Eurotrip- 2007

[Ice]

Well, I just booked a plane ticket from NY to Brussels, Belgium with a friend. We are meeting up with about 5 more guys and are going to go on a 2 week long Eurotrip. I'm so excited right now, I had to start this thread, knowing that many org posters are Europeans, and ask what cities we should go to. So far, we have these:

Cologne, Germany
Amsterdam, Holland
Brussels, Belgium (A must. My friend's family lives there)
Paris, France
Prague, CR

Any suggestions would be fantastic because we are still in the planning stage, with the only thing booked being our plane tickets. Please, though, nothing in the UK. I went to London last summer and it cost me an arm and leg. I really have no interest in going back.

[dacdac]

Munich and Madrid. cool music, good food, great places.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Prague, CR

The state carrot gardens in Crazirabbistan are always nice in June.

Seriously, have fun. I'd like to go to Europe, but the cost and the loss of summer work time is not a good combination.

Crazed Rabbit

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Go to the vatican and sneak into the popes living quarters. If you see any bell ropes while you are there pull them.

[Ice]

The state carrot gardens in Crazirabbistan are always nice in June.

Seriously, have fun. I'd like to go to Europe, but the cost and the loss of summer work time is not a good combination.

Crazed Rabbit

Oh I know. I have a job now to support my trip, and I'm going early enough that it won't really affect my summer work.

[Ser Clegane]

Personally I am not sure if I would add anything to these 5 cities if you got 2 weeks to spend as these places probably will already keeo you sufficiently busy.
Regarding Cologne - any specific reasons to go there? If I had to pick a German city, Munich or Berlin would probably be higher on my list.
Dresden might also be an interesting option as it is not too far away from Prague and you could easily make a 1-day stop there (quite a beatiful place - if you go there try to get tickets for the Green Vault which you should book well in advance if you have the opportunity - unfortunately I could not see it yet, but it's supposed to be quite impressive, also the Armoury at the Zwinger would be worthwhile to check out)

Other than that, with Paris, Prague and Amsterdam you already made excellent choices, from Brussels you might also consider a day-trip to Antwerp.

Have fun and post pictures

[Fragony]

Don't forget Berlin, the eastern part is party paradise if that's your thing. Copenhagen is worth a visit as well, it has the coolest atractionpark I have ever seen, it's very expensive though. And why isn't London on your list?

edit: Zurich, oh how could I forget you.

[Sjakihata]

14 days I would visit maximum 4 cities and they would be: Barcelona, Paris, Berlin and some eastern city, Prague being an excellent choice.

Consider Barcelona though, extremely beautiful.

edit: if you're into renaissance go to Florence. I believe we had a thread on that somewhere around.

[Banquo's Ghost]

If you're going in the Prague direction, Vienna would be a good choice as a stop.

But as others note, don't try to do too much. Savour two or three cities rather than do the whistle stop tour.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I have never been to Köln (Cologne) but if I had to pick a German city to visit again I'd probably hit Leipzig or Berlin. I found Berlin to be much more interesting than Dresden and I didn't really find anything that I really loved in Dresden. Although Germany won their second handball game against France in the Handball World Cup right when the traffic jam we were in for an hour and a half magically dissappeared when we were driving to Dresden so maybe I shouldn't be too hard on Dresden.

Leipzig was a great stop and I was really dissappointed that all I got to do was sit on a bus and see the sites. I'd definately reccomend Leipzig.

Berlin is also a great choice. but I'm rushed so I can't write more.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I would also recommend Berlin, it's a great place.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I'll repeat the recomendation not to try and cram in too much in two weeks. It's better to see a few places properly than to merely scratch at the surface of many. ('Today is tuesday, so this must be Prague, right?')

Cologne is okay, I spend a fine afternoon there two years ago. But if you're American and have got two weeks in Europe, then skip it. The cathedral is great, but most of the city was ruined WWII. The city has a fair share of fine monuments, but they feel isolated, removed from their historical context. As a 'European' tourist destination, it just doesn't compare favourably to so many other cities, even in Germany itself.

Cologne, Germany
Amsterdam, Holland
Brussels, Belgium (A must. My friend's family lives there)
Paris, France
Prague, CR
No UK

That's a fine list. Brussels is a must to you. And nobody will argue against Amsterdam, Paris or Prague.

You could skip Prague, to limit your trip geographically, and explore northwest Europe a bit more. Limiting yourself to a handful of capitals means you won't really develop a feel for the place. It's the difference between visiting only NY and LA in the US, or seeing just one but renting a car to explore the surroundings.

Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris are quite close together, and there are a gazillion things to see, smaller cities to visit, and things to do in this area, even more if you add in western Germany in your trip.

[Samurai Waki]

2 weeks? Gah! I spent (up until recently) the best 6 months of my life in Europe. in 2004. Actually, I was rather disappointed with Brussels (no offence to the Belgians here), and I thought Venice smelt like a Cesspool. Munich and Prague are a must see, trust me, you won't don't want to miss out. I dissapointingly never made it too Spain (maybe on my next Euro Trip). Rome was pretty awesome, even though the Traffic was abyssmal, and once you get used to the mean Parisians (they don't respect timidness) and learn a bit of the language, Paris is a pretty neat place, just avoid the major touristy attractions, well... if you can wait for 4-6 hours the Louvre was breathtaking. Also, don't miss out on the Cathedrals. The Cathedrals in Cologne and Dresden were inspiring.

[Ice]

Personally I am not sure if I would add anything to these 5 cities if you got 2 weeks to spend as these places probably will already keeo you sufficiently busy.
Regarding Cologne - any specific reasons to go there? If I had to pick a German city, Munich or Berlin would probably be higher on my list.
Dresden might also be an interesting option as it is not too far away from Prague and you could easily make a 1-day stop there (quite a beatiful place - if you go there try to get tickets for the Green Vault which you should book well in advance if you have the opportunity - unfortunately I could not see it yet, but it's supposed to be quite impressive, also the Armoury at the Zwinger would be worthwhile to check out)

Other than that, with Paris, Prague and Amsterdam you already made excellent choices, from Brussels you might also consider a day-trip to Antwerp.

Have fun and post pictures

Hmm, Munich does sound quite nice. So does Antwerp. I might have to sub them for Prague just because of the distance.

[Moros]

2 weeks? Gah! I spent (up until recently) the best 6 months of my life in Europe. in 2004. Actually, I was rather disappointed with Brussels (no offence to the Belgians here), and I thought Venice smelt like a Cesspool. Munich and Prague are a must see, trust me, you won't don't want to miss out. I dissapointingly never made it too Spain (maybe on my next Euro Trip). Rome was pretty awesome, even though the Traffic was abyssmal, and once you get used to the mean Parisians (they don't respect timidness) and learn a bit of the language, Paris is a pretty neat place, just avoid the major touristy attractions, well... if you can wait for 4-6 hours the Louvre was breathtaking. Also, don't miss out on the Cathedrals. The Cathedrals in Cologne and Dresden were inspiring.

About Brussels, you need to know the places really. But if somebody can tell you about the good thing of Brussels, it's Adrian.

Cologne, Germany
Amsterdam, Holland
Brussels, Belgium (A must. My friend's family lives there)
Paris, France
Prague, CR
No UK

Anyway Prague is probably one of the prettiest cities of Europe. Buda-Pest is such a rough diamond too. About towns from the France-Belgium-Netherlands area, Antwerps is a no-go. I think, if you'd like to visit another Belgium town, Brugges, Gent and Leuven are better options (tough they are quite a bit smaller than the others, they are big enough and are much more charming than Antwerps for example. Paris is obviously a must, the city of lights. It won't dissapoint you. May I also recommend a stop in Italy? Not to Venice or Rome, but why not Florence? With it's unique Cathedral.
If you go to spain I'd recommend not to go to MAdrid or Barcelona (I know Gaudi seems a must) but try out Valencia in summer. Everything is brand new there, but a bit undiscovered by the mass tourists (I hate those). Make sure you don't go during that sailing competition tough as it'll be real crowded then. UK, well the cities aren't that great over there, imo. The country side however can be real nice. But I don't think that's something for you guys, so a good choice to stay away from there. Germany, well I don't really know a beautifull city in Germany, never been to cologne tough. However if you like to see something of the Romans and you ain't going to Italy, you might want to visit Trier. It isn't too far from Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam. You can go trough it if you want to go to Prague anyway. (If you go to Prague, you really should go to Buda Pest tough. Undiscovered by the mass tourists but almost a must). Another city you might want to stop by should be Vienna.

Hope this helps. Try out wikipedia for the cities they might make you a little wiser.

Edit: Just noticed Cologne is Köln, been there tough. Didn't know the English name. Anyway, I don't find Köln that special. If you go there I must say however that they have a rather nice Art Museum (quite an understatement).

[Ice]

About Brussels, you need to know the places really. But if somebody can tell you about the good thing of Brussels, it's Adrian.


Anyway Prague is probably one of the prettiest cities of Europe. Buda-Pest is such a rough diamond too. About towns from the France-Belgium-Netherlands area, Antwerps is a no-go. I think, if you'd like to visit another Belgium town, Brugges, Gent and Leuven are better options (tough they are quite a bit smaller than the others, they are big enough and are much more charming than Antwerps for example. Paris is obviously a must, the city of lights. It won't dissapoint you. May I also recommend a stop in Italy? Not to Venice or Rome, but why not Florence? With it's unique Cathedral.
If you go to spain I'd recommend not to go to MAdrid or Barcelona (I know Gaudi seems a must) but try out Valencia in summer. Everything is brand new there, but a bit undiscovered by the mass tourists (I hate those). Make sure you don't go during that sailing competition tough as it'll be real crowded then. UK, well the cities aren't that great over there, imo. The country side however can be real nice. But I don't think that's something for you guys, so a good choice to stay away from there. Germany, well I don't really know a beautifull city in Germany, never been to cologne tough. However if you like to see something of the Romans and you ain't going to Italy, you might want to visit Trier. It isn't too far from Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam. You can go trough it if you want to go to Prague anyway. (If you go to Prague, you really should go to Buda Pest tough. Undiscovered by the mass tourists but almost a must). Another city you might want to stop by should be Vienna.

Hope this helps. Try out wikipedia for the cities they might make you a little wiser.

Edit: Just noticed Cologne is Köln, been there tough. Didn't know the English name. Anyway, I don't find Köln that special. If you go there I must say however that they have a rather nice Art Museum (quite an understatement).

Wow, thanks! That is a great assessment. I'm going to look into Trier.

[Moros]

No thx.

[Ice]

No thx.

...?

[Peasant Phill]

I don't know if Antwerp is a good city to visit. It never grasped me as Brussels did. But it is all about what you want to see and experience. If you want historical buildings go to Bruges, if you want the nightlife go to Antwerp and if you want to go to a cosy city with some great bars go to Ghent or Leuven (student cities).

I suggest you find some good travelingguides and some good forums and you'll figure it out.