Europe trip, 1-2 months

[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. 8)

 

[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

 

[Marsu42]

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).

That might be true for the cities and surrounding areas, but in my experience once you get to the countryside very few people actually speak a second language. Example: Every Italian I've ever met says Italians speak some English, but once you really try to talk to them their knowledge often is extremely limited, and once you go to southern Italy there are absolutely no English speaking people left... when I was in Italy it was like being on Mars, I felt completely alien with my German & English skills.

 

[Imagination_landB]

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.

Haha yes i'm aware of that i'm bilingual(french and english) and will be able to speak un poquito spanish

 

[AmbientLight]

Some general regional language tips as far as I can tell:
English is usually spoken by many locals in Northern and Central Europe, less so in Italy and France or Russia. Especially in Russia you better speak Russian or get an interpreter.

For whatever reason Italians often speak French as a preferred second language, less often English. If you know some Spanish or Portuguese or French, you should be able to make do, if perhaps only in a special way: Speaking to others without any problems despite not understanding each other's languages. If anyone, then Italians are perfectly capable of that.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that personal findings may differ wildly from the statements provided here. This is just my personal view and I had to resort to some generalization, which is always problematic.

 

[albron00]

This summer I spent some time in Lviv (Ukraine)
Must go.
It is pretty old city (~1000 years old) with great architecture, nice people and good and inexpensive restaurants.

 

[willis]

Also Estonia would be one nice old place to be checked.

 

[AmbientLight]

You can throw in Latvia and Lithuania with the same recommendation. These places have a special old European charme, which is perhaps surprisingly to be found preserved here rather than at other places.

 

[RobertG.]

Hi, in early April most of central and northern Europe is still in the middle of spring. So there are lots of spring flowers but the trees and fields are still bare. The weather is also very unstable and temps vary between 5 and 15°C mainly. In April southern Europe is best. In May I would go north to central Europe. e.g. The Netherlands or Germany. Now the fields are green and yellow (flowering rapeseed). The forests show wonderful fresh green. Central Europe looks best mid to end of May. I'm German, so I know the region quite well.

Best would be to choose a region, e.g. Iberian Peninsula, for 3-4 weeks and then move on to next. In the larger countries you can also spend the whole 2 months and experience the endless old towns andancient villages.

I would start in southern Spain / Portugal / Italy, then go through southern France to either Belgium and The Netherlands / Ireland and GB / southern and east Germany. From north or northeast Germany southern Scandinavia (Danmark and southern Norway or Sweden) is easy and fast to reach, even by train.

 

[picturesbyme]

There is another country - in the middle with a lot of flavors for every age, taste.

2 vid. here, but it worth a bit more research

http://youtu.be/vSkuOy5iVP4

http://youtu.be/qS4nrcm3KqY

 

[stephan00]

Just as a P.S. on my recommendation of the Salzkammergut: I recently spent three days there in order to take some pictures, in case you want to have a look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80270150@N06/sets/72157631863274949/ . So bring a good (u)wa (I used the 24 L II and the 14 mm Walimex aka Samyang), and prepare for about 33% chance of rain ;-) Oh: and I skipped most of the mountains on purpose, but those panoramas can be breathtaking.

Also second the above recommendation of Hungary: if you look at the map of Europe, you'll find Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava rather close together, and these three cities should provide you with more than enough churchs, monuments, parks, statues, museums, etc. for many years

 

[chasn]

what about some sort of theme to your travels? What are you/your girlfriend interested in? Is it rugged scenery or history or museums or battlefields or mountains or whatever. Or food.....As other posters have indicated there is a huge amount to see so you need something to help you narrow it down - might as well be something you are interested in. Just a thought.

 

[Imagination_landB]

We're interested in pretty much everything except wine/food/nightclub tourism. I want beautiful landscapes, architecture...

 

[MrFotoFool]

Your opening statement mentioned you were interested in everything, including zoos (which is my particular photo interest). If you like cats, the best wild cat facility in the world by far is Le Parc Des Felins in Nesle, France. It is about an hour east of Paris. They have 26 species of cats (plus numerous subspecies) in huge natural enclosures. The lion and tiger exhibits (of which there are multiple) are between 1-2 acres each.

The best zoo in England, if you happen to be in the area, is Chester Zoo. The town of Chester is also somewhat photogenic and has an ancient Roman wall that you can walk along.

I have not been to Berlin Zoo, but it is reported to have the most diverse animal collection in the world (although quality of enclosures seems to not be top notch).