OT: Europe Trip

[Beorn]

Ok guys, I need some help. I'm visiting Berlin for a couple of days, what can I squeeze into them? Bradenburg Gate, Reichtstag, Pergamon Museum are certainly in my to-see list, and I'll likely visit Berlin Cathedral, Alexanderplatz, Gendarmesmarkt too.

[Nightfall]

Ok guys, I need some help. I'm visiting Berlin for a couple of days, what can I squeeze into them? Bradenburg Gate, Reichtstag, Pergamon Museum are certainly in my to-see list, and I'll likely visit Berlin Cathedral, Alexanderplatz, Gendarmesmarkt too.

It depends on what your preferences are. The museums in Berlin are pretty close to each other (most of them situated in the "museum island" ), but need hours to see most of them. The Natural history museum is amazing, even though it's a bit further north than the others. You will get to see the biggest Brachiosaurus in the world ,and amazing exhibitions.

The Neues Museum with the vast egyptian collection and the famous Nefertite. The Altes museum and Pergamon are both great. If you hit those 4 place the usual (Alexanderplatz, Brandenburg, etc) you will have gotten the max out of these 2 days. But each of the four museum needs hours and hours to see everything

Also check online the ticket prices, sometimes each cheaper to get the annual ticket for all public museums : http://www.smb.museum/en/plan-your-visit/annual-tickets.html it costs 50 euro , or 25 if you visit only during off hours (not so good in your case for only 2 days).

This map will help you plan better. PM or post for more information even though I haven't been to Berlin in 3 years but I 've seen all there is to see



link for bigger pic : http://i.imgur.com/pgyo0zu.jpg

Edit -PS: Totally forgot about the Art museums, if you are into art the Old National gallery has masterpieces (the new one is more into modern Art if you are into it)

Cheers,

Alex

[Beorn]

Thank you mate! You have a PM

[imithanos]

The DDR museum is interesting too. And of course a walk by the wall should be in your TODO list. Especially, if the weather helps.

[stellation]

If you're a design nerd, I really enjoyed the Bauhaus archive/museum in Berlin.

Also- you have to get a currywurst from a street vendor whilst you're there.

[Beorn]

So, some thoughts: Berlin was great. All the area from the Victoria column to Alexanderplatz at the east is great for a tourist, and of the museums, I was particularly impressed by the pergamon one. Even my sister was impressed from it and she's as far from a history guy as someone can be. Szczecin was meh, but Polish women, omg

[ReasonablySober]

I've always been ambivalent about traveling all my life, but I'm less than two weeks out from my trip to Europe and I'm finally getting excited.

Venice (2.5 days)
Florence (3 days) - Day trip to Cinque Terre
Rome (3 days) - Day trip to either Pompei or Orvieto
Sorrento (3 days) - Day trips to Amfali Coast and Capri
Paris (3 Days) - Maybe a day trip to Bruges, Belgium

Anyone with some experience over there, I've got a couple gaps in Venice, Rome and maybe Paris if I don't hit up Bruges. Anything you guys would highly recommend in those areas that I'm missing?

[BucksStatsGuy]

I've always been ambivalent about traveling all my life, but I'm less than two weeks out from my trip to Europe and I'm finally getting excited.

Venice (2.5 days)
Florence (3 days) - Day trip to Cinque Terre
Rome (3 days) - Day trip to either Pompei or Orvieto
Sorrento (3 days) - Day trips to Amfali Coast and Capri
Paris (3 Days) - Maybe a day trip to Bruges, Belgium

Anyone with some experience over there, I've got a couple gaps in Venice, Rome and maybe Paris if I don't hit up Bruges. Anything you guys would highly recommend in those areas that I'm missing?

There's a lot of awesome stuff in Rome, obviously. I would just say try and find non-touristy restaurants! Sorrento is an excellent place to chill for a few days. Make sure when on Capri to take a hike up to Tiberius' palace. Great views, good exercise. The boat tours that go into the blue grotto are pretty neat as well. I also know many of the gelato hot spots in Rome/Florence if you are interested. I've been to Rome 5 times in my life (and will be returning there in August), and at this point know it pretty well. Is there anything you already have in mind that you want to do?

[Nightfall]

I've always been ambivalent about traveling all my life, but I'm less than two weeks out from my trip to Europe and I'm finally getting excited.

Venice (2.5 days)
Florence (3 days) - Day trip to Cinque Terre
Rome (3 days) - Day trip to either Pompei or Orvieto
Sorrento (3 days) - Day trips to Amfali Coast and Capri
Paris (3 Days) - Maybe a day trip to Bruges, Belgium

Anyone with some experience over there, I've got a couple gaps in Venice, Rome and maybe Paris if I don't hit up Bruges. Anything you guys would highly recommend in those areas that I'm missing?

Nice trip. Looks like your interested in both coastal areas and historic cities. I won't bother mentioning the museums, as I am sure you have already planned what interests you.

Florence is my favorite region in Italy (for it's nature and cuisine mostly). Cinque Terre is great, but one of the best things to do is book a Tour to have a wine tasting with a great dinner at a 17th Century Vineyard Estate, there are many that offer it , most with good reviews should be ok. They last about 4 hours and transport from and to Florence center is included.

Rome. If you can't do both Orvieto and Pompei, then give priority to Pompei.

As for the trips from Paris, Bruges is great (especially if you are a beer geek like me). Consider also Boulogne-sur-Mer (which is also about 3hrs from Paris). Beautiful coastal city with great history and many things to visit, mostly from medieval times, and one of the best aquariums in Europe.

If you are into craft beer I can recommend great places especially in Rome.

Cheers

[JimmyTheKid]

I've always been ambivalent about traveling all my life, but I'm less than two weeks out from my trip to Europe and I'm finally getting excited.

Venice (2.5 days)
Florence (3 days) - Day trip to Cinque Terre
Rome (3 days) - Day trip to either Pompei or Orvieto
Sorrento (3 days) - Day trips to Amfali Coast and Capri
Paris (3 Days) - Maybe a day trip to Bruges, Belgium

Anyone with some experience over there, I've got a couple gaps in Venice, Rome and maybe Paris if I don't hit up Bruges. Anything you guys would highly recommend in those areas that I'm missing?

So jealous.

Eight of us did a couples Greece/Italy trip a few years back. Crazy to think we collectively went from zero kids to eight since that time. Our flight to Greece coincidentally left the day after we drafted Giannis! We hit Venice and Rome, but my favorite leg of the Italy portion of the trip was Sorrento. We were there for four days, two of which were spent day tripping to Pompei and Capri. Both absolute must-sees! DM if you want specifics on food, drink, lodging, and/or sightseeing. And have a great time. Again, sooooo jealous. You're going at the perfect time of year.

[Beorn]

If you have some spare time around Florence, I would recommend Lucca and Siena too.

[BucksStatsGuy]

If you are into craft beer I can recommend great places especially in Rome.

Cheers

Craft beer in Rome, ehhhhhhhhhh? What are the spots!?

[HurricaneKid]

I've always been ambivalent about traveling all my life, but I'm less than two weeks out from my trip to Europe and I'm finally getting excited.

Venice (2.5 days)
Florence (3 days) - Day trip to Cinque Terre
Rome (3 days) - Day trip to either Pompei or Orvieto
Sorrento (3 days) - Day trips to Amfali Coast and Capri
Paris (3 Days) - Maybe a day trip to Bruges, Belgium

Anyone with some experience over there, I've got a couple gaps in Venice, Rome and maybe Paris if I don't hit up Bruges. Anything you guys would highly recommend in those areas that I'm missing?

Make sure you have reservations to the museums in Florence for your group in advance. mid-late June is about as peak as it gets so might not get it at all without reservations and at best you would have to wait for really obscene lengths of time. Or get the Firenze Pass if you want to see all the area attractions. This is a good breakdown of your options:
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/making-museum-reservations-in-florence

I think one day in Florence is plenty (Cinque Terre is a long day trip but well worth it, use the other day to see Tuscany).

I love Paris and it is tough to do in 3 days. Taking a day out of it to take a $200+ 6 hr rd trip to see Bruges seems extreme, even if Bruges is really cool. I'd tell you to see Saint Chapelle on a sunny day (arguably the best stained glass in the world) and see the Pompidou (best modern art museum in the world IMO) and maybe the Rodin museum, none of which any guide book would ever tell you to do in D1 or D2 in Paris.

Take the time to plan ahead for a meal or two in each destination (especially Venice/Rome/Florence). Read guide books, etc and go to nice restaurants the locals go to. If you just wander in to whatever restaurant is nearby whatever sight you are seeing your idea of French and Italian cuisine will be forever ruined. I'm not kidding when I tell you I once paid $30 for cold (not microwaved all the way through) Chef Boy-R-Dee at a restaurant in Venice. Snacking away is fine but you will need to rest anyways. You may well be walking 12 hours a day though a lot of this trip.

[Nightfall]

If you are into craft beer I can recommend great places especially in Rome.

Cheers

Craft beer in Rome, ehhhhhhhhhh? What are the spots!?

"Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fà" , Via Benedetta 25 :
15+ taps and 200-300 different bottles, the owner Manuelle, is also one of the nicest guys on earth and a total beer geek. Tiny place but since the weather will be nice ,most of the action is outside

"Brasserie 4:20", Via Portuense 82:
Taps:30 at least (depending on which levels are open and special events, go up to more than 50), amazing food.Can be pricey, one of the top beer restaurants in the world. Some rare gems, off the menu too. Alex, the owner, is one of the pioneers of craft beer in italy. Many bottles to go too, as he has a bottle store licence as well.

"Bir&Fud",Via Benedetta 23 :
There are 2 of them, this is the beer restaurant with 18 taps and a bottle list of 200+. Great pizza.

"Bir&Fud Bottega",Via Luca Valerio 36:
Their Bottle Store with 400+ labels

"Open Baladin Roma", Via degli Specchi 6:
40+ Taps, a couple hundreds bottles.All italian micros. Mostly theirs (Baladin), of course you can get their famous Barley Wine : Xyauyù (often in many barel aged variations). Great food especially burgers.

"Luppolo 12", Via Dei Marrucini 12 - San Lorenzo:
Bar with 16 taps and ~200 Bottles. Great prices

I can go on for a couple pages more, but these are the top (and world level class). And I left out some good bottle stores (Domus Birrae, Johnny's etc).

[machu46]

I'm also making my way to Europe for the first time in my life in a couple weeks. Splitting the trip between 4 locations:

Cambridge, England (girlfriend is graduating from grad school there)
Barcelona, Spain
San Sebastián, Spain
London, England

If any of you guys have been around these places and have suggestions, I'm all ears. We have some stuff planned out already but neither of us has ever been to Spain before so we could easily be missing out on stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nightfall]

I'm also making my way to Europe for the first time in my life in a couple weeks. Splitting the trip between 4 locations:

Cambridge, England (girlfriend is graduating from grad school there)
Barcelona, Spain
San Sebastián, Spain
London, England

If any of you guys have been around these places and have suggestions, I'm all ears. We have some stuff planned out already but neither of us has ever been to Spain before so we could easily be missing out on stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For Barcelona check here :

viewtopic.php?p=53885017#p53885017

[machu46]

I'm also making my way to Europe for the first time in my life in a couple weeks. Splitting the trip between 4 locations:

Cambridge, England (girlfriend is graduating from grad school there)
Barcelona, Spain
San Sebastián, Spain
London, England

If any of you guys have been around these places and have suggestions, I'm all ears. We have some stuff planned out already but neither of us has ever been to Spain before so we could easily be missing out on stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For Barcelona check here :

viewtopic.php?p=53885017#p53885017

Do you know if any of the main tourist attractions require tickets/reservations to go see them? For example, I'm on a site right now that recommends buying tickets to Park Guell but I'm not sure if it's really necessary or if they're just trying to get tourists to sink money into tickets or something.

[Nightfall]

I'm also making my way to Europe for the first time in my life in a couple weeks. Splitting the trip between 4 locations:

Cambridge, England (girlfriend is graduating from grad school there)
Barcelona, Spain
San Sebastián, Spain
London, England

If any of you guys have been around these places and have suggestions, I'm all ears. We have some stuff planned out already but neither of us has ever been to Spain before so we could easily be missing out on stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For Barcelona check here :

viewtopic.php?p=53885017#p53885017

Do you know if any of the main tourist attractions require tickets/reservations to go see them? For example, I'm on a site right now that recommends buying tickets to Park Guell but I'm not sure if it's really necessary or if they're just trying to get tourists to sink money into tickets or something.

There are some that you can book in advance. Park Guell hat a small line in less than 10 you were through. The only lien I remember waiting (a lot!) was for Sagrada Familia. I am not sure if booking in advance saves you much time (something like a speedy boarding).

Also don't forget if you have booked a ticket for touristic bus (which i highly recommend) to check if the site you are visiting is entitled to a discount (they give you a booklet with the ticket with all the discounts)

[HKPackFan]

I've always been ambivalent about traveling all my life, but I'm less than two weeks out from my trip to Europe and I'm finally getting excited.

Venice (2.5 days)
Florence (3 days) - Day trip to Cinque Terre
Rome (3 days) - Day trip to either Pompei or Orvieto
Sorrento (3 days) - Day trips to Amfali Coast and Capri
Paris (3 Days) - Maybe a day trip to Bruges, Belgium

Anyone with some experience over there, I've got a couple gaps in Venice, Rome and maybe Paris if I don't hit up Bruges. Anything you guys would highly recommend in those areas that I'm missing?

I'll be in Amalfi & Capri next Monday through Thursday. If you see a dude with some bucks gear that's probably me. Say hello we'll get beers. (Our Pompeii tour is 22nd).

[machu46]

For Barcelona check here :

viewtopic.php?p=53885017#p53885017

Do you know if any of the main tourist attractions require tickets/reservations to go see them? For example, I'm on a site right now that recommends buying tickets to Park Guell but I'm not sure if it's really necessary or if they're just trying to get tourists to sink money into tickets or something.

There are some that you can book in advance. Park Guell hat a small line in less than 10 you were through. The only lien I remember waiting (a lot!) was for Sagrada Familia. I am not sure if booking in advance saves you much time (something like a speedy boarding).

Also don't forget if you have booked a ticket for touristic bus (which i highly recommend) to check if the site you are visiting is entitled to a discount (they give you a booklet with the ticket with all the discounts)

Thanks, really appreciate it!