Trip Report-Prague, Dresden with bits of Poland and France
Jun 17th, 2017, 06:15 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 208
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trip Report-Prague, Dresden with bits of Poland and France
Maybe one long post isn’t the best way to do it…I couldn’t decide. Anyway, here goes!
We just returned from a month in Europe so thought I’d write up a quick report just in case anything we did can help someone else in their planning. I’ve done a few of these now and still get intimidated as I’m not really very detail oriented so mine will be more of a general view of where we went, stayed, where we ate (sometimes that is…when I remembered) pricing (when I remembered) and some random thoughts. I so appreciate when other people take the time to write up their reports and I get so much information that I feel like I should give back a little bit.
Here is our itinerary (or the part I’m writing about): Prague – Dresden - Wroclaw - Krakow -Beaune - Burgundy countryside – Lyon - Annecy
We left Thursday, May 4 and flew to London. We have friends in England so stayed with them and I won’t include any of our time there as we didn’t really do any touristy stuff – just old friends hanging out. On May 11th we flew from Stansted Airport (near London) on Easy Jet to Prague.
This year I decided to try and make this a budget (friendly) trip by concentrating on using award points for flights and hotels. We travelled with another couple, our friends from here in the states, and I talked everyone into getting Hilton Honors Credit Cards which was offering a sign-on bonus of 80,000 points per card so armed with a bunch of Hilton points I tried to maximize our hotel costs with a combination of free nights and reduced rates and I think I was pretty successful EXCEPT I didn’t factor in how expensive the bar bill was going to be. Sigh…I guess I can’t control everything!
Thursday, May 11th for 3 nights
Prague, Czech Republic
Hotel: Prague Old Town Hilton
Cost: Approx $78 per night (or 1827 Czech Korunas)
This was a really nice five star hotel and the location was good, it was on the edge of the old town and about a twenty minute walk to the Charles Bridge. We had breakfast once but thought it was too expensive at 906 Korunas (around $20 each).
Prague was lovely and our weather was great. I have been before but no one else in our group had so we did the usual stuff old town, Charles Bridge, the castle, Jewish quarter. We also did a day trip to Kutna Hora, saw the bone church (which I found super creepy) and got to see a little bit of the countryside. We booked through the hotel and I have to say our tour guide was really bad and did not enhance our experience at all. Ugh. Don't remember the name of the tour group but we booked it through our hotel.
Can’t really remember any memorable meals either. We were somewhat limited in that my husband’s back was really bothering him so he would hang with us but all the walking was getting to him so by evening time we just wanted something nearby the hotel. Unfortunately his back pain was an issue pretty much throughout the whole trip.
Sunday, May 14 for 3 nights
Dresden, Germany
Hotel: Hilton Dresden
Cost: 0 (using HH points)
The hotel again was really nice and was in a great location right in the center of all the action in Dresden.
We took the train from Prague to Dresden – really easy two hour ride in a nice comfortable train. The scenery was really nice but it was cloudy and rainy.
Dresden is a lovely city and luckily our weather improved. On our first full day we ended up doing the hop on hop off bus and really enjoyed it, they drive around to the regular touristy stops and also to older neighborhoods and you get to see some lovely homes and with beautiful gardens. We went to a bier garden for a sausage and had a lovely view over Dresden. Went to the old dairy and had some ice cream. There is a little shop next the dairy that had some really yummy looking sausages and lots of locals were lined up for them, really wish we could have fit in one more sausage but ah well.
The next day we took the train to Meissen, really cute little town had lunch at the top of the hill (can’t remember the name) sat on the terrace and had a lovely view over the countryside. Also toured the Meissen factory – it was OK, they do have some beautiful things in there. So crazy expensive though – we did not buy a thing.
I’m afraid we didn’t have too many memorable meals in Dresden. We went to Pulverturm (or something like that) a traditional medieval kind of place right by our hotel. Our waiter was super friendly and had lived in the U.S. for almost twenty years. It was interesting to hear his comparisons of living in Germany vs the U.S.
Wednesday, May 17 for three nights
Wroclaw, Poland
Hotel: Doubletree Wroclaw
Cost: $40 per night (or approx 157 Zlotys) Paid with combo points and money.
This was another nice hotel, the location wasn’t quite as good as the other Hilton properties, as it was about a 20 minute walk to the old town. There was large shopping mall right across the street where you could get anything – they had grocery stores, food mall, department stores, etc. Super convenient – there was also a drop off laundry place over there that we used.
We took the train from Dresden to Wroclaw, definitely not as comfortable as the Prague train. It seems more like a local city train and by the end of the journey it was packed to the gills with people. We didn’t have to change trains but in Gorlitz (I think) the train personnel changed – I guess from German to Poles and that’s when all the people started getting on.
We really enjoyed Wroclaw – I’m not sure what I expected but it was very nice. It has a super young vibe and I guess that’s because it’s filled with young people – lots of college students. I forget how many universities it has but it’s a bunch. It was fun looking out for the dwarves too – they’re planted all over the city and some are very charming. We had a couple of nice meals there too – the best was Bernard’s Pub – I think its #1 on tripadvisor and for good reason.
We had a great day out with Wroclaw Sightseeing – we did “Pearls of Lower Silesia” where we got to see the really interesting wooden “Church of Peace” and also Ksiaz Castle with such an interesting history. It’s a beautiful area. Our tour guide (Marcin – one of the co-owners) was great, can’t say enough good things about them. They have a comfortable van, his English is really good, very informative – he gave us so much history of the area and made it so interesting and easy to listen to. He also took us to a local place for lunch – they brought two huge platters of different meats and veggies, potatoes and of course peroskies. Very yummy!
Saturday, May 20 for three nights
Krakow, Poland
Hotel: Hampton Inn
Cost: 0 (using HH points)
The Hampton Inn was actually pretty good – I knew it was going to be a step down from the other hotels and also not nearby to anything but it still worked out great. I think there is public transport around but we never got around to figuring it out and just took cabs which were cheap and plentiful.
I had arranged with Wroclaw Sightseeing for transport from Wroclaw to Krakow with a stop at Auschwitz. It worked out great – we got to see Auschwitz and didn’t have to take a day out of either place as it would have been a travel day anyway. They charged us 95 euros per person which we were really happy with – it included the transport and the tour of Auschwitz.
For this tour we had Mateusz as our driver and guide and he was equally as good as his colleague, and co-owner, Marcin. I really have to say we were all so impressed with these guys and they just did an awesome job. For Auschwitz they drove us there and then we were handed over to one of the resident Auschwitz tour guides – I think they actually have to do it that way unless you come at off season and off times. Anyway it all worked out fine. I’m glad we got to see Auschwitz – so much has already been written about it so won’t say much more. Its so hard to understand how the human race can do these things to each other
We loved Krakow – such a beautiful city! We went to Schindler’s Factory which surprisingly (and I’ve heard this before) is not that much about Schindler himself but mostly about Krakow during the war. There is so much information in there that its hard to take it all in. We did a horse and carriage ride – I’ve never done one before and I actually (to my surprise!) enjoyed it! We also took a golf cart tour which ended up to be very pretty fun (my husband was still having back issues so any time he could ride instead of walk he was all for it!). Our favorite restaurant was Bianca – right off the square, yummy and not very expensive.
Tuesday, May 23 for three nights
Beaune, France
Hotel: Hotel Les Jardins de Lois
Cost: The rooms start at 160 euros per night
http://www.jardinsdelois.com
We were off to France with an Easy Jet Flight from Krakow to Lyon and sadly no more Hilton Point to use but what isn’t sad is that we got to stay at Hotel Les Jardins. Oh my gosh…loved, loved this place! Beautiful rooms, great location, the best host/hostess, we did wine tasting with the owner in his cave. Wonderful breakfasts – lovely place for sure!
So we landed in Lyon and picked up a car from Hertz which was kind of a fiasco right from the start. We had brought our own trusty GPS which we’ve used for the last couple years but all of a sudden it wouldn’t work. It couldn’t figure out where we were and gave us crazy maps…a big mess. (My husband had updated it before we left and we think that was the problem). So had to go into the office and rent a GPS from them – they charged us 126 euros for six days. We felt totally ripped off – I think we could have bought a new one for that. Ah well….
Loved our stay in Beaune and of course its France so we expect to eat very well (which mostly we did). We had three dinners, the first at 21 Boulevard - a little on the expensive side but very good, we didn’t have a reservation so they squeezed us in and the service was really slow. Second night was La Ciboulette which I can pretty much say I hated. The food was not good and the service was horrible. The last night we ate at Piqu’Boeuf which was surprisingly really good! I didn’t have very high expectations, this was the only place that our hotel could find to give us a reservation and the reviews on TA only seemed OK but we ended up really liking everything we ordered.
Beaune itself is a charming place – so many places to taste wine, the Hotel-Dieu is a must do (excuse the pun), so many places around to go on day trips. In hindsight I wish we would have stayed another day.
Friday, May 26 for three nights
Massangis, France (Burgundy)
Hotel: Carpe Diem
Cost: 85 euros per night
http://www.b-and-b-burgundy.com
We got off to a rocky start at this B&B. I have to start with saying it’s a lovely place, beautiful home (filled with antiques) and a lovely setting. They have five rooms and from what I could tell all look large and comfortable. The owners, Patrick and his partner Eric, do a wonderful job. Breakfasts are great with homemade yoghurts, cakes, honey, cheeses, croissants, fresh squeezed juice, etc. They cook dinner for their guests six days a week and once again – what a deal and what a meal (37 euros per person) we started with wine and appetizers in the garden then we go to the elegantly set table (with more cutlery then I know what to do with!) and Patrick serves just an incredible meal. Dinner took almost four hours! They set out lovely local wines and its one big table so you end up talking with the other guests and there were always lots of lively discussions (hmmmm…..mostly political!).
Anyway, back to our rocky start. Original plan was to take our time driving up – stopping for lunch and seeing cute little villages etc. on the way. I think the drive is about an hour and a half (maybe a bit less) and then I started thinking maybe leaving all our luggage in the car wouldn’t be such a good idea so figured we could go to the B&B and drop off our stuff – I knew checking in might be a problem but I was thinking we could just leave our luggage for a few hours. Well that was a HUGE mistake! Patrick (the owner) was quite upset – and honestly I don’t think he ever got over it! They do everything themselves so cleaning the house, the rooms, getting breakfast ready, getting dinner ready, cleaning up, etc. (I swear I even heard him tell another guest that they launder and iron all the sheets themselves!) Anyway, he definitely did not want to see us before the 4:00 pm check in time and I kind of felt like he held that against me the rest of the time. He was fine to me in a group setting but if I asked him a question directly -- like could I have a cup of coffee or is something wrong with the internet? I would get a lecture on how hard they worked, or how it was an old building, the stone walls were thick, what else would I expect. Honestly I only asked those things because he told me I could – he had said their internet was shaky but if I had a problem, let him know and sometimes they could restart it. And he said it was no problem for me to get coffee at 8:30am. Eeeek…..I really felt like I was walking on egg shells around him. Not Eric – he was awesome – he doesn’t speak much English but he was super sweet and smiled and was really helpful.
I think that they (or maybe just Patrick) are such perfectionists that they are overworking themselves. I mean most B&B’s at least have someone to come in and do cleaning and help with the prep stuff. Ah well… go for sure but be sure you don’t try and check in before 4:00PM!
The area around Massangis is really lovely and the charming medieval village of Noyers is just a 5-10 minute drive. We also went to Avallon for the farmers market, went to Auxerre and also toured a couple of chateaus. Anyway, it was really beautiful.
Monday, May 29 for two nights
Lyon, France
Hotel des Artistes
Cost: 130 euros per night
http://www.hotel-des-artistes.fr
I really liked this hotel, the room was small but comfortable and the location was perfect.
Returned the car (and the stupid expensive GPS) back to Hertz without any issues. For the car, gas, tolls, etc for six days it came to something around $550. It wasn’t cheap to have the car and in retrospect I think we should have skipped the Massangis/Burgundy part and just added nights to Beaune and Lyon. I guess you never know what is best and hindsight is 20/20!
Lyon what a beautiful city! We took the hop on hop off bus (again…my husband was struggling with back issues) and it worked out pretty well and we got to see a lot of areas. The city at night is lovely and our hotel was right near the river. Food is everywhere of course and our favorite meal of the trip was at Brasserie Chavant practically next door to our hotel.
May 31 for three nights
Annecy, France
Hotel Splendid
Cost: 137 euros per night
http://www.hotel-annecy-lac.fr/en/
Lovely hotel in a great location. The staff was really friendly and helpful, just a five minute walk to the lake or the old town. Would definitely recommend.
Annecy was lovely and we had pretty good weather. The first day was cloudy and a little rainy but the second was picture perfect blue skies and hot (super hot actually). We had a couple good meals but our absolute favorite was Une Autre Histoire – yum! They’re located a little away from the old town, we got the last table and they were turning many away so guess its best to have a reservation.
This was our last stop and we didn’t really do too much just enjoyed the lovely town and lake. We took a boat ride one day. We were going to rent bikes but it was super hot and once again my husband’s back was an issue so just hung out, shopped, walked about the lake (well I did anyway), etc. The only disappointment for me in Annecy is that they are doing renovations on the Palais de I’lsle so its all wrapped up in tarps and scaffolding and is one big construction zone – it definitely detracts from the charm. I heard its going to be like that for quite a while – maybe this whole year but I could have my facts wrong.
June 3 – home
Annecy to GVA
We took a taxi from Annecy to Geneva airport. Our flight was at 9:20 am and I asked our driver to pick us up at 6:30am. She had suggested 6:45am but I wanted a little extra time. She was actually right as there was no traffic on a Saturday that early in the morning – I think it took us about 40 minutes to get to the airport. She charged us 110 euros for the ride which I thought was a good price. I’ve heard the traffic on the weekdays can be really bad though so would definitely give yourself more time if its not on a Saturday or Sunday.
The taxi service we used was:
https://www.taxiannecygeneva.net
Her name is Gaelle and it was great dealing with her, her English is really good, her van is nice and comfortable – I definitely recommend her if you need transport from Annecy.
Well that’s about it – if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.
We just returned from a month in Europe so thought I’d write up a quick report just in case anything we did can help someone else in their planning. I’ve done a few of these now and still get intimidated as I’m not really very detail oriented so mine will be more of a general view of where we went, stayed, where we ate (sometimes that is…when I remembered) pricing (when I remembered) and some random thoughts. I so appreciate when other people take the time to write up their reports and I get so much information that I feel like I should give back a little bit.
Here is our itinerary (or the part I’m writing about): Prague – Dresden - Wroclaw - Krakow -Beaune - Burgundy countryside – Lyon - Annecy
We left Thursday, May 4 and flew to London. We have friends in England so stayed with them and I won’t include any of our time there as we didn’t really do any touristy stuff – just old friends hanging out. On May 11th we flew from Stansted Airport (near London) on Easy Jet to Prague.
This year I decided to try and make this a budget (friendly) trip by concentrating on using award points for flights and hotels. We travelled with another couple, our friends from here in the states, and I talked everyone into getting Hilton Honors Credit Cards which was offering a sign-on bonus of 80,000 points per card so armed with a bunch of Hilton points I tried to maximize our hotel costs with a combination of free nights and reduced rates and I think I was pretty successful EXCEPT I didn’t factor in how expensive the bar bill was going to be. Sigh…I guess I can’t control everything!
Thursday, May 11th for 3 nights
Prague, Czech Republic
Hotel: Prague Old Town Hilton
Cost: Approx $78 per night (or 1827 Czech Korunas)
This was a really nice five star hotel and the location was good, it was on the edge of the old town and about a twenty minute walk to the Charles Bridge. We had breakfast once but thought it was too expensive at 906 Korunas (around $20 each).
Prague was lovely and our weather was great. I have been before but no one else in our group had so we did the usual stuff old town, Charles Bridge, the castle, Jewish quarter. We also did a day trip to Kutna Hora, saw the bone church (which I found super creepy) and got to see a little bit of the countryside. We booked through the hotel and I have to say our tour guide was really bad and did not enhance our experience at all. Ugh. Don't remember the name of the tour group but we booked it through our hotel.
Can’t really remember any memorable meals either. We were somewhat limited in that my husband’s back was really bothering him so he would hang with us but all the walking was getting to him so by evening time we just wanted something nearby the hotel. Unfortunately his back pain was an issue pretty much throughout the whole trip.
Sunday, May 14 for 3 nights
Dresden, Germany
Hotel: Hilton Dresden
Cost: 0 (using HH points)
The hotel again was really nice and was in a great location right in the center of all the action in Dresden.
We took the train from Prague to Dresden – really easy two hour ride in a nice comfortable train. The scenery was really nice but it was cloudy and rainy.
Dresden is a lovely city and luckily our weather improved. On our first full day we ended up doing the hop on hop off bus and really enjoyed it, they drive around to the regular touristy stops and also to older neighborhoods and you get to see some lovely homes and with beautiful gardens. We went to a bier garden for a sausage and had a lovely view over Dresden. Went to the old dairy and had some ice cream. There is a little shop next the dairy that had some really yummy looking sausages and lots of locals were lined up for them, really wish we could have fit in one more sausage but ah well.
The next day we took the train to Meissen, really cute little town had lunch at the top of the hill (can’t remember the name) sat on the terrace and had a lovely view over the countryside. Also toured the Meissen factory – it was OK, they do have some beautiful things in there. So crazy expensive though – we did not buy a thing.
I’m afraid we didn’t have too many memorable meals in Dresden. We went to Pulverturm (or something like that) a traditional medieval kind of place right by our hotel. Our waiter was super friendly and had lived in the U.S. for almost twenty years. It was interesting to hear his comparisons of living in Germany vs the U.S.
Wednesday, May 17 for three nights
Wroclaw, Poland
Hotel: Doubletree Wroclaw
Cost: $40 per night (or approx 157 Zlotys) Paid with combo points and money.
This was another nice hotel, the location wasn’t quite as good as the other Hilton properties, as it was about a 20 minute walk to the old town. There was large shopping mall right across the street where you could get anything – they had grocery stores, food mall, department stores, etc. Super convenient – there was also a drop off laundry place over there that we used.
We took the train from Dresden to Wroclaw, definitely not as comfortable as the Prague train. It seems more like a local city train and by the end of the journey it was packed to the gills with people. We didn’t have to change trains but in Gorlitz (I think) the train personnel changed – I guess from German to Poles and that’s when all the people started getting on.
We really enjoyed Wroclaw – I’m not sure what I expected but it was very nice. It has a super young vibe and I guess that’s because it’s filled with young people – lots of college students. I forget how many universities it has but it’s a bunch. It was fun looking out for the dwarves too – they’re planted all over the city and some are very charming. We had a couple of nice meals there too – the best was Bernard’s Pub – I think its #1 on tripadvisor and for good reason.
We had a great day out with Wroclaw Sightseeing – we did “Pearls of Lower Silesia” where we got to see the really interesting wooden “Church of Peace” and also Ksiaz Castle with such an interesting history. It’s a beautiful area. Our tour guide (Marcin – one of the co-owners) was great, can’t say enough good things about them. They have a comfortable van, his English is really good, very informative – he gave us so much history of the area and made it so interesting and easy to listen to. He also took us to a local place for lunch – they brought two huge platters of different meats and veggies, potatoes and of course peroskies. Very yummy!
Saturday, May 20 for three nights
Krakow, Poland
Hotel: Hampton Inn
Cost: 0 (using HH points)
The Hampton Inn was actually pretty good – I knew it was going to be a step down from the other hotels and also not nearby to anything but it still worked out great. I think there is public transport around but we never got around to figuring it out and just took cabs which were cheap and plentiful.
I had arranged with Wroclaw Sightseeing for transport from Wroclaw to Krakow with a stop at Auschwitz. It worked out great – we got to see Auschwitz and didn’t have to take a day out of either place as it would have been a travel day anyway. They charged us 95 euros per person which we were really happy with – it included the transport and the tour of Auschwitz.
For this tour we had Mateusz as our driver and guide and he was equally as good as his colleague, and co-owner, Marcin. I really have to say we were all so impressed with these guys and they just did an awesome job. For Auschwitz they drove us there and then we were handed over to one of the resident Auschwitz tour guides – I think they actually have to do it that way unless you come at off season and off times. Anyway it all worked out fine. I’m glad we got to see Auschwitz – so much has already been written about it so won’t say much more. Its so hard to understand how the human race can do these things to each other
We loved Krakow – such a beautiful city! We went to Schindler’s Factory which surprisingly (and I’ve heard this before) is not that much about Schindler himself but mostly about Krakow during the war. There is so much information in there that its hard to take it all in. We did a horse and carriage ride – I’ve never done one before and I actually (to my surprise!) enjoyed it! We also took a golf cart tour which ended up to be very pretty fun (my husband was still having back issues so any time he could ride instead of walk he was all for it!). Our favorite restaurant was Bianca – right off the square, yummy and not very expensive.
Tuesday, May 23 for three nights
Beaune, France
Hotel: Hotel Les Jardins de Lois
Cost: The rooms start at 160 euros per night
http://www.jardinsdelois.com
We were off to France with an Easy Jet Flight from Krakow to Lyon and sadly no more Hilton Point to use but what isn’t sad is that we got to stay at Hotel Les Jardins. Oh my gosh…loved, loved this place! Beautiful rooms, great location, the best host/hostess, we did wine tasting with the owner in his cave. Wonderful breakfasts – lovely place for sure!
So we landed in Lyon and picked up a car from Hertz which was kind of a fiasco right from the start. We had brought our own trusty GPS which we’ve used for the last couple years but all of a sudden it wouldn’t work. It couldn’t figure out where we were and gave us crazy maps…a big mess. (My husband had updated it before we left and we think that was the problem). So had to go into the office and rent a GPS from them – they charged us 126 euros for six days. We felt totally ripped off – I think we could have bought a new one for that. Ah well….
Loved our stay in Beaune and of course its France so we expect to eat very well (which mostly we did). We had three dinners, the first at 21 Boulevard - a little on the expensive side but very good, we didn’t have a reservation so they squeezed us in and the service was really slow. Second night was La Ciboulette which I can pretty much say I hated. The food was not good and the service was horrible. The last night we ate at Piqu’Boeuf which was surprisingly really good! I didn’t have very high expectations, this was the only place that our hotel could find to give us a reservation and the reviews on TA only seemed OK but we ended up really liking everything we ordered.
Beaune itself is a charming place – so many places to taste wine, the Hotel-Dieu is a must do (excuse the pun), so many places around to go on day trips. In hindsight I wish we would have stayed another day.
Friday, May 26 for three nights
Massangis, France (Burgundy)
Hotel: Carpe Diem
Cost: 85 euros per night
http://www.b-and-b-burgundy.com
We got off to a rocky start at this B&B. I have to start with saying it’s a lovely place, beautiful home (filled with antiques) and a lovely setting. They have five rooms and from what I could tell all look large and comfortable. The owners, Patrick and his partner Eric, do a wonderful job. Breakfasts are great with homemade yoghurts, cakes, honey, cheeses, croissants, fresh squeezed juice, etc. They cook dinner for their guests six days a week and once again – what a deal and what a meal (37 euros per person) we started with wine and appetizers in the garden then we go to the elegantly set table (with more cutlery then I know what to do with!) and Patrick serves just an incredible meal. Dinner took almost four hours! They set out lovely local wines and its one big table so you end up talking with the other guests and there were always lots of lively discussions (hmmmm…..mostly political!).
Anyway, back to our rocky start. Original plan was to take our time driving up – stopping for lunch and seeing cute little villages etc. on the way. I think the drive is about an hour and a half (maybe a bit less) and then I started thinking maybe leaving all our luggage in the car wouldn’t be such a good idea so figured we could go to the B&B and drop off our stuff – I knew checking in might be a problem but I was thinking we could just leave our luggage for a few hours. Well that was a HUGE mistake! Patrick (the owner) was quite upset – and honestly I don’t think he ever got over it! They do everything themselves so cleaning the house, the rooms, getting breakfast ready, getting dinner ready, cleaning up, etc. (I swear I even heard him tell another guest that they launder and iron all the sheets themselves!) Anyway, he definitely did not want to see us before the 4:00 pm check in time and I kind of felt like he held that against me the rest of the time. He was fine to me in a group setting but if I asked him a question directly -- like could I have a cup of coffee or is something wrong with the internet? I would get a lecture on how hard they worked, or how it was an old building, the stone walls were thick, what else would I expect. Honestly I only asked those things because he told me I could – he had said their internet was shaky but if I had a problem, let him know and sometimes they could restart it. And he said it was no problem for me to get coffee at 8:30am. Eeeek…..I really felt like I was walking on egg shells around him. Not Eric – he was awesome – he doesn’t speak much English but he was super sweet and smiled and was really helpful.
I think that they (or maybe just Patrick) are such perfectionists that they are overworking themselves. I mean most B&B’s at least have someone to come in and do cleaning and help with the prep stuff. Ah well… go for sure but be sure you don’t try and check in before 4:00PM!
The area around Massangis is really lovely and the charming medieval village of Noyers is just a 5-10 minute drive. We also went to Avallon for the farmers market, went to Auxerre and also toured a couple of chateaus. Anyway, it was really beautiful.
Monday, May 29 for two nights
Lyon, France
Hotel des Artistes
Cost: 130 euros per night
http://www.hotel-des-artistes.fr
I really liked this hotel, the room was small but comfortable and the location was perfect.
Returned the car (and the stupid expensive GPS) back to Hertz without any issues. For the car, gas, tolls, etc for six days it came to something around $550. It wasn’t cheap to have the car and in retrospect I think we should have skipped the Massangis/Burgundy part and just added nights to Beaune and Lyon. I guess you never know what is best and hindsight is 20/20!
Lyon what a beautiful city! We took the hop on hop off bus (again…my husband was struggling with back issues) and it worked out pretty well and we got to see a lot of areas. The city at night is lovely and our hotel was right near the river. Food is everywhere of course and our favorite meal of the trip was at Brasserie Chavant practically next door to our hotel.
May 31 for three nights
Annecy, France
Hotel Splendid
Cost: 137 euros per night
http://www.hotel-annecy-lac.fr/en/
Lovely hotel in a great location. The staff was really friendly and helpful, just a five minute walk to the lake or the old town. Would definitely recommend.
Annecy was lovely and we had pretty good weather. The first day was cloudy and a little rainy but the second was picture perfect blue skies and hot (super hot actually). We had a couple good meals but our absolute favorite was Une Autre Histoire – yum! They’re located a little away from the old town, we got the last table and they were turning many away so guess its best to have a reservation.
This was our last stop and we didn’t really do too much just enjoyed the lovely town and lake. We took a boat ride one day. We were going to rent bikes but it was super hot and once again my husband’s back was an issue so just hung out, shopped, walked about the lake (well I did anyway), etc. The only disappointment for me in Annecy is that they are doing renovations on the Palais de I’lsle so its all wrapped up in tarps and scaffolding and is one big construction zone – it definitely detracts from the charm. I heard its going to be like that for quite a while – maybe this whole year but I could have my facts wrong.
June 3 – home
Annecy to GVA
We took a taxi from Annecy to Geneva airport. Our flight was at 9:20 am and I asked our driver to pick us up at 6:30am. She had suggested 6:45am but I wanted a little extra time. She was actually right as there was no traffic on a Saturday that early in the morning – I think it took us about 40 minutes to get to the airport. She charged us 110 euros for the ride which I thought was a good price. I’ve heard the traffic on the weekdays can be really bad though so would definitely give yourself more time if its not on a Saturday or Sunday.
The taxi service we used was:
https://www.taxiannecygeneva.net
Her name is Gaelle and it was great dealing with her, her English is really good, her van is nice and comfortable – I definitely recommend her if you need transport from Annecy.
Well that’s about it – if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.
Jun 17th, 2017, 06:45 AM
#2
Thanks for taking the time to post this. Will be using the Hilton during our upcoming trip to Dresden. In terms of costs they are all subjective in terms of value I suppose. I personally think $20 for breakfast in some places in Europe is a bargain but understandable you didn't.
Jun 17th, 2017, 07:17 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 208
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You're right $20 isn't really too bad for breakfast and its funny because the more I think about it I the more I think it was the Dresden Hilton's buffet breakfast that we thought was too much. I don't remember what it cost but we decided not to try it....there are tons of cafes right out the door so we just did different ones each morning.
Jun 17th, 2017, 09:05 AM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 208
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I also meant to add the web site for the tour company in Wroclaw that we used: http://www.wroclawsightseeingtours.com/en/tours
I just can't recommend them enough!
I just can't recommend them enough!
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Randy
Europe
55
Aug 2nd, 2002 07:17 AM
