lgnutah

I'm looking for places to visit in Europe where I can fly in, and after EASILY taking public transportation to my hotel, can walk everywhere I want to sightsee.
Here are my desires:
Walk to coffee shops/restaurants that serve delicious local food
Walk for several miles (without encountering busy traffic) to be able to reach scenic places like castles, mountain vistas, forest walks, or walks to nearby villages.
To feel as if I have stepped back somewhat in time
Where is this place?

StCirq

I think there's a bit of a disconnect between being able to walk all over and sightsee and walk several miles to castles, mountains, forests, and villages. They would have to be small cities, which makes flying in a potential problem, or you'd have to stay on the outskirts of a big city, which puts a damper on the walking to all the sights bit.

Do you have some objection to taking trains or buses to castles, mountains, forests, and villages? If you don't, then any city at all in Europe will do.

nona1

I agree. You don't get many castles, mountain vista, forests or villages inside cities.

You need to think this through a bit. Do you want a town or village that is accessible to public transport and then you can walk in the country from there? Or do you want a city (but that will have heavy traffic and different types of attractions)?

Stilldontknow

Sounds like Edinburgh to me.

nytraveler

I think you
re confusing feet with public transit.

Cars don;t make sense in any european city. They aren;t built for them - but have many places withint walking distance of a historic center - and lots of public transit options (bus, train, tram etc) for distances too far to walk.

That said you won;t find countryside within walking distance of the center of any major city - you need to get on a train (or in a car if your prefer) and head out to see mountains, forests and villages. There are many cities that have castles either in them or within a very short (30 minute or so) train journey.

The only way to get what you want is to keep moving around to small villages, staying in the center and walking a couple of miles out into the boonies.

bilboburgler

Stepping back in time, not sure what this means we are talking Europe here not Utah. If the use of public transport in core then the central area of Holland is pretty good, but much of these cities was blown up circa 1940. Holland also lacks mountains.

If you include buses in public transport (doubtful) then Oslo may be the best as it mixes much oh what you want.

More likely alternatives include Lyon,, Siena, Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, Carcassone, Krakow, Prague and Edinburgh.

If any of these fit the bill in your mind come back

hetismij

We may lack mountains, but we still have plenty of attractive, old villages and towns which the majority of visitors never visit. The Germans/Brits/Americans/Canadians really only did a job on Rotterdam and that is interesting now for it's modern architecture - at least the Dutch didn't decide to rebuild everything as it was before the War.

There are well marked an interesting walks just a bus ride out of Amsterdam. Or a short train ride will take you to fascinating villages, miles of beaches, lovely woodland walks, inland sand dunes, and even some hills.

travelerjan

Ignutah, to answer your question: "Where is this place" --- It exists only in your imagination, not in 21st century reality.

However, European cities offer you much you cannot find in the USA. You have, in most major cities, excellent public transportation, a lot of interesting sightseeing and cultural events clustered in a central area (Unlike in USA) and good quick transport to the outskirts or to small villages, towns, country villas/palaces nearby. (I.e., going by train to Hampton Court up the Thames from London, by R.U.R. to Versailles or Fountainbleau outside Paris, via Tram from Athens to Temple at Sounion etc. and when you get OFF that bus/train, whatever, you can walk easiy through a smallish town to your destination sight.... Try going from Salt Lake City to Zion or Bryce & doing a walk-in... or From S.Fr. by bus, then walk in to Yosemite. But to go from a Major city on foot, to a quiet village... it's in your imagination.

Reminds me of people who write on Greece forum, I want to go to a quiet island where I can have a room right on a beautiful sandy beach, but I don't want something very touristy, ... but I want a small hotel with all the amenities, and at night thre will be a good choice of restaurants & cafes, and lively nightlife. I always ask them -- if there re no other tourists, who will patronize and enable the restaurants and nightlife?? I usually turns out to be the stuff of daydreams.

Reality is quite wonderful enough in Europe ... settle for it!

Michael

Paris all fits the bill. The medieval castle of Vincennes is at the end of the subway line. The Forêt de Fontainebleau is within easy reach, as is Versailles with its immense park. Mountains are lacking. And there is no question that the good food is to be had. If mountains are absolutely necessary, Luzern might be a choice. Freiburg comes to mind with the Black Forest in its back yard. There is a cable car up to the Schauinsland, and one can walk back down to the city--it can't be that hard, as I did it as an 8 year-old.

ellen75005

Ignutah, I was with you until your second desire. However, Austria comes to mind. Vienna is a walkable city and within a relatively short train ride, Salzburg might take you back in time.

lgnutah

Earlier this year I flew into Istanbul, the hotel picked me up and once I was at my hotel in the historic district, I could walk to see and do everything I wanted.
Now I am wanting to hear people's ideas for Europe but instead of seeing historic treasures, I want to see "nature" and maybe some historic buildings like castles (the list I gave was just to give an idea of the types of things I wanted to see, was not a mandate). I don't have to stay in the big city I fly into ((I said I could take public transportation from the airport to the smaller town). I said "step back in time" to hopefully give a feel to what I am thinking of (but I didn't mean eons back in time as in Utah).
And, there are cities in the US that fit this bill, but I am not interested in them this time.
For the people who actually have made city suggestions-Thanks. Michael-I've already been to Paris. Ellen 75005-I have been considering Salzburg-I understand there is a company called Untours that does a Vienna/Salzburg two week vacation that sounds as if it might be what I am looking for as they provide an apartment, rail passes, etc.

love_travel_Aus

Well - Salzburg has an airport.
It also has a castle, lots and lots of coffee shops, plenty of nearby gorgeous little villages - but - you will need to catch a bus!

Or - Konstanz - the nearest airport is at Friedrichshafen.
from there you can catch a ferry to Meersburg, Lindau and all around the lakes.
Then you can head back to the Alps - but again all will require more than just walking.
And - yes - Frieburg - but not sure you can walk to nearby villages.
Wondered about Interlaken - but nearest airports are about an hour away.

So - lots of good advice offered here - think about more than just walking and happy planning.

Michael

<i>And - yes - Frieburg - but not sure you can walk to nearby villages.</i>

I have a recollection of my aunt taking friends for a walk (all in their 70s or even 80s) in the Höllental (sp?) to Himmelreich (sp?) and complaining that they never thought that getting there would be that difficult. But the point is that walks in the Black Forest are readily available from Freiburg.

All things said, maybe Vienna would be ideal as it is surrounded by woods and vineyards.

lgnutah

Great ideas, thanks.
Has anyone done the Untours ?(apartment with enough groceries/supplies to hold you until you can make your way to a store, some kind of transportation-either a rental car or rail pass, then people right there to assist you so you don't have to figure it all out yourself. They also have RightTours which just provides the apartment.

spaarne

In most cities of Europe having a car is like having a mill stone around your neck. If you can't walk to the places you want to see use the local public transport which is typically excellent.

danon

Prague ?

charnees

Orvieto, Italy is one hour by train fro Rome. You can walk around in the historic center and hardly encounter a car - people mostly walk in the middle of the streets. The views from the old town are gorgeous. From there you can take the train further north to Florence, whose historic center is small enough to walk across. In Florence you can take a bus up to Fiesole, which is high in the hills and has spectacular views. or you could go to Perugia, also a hill town with restricted auto access, but not as much as Orvieto.

You could take a bus from Orvieto to Torre Alfina, which is a tiny town you can walk across in about ten minutes, with a medieval castle dominating the town (you can't go into the castle, as it's privately owned.) Walking out the east end of town will take you down a steep hill to a botanical reserve, and there is a national forest to the north. You could also go from Orvieto to Lago de Bolsena, a huge lake in an ancient volcanic crater that has plenty of places to walk.

zeppole

Italy has dozens of such places, if not hundreds. Your options increase if you are can find connecting flights into Italy's smaller airports -- like Florence, Pisa, Bologna (either Marconi or Forili), Parma, Verona, Genova, Perugia, Torino, -- and on and on. Even at the major airports, like Milan's Malpensa, you can get an airport shuttle bus directly to Lago Maggiore and do all that you want to do -- lakes, castles, good food, etc. From Florence, you could easily transfer to any number of Chianti towns, especially if you work out what you had in Istanbul: a hotel that arranges to pick you up from the airport and takes you to a castle town. There are many, in several price ranges And in many parts of Italy.

I'm more familiar with what's possible in Italy, but I agree with those who suggest other European destinations.

If you really want a tour, that's a whole other ball game (and I know nothing about that). If you would like to travel independently as you did in Turkey, you might narrow down your search and get more help if you stated what time of year you hope to travel -- and if you have strong feelings one way or the other about heat, crowds, expense. food preferences, etc.

Amy

Untours is great; most recently in Europe I've stayed in Pfarrerfen, with excellent train travel to Salzburg, Vienna, Zell am See, and so forth. Here are some pictures: http://travel.webshots.com/album/115491557HbDEdt It was a great combination of "living like a local" (of course, that's in quotes for a reason; obviously one can't live entirely like a local, but shopping in the local markets/prepping own food/using public transport are at least a closer approximation than is available on tours) and having some guidance.

Untours is a terrific company, and there are many options. Some of my favorite cities in Europe for wandering are Vilnius, Krakow, Florence, Sintra, and Amsterdam; there are many others that I love that require a bit more transportation use. I don't drive, and haven't had any problems in getting around in quite a number of European countries.

Amy

Duh, sorry, that's Pfarrwerfen; it's not my most recent European trip, but the most recent Untour (that is still available.) I did do an Untour to Portugal, but that's now available just as the rental option, I believe.

Switzerland is a great combination of those things you were looking at, by the way.