Europe trip, 1-2 months

[7enderbender]

I think you mean Münster not Munster?  Or do you refer to the German Tank museum ?

"Münster" indeed. I was coming again from the historic perspective. It's not only pretty there but it's one of those places where you can learn what our modern Western civilization is founded on - and why we stopped (usually) setting other peoples' embassies on fire because somebody supposedly said the wrong thing half a world away.

Maybe nothing that other folks want to spoil their vacation time with though. High geek factor in that regard. But pretty no matter what.

[7enderbender]

Don´t miss the Dolomites in South Tyrol.

Worth visiting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolomites

+1

Fantastic food and wine also.

[Imagination_landB]

C'mon guys I want more suggestions!

[AmbientLight]

I advise to concentrate on one region or one theme, so as to have sufficient time at hand to appreciate local culture and sights. You would do best to define what you are looking for and then to spend some time in those areas best matching your target interest.

For example you could go for a grand tour of the Alpine region combining Southern Germany, the Alsace region in France and Switzerland, Austria (Salzburg has been mentioned, but this is not the only beautiful spot there), the Dolomites in Northern Italy and Venice and then you can add a trip to Rome and Tuscany, which is already a pretty dense program squeezing in a lot of stuff in just two months.

As an alternative you can also define one common theme, such as visiting only larger cities such as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vienna, Berlin, London, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, ...

[Jotho]

After thinking more closely on this I think you shouldbjust check out tripadvisor. Search Europe and you'll be fine. Many Americans doesn't realize or appreciate the complexity of Europe. It's imposaible to try to cover ths continent in two months. Too many thing to see and pleease also remember that our history stretches further back than 200 years.

[Imagination_landB]

haha, if only you knew how its killing me not being able to live there and have all this near me, here everything looks the same except west canadian/american coast(and south american). I love history so much and the europeen continent is  full of it. Right now im young enough to consider going there more than once so split the thing I want to see and do into many travels. i just want to know peoples opinion about whats worth to see the most to help me making some choices, theres already some places that i<m sre to go but if theres something super interesting near, i dont want to miss it! ive made my homeworks on internet and reading books like 1000 places you have to see before you die etc.. but its still worth asking and have real life advices
(sorry for the grammar mistakes english aint my native language)

[Jotho]

haha, if only you knew how its killing me not being able to live there and have all this near me, here everything looks the same except west canadian/american coast(and south american). I love history so much and the europeen continent is  full of it. Right now im young enough to consider going there more than once so split the thing I want to see and do into many travels. i just want to know peoples opinion about whats worth to see the most to help me making some choices, theres already some places that i<m sre to go but if theres something super interesting near, i dont want to miss it! ive made my homeworks on internet and reading books like 1000 places you have to see before you die etc.. but its still worth asking and have real life advices
(sorry for the grammar mistakes english aint my native language)

Well Ive onluy een to U S a few times and from whar Ive seen myself and everything else on TV and on the web I think there's plenty to see. I think you should follow previous poster and focus on a region. This time of year go for Italy and Spain. Spring, go for UK and Scandinavia. Germany anytime. Paris is always perfect. Do you enjoy food and wine? If so southern Europe can never be wrong. WW history, there's plenty. Older history even more. You will find that almost every region and country has played an important part of European history at some stage.

[AJ]

I did a six-week Eurail trip when I was 22.  That was back in 1992 

Some suggestions and learnings:
- Trains tend to take you from inner city to inner city.  Be sure to go see some of the countryside as well.  I suggest alternating between cities and countryside.
- If you go in summer then head north.  If you go in off-season then head towards the Mediterranean.
- Bring the 8-16 and 24-70 and leave the 120-300 at home.  Seriously that thing will be like hauling a boat anchor.  If you want telephoto consider picking up a 55-250.

[Wiki Tango]

  maybe I missed it (except Münster and the Alps) but did anyone mention Germany?

Are you planning for Germany, too?

Any special interests except usual tourist's targets?

And one more question: what time do you plan to travel? Summer 2013??

[Marsu42]

Many Americans doesn't realize or appreciate the complexity of Europe.

Indeed...  I recently heard the rumor that Europe isn't even a county!

Beautiful landscapes, train stations, cities, zoo's, library, castles,nice architecture,bridges,historicals sites, waterfalls,mountains,nice cruises.. as you might understand, everything that makes a nice photo is welcome in suggestions!.

My top city list I'd go to for pictures: Paris, Rome, maybe London - it's obvious, but it's really the correct choice. The problem is that you have to stay in every city at least one month to get to know the atmosphere, but that contradicts having a train ticket. But since these cities are so densely packed with attraction's it's great to wear down your shutter. I live in Berlin, but in comparison it pales for photo-shooting. London might be an obvious choice because the people there are said to speak some kind of English dialect :->

If you should decide to come to germany, I strongly suggest you visit the so called "saxon switzerland"

... another +1, that's really beautiful and surprisingly not that commercial yet. You can visit the czech side, too, it border runs right though the national park.

And for nice rural shots go to or through southwestern Germany (the part with the castles and medieval city cores :-)). And Neuschwanstein sure is worth a shot, though the crowd reaches around the block: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle ... but really nice countryside around southern Bavaria and the Alpes.

Be sure to go see some of the countryside as well.

But if you visit other parts of eastern Germany and meet people with spanking short hair cuts who don't seem overly happy to see foreigners, be sure not to mention you're from the side that won the war (also see John Cleese in Fawlty Towers on this: "Don't mention the war :-)).

As a general advice I'd say stay clear from everything that's in the leaflet "Europe's culture in one week" like Salzburg, it's crowded, expensive and imho generally unpleasant. Another thing: If you should go to Berlin don't play the game "Under which of these three matchboxes is the ball?" while someone else streals your photo equipment, this is really a problem atm here :-o

[unfocused]

I can't resist playing along. These are the places I've visited so far. Hope to do many, many more:

Provence: went last fall. In a fairly small area you get incredible variety. Started in Nice (coast), then to Canyon du Verdon (nature), St. Remy de Provence (smallish town, Van Gogh and Roman sites, people actually live here, although it is a tourist town); Arles and Avignon and Pont du Gard (real history, unlike here in the U.S. Just walking around the amphitheater in Arles and knowing that people used to walk those same hallways to watch gladiators fight to the death is pretty mindblowing) The Camargue (an entire ecosystem unlike anywhere else in the region); Wine country, etc. etc.  So much in so little area. I could spend a year there.

Austria: Been there twice. Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna. You feel like you are in a fairy tale in Innsbruck. Vienna a very friendly, walkable major city;

Crete: Wonderful in the small towns, sitting in the open cafes. Greeks love people, food and parties. Socially, nothing seems to start before 9 p.m. I think the whole island survives on about two hours of sleep a night; Minoan Crete was Greece before there was a Greece.

Kiev: One of the most "foreign" cities I've ever been to. Been there three or four times. Would go back in a minute. Imagine if, a couple times a week in the summer, Chicago shut off all traffic on Michigan Avenue and everyone came out to talk, sing, walk and party. That happens in Kiev.  I will always remember going to St. Sophia's and having a friend show me graffiti carved into the wooden columns written in languages that no longer even exist.

My advice: Don't try to do a "grand tour." Pick a region or two you are most interested in and spend some quality time there. Then do that every year or two for the rest of your life. That's my goal.

[pp77]

When you are planing to do your trip in April & May, I would at least recommend you start your trip in the southern European countries. You may be lucky and have some nice and warm days north of the Alps, but you have almost a guarantee for this south of it. If you want to go north, go as late as you can. You might want to think about skipping Russia, it is a really long trip, you need a visa and especially cities like Moscow are everything but safe.

Just another comment, generally speaking, the further north you are, the better, the more comfortable and the more on time are the trains...

I also want to through in some places with good potential motives, which have not yet been mentioned:
Alhambra (Grenada), Cinque Terre, Barcelona, Rome (be aware of the pickpockets there!!), Smögen, Kopenhagen, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Carcasonne, Hohenzollern Castle, Strasbourg, Montepellier, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Lake of Constance

[serendipidy]

Many great suggestions and ideas...I'll add a few of mine from my travels in Europe.

Of course, all the great cities: London, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Rome, Venice, Florence, etc.

England: Bath (and the roman ruins), Cotswold area, Kew Gardens outside London
France: Nice and Monaco, Provence
Holland: Keukenhof Gardens,Lisse (world's largest flower garden, especially tulips)
Germany: Heidelberg (castle ruins), Rothenburg ob der Tauber (medieval walled town), Baden-Baden, Black Forest, Berchtesgaden, Garmisch and the Zugspitze, Nuremberg, Munich
Switzerland: Lucerne, Interlaken and the Jungfrau region (Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Murren, Trummelbach Falls)
Austria: Salzberg, Innsbruck
Italy: Tuscany, Pisa, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast and Capri, Lake Como area

No matter where you go, enjoy yourselves and have a great time. Be safe and watch out for pick pockets, etc. Please let us know how it all went and post some of your photos when you get back.

[Patrick]

I see only one mention of Ireland in the replies so far  but if you find yourself in Western Europe I'd suggest a trip to the West of Ireland :- Counties Kerry, Clare and Galway are magical places with great scenery, wonderful heritage and the friendliest people you are likely to meet anywhere. I'd also recommend a trip to the Highlands of Scotland and the Lake District in England if you are into landscapes (mountains/lochs and lakes respectively) - it's all good!
Don't forget that the European Union has a population of over 300 million people comprises 27 different nations and has 23 official languages! A working knowledge of English and a little French, German and/or Spanish will get you through 95% of all conversations (over 50% of people in the EU speak English as a 1st or 2nd language).
Most of all have fun and a memorable holiday.

[marekjoz]

Except other smart ideas already mentioned, I'd also suggest you go to Norway - very beaufitul fjords, although now, in Autumn there is already a little bit cold. I think you should also get to Amsterdam, it's  really an entertaining city:-) :-)

I'd also suggest you visit some "new" EU, post soviet countries, like Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, etc.
Poland - Cracow (very beautiful city, Auschwitz - sad but leaving an "imagination" why never more)
Czech Republic - Prague, Hungary - Budapest - beautiful cities to remember long after

Not EU but interesting either in cultural or geographical way - Ukraine (Kiev, Crimea), Croatia and other post Yugoslavia countries (Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro)

You will be really surprised how diversed is Europe in comparison to US or Canada, where you live. You can travel only  like 300 km (metric system everywhere here except Great Britain) and drive through 4 countries, all very different in language, culture and landscapes and still, although Euro is almost everywhere here, you should also remember, that there are still local currencies in several countries. Check the currencies before and plan your trip wisely, also considering when and how exchange your money not to loose too much on it because it is better in many places and countries to pay rather with paper/coin money, than plastic, especially when the primary currency on your credit card are Canadian dollars. BTW - rather VISA and Mastercard only, other credit/debt cards are rather rare  (also in cashmachines) and cheques are useless here.

You are lucky, that you are French native, as France is the most difficult country in Europe to communicate in English