the lady and i are planning to spend 2 weeks abroad after Christmas. we're UT seniors on a budget. we'd like to see italy, spain, and france, but not sure about if the timeframe will allow. anybody have experience or advice on where to fly into and how much money/time the rail system would take up? much appreciated.
Intra-european budget carriers like Ryanair are even cheaper than trains now. Just don't check luggage or expect service. It gets you there though.
tis true. even cheaper are buses. i would mix it up depending on distances between places and what there is to see along the way. i hate traveling by planes, they are a big pain in the ass nowadays. trains are still cool. just sit in the dining car and drink in the scenery.
Oh, I don't mind trains. But some of those European treks in the old days were just ridiculous. Monaco to Florence, about 10 years ago, IIRC, which is about 240 miles as the crow files, took me something like 18 hours by train and involved 2 confusing switches.
my suggestion is to pick one of spain, italy or france and travel extensively within the one you pick. what i did with the wife a lot was to start at one end of a particular region, spend a night - take the train or bus to the next town. if you like it, stay an extra day. if not move on to the next town. in two weeks you can cover a region pretty well and the town to town transport ends up being pretty cheap. in france each little town has their own tourist office where you can find a hotel (they'll reserve it for you) in addition to a good idea of what to do in the town.
I have been living in Switzerland for approx. 8 years - I would be happy to give you some advice on your travels.
i went to europe for the first time last december - germany and holland. i had big plans to spend a couple days in 5-6 cities (amsterdam, berlin, prague, munich, heidelburg, cologne), but once i got there the idea of spending a bunch of time on trains wasnt too appealing so i spent 4 days in amsterdam, 6 in berlin and 1 in cologne. usually when i travel im more inclined to not stay in place for too long, but this time i was really enjoying the places i went to and feel like i really got to know them pretty well. basically, my 2 cents would be to figure out they way you and the wife want to travel - just hit a couple cities and really soak them in or see as much as possible. that would be the difference b/t buying a rail pass or not. if your only going to a couple cities its definately not worth it. if it was me i would probably try to go to paris than hit up switzerland and from there go to milan than rome. save spain/portugal for another trip.
I was in Italy from September 2005 until January 2006. In the north, it gets really cold - it had already started snowing as early as November in Milan. With that said, it's going to be cold almost anywhere you go in that timeframe (that's why I'm going to Brazil after Christmas - it'll be summertime there ). The only warm places (if this is even an issue) you could go are Athens, Lisbon, Rome, etc. Even Barcelona is quite chilly that time of the year. Defenitely check out Ryan Air's website - they are ridiculously cheap. Another helpful website for low-cost airtravel is HERE. Since you live in Austin, the best way to get to Europe is fly from Houston or Dallas (whichever is more convenient for you) to London. That's the cheapest city to fly into in Europe and most of the low-cost airlines have their hubs there, so it will be easy to travel around. I'd recommed you fly into London. Get a flight on easyJet and go to Paris. You could then head over to Spain - I really recommend Barcelona (one of my favorite European cities). You won't have time to see all of Italy (obviously), but I'd really recommend Florence. I liked it a lot better than Venice, it'll be a bit warmer than Venice, and it doesn't require as much time as Rome to see. Rome can easily be a trip on its own. Check out www.hostelworld.com for places to stay. Let me know if you need any recommendations for a specific city. Hope that helps.
I lived in Milan for four months last year. While I found it a great place to live, it's no tourist destination.
I recomend Switzerland. There is no other country like it. \I love it. Also, you will be a close drive or train ride around Germany and France etc. It's beautiful.
Switzerland is a beautiful country, but I don't think late December/early January is the best time to go. I remember we go caught in a HEAVY snow storm in the resort town of St. Moritz and it was only mid March.
Most tourists in Milan are only there because it has the largest airport and train station in Italy, making it a convenient place to start their "tour of Italy." Basically, most tourists don't get what they expect when they come to Milan (i.e. lots of classical Italian architecture, warm and friendly Italians, warm weather, huge Italian art museums, etc.). Milan is a faced-paced cosmopolitan business city. Unlike the rest of Italy, the food is extremely expensive, it'll be in the 20's in late December, most of the building are very industrial looking, and unless you get to know them, the locals aren't the friendliest. A visitng Bulgarian once said, "There are only two things to do in Milan: go out and shop." While I don't necessarily agree, I wouldn't recommend Milan to someone who is only in Europe for two weeks. The only two really touristy things to see there are The Last Supper (which you will need to reserve well in advance) and The Duomo, which is the 2nd largest Cathedral in the world. The shopping rivals that of Paris, but if you're looking for designer Italian goods, Florence is just as good. The Lakes north of the city are also amazing, but you won't be there during the right time of the year. The club/lounge scene is awesome in Milan, but get ready to drop some big bucks at place like Armani Prive, Just Cavalli Cafe, etc. Now if you're a soccer fan, DEFINITELY stop by Milan.
I recently got back from Prague. This was only about 3 months ago, so it was still damn cold. That said, I LOVED it, the weather, too. Bright and sunny, and downright frigid. We dressed appropriately and had an awesome time. And, of course, Amsterdam is my Favorite Place on the Planet.
man, i loved milan. we were only there for 2 days, but the modern look and feel of it all was a nice change of pace from always looking at old stuff the previous two weeks. the duomo was awesome to look at and go in and it would've been even better if they didn't have friggin' scaffolding covering the entire front of it (which is the best part of looking at it). and we didn't have to reserve The Last Supper. we just walked up to it, got our ticket, and went in. actually, only i did because it was 9 freakin' euros for 15 minutes but hey, 13 bucks or so to see one of the most famous paintings, might as well after spending all the other money getting here. there was also some cool castle there and this really nice park behind the castle. there was actually a basketball court in the park, and by some good luck, some people happened to be there with a ball. they weren't playing so they just let my friend and i shoot around for a while. i remember the first shot i took was so pretty, it felt good when it left my hand, it was perfectly straight...and it came up at least 2 feet short. i hadn't seen a basketball in 2 weeks, much less played. it felt like i was shooting a medicine ball or something. after i took a few shots i gave my friend the ball and told him to shoot it hard or it would be an airball. i think his airball was even worse than mine. either way, it was fun to get a little taste of home for a while. as for the rest of europe, paris is beautiful and was our most slow-paced city as we spent 5 days there. versailles, eiffel tower, arc de triomphe, champs-elysees, etc. great city. we were only going to spend a week in italy but ended up being there for 11 days and ended up with only 2 days in barcelona. then the last 4 days were in london. really nice city with tourist things but still behind paris. i was actually a little let down by old rome. the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica are incredible, but the coliseum is nice, but the rest of Rome didn't impress me as much as i was expecting.
I'll be in Rome for two weeks starting later this month. I'm taking a class (History of Sport in Rome, which should be pretty awesome) and we'll see a lot of Rome. The course is actually three weeks but I have to leave early for an internship at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (yes, also awesome). Anyway, besides Rome, I'll also be in Sorrento for a day and maybe have time for Capri. I basically have one weekend to travel for fun. I was thinking Portugal (cheap roundtrip airfare) since there's a Guns n Roses concert on the 27th, but I guess that might not be the best idea. Would you recommend Venice, Florence, or what for that weekend? A couple people are headed to Venice so I might lean towards there. I wish i had more time. Thanks for the help!
Awesome! I actually played basketball in Parco Sempione a few times behind the Sforzesco Castle! Good times... I'm glad you enjoyed Milan, as did I. I love the city and will make sure I go back to visit next time I'm in Europe. It's just that most other Americans don't seem to like it as much. To each his own, I guess...
What city is the Guns n Roses concert in...Lisbon or Porto? Portugual is one of the countries I really wanted to visit when I was in Europe...I say go for it! I liked Florence a lot better than Venice. Although both cities are huge tourist destinations, it seemed like there were more Americans in Venice than Italians... Check out Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera if you get the chance, it's amazing.
