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First time travel to Europe: which would be your top two countries to visit?

Honeymooned in Greece (Mostly Santorini/Mykonos) and did a two week eastern Europe swing through Warsaw—>Krakow—>Budapest—>Vienna—>Prague.

Would recommend any of those places. Admittedly haven’t spent time in Western Europe so can’t compare there.

Loved Krakow! Did you go to Auschwitz? Spent the 4th of July there a few years ago. Horrifying but also amazing to see.
 
Loved Krakow! Did you go to Auschwitz? Spent the 4th of July there a few years ago. Horrifying but also amazing to see.
We did go to Auschwitz/Birkenau for a day. Definitely a sobering experience. But felt the need to go being so close.

Absolutely loved Krakow as well. Spent A LOT of time in the town square pounding beers and peirogis. Also did the salt mine tour as well. Really beautiful/under-appreciated city in general.

My biggest regret from that trip was doing Prague last. By the time we got there, I was kind of over the trip and ready to go home. Probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I should’ve.
 
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We did go to Auschwitz/Birkenau for a day. Definitely a sobering experience. But felt the need to go being so close.

Absolutely loved Krakow as well. Spent A LOT of time in the town square pounding beers and peirogis. Also did the salt mine tour as well. Really beautiful/under-appreciated city in general.

My biggest regret from that trip was doing Prague last. By the time we got there, I was kind of over the trip and ready to go home. Probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I should’ve.

We did Auschwitz instead of the salt mine since we only had 2 days there and had to pick 1 or the other. The town square is awesome. Was there for a PJ concert as we were following their tour thru Europe and the band was staying at the Sheraton Grand as well and got to interact with many in the band.

We did Prague too right before Krakow. Was also there 23 years ago. Didn't enjoy it as much the 2nd time altho it's still the same beautiful city. Has gotten really crowded and the locals seem pretty rude to tourists. Many parts of the Castle are closed off now compared to years ago as well and was a waste to do that again.
 
Let me ju.st say this about London - I have been there about 15 times over the years and have still not seen it all - anyone who tries to talk someone out of London, especially a first timeer, is steering in the wrong direction.

If you have 12 days to spend in Europe I would say you can not go wrong visiting any country there, but your inclination to do London & Paris first isthe correct one. From Paris you can easily do day trips by train to many grat sites in France and even into Belgium orLuxemberg. Spain & Portugal are nice, but even with 12 days they are a seperate trip IMHO, and they are simply not anywhere near the same catagory as Paris.
I find paris except for the arc area to be a shithole. Spent alot of time there.
Lyon is nicer.
Problem is both are full of frogs.
Just sayin.
 
If going for 12 days you could do 3 countries. If France is set, I would probably say Italy and France. Spain is a good choice too.
For me, SpIn/Portugal would be low interest....Netherlands and Germany and France/ Italy....
Netherlands is easy ( and cheap) to traverse...in cities of size, language is not an issue....Brits and Scots really like Yanks, But language may be a problem. ;)
 
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I just have say this...as much as I love England and its many interesting sights, I have never had a single good meal there. I'm partial to the Bavarian style of cooking and so I like the Munich area best for food & drink, and I especially like Munich in December during the Christmas season.
 
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Never been to Paris but I've spent 3 one day trips in other French cities and wasn't impressed. Paris would be a different story for all it offers.
London is outstanding as well as Rome for their many historical sites. Barcelona is a fun city, but I don't think it compares with the others for sightseeing. If you're in Barcelona though, day trips to Grenada and Seville would be mandatory in my opinion, as well as the Montserrat monastery. I'd also get a hotel overlooking La Rambla. We've stayed at the Hotel Continental a few times and it's certainly not a 5 star hotel but the location is great.
 
If going for 12 days you could do 3 countries. If France is set, I would probably say Italy and France. Spain is a good choice too.
We are planning a trip to Italy. I believe Rome, Florence, and then anal do (I swear to god I typed Amalfi and that was the autocorrect which I had to leave for the sake of comedy - incognito searches not so incognito?) coast. Any tips appreciated. I think one decision point is part of our group wants to do a VRBO or something, while I would prefer a hotel with amenities/concierge to help out. Enlighten me O great and mighty HORT!
 
We are planning a trip to Italy. I believe Rome, Florence, and then anal do (I swear to god I typed Amalfi and that was the autocorrect which I had to leave for the sake of comedy - incognito searches not so incognito?) coast. Any tips appreciated. I think one decision point is part of our group wants to do a VRBO or something, while I would prefer a hotel with amenities/concierge to help out. Enlighten me O great and mighty HORT!

I always bring a lot of lube to the Anal Coast. It's a beautiful beach but a little dirty.
 
We are planning a trip to Italy. I believe Rome, Florence, and then anal do (I swear to god I typed Amalfi and that was the autocorrect which I had to leave for the sake of comedy - incognito searches not so incognito?) coast. Any tips appreciated. I think one decision point is part of our group wants to do a VRBO or something, while I would prefer a hotel with amenities/concierge to help out. Enlighten me O great and mighty HORT!
Rome is dirty but a must do. Vatican, spanish steps, trevi fountain plus coliseum must stops. Probably 2-3 days tops. Get the skip the line tour for the vatican.
Florence is great. Ponte vecchio, duomo, and the david all must sees. Trattoria za za solid. If you travel for work marriott has alot of nice properties there. From there you can also visit some tuscan wineries. Our favorite is poggio amorelli.I’d highly recommend getting a driver.
Amalfi coast - to much to mention.
We love that area and cinque terre up north.
Naples is dirty and full of thieves. Of course the home of pizza so gotta do that.
We like sorrento - hotel minerva and hotel la tonnarella are both great with both having great restaurants.
Other - trains are great city/city.
Work north to south or south to north.
 
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Rome is dirty but a must do. Vatican, spanish steps, trevi fountain plus coliseum must stops. Probably 2-3 days tops. Get the skip the line tour for the vatican.
Florence is great. Ponte vecchio, duomo, and the david all must sees. Trattoria za za solid. If you travel for work marriott has alot of nice properties there. From there you can also visit some tuscan wineries. Our favorite is poggio amorelli.I’d highly recommend getting a driver.
Amalfi coast - to much to mention.
We love that area and cinque terre up north.
Naples is dirty and full of thieves. Of course the home of pizza so gotta do that.
We like sorrento - hotel minerva and hotel la tonnarella are both great with both having great restaurants.
Other - trains are great city/city.
Work north to south or south to north.
Thank you -excellent info. We are planning this for next summer. Does that change anything or are Italy’s weather and seasons pretty constant?
 
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This is my current hidden gem town / area.

Lake-Bled-2-www.slovenia.info-Franci-Ferjan.jpg


lake-bled-slovenia-shutterstock_768078295.jpg
Americans don't vacation in Slovenia. That's where people from England, France, Italy and Germany vacation to get away from American tourists.
 
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Thank you -excellent info. We are planning this for next summer. Does that change anything or is Italy’s weather pretty constant?
It’s california. Colder in north, hot in south. Summer is great time to go but will be hot - everywhere.
If you can afford would highly recommend first class going over in the sleeper seats.
 
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Thank you -excellent info. We are planning this for next summer. Does that change anything or are Italy’s weather and seasons pretty constant?
I don’t know about Naples or Sicily but the northern half of the country is seasonal like ours. Milder winters but I have been in Northern Italy in the summer and it’s miserably hot and humid so I imagine Southern Italy is worse.

They all take vacation in August so more stuff is closed and it’s much quieter. Not sure if that affects tourist stuff as I was always there for work. But something to look into.
 
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I don’t know about Naples or Sicily but the northern half of the country is seasonal like ours. Milder winters but I have been in Northern Italy in the summer and it’s miserably hot and humid so I imagine Southern Italy is worse.

They all take vacation in August so more stuff is closed and it’s much quieter. Not sure if that affects tourist stuff as I was always there for work. But something to look into.
Thanks! Next year is the first summer in 10 years we will not tethered and constrained by sports schedules. Sounds like maybe we are planning to overlap it with the 4th to minimize missing work, so that could be good timing…
 
We are planning a trip to Italy. I believe Rome, Florence, and then anal do (I swear to god I typed Amalfi and that was the autocorrect which I had to leave for the sake of comedy - incognito searches not so incognito?) coast. Any tips appreciated. I think one decision point is part of our group wants to do a VRBO or something, while I would prefer a hotel with amenities/concierge to help out. Enlighten me O great and mighty HORT!
Amalfi coast is even better than advertised…. But Naples is an absolute pit! Filthy dirty with rats who love to make public appearances!
 
We are in Switzerland right now and it’s stunning. We are based in Wengen but you could do Interlaken or Grindewald and find a different trail to hike or activity to do for a month. It would be easy to combine with France and we’ve had no issue with finding English speakers. We stayed one night in Zurich and it was great. I’m sure Luzern or Bern are great as well. And that’s not even getting to the other side of the Alps.
 
Been fortunate to travel a lot through Europe over the years. For a first trip lasting 12 days (make it 12, not 10 - always go as long as work/home obligations allow!) I would do Paris for 4 and Italy (Rome, Florence, Lake Como/Bellagio) for 8.

Good mix of architecture, food, cafes, history, and museums (know your daughter won’t love those but she can stand 1 in each city, ha). You wouldn’t believe how much culture and world history can be soaked up just by walking the streets of those cities.
 
Wifey (no pic) and I been to Spain and Germany during the past seven years. The food, people and scenery are absolutely incredible!
 
This thread is great. The Europe trip is on my bucket list….take about a month and do some combination of: London/England, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden/Norway, Italy and Paris
 
This thread is great. The Europe trip is on my bucket list….take about a month and do some combination of: London/England, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden/Norway, Italy and Paris
I won’t spend another penny in germany after this shit show of support for UK.
My next trip will be a month to italy. Spent all the time i need in england and the rest.
 
If you are flying into Paris, I'd then make Spain and Portugal the other stops and fly back from Lisbon.

3 days in Paris. Train to Barca. 2 days in Barca. Then to day in Sevilla, then up to Toledo, 2 days around Mardid, up to the Basque country for 2 days, then over to Lisbon to end with 3 days around Portugal. The Iberian Penunsila is 2 countries, but really like 7.
 
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I love this thread though sadly I can't comment on my Europe experiences because the only place I have been internationally is the nation of Japan. I have had a friend who went to Europe and he said Paris and Germany were by far his favorite areas to visit... I personally am interested in Portugal and Greece.
 
Time of year matters. During December austria/Germany is a must for Christmas markets. September is great for Munich (oktoberfest).

Skip Paris. If your going to see 10 cities, see Paris, otherwise venice, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam, Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck, brugge, brussels, London, are Brussels, in their own ways, and that list isn't even long enough. Paris is fine, but after having it romanticized my whole life, I expected more. I've been there 3 times and have been underwhelmed.
 
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Time of year matters. During December austria/Germany is a must for Christmas markets. September is great for Munich (oktoberfest).

Skip Paris. If your going to see 10 cities, see Paris, otherwise venice, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam, Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck, brugge, brussels, London, are Brussels, in their own ways, and that list isn't even long enough. Paris is fine, but after having it romanticized my whole life, I expected more. I've been there 3 times and have been underwhelmed.
Venice is a day just to see it.
Once there i know few who go back.
 
Venice is a day just to see it.
Once there i know few who go back.
A great description of Venice. It's like going to Disneyland. You get off the train in the morning and it's like waiting in line for the park to open. You go in and explore and it's super cool, you have a nice dinner, maybe even spend the night, but you've done it all. And it totally has the vibe that nobody lives there, just the workers coming in during the day to cater to the tourists. Don't get me wrong, it's spectacular to see, but once you've seen it, you've seen it.
 
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A great description of Venice. It's like going to Disneyland. You get off the train in the morning and it's like waiting in line for the park to open. You go in and explore and it's super cool, you have a nice dinner, maybe even spend the night, but you've done it all. And it totally has the vibe that nobody lives there, just the workers coming in during the day to cater to the tourists. Don't get me wrong, it's spectacular to see, but once you've seen it, you've seen it.
Third’ed. Venice is the only European city my wife and I have visited where we were actually ready to leave after our 3 days there. The architecture is knock-you-on-your-ass stunning, but once you’ve taken it in the other aspects of the city are frankly subpar.

We have to pry ourselves away from just about every other city. Venice, not at all.
 
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I just have say this...as much as I love England and its many interesting sights, I have never had a single good meal there. I'm partial to the Bavarian style of cooking and so I like the Munich area best for food & drink, and I especially like Munich in December during the Christmas season.

LOL, same here as long as you stick to “England” and not British as I had lots of great Scottish, Welsh, Cornish and Northern Irish meals. But in England proper, everything I had was disappointing in general.

And literally the WORST meal I’ve had anywhere and I mean anywhere, was one at the famed M. Manze eel and pie house. And I get that jellied eel and stewed eel are only going to be so good…but I love Japanese and Hawaiian eel dishes and wasnt expecting them to be inedibly awful. And their world famous meat pies? Disgusting. Some d grade meat that even Taco Bell would Chuck in the garbage topped with parsley blended with water as the ”liquor”. I had some absolutely amazing “English style” meat pies in New Zealand, Scotland and Australia that would blow you away with how tasty they are (Harry’s Cafe De Wheels in Oz has a “tiger pie” which is just a standard English style meat pie topped with mashed potatoes, mushy peas and gravy that is absolutely divine). But the meat pies at M.Manze were essentially inedible too. We only choked some down because we were starving and hadn’t eaten much On the ten hour flight plus commute in from Gatwick. And the worst food item wasn’t even the stewed eels, jellied eels or absolutely terrible meat pies….it was the Luke warm and flat “sasparilla“ drink that’s sour, bitter and nothing like an American sasparilla.
 
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