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picklefish posted:Ok that really helps. Going to do as much in Belgium as I want and if any time left over head somewhere in the Netherlands. Thanks! Belgium is great (Bruges/Ghent/Antwerp) but avoid driving a car anywhere near Brussels, traffic in and around Brussels is an exercise in frustration.
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Oct 21, 2015 08:19
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PlantHead posted:Belgium is great (Bruges/Ghent/Antwerp) but avoid driving a car anywhere near Brussels, traffic in and around Brussels is an exercise in frustration. Same for Antwerp, really. You can expect big traffic jams at almost any point during the day there, it's a bottleneck on the way to the Netherlands. That also applies if you're travelling by Eurolines or something.
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Oct 21, 2015 13:30
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I'm going to Barcelona for 5 days and staying in a Hostel, which with flights has cost me only 97 pounds so far!! As an Australian who has just moved to London this price is amazing to me. Does anyone have any good suggestions on what to do? I was thinking of getting drunk with the hostel people/check out local sights for the weekend (arriving on Friday) then renting a scooter and going exploring!
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Oct 22, 2015 21:35
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Harley C posted:I'm going to Barcelona for 5 days and staying in a Hostel, which with flights has cost me only 97 pounds so far!! As an Australian who has just moved to London this price is amazing to me. Does anyone have any good suggestions on what to do? I was thinking of getting drunk with the hostel people/check out local sights for the weekend (arriving on Friday) then renting a scooter and going exploring! If you're looking for cheap sights, Gaudi's Parc Guell and the outside of the Sagrada Familia come to mind. A bit cold for beaching I'd imagine, but if you're bold, the city beaches aren't terrible, and a train just northeast along the coast a bit will take you to some nicer ones. The Jewish quarter inside the Barri Gotic is a good way to kill a few hours wandering. Watch your wallet.
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Oct 23, 2015 02:36
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Harley C posted:I'm going to Barcelona for 5 days and staying in a Hostel, which with flights has cost me only 97 pounds so far!! As an Australian who has just moved to London this price is amazing to me. Does anyone have any good suggestions on what to do? I was thinking of getting drunk with the hostel people/check out local sights for the weekend (arriving on Friday) then renting a scooter and going exploring! I was there earlier this month and the beaches were packed. Water should be fine if that's your thing. Gaudi's Parc Guell is cool but there are often lines and always a fee to see the best parts. You can walk all over the hills/gardens for free and bypass the lines though. Barcelona has a museum of erotica.
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Oct 23, 2015 02:53
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Re: Barcelona beaches, taking the Renfe to Badalona or Montgat is within one transit zone from central Barcelona, only like 20 minutes, and the beaches are I think less crowded and right next to the train station.
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Oct 24, 2015 06:33
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LLSix posted:Gaudi's Parc Guell is cool but there are often lines and always a fee to see the best parts. You can walk all over the hills/gardens for free and bypass the lines though. Go in via the side entrance, the hilly one with the outdoor escalators. Free and kinda a cool way to go. Set your maps for the intersection of Baixada de la Gloria and Carrer de Verdi. Linky to map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/41%C2%B024'41.1%22N+2%C2%B008'58.8%22E/@41.41141,2.1491158,19z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0 e: and I don't remember paying any fees to see the park at all?
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Oct 24, 2015 18:03
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I was there a couple of months ago and there were definitely fees... to get to the main part of the park. You could stay in the free part though and get a good view of the main part.
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Oct 25, 2015 01:51
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Doctor Malaver posted:I was there a couple of months ago and there were definitely fees... to get to the main part of the park. You could stay in the free part though and get a good view of the main part. When I went you could see the main part from the free area, but not any of the statues. Since the statues are the main selling point I'm not sure I'd call that a good view, but we did enjoy walking through the free part.
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Oct 25, 2015 03:23
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I got a ticket booked into Rome on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and back on the Monday before Christmas. I'm going to get a hotel there for the first three or four nights and for the last night since my plane leaves really early and play the rest by ear. I've been thinking about getting a new suit and some shoes. Could I get a no-named Italian tailored suit for 5 to 800 dollars that's better than what I can get in the US?
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Oct 25, 2015 04:56
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Harley C posted:I'm going to Barcelona for 5 days and staying in a Hostel, which with flights has cost me only 97 pounds so far!! As an Australian who has just moved to London this price is amazing to me. Does anyone have any good suggestions on what to do? I was thinking of getting drunk with the hostel people/check out local sights for the weekend (arriving on Friday) then renting a scooter and going exploring! Wander around the Gothic Quarter eating great food and drinking great wine. This was all it took for me to proclaim Barcelona my favourite European city.
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Oct 25, 2015 13:48
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Thanks for the advice goons! I'll make sure to get rekt and cause havoc like all good Australian tourists do.
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Oct 25, 2015 18:15
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A few thoughts on Oslo and Stockholm: -The Oslo Pass (museum entry and transportation) is well worth it. Oslo sprawls a bit, so it's worth it for public transportation alone. The museums on Bygdoy peninsula - Folk Museum, Viking Ship Museum, Fram Museum, Kon-Tiki Museum are all great, as is the National Gallery. The Nobel Peace Center isn't anything special, but at least entry is included in the Oslo Pass. Frogner Park is also worth a visit to see the ridiculous Vigeland statues. -The Stockholm Card was worth it for me since I was staying out in Djurgarden and thus had to rely on the tram to get to the city center, but you can easily walk to most things if you're staying in the center. The Vasa Museum, Nordic Museum, City Hall and Fotografiska Museum were my favorite attractions. Skansen, an outdoor folk museum/zoo, was nice, but it's more for families with children. It's pretty funny that Oslo's best museums are about Norway's great nautical feats, while Stockholm's best museum is built around a ship that sank 20 minutes into its maiden voyage  -Everything in Oslo is super-expensive, and Stockholm is slightly less expensive. I stayed in an apartment in Oslo (https://www.osloapartments.no/en) and ate most of my meals there. I wish I had done the same in Stockholm, especially because there's only one laundromat in the entire city. I ended up having to wash underwear in my hotel room's sink. -If you're into shopping for clothes, Stockholm is outstanding. Clothes from Swedish brands like Acne and Our Legacy, while still expensive, are a bit cheaper than in the US.
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Oct 26, 2015 23:56
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surrender posted:I wish I had done the same in Stockholm, especially because there's only one laundromat in the entire city. I ended up having to wash underwear in my hotel room's sink. Ha! I went to that place on a Saturday morning five minutes after opening. Every washer was already occupied but the nice old woman who manages it helped me from the beginning to end. The Stockholm card is a great deal, like you said.
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Oct 27, 2015 03:41
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surrender posted:A few thoughts on Oslo and Stockholm: One thing in Stockholm is that you are more likely to find decently priced lunch menus, called dagens lunch (lunch of the day). Many restaurants have a specific lunch menu, which usually comes with salad, a main, sometimes a drink and often a coffee afterwards. If you can, go and eat a bigger lunch, that way you can have a smaller dinner and save yourself some money. However, not every restaurant will offer this, so you will have to a have a proper look first, and this might be easier to find if you are not trying to get one in an absolute in-location. It's a good option to get a warm meal and to not become poor, though.
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Oct 27, 2015 16:48
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I'm going to be spending some time in Paris a week from now. My schedule is the following: Friday (Nov 6th) - Arrival and dinner Saturday (Nov 7th) - Free time - Concert at the Philharmonie, 8.30-9.30 p.m. - Late dinner, probably Sunday (Nov 8th) - Concert at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées, 11 a.m.-12.30 p.m. - Free time 12.30 - 6 p.m. - Concert at Versailles, 7.30 p.m.-12.30 a.m. (includes transport by bus) Monday (Nov 9th) - Check out of hotel, free time - Bus to CDG at 4 p.m. I'm looking for some stuff to do in between the scheduled stuff as well as restaurant suggestions. I have visited Paris several times and consequently seen most of the touristy things. Any off-the-beaten-path stuff you'd recommend? I like good beer and food, history and culture.
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Oct 29, 2015 23:06
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It's my last night in Paris. What should I eat.
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Nov 1, 2015 19:20
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Moroccan
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Nov 1, 2015 20:10
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actionjackson posted:lol Yessss I'm so glad it's not just a jack rear end 14 year old Chinese kid do this poo poo. Everyone needs to take a tourist exam!
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Nov 2, 2015 11:57
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Do they sell menthols in Europe?
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Nov 3, 2015 18:01
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Yeah though I read somewhere they were going to disallow them because they make it easier for minors to pick up smoking (here in Belgium). But I don't know about any countries actually having abolished menthols, could be wrong Since the countries east of France seem to be way behind on anti tobacco laws, I don't think you'll have any problems finding them in Germany or something Antwan3K fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Nov 3, 2015 |
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Nov 3, 2015 18:08
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You might have to ask for ciggies at the counter, though. The trend seems to be that you're not allowed to keep tobacco products out in the open.
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Nov 3, 2015 19:48
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Germany will abolish menthols in May next year. By 2020 they're supppsed to be disallowed in the whole EU.
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Nov 3, 2015 20:21
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I'm heading to the UK (from Australia) in early October next year for my brother's wedding. As I'm leaving my husband at home with the kids, I can only be away for two weeks and would like some advice on the ideas I've had for travel so far. The wedding is on October 1st. I was thinking of travelling out a few days prior to this for wedding preparations and to visit my new sister-in-law's hometown and see some sights (by which I mean significant places to her, not touristy things). After the wedding, I was thinking of travelling to Italy via France, hopefully with time to see the Louvre and the catacombs, maybe even the Eiffel Tower. Italy is my main destination, though. The reason I'm travelling to Italy is because I want to see the Capuchin Catacombs and the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology. However, these are at opposite ends of the country. How feasible would it be to travel straight to one then travel through the country to the other, stopping at perhaps a couple of cities/landmarks/etc in between? What sort of timeframe would be best set aside for this? What would be the best method of travel? I'll be with my sister, who has been to Italy before, and she has advised against hiring a car. Would it be best to travel across the French border directly to the northern point of Italy or is there a plane or something I can catch in Paris to the southern peninsula? I have been looking around online but am not very sure at all what local travel options are. On a similar note, I'll probably be flying into Heathrow but would I be better flying out from Italy somewhere to maximise my time in the country? Thanks for any advice anyone is able to offer me, I'm not sure how clear I'm being or how ludicrous my travel goals may or may not be 
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Nov 5, 2015 06:50
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You have some choice on how you want to do the route and to be honest it will depend on how much you want to fly or sit on a train and how long you have to travel in Italy before you fly back to Australia. I would take the Eurostar to Paris from London - 2hours I would then fly to either Milan or to Innsbruck from Paris and get the train to Bolzano. Go with the cheapest flight, or whichever of those cities you want to see - I would go to Innsbruck. (you could get the high speed train Paris - Milan but that would take a day out of your travelling) You can then get the high speed train from Milan to Naples - 4 hours - which passes through Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples, all of which are worth more than 1 day of your time if you can afford it. From Naples you could fly to Sicily.... or you could get the train direct to Syracuse or Palermo , they roll the train onto a ferry at Messina, which is a fun thing to do. It all depends on your timings though. The train Naples Palermo takes a day, although I think there is also an overnight sleeper. For trains you can look here http://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm You could also do it all in reverse and start by flying London - Sicily. The Italian high speed trains are excellent.
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Nov 5, 2015 09:15
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I would not take the train from Bolzano to Palermo with less than a week and a half unless you really love train rides. You can fly from pretty much any major city in Italy to Palermo and I'd probably do that. Basic outline like Planthead suggested, but I'd fly into Milan, Venice, or Innsbruck, visit that city and the museum and then choose one more city to visit, and fly to Palermo from there. Even that is a lot of different places to visit in a relatively short amount of time and will result in a pretty significant percentage of your time spent in transit. Tren Italia, the main train service for Italy, is available in English though you do need to know the Italian names of cities. It also doesn't show the other high speed train service, Italo, but in general I've never found a reason to use them.
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Nov 5, 2015 14:08
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Thoughts on this itinerary? Is the first half too crazy? Athens-Delphi-Olympia-Nafplion is going to be a bit of driving, but 7:30 hours of driving over 3 days doesn't seem that bad. The 2 nights in Nafplion are to see Mycenae and Epidavros. code:
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Nov 5, 2015 17:01
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Junius posted:I'm heading to the UK (from Australia) in early October next year for my brother's wedding. As I'm leaving my husband at home with the kids, I can only be away for two weeks and would like some advice on the ideas I've had for travel so far. Junius, if you have never been to Italy, I would recommend staying far, far away from Bolzano. I just spent 2.5 years living there, AMA! I actually lived in a flat where my bedroom window looked across a courtyard to the archaeology museum. I asked my flatmates and work colleagues (those in the Mummies Institute) about the museum and said to go only if I was bored on a rainy day. The best aspect of Bolzano is its close proximity to the Dolomites and Italian Alps. You will see many Italian and German tourists there to hike/ski/cycle. South Tyrol was a part of Austria before WWI and Alpe di Siusi is a special place for Germanic people to vacation at. I would strongly suggest seeing any other Italian city first, even Venice. Bolzano is also incredibly expensive, even in October. You would be able to find a decent room in Bologna or Firenze for much less money, plus you would have so much more to look at. Ravenna is a day trip from Bologna, which contains eight (!) UNESCO World Heritage sites. Sicily is incredible in its own right and worthy of a multi-week stay. The best preserved Greek ruins in the world are there (Agrigento). Unless you really, really love archaeology and Ötzi, I would suggest elsewhere.
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Nov 5, 2015 17:18
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Hashtag Banterzone posted:Thoughts on this itinerary? Is the first half too crazy? Athens-Delphi-Olympia-Nafplion is going to be a bit of driving, but 7:30 hours of driving over 3 days doesn't seem that bad. The 2 nights in Nafplion are to see Mycenae and Epidavros. You've noted the holidays, which is important, but it does seem crazy to cram all of the driving into your most jetlagged days. I haven't driven in Greece, but I imagine it to be a pretty intense experience. I'd do Mykonos and Santorini first and get a feel for the driving on foot/in taxis and get rested up before I did the road trip.
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Nov 5, 2015 21:59
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A wise man once told me that in Greece, it's dangerous to drive without having some alcohol in your blood
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Nov 6, 2015 13:36
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I'm flying to Portugal on the 12th of december to visit family during the holidays. Will be staying almost a month (until January 7), as luck would have it my autumn term at university ends earlier than usual (at the cost of a longer spring term/semester). Now, i was born in Portugal but moved to Sweden when i was around six years old, since then i have visited the country once or twice a year. More often than that when i was little, but lately it has mostly been once a year during the summer. Last winter was the first time i've visited in years that wasn't during summer. So my question is, what is there to do in Portugal during that time of year? Christmas and New year i have covered, but i will be having some off-time when family/relatives are busy working, during the week before christmas and during some days after NYE. As i've been there mostly summertime, i'm a little out of ideas on what to do during the weatherwise awful Portuguese winter. Things i normally enjoy experiencing there, besides the ocean, company and the food, is historic sights and nature stuff. I've seen many of the historic sights (but far from all), but done very little hiking and nature sightseeing. I've only been to one natural park so far. If anyone has any recommendations, i'll be all ears. Especially since that is one area where my relatives have little experience of. If you can think of anything else other than what i have mentioned i would like to hear it as well. Now here are some things i'm familiar with that you need not bother mentioning: Anything in central Lisbon and Porto/V.N Gaia Guimaraes Bucaco palace Tomar Elvas Batalha Leiria Conimbriga and Coimbra Luso Falukorv fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Nov 7, 2015 |
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Nov 7, 2015 00:03
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Cheers Planthead and asur, I'll use your advice as a starting point when I start actually planning my itinerary.WaryWarren posted:Unless you really, really love archaeology and Ötzi, I would suggest elsewhere. This is my problem, I'm pretty much just going there to see Otzi and his exhibition (though I was interested in the rest of the museum too). Got a book about him as a kid and it kicked off a lifelong interest in both archaeology and the more macabre bits of history (thus all the stops at tombs and catacombs I'm planning), so it'd be almost like seeing a celebrity for me, weird as it may sound. However, I am definitely adverse to spending a lot of money and wasting my limited time travelling a long way. Is there an airport near to South Tyrol? Perhaps I could plan that stop for the end of my trip, so it's the thing that gets skipped if I end up pushing for time.
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Nov 9, 2015 00:19
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The Verona airport is the easiest option for flying into the Bolzano/Trento area, as far as I know. But it's not a huge airport.
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Nov 9, 2015 11:06
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Venice has a lot more flights options and is about 3 hours drive from Bolzano (or by train if you want to save money). Upside: you can visit Venice as well.
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Nov 9, 2015 12:35
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Verona and Innsbruck are about the same distance from Bolzano, however they don't serve many destinations. Verona's airport used to have direct flights to Paris, but Wiki tells me otherwise. Also, no flights to Italy, save for Rome Fiumicino. Using the motorways is quite expensive in Italy and Austria, I would suggest taking the train (2 hours from either Verona or Innsbruck). The one time I traveled from Bolzano to Paris, I ended up flying from Milan Malpensa (three hours by train). I think most trains from Venice to Bolzano have one changeover, in Verona. Look for the EuroCity train that goes from Venice to Munich. Also, you have to take a bus/taxi from Marco Polo (VCE) to the train station in Mestre (ugly industrial city) if this is your choice.
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Nov 9, 2015 21:46
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My friends who lived in Bolzano usually used Milan Bergamo because it has many cheap flights, but they hated the airport and the convoluted public transportation route to get there.
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Nov 10, 2015 00:53
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Falukorv posted:I'm flying to Portugal on the 12th of december to visit family during the holidays. Will be staying almost a month (until January 7), as luck would have it my autumn term at university ends earlier than usual (at the cost of a longer spring term/semester). The Palacio da Pena, Cabo da Roca and the national park there, and above all else Quinta da Regaleira. If you're into nature and historic stuff, Quinta da Regaleira is unmissable. It's just bizarre and beautiful and it's one of those places that really does make you not want to leave. Especially in low season where you're more likely to be alone-ish. The palace/house there is whatever. It's the gardens and park and crazy labyrinths that make it what it is.
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Nov 10, 2015 04:14
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Entropist posted:My friends who lived in Bolzano usually used Milan Bergamo because it has many cheap flights, but they hated the airport and the convoluted public transportation route to get there. Heh, yeah, I was going to mention Bergamo in my previous post. I flew to Vilnius from there. Three trains from Bolzano, one to Verona, one to Treviglio and the last to Bergamo. Then a 15 minute bus ride to the airport. I woke up at 6, left on a train at 650 AM, arrived at the airport at 13.30 for my 16.00 flight, arrived in Vilnius at 19.30 local time, checked in and strolled to the city center by 21. All of my colleagues stated that Bolzano is the most isolated city in all of Western Europe. It's not that hard to believe when you look at a population density or night time light map of Europe.
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Nov 10, 2015 05:44
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Any suggestions on what part of Rome to stay in. I'm going to Europe for three weeks, flying into and out of Rome. I'm going to book a hotel there for the first three of four nights and the last night and play the rest of the trip by ear. Any suggestions?
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Nov 10, 2015 06:42
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So is France's SNCF basically outright scamming anyone with a regional or global Eurail pass now? I cannot make seat reservations on ANY high-speed french trains using a global pass or other pass which includes France, it says you specifically need a France rail pass or you will get fined the difference between the already ludicrous booking fee and the cost of the ticket+reservation. I'm looking almost three months ahead here (e: just checked 4 ahead, still none in 2nd class). What the gently caress? Or is all that just crap you only have to deal with online? Do you just front up at the train station and reserve your seats in person? Buck Turgidson fucked around with this message at 07:25 on Nov 10, 2015 |
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Nov 10, 2015 06:57
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