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I just got done booking all the hostels we will be staying at. I'm also going to get a 4 country rail pass soon. (I'm the accountant of the group I'm going with, since I'm good with numbers).

I'm going to the following Places:

Brussels
Munich
Bern
Amsterdam
Paris

My point of this thread was to get some insight into each one. What's good to see? Where's good to eat? What's good to do? I know a lot of people on this board are either from Western Europe or have visited there, so you insight would be greatly appreciated.

*Note: Please no suggestions on additional places. I have already booked everything, so I'm stuck to the above.

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First and foremost: Make sure to bring plenty of spare cash, I was amazed at how fast mine seemed to evaporate.

I've been to Paris and Munich, although I didn't really spend enough time in Munich to comment much on it. Paris, on the otherhand, I stayed three nights there.

First, I would heavily advise the Eiffel Tower. It'll be busy, but its worth it. The view from the top viewing area is great, it seems as though Paris stretches on forever from to the horizon. Also, if you go by at night, you may get treated to the lights that adorn the tower shining like a great light show. I personally liked the bateax mouches ride on the Seine.

I must caution you, however, to be very careful with your money. In my experience, the Parisian pickpockets were rather skilled. Also, watch for gypsies and con artists who are looking for tourists like you. They will congregate at the tourist attractions, like the tower, Notre Dame, and outside the Louvre. Speaking of the Louvre, it is well worth admission to get into, unless you absolutely detest art of all kinds.

Lastly, if you're looking for some quality(and relatively cheap) french quisine, I would try to save some cash whenever possible. Personally, I found some of the food and beverage stands on the Champs Elysees were of great value. I got an excellent chocolate crepe from a stand for a meager one euro, as opposed to the four to eight you might pay at most of the shops and restaurants. And if you're looking for souvenirs, some of the paintings for sale along the Seine were pretty good as well.

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~

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Hey, if you are in Munich in Summer you have to check out the "Englischer Garten" [translaters into smth. like "English Garden"which is a park, really big & lots of people there. It is beautiful to chill there in the afternoon. Beergardens, medows, people doing all kinds of sports.....and did i mention the beergardens?!?!?!?!?!

Have a ton of fun, over herei n the old world.

And if U wanna see a medieval town, come to Regensburg, it is only 1.5 hrs. by train from Munich. Well, you said no other places, but it is an amazing town.

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I've never been to Munich but just to give you a heads up it's called München in German. I bet you already know that, but just in case...

Have a great time and make sure to spit on the soccer stadium for me!

Down with Bayern München!

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Been to these two, so I can probably share some insight to you.

Amsterdam

First and foremost, go to Amsterdam. The night life and activity of that town is HUGE. If you're around the centre, on day, take a ride on the channels with the boat. It's a really enjoyable trip. After that, visit the Rijksmuseum, the Rembrandt museum and Anne Frank museum if you like history and art.

But the night it's all about Amsterdam. It doesn't matter if you wanna go for a "ride" or you don't, visit the Red Light District. Really crowded, but if you're in a group with more friends, you can have fun. Just in case you need an extra, visit the Sex Museum.

For eating, I tried different restaurants, but I liked the Argentine restaurants. They're always full, and relatively cheap. If you want to go for a shopping spree, the center is full, and you can do some serious exercise too.

Bern

Bern is the total opposite of Amsterdam. I stayed a day in it, and I found it a very relaxing and pleasant city. It's really calm, in comparison with Amsterdam. At 12 midnight the streets were empty. In Amdam they were full like a rush hour.

For sights, visit the Zytglogge, a clock tower with puppets, which is really nice. Make sure to visit the Munster, a 15th century cathedral and the town hall. Since it's a very medieval town, it's good for shopping too. So get some extra cash, especially because it's Switzerland, and it's damned expensive.

Bern is a perfect place for walking, for taking a stroll. So get your legs ready.



Hope it helped you.

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Well the only on I have been to is Paris. I loved it (not as much as Lyon though it's still wonderful) and I agree with greaterkhaan about the pickpockets and con artists. Though I was so tight fisted with my money that the only thing I brought in France and Spain were postcards, some nice small paintings and food so my mother was shocked by the amount of money I came home with.

I wasn't that impressed by the Eiffel Tower, I hated all the tagging all over it and was probably the only on in our group who didn't leave their name on the Eiffel Tower. The view was spectacular even if I did have to keep my hand on my wallet the entire time (well maybe I didn't have to but I became paranoid after seeing the sign warning about pickpockets). The filth of Paris is something I wasn't too bothered by however quite a few members of our group were disgruntled by the dog poo. Paris has a real charm to it, however the city always seems to be in such a hurry compared to the rest of France.

Ah well, thats my opinion anyway. Good luck on your travels.

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My favorite place in Paris is the Musee d'Orsay. It houses nineteenth century art - the Impressionists and that stuff - with an absolutely amazing collection (surely the best in the world). Plus it presents them wonderfully in a old railway station, fairly compact but with enough space and glorious light. By contrast, the Louvre can be a bit oppressive: crowded, sprawling and often dark/stuffy despite the glass pyramid. The modern art stuff in the Pompidou centre always gives me a headache.

From a militaria perspective, there was some interesting stuff in the place with Napoleon's tomb - Les Invalides, IIRC.

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I love Ney's statue by the Invalides. Sword in hand, rousing the men. Makes you wonder if the veterans buried there can here him.

My advice, don't go to Paris to see the Louvre. Just go to Paris. Leave the hotel in the morning and just walk. You might just get somewhere. Ditto for Amsterdam. Or Brussels. Now that i think about it, i do it quite often...

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Thanks for the information guys, this has helped a lot. Bern sounds like an awesome place, I can't wait to see all the medieval architecture. I really want to see Napoleon's tomb in Paris now.

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Napoleon's tomb is quite impressive indeed. There's also a museum about warfare , so if you are interested in that you might want to ceck it out. Also you might want to have a look to the cathedral and Versaille (it's not in the centrum tough). Also Mont Martre is always a bit fun. Be ware of pick pocketers and folks trying to sell stuff. Some try to make you an armband, so keep your arms away from them cause before you know they made one and they want you to pay for it. Also you can a crêpe (pancake) from stalls, they are cheap and good. Verry nice for a quick snack. Centre Georges Pompidou is also a must visit together with the Louvre at least if you like art that is. Also I don't know for how long you're going but I'd try not to visit everything in one day, give it some time and make time to get lost in the endless streets. (For all cities not just paris).
If you like shopping or modern architecture, La defence might not be a bad idea. (La grande arche)

Brussels, well the capitol of Belgium so I should know all about it. You could see the Atomium it's the eiffel tower of Brussels. (not really a tower tough...). For art museums well there's a museum about instruments and "het museum voor schone kunsten" is the louvre of Brussels.

HAve to go now, will continue tomorrow.

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Don't forget to drop by the Bulldog when in Amsterdam, sure you and your friends 'll have a blast.

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It's on the list, Dutch_guy. I'm also making sure I visit the Grey Area. This time, I know what I'm doing. Last summer, when my friend and I stopped by, we both had WAY to much and passed out. The guy eventually kicked us out because we were scaring the customers.

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I've been to all those cities, AMS, BRX, CDG many times. BRN, 3 or 4 times, MUC twice. Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris right here in my neighbourhood. If I take the train now I can be in any of those cities in less than 1.5 hours.

You might wanna jump off the train and visit Antwerp too (it's on the line between BRX and AMS).

AMS is such a great city. BE PREPARED !!!

A lot of Americans I know freak out when they see that place. It's one of the most fun cities anywhere IMO.

I know you said no more places, but I should mention... if I were you I'd go CPH (Copenhagen) as well. Classy and TOTALLY crazy. A load of fun. My eyes almost popped out there, the chicks are soooooo HOT, and friendly, open minded like you don't wanna know. Like the Dutch, but only ... Scandinavian.

I hope to go back there this sumer, that and Sweden.

What are you looking for ? Nightlife, sex, cultural, historic, sightseeing ? Bit of all ?
Can you be more specific ? I might be able to give you some pointers.

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All of those sound good! I'll take all the info I can get.

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Alright...we can get this over with the easy way or the hard way...

*sharpens knives*

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Yeah smoking spinach was never more fun

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I basically support anyone who isn't Bayern München, and München when they play against a non-German team. I have a bit of a soft spot for Werder Bremen and Aachen because I've seen them both play. The Aachen fans I saw were insane, and my first dose of fußball freaks. As for Werder my host brother really likes them so I sort of have to like them...

Ice have fun on your Eurotrip!

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If you have the time, try to visit some smaller cities and go off the beaten track. Take your time to discover the 'soul' of the country you are in. At least to me, people tend to be at least as interesting the sights to see.

...and claim to be Canadian.

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No need for that whatsoever.

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Apparently so if you want to avoid talking about Iraq and Bush with just about everyone you meet.

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It would help if visiting americans dropped the 'Hi am *insert name*I am american but I hate Bush' routine, it avoids these conversations. What do we care, welcome to Europe my american muca's

Ice, if you want to be sure you don't step on any toes, this is a pretty useful site for americans visiting the old world, Amsterdam in particular.

www.channels.nl

Perhaps the most important thing to remember, service in europe is different from service in the USA so expect less(or even what you would consider rude, just our blunt dutch way), there the customer is king, here the shopkeeper.

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In most countries they don't expect you to tip though.

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Ice, when you get to Amsterdam -- actually I like to call it Amsterdamn(!) -- don't forget to rent a cheap car, and one of your friends should sit next to you, and while you drive you talk about McDonald's and how they put mayonaise on the fries, how they drown 'em in that ****. And talk about the metric systems too. and the Royale with Cheese!

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Brussels:


- Grote Markt/Grand Place, Beenhouwersstraat/Rue des Bouchers and Manneke Pis : near the Centraal Station/Gare Central (train and subway (better known as "de metro" or "le métro") station)
- Atomium and Mini-Europa (theme park) : near the subway ("metro") station "Heyzel" (starting from the Centraal Station, you take line 1A in the direction of Koning Boudewijn/Roi Baudouin)
- Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België

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The funny thing is, last summer went I went, I told everyone I was an American. The British didn't care. The Dutch didn't care and were extremely friendly. The Belgians did seem to care, but didn't give me to much trouble about it.

The only crap I took was actually from another Canadian visiting Europe. Go figure.

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It is true, we are an annoying breed

Seriously, just enjoy yourself

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ICE how long are going to be there for? Im gonna go in 15 months for about 6 weeks and claim to be a Texan.

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*has a heart attack and dies*

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2 weeks. I'd run out of money if I went any longer.

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