German cuisine and the many ethnic restaurants in the Mitte district. Also their cakes were amazing. Especially those of the bakery chains in the city.

julia_t

Good trip report - glad to read you came to London just after the bombings and weren't put off. Also it's good to hear you had positive experiences with easyjet flights.

I would like to know how many days you spent in each city, and whether you felt this was too short, adequate or too long.

You seem to have the most enthusiasm for Barcelona, and the food in Berlin, but what about the hotels you stayed in - I'm interested, and I would think other fodorites will be too when they come across this thread during future research.

Weadles

We almost had the same trip! We were also in London, Sitges, and Barcelona. Just got back Monday night. London had the same feel as NYC after the Sept. 11th attacks. There was a palpable unease and sadness in the city, and many of the tourist attractions we visited like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey were unsurprisingly nearly crowd-free. We arrived in London on the day that part of the city was cordoned off while the police cornered the two bombing suspects. There were police everywhere, which we were grateful for, but also found disquieting. Most of the Londoners we talked to seemed resigned to carrying on no matter what's coming, which really impressed us, but many of them also spoke of the ironic timing of last week's IRA announcements.

artlover

Thank you for your trip report. Would love to hear more about Sitges--where you stayed, favorite restaurants, etc.

9orange9

Hotels we stayed at and the duration of our stays were as follows:

London, 3 nights - Regent Palace Hotel
Paris, 4 nights - Crystal Hotel
Sitges, 5 nights - Subar Hotel
Barcelona, 2 nights - Husa Oriente
Berlin, 3 nights - Arcotel Velvet Hotel

I felt that I spent the maximum time needed in each city to see what I needed to see. We did not spend too much time in museums though which would require us to spend a few more days in each city.

Sitges is such an awesome beach town I could not believe it is not better known in North America. Most of the people there from what I could gather were European so it is obviously well know in that part of the world.

Sitges is a very safe place that offers great beaches/swimming during the day and great places to eat and drink at night. You really cannot ask for much more for a beach vacation. Also, the palm trees and the surrounding mountains add a very nice landscape to the place.

kappa

I loved Sitges alonbg with Barcelona too. Last time I was there a few years ago I stayed at Hotel SUBUR with Sports Bar (?) at the ground floor which served also as restaurant/breakfast room. Isn't this the same place? Mine was facing the beach across the street and pretty centrally located.

stardust

I agree that Sitges is a lovely town. It is quite known as being the 'Spanish gay capital' but when I was there I didn't notice too much of that really. There are supposed to be quite some gay bars and the beaches outside the center are known as gay meeting places.

I was there during the Carnival events as well, and then the gay crowd was quite obvious, but what else could you expect at Carnival