Europe Trip Questions

[Ryu69]

Hey everyone. I am heading to Europe in June with my wife. going to 5 cities. have some general questions for each city.

1) Is this enough days for each city to do the touristy stuff but not be too rushed?

2) what part of town is a good place to stay which is central to everything?

3) what is around a good price for hotel a night for each city?

Here is my tentative travel schedule

Fly out of Vancouver, arrive in Amsterdam on June 6
Fly out of Amsterdam to Barcelona on June 9
Fly out of Barcelona to Rome on June 15
Fly out of Rome to Paris on June 18
Train from Paris to London on June 24
Fly out of London to Vancouver on June 30

Any other thoughts would be great. Thanks.

[Talamasca]

Personally, I would decrease the amount of time in Barcelona and increase the amount in Rome. There's a lot more to see in Rome. You could decrease Amsterdam as well and spend more time elsewhere.

Generally speaking, staying anywhere in the city centre near a transport link is a good bet. I've been to all these cities and a good chunk of the major tourist sights in each are within walking distance or a short metro ride from each other. To be specfic:

Amsterdam - Centrum or Museumplein/Vondelpark
Barcelona - Ciutat Vella
Rome - Centro storico
Paris - Any of the lower arrondissements (4th, 5th & 6th in particular are very popular)
London - Anywhere in the West End

[GemInite]

Are your flights already booked on the way in/out?

You might want to consider flying into Rome and flying out of London. If you do this you'll make your way east and save a little bit of time on flights. However if it's a cost thing then I understand.

I agree with the above poster you may want to spend more time in Rome. I love Barcelona but 6 days might be a bit much. I was able to see everything I wanted to see there in 3 days (I did not go into museums but did go into all the gaudi buildings/park)

Amsterdam can be done in 2 days. Some would argue 1 but if you're flying in there and since you don't seem to be in a rush 2 is probably good. (IMO skip Anne Frank House, it's just a house with a not so impressive museum)

Paris/London has the most museums and art galleries you'll spend a lot of time there.

Search each individual city on RFD and you'll find budget accommodations in good locations.

[Liko]

I haven't been to Rome or Barcelona so I can't comment on them. I have been to the other cities and here are my impressions.

Amsterdam: Like the other replies, 2 full days is sufficient to explore the city and the sights. For hotels, look for something near the Central Station. Last year I spent $110 CDN per night for the Moevenpick and it was a great modern hotel.

Paris: Looks like your spending at least 6 days there which I think is a perfect amount of time there. Paris needs to be enjoyed at a casual pace. Lots of museums and many things to do. Try to spend a day at Versailles. Take a look at Rick Steves guide book to get a very good idea of what to do within your days there. I rented an apartment there and I think it was a great alternative to hotels. Was $100 USD per night and located in the 6th Arrondissement (a very popular area). I found that the 5th and 6th are more exciting areas at night.

London: A great city, but more expensive day to day. I would say about 4-5 days is a good amount of time to spend there. Once again, lots of things to do. I stayed in a hotel in the Kensington area which a more upscale area and it cost about $85 CDN a night. To be in a more central location, somewhere near Leicester Square or Oxford St (shopping). The tube is a great means of transportation so even if your hotel is a little further away, it's quick to get around. Covent Garden is a good place during the day and at night for some street entertainment.

Hope this helps. BTW, I went there in August so prices will vary. Check tripadvisor's forums to get great advice too. Also, I would recommend Rick Steve's guide books. I used them on my trip and they were great.

[Maximaro]

I haven't been to Rome or Barcelona so I can't comment on them. I have been to the other cities and here are my impressions.

Amsterdam: Like the other replies, 2 full days is sufficient to explore the city and the sights. For hotels, look for something near the Central Station. Last year I spent $110 CDN per night for the Moevenpick and it was a great modern hotel.

Paris: Looks like your spending at least 6 days there which I think is a perfect amount of time there. Paris needs to be enjoyed at a casual pace. Lots of museums and many things to do. Try to spend a day at Versailles. Take a look at Rick Steves guide book to get a very good idea of what to do within your days there. I rented an apartment there and I think it was a great alternative to hotels. Was $100 USD per night and located in the 6th Arrondissement (a very popular area). I found that the 5th and 6th are more exciting areas at night.

London: A great city, but more expensive day to day. I would say about 4-5 days is a good amount of time to spend there. Once again, lots of things to do. I stayed in a hotel in the Kensington area which a more upscale area and it cost about $85 CDN a night. To be in a more central location, somewhere near Leicester Square or Oxford St (shopping). The tube is a great means of transportation so even if your hotel is a little further away, it's quick to get around. Covent Garden is a good place during the day and at night for some street entertainment.

Hope this helps. BTW, I went there in August so prices will vary. Check tripadvisor's forums to get great advice too. Also, I would recommend Rick Steve's guide books. I used them on my trip and they were great.

I've been to all the cities mentioned except for Amsterdam (going there in two weeks though).

Rome should be enjoyed more; I did it in two days but that was because I was on a trip that went from Venice down to Rome in ten days. I still enjoyed it, but I'm sure there's more to enjoy if you took your time.

Barcelona does not need that many days. It's quite possible to do it in two; in fact, I went to pretty much all the major tourist destinations (I didn't pay to go in though, but I saw them all) excepting Tibi Tabo (which you have to travel a bit to get up to) in two days and one of the days was just spent mostly shopping at the mall and their high streets.

I'm going to disagree with the above poster about London being more expensive day-to-day. Paris is more expensive in that respect for eating out and such, especially since how the € and £ are pretty par.

The amount of time allotted to Paris and to London are good for taking your time and to see things.

[ShopperfiendTO]

Personally, I would decrease the amount of time in Barcelona and increase the amount in Rome. There's a lot more to see in Rome. You could decrease Amsterdam as well and spend more time elsewhere.

Generally speaking, staying anywhere in the city centre near a transport link is a good bet. I've been to all these cities and a good chunk of the major tourist sights in each are within walking distance or a short metro ride from each other.

+1. I've been to Rome and Barcelona and even though I liked Barcelona better, Rome deserves more time. Assuming you'll be only spending time in and around that city centre, of course...

If you're in Italy, why aren't you stopping over in Florence and Venice as well? They're just as (and for Venice, I would argue more) interesting as Barcelona.

Sounds like a great trip you're planning!

[Ryu69]

thanks guys for all your replies. i was thinking the same of rome. we are not going to stay there 3 days and barcelona 4 days compared to the previous 2 and 5 days. hopefully the flights work out. reading tripadvisor, for good deals on hotels, it seems like priceline is the way to go. have you guys booked with priceline for europe before?

[rubeus]

London and paris are the most expensive places to stay/eat from your stops.
But there is alot to do there.

A decent room at a small 2/3 star hotel will be around 80-120 euros.

Loved rome tons to do, great food, not super expensive.

Use tripadvisor to find accomodation and book directly through the individual hotels websites.

[heymikey]

I've been to all the places and I agree with everyone -- more time in Rome and less time in Barcelona. Aside from that, probably skip Amsterdam and head to Berlin or Venice. Anyway, very solid itinerary and the fact that you'll have 6 days each in Paris and London is great.

reading tripadvisor, for good deals on hotels, it seems like priceline is the way to go. have you guys booked with priceline for europe before?

I've booked with Priceline several times for my parents and you can really get some good deals. Some things you need to be aware of: you can't book by specific hotels but by area and star rating, it's completely non-refundable, and it only handles 2 people per room (you need to make arrangements with the hotels themselves after you've won if you'll have more than 2 people in a room).

This site has some strategies to know when bidding at Priceline. BetterBidding and BiddingForTravel has the winning bids from other users just to give you an idea how much the bids are so you won't overbid. Surprisingly, London has some pretty incredible deals. On the other hand, I had problems with Barcelona, Paris, and Venice since I'm a big cheapskate. I was trying to bid USD70-80 for a 4* hotel in the Latin Quarter/St Germain, and it took me a week to realize that was impossible. In Rome, try staying in a convent. Considering you'll be visiting the center of the Catholic world, might as well experience living with nuns. It's really not that bad.

[Liko]

I'm going to disagree with the above poster about London being more expensive day-to-day. Paris is more expensive in that respect for eating out and such, especially since how the € and £ are pretty par.

Fair enough. Currency is almost at par now. I was referring to the time when I went and it cost $2 CDN to buy £1, and $1.49 CDN for €1. There was a store near Buckingham Palace that charged £2 for a can of coke! That would have been $4 CDN! I guess I didn't find Paris too expensive because I bought groceries or went to the local markets for most of my meals. I did eat at some restaurants and they can get quite expensive.

I used Priceline most of the time to get my hotels. Great service. Too bad the Canadian dollar sucks compared to the US dollar.

[Mother of Three]

Been to Paris twice and still not enough time. Paris can be "cheap" if you know the little details ie-getting a weekly pass for their subway system - they will only sell to locals, so practice your french.

Rome is SO lovely and I agree that you will need more time. It took us 1/2day just for the Sistine Chapel.

Amsterdam - can't say I'll ever go back - but 1-2 days is more than enough.

Barcelona -again 2 days max

Tripadvisor is fantastic for comparing hotels. We spent Christmas in Europe 2 yrs ago and on the advice of Tripadvisor, booked directly (via the internet) with a boutique hotel in Venice and saved an additional 10%.

Tip - there is an outlet "mall" in both Barcelona and Paris. It's about 1hr to get from the city center, but totally worth it!

HAVE FUN!