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Yeah, definitely just get the 10 T-tickets.
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Mar 7, 2017 19:28
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hackbunny fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Jul 2, 2020 |
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Mar 8, 2017 02:35
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Awesome thanks everyone. Guess I'll go with the carnet. Might do the bikes for a day though.
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Mar 8, 2017 15:14
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Saladman posted:most of a tourist's Paris is very walkable except getting to Sacre Coeur or moving between two distant places (e.g. Arc de Triomphe to Pompidou). Maybe I'm a weirdo, but to me that's pretty walkable if you're not in a hurry, and the Sacre Coeur is only a few kilometres from say the Louvre (and the stairs are a minor nuisance for a healthy person). You'll get much more out of walking the Champs-Elysees for an hour than of dealing with the metro for half an hour
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Mar 8, 2017 15:30
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What are the cool neighborhoods to stay in in Prague and Budapest? Will be there for a few days each (catching a train between the two cities) and wondering where to get an Airbnb.
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Mar 8, 2017 16:07
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In Budapest we stayed in an AirBnb in the Jewish Quarter near the Synagogue back in November and I'd highly recommend that. Tons of good restaurants and bars in the area (including the famous ruined pubs) and we were walking distance to most major attractions. That said, Budapest is pretty small so I think the latter would be true of anywhere reasonably central.
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Mar 8, 2017 16:10
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Awful news out of Malta I just heard is that the Azure Window collapsed in a heavy storm. Glad I got out there in January and saw it before this. It was definitely a highlight of Gozo (and Malta altogether) and it's a shame that nobody else will get to see it again. https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Atha/status/839484400706457604
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Mar 8, 2017 23:42
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My girlfriend and I are spending some time in Italy this summer. Flying in to Florence on Saturday morning, leaving Sunday of the following week out of Milan. We were hoping to check out Florence/Rome/the coast, but per the suggestions of our friends we're going to do Florence/Milan/Lake Como to try to avoid some of the ridiculous crowds in Rome. Is this a decent plan? Anything we should check out in particular?
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Mar 10, 2017 00:54
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Residency Evil posted:My girlfriend and I are spending some time in Italy this summer. Flying in to Florence on Saturday morning, leaving Sunday of the following week out of Milan. We were hoping to check out Florence/Rome/the coast, but per the suggestions of our friends we're going to do Florence/Milan/Lake Como to try to avoid some of the ridiculous crowds in Rome. Is this a decent plan? Anything we should check out in particular? Is Rome really that bad? We're doing Venice/Florence/Cinque Terre/Rome mid May... Flying into Venice, out of Rome. Open to suggestions as well!
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Mar 10, 2017 03:16
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liz posted:Is Rome really that bad? We're doing Venice/Florence/Cinque Terre/Rome mid May... Flying into Venice, out of Rome. Open to suggestions as well! Oh Rome is supposed to be great, just not in July when we're going.
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Mar 10, 2017 03:30
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Residency Evil posted:My girlfriend and I are spending some time in Italy this summer. Flying in to Florence on Saturday morning, leaving Sunday of the following week out of Milan. We were hoping to check out Florence/Rome/the coast, but per the suggestions of our friends we're going to do Florence/Milan/Lake Como to try to avoid some of the ridiculous crowds in Rome. Is this a decent plan? Anything we should check out in particular? When are you going? Late June to early August is particularly bad. August is weird in Italy because no one is in the cities but the coasts are jammed. Like in Milan, the exact center of the city will be pretty crowded, but if you go 2 minutes outside the tourist area, you won't see any cars or people or open shops even if it's 3pm on a weekday, like there's some plague outbreak you didn't hear about. I don't know why you'd avoid Rome but instead go go Florence. Florence and Venice are far and away the worst in the entire country as far as crowded summers. Lake Como is, surprisingly, quite okay in the summer.
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Mar 10, 2017 12:02
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Saladman posted:When are you going? Late June to early August is particularly bad. August is weird in Italy because no one is in the cities but the coasts are jammed. Like in Milan, the exact center of the city will be pretty crowded, but if you go 2 minutes outside the tourist area, you won't see any cars or people or open shops even if it's 3pm on a weekday, like there's some plague outbreak you didn't hear about. We're going in mid July, so right in the middle of the busy season. We're avoiding Rome this time because we want to see the Vatican/etc and have heard horror stories about the summer crowds. We'll be back in the next 2 - 3 years and be able to do it during the off-season so plan on going then. Sounds like Florence will be bad, Milan/Lake Como less so?
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Mar 10, 2017 13:34
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Residency Evil posted:We're going in mid July, so right in the middle of the busy season. We're avoiding Rome this time because we want to see the Vatican/etc and have heard horror stories about the summer crowds. We'll be back in the next 2 - 3 years and be able to do it during the off-season so plan on going then. Basically the only way to not get massive crowds everywhere in Florence is to be there during a weekday in winter when it's also raining and not near any holidays. I wouldn't really worry about it, all it means is that you will have to pre-book your hotels/AirBnB. Rent something with air conditioning unless you like participating in sleep deprivation experiments. It just means that Ponte Vecchio will be crowded and there will be a million people in front of you taking lovely photos of David with their cell phones raised into the air. It will not be crowded in the Disneyland sense of hour-long waits everywhere, nor will it be crowded in the Tokyo rush hour sense where you can't get on a bus without being literally shoved into it by packers. It's just that decently-rated restaurants will all be booked a day or two in advance from 6:30-9pm, and every nice place will have 200 other people gawking at the same thing as you. Which is fine. I think the horror stories are all from people who want to be ~*~*free~*~* and don't book anything until the day they arrive on a train, and then end up in a 12 bed mixed dorm when it's 35°, only to find out Italians don't believe in fans (much less air conditioning units).
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Mar 10, 2017 14:05
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Hey dudes. Taking a week of leave in April. Living in England atm. Looking to go somewhere warm and probably coastal. Probably two countries actually. Maybe one for a nice city, another for nature? I've been to Spain, Italy, and Greece recently. Lisbon? Somewhere in Croatia?
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Mar 10, 2017 15:52
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I was in Florence in May and Rome in May of a different year and Florence was hands down the most crowded place I've ever seen in Europe, and as a kid I used to only travel in July and August because school holidays. It sucked then because of the crowds, I can't even imagine how awful it would be in July/August. For me what I disliked the most about Florence is how un-Italian it felt. Like, the whole old part of the city has become so touristy that everything's in English, everyone speaks English, everything is aimed at tourists and there's just no authenticity there at all anymore. At least Rome and Paris and all that might get crowded (although the only other place where I've seen the streets as crowded as Florence was Shibuya in Tokyo) but it's obvious that you're in the midst of Romans and Parisians going about their daily lives. Florence doesn't have that feeling at all. It's like being in a tourist bubble. Dominoes posted:Hey dudes. Taking a week of leave in April. Living in England atm. Looking to go somewhere warm and probably coastal. Probably two countries actually. Maybe one for a nice city, another for nature? I've been to Spain, Italy, and Greece recently. Lisbon? Somewhere in Croatia?
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Mar 10, 2017 16:06
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When would people say is the best time to go to Rome? We'd like to spend 5-7 days there at some point and can be fairly flexible. I imagine there's never a time when it's not going to be full of tourists but a time when it's decent weather and not jam-packed would be nice.
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Mar 10, 2017 16:48
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I was just there in late September and it was nice. Warm but not obscenely hot. I've never been in peak season but it could have been a lot more crowded. It's Rome so there will always be tourists at the big attractions, but I didn't feel overwhelmed by them.
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Mar 10, 2017 16:52
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Disclaimer: I've only been to Florence in late fall and early spring, where it was crowded but not godawful. Maybe it is that much worse in July. I've been in the Florence area in nicer seasons and I've specifically avoided it because of its abysmal reputation of crowds from late spring to mid fall. I've been in Rome, Milan, and Lake Como all seasons including over Christmas and haven't ever found it vacation-ruiningly bad, as long as your accomodation was booked ahead of time. I didn't even find Cinque Terre in July to be that bad, and I was even driving. The worst part of Florence is definitely it's lack of feeling authentic as Hookshot mentioned. Venice has that too but Venice's setting is completely unique and bizarre and there's nowhere authentic like it. There are many authentic places similar to Florence (eg Sienna) that are also lovely and way less touristy. Unless you really care about David or Ponte Vecchia, I'd suggest Sienna instead for 2-3 days. or Padua / Verona would fit better in your itinerary IMO there is no bad time to visit Rome. The only places that ever have lines are the Vatican Museum and Colosseum and both of those can be mitigated if you buy your tickets in the right place (online and a Combi ticket at the forum, respectively). There are also amazing places in Rome that hardly see any tourists even in peak seasons. Saladman fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Mar 10, 2017 |
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Mar 10, 2017 16:56
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I went to Rome in May, as mentioned above, and it was nice. Not stupidly hot, only like 28 degrees every single day, and sure there were lineups and tourists, but nothing too bad. We just bought our Vatican museum tickets ahead of time and smugly got to walk past the two-hour lineup of people waiting to walk in. Then we snuck out the Sistine Chapel the back way by pretending to be with a tour group and got straight into St Peters. We also did some Rick Steves trick to not have to wait as long at the Forum/Collisseum/etc but it was so long ago now I can't remember what. But basically we never really waited long in lines and Rome was super cool. edit: also I think I mention this every single time someone in this thread goes to Rome, but go to Ciampini Gelato. Seriously. It is the greatest gelato you will have in Rome and it's really central. HookShot fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Mar 10, 2017 |
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Mar 10, 2017 20:09
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HookShot posted:We also did some Rick Steves trick to not have to wait as long at the Forum/Collisseum/etc but it was so long ago now I can't remember what. But basically we never really waited long in lines and Rome was super cool. The trick is that the Colosseum always has lines to buy tickets there, but it's the exact same ticket as for the Roman forum, which never has lines, and since you'll do both anyway, just go to the forum first. (Or you could buy the ticket at the forum and go to Colosseum first, it doesn't really matter). In any case I don't think the Colosseum wait is even all that long. The only one that you really have to know is the Vatican Museum ticket. I don't know why anyone stands outside in the hour+ line when they could just buy a ticket online and skip it entirely with the tiniest modicum of planning. Best time to go basically anywhere in Italy is either between April (at least 1 week after Easter) and mid June, or early September-mid October. Everything will be in normal hours and work schedules, and the weather will be nice. E: Unless you care about beaches, but if you're going to Italy for the beaches you're in the wrong country. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would go to Rimini unless they were locals. E2: I'm sure there are lovely beaches somewhere in Italy that also aren't packed to the gills with people. Probably only way in the south, though. Saladman fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Mar 10, 2017 |
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Mar 10, 2017 21:07
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Saladman posted:The trick is that the Colosseum always has lines to buy tickets there, but it's the exact same ticket as for the Roman forum, which never has lines, and since you'll do both anyway, just go to the forum first. (Or you could buy the ticket at the forum and go to Colosseum first, it doesn't really matter). That sounds right, I couldn't remember the details and didn't want to post it here in case someone went off my bad 4-year-old memory. But yeah, we didn't even go to the vatican at our scheduled time, we were there like an hour early and went "eh what the hell let's see if they'll let us in" and sure enough no problem.
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Mar 10, 2017 21:19
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I'll be going to Sweden in July to visit some relatives. I have no idea what to do there, any suggestions?
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Mar 12, 2017 19:23
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radlum posted:I'll be going to Sweden in July to visit some relatives. I have no idea what to do there, any suggestions? e: Eat some world famous Swedish pizza. kissekatt fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Mar 12, 2017 |
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Mar 12, 2017 20:04
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Any Eastern European Goons around? I have like, 6 weeks of vacation to burn and was looking into starting from Finland, going through the Baltic states, down through Poland, Czech, Ukraine, maybe a bit further south then ending in Germany (meeting some friends). I'll be traveling solo and while I'm perfectly happy on my own, it's always more fun meeting up with Goons/expats in the various countries. How rough is it going to be if I only speak English and German, no Russian? Also, I'm meeting friends in Germany for Octoberfest, is it better to do a trip like this before or after that with regards to weather and touristy stuff to see?
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Mar 13, 2017 02:44
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The weather is good in Europe usually until late October so you're fine either way. Still, you can get flights to Munich from like anywhere in Europe for about 70 bucks so you don't really have to worry about scheduling your trip in a straight line unless you're on a super tight budget. I'm not exactly an expert on Eastern Europe, but in my experience most everywhere younger people (under 40-45) will speak English or German. I guess maybe in like Moldova and Belarus it's not the case but definitely in baltics (english), Poland (English or german) and czech (English) you'll be fine.
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Mar 13, 2017 07:05
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Saladman posted:The weather is good in Europe usually until late October so you're fine either way. Still, you can get flights to Munich from like anywhere in Europe for about 70 bucks so you don't really have to worry about scheduling your trip in a straight line unless you're on a super tight budget. Sweet! Budget is pretty open, as long as it's fun and worth seeing I'll make room for it. How safe is Eastern Europe in general? I'm a pretty smart traveler but I've heard enough stories about gangsters and scams around the FSU block that I'm a little nervous about traveling alone. If I get pulled over or stopped on the street will I need to pony up a bribe? Will I get arrested for offering a bribe? How much do things like food and booze usually cost in the Baltic and non-euro zone countries? I've only ever done the England/France/Germany trifecta and I'm assuming the Baltic and SE European areas are cheaper but I'm not sure. I know Finland is pricier but are we talking $150/night hotels pricier or what?
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Mar 13, 2017 09:04
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150$/night is normal for a middle class business hotel in Helsinki. Rest of Finland varies more depending on season and location, in either direction. Baltic countries are cheaper. The difference is larger in alcohol prices due to differences in how alcohol is taxed.
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Mar 13, 2017 09:56
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JacksLibido posted:Sweet! Budget is pretty open, as long as it's fun and worth seeing I'll make room for it. How safe is Eastern Europe in general? I'm a pretty smart traveler but I've heard enough stories about gangsters and scams around the FSU block that I'm a little nervous about traveling alone. If I get pulled over or stopped on the street will I need to pony up a bribe? Will I get arrested for offering a bribe? If you go to the "far" east like Ukraine I guess things are probably a lot cheaper, but Poland / Czech / Hungary / Baltics will only be marginally cheaper than Germany as far as hostels and alcohol and food go. Trains are going to be much cheaper than DB, and intercity buses are probably even cheaper again. Your wallet will definitely feel happy as soon as you escape to Estonia. Lots of Finns will take the ferry over to Estonia to the day to buy alcohol, even. Are you renting a car and driving? Unless you're super sketchy looking, I can't imagine you being stopped by cops (corrupt or otherwise) in any of the countries you're going to except maybe Ukraine. I've never heard of any of my friends / acquaintances having bad experiences with corruption or scams in eastern Europe. Don't go to sketchy strip clubs, I guess, and you'll be fine, and if you go to bars by yourself, be somewhat wary of strangers, I guess. I wouldn't be too worried though. I hear Talinn has a pretty wild / fun / safe nightlife. I never really do nightlife when I'm a tourist unless I'm visiting someone who lives in the area though, so I don't personally know.
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Mar 13, 2017 10:21
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Half of Tallinn nightlife is finns getting more drunk than they should, ie also tourists. It's safe, with the usual caveats for places with many drunk tourists.
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Mar 13, 2017 15:12
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Everywhere I've ever been in Eastern Europe (Tallinn, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia) has felt safer than large parts of America I've been to. You'll be fine.
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Mar 13, 2017 18:08
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Why does everybody from America think they're going to get scammed or robbed the second they step off the plane?
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Mar 14, 2017 12:33
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Sweevo posted:Why does everybody from America think they're going to get scammed or robbed the second they step off the plane? They sense that we hate them
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Mar 14, 2017 12:44
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Sweevo posted:Why does everybody from America think they're going to get scammed or robbed the second they step off the plane? Because how can you stop crime if guns are illegal?!?!
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Mar 14, 2017 13:08
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https://www.google.ca/amp/news.nationalpost.com/news/walt-wawra/amp This happened in a major Canadian city, that's probably the most culturally similar place to the US in the world. Americans are just a panicky, terrified bunch.
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Mar 14, 2017 14:22
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PT6A posted:https://www.google.ca/amp/news.nationalpost.com/news/walt-wawra/amp I still think American politics are disingenuous. Clearly, if everybody is safer with a gun, they should hand every tourist a gun on arrival, maybe let them take a crack at a target or something just to make sure, and send them on their way. You keep the gun on you at all times during your stay, thus automatically making you and everybody around you safe(r). And when you leave the US, you just return the gun at the airport or border, thus returning to the dangerous, violent and lawless outside world. This obviously would only be consistent!
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Mar 14, 2017 14:29
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Sweevo posted:Why does everybody from America think they're going to get scammed or robbed the second they step off the plane? Because America is the greatest country on earth, which means everywhere else is worse, and the communists are the bad guys and backwards and dangerous, haven't you seen that iPhone ad where the girl goes to Russia to see her family and everyone is amazed at how a camera works??
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Mar 14, 2017 17:37
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HookShot posted:Go to Croatia and Slovenia. Plitvice lakes for nature, Ljubljana for a super pretty old town that's amazing to just wander around and enjoy.
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Mar 14, 2017 18:33
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Dominoes posted:Thanks; any other recommendations in the area? Good places to stay in Croatia? I thought Split was actually a lot more overcrowded and touristy than Dubrovnik, I really like Dubrovnik as a place to stay for a few days. If you don't mind a million stairs and like exercise, stay at an AirBNB in the neighborhood above the old town; you can get places with a PHENOMENAL view over the city. It's 100% worth it, there's nothing quite like grabbing cevapcici, walking home with it, and eating it on the balcony while watching the sun set over Dubrovnik and the Adriatic. Mostar is another awesome day trip in that area; you can do it from Dubrovnik easily (we left Split in the morning, spent the day in Mostar, and drove to Dubrovnik in the afternoon). You have to make sure you have your green slip insurance form with your rental car though (we did get asked to see it by the customs agent), and some companies won't let you drive into Bosnia, but it's totally worth the slight hassle. Plitvice Lakes, however, is just so impressive. Go literally as soon as they open; you'll get a good 90 minutes before it gets really crowded. My husband and I did 8km of walking that day. It was so insanely beautiful, I highly, HIGHLY recommend it. In Slovenia, Ljubljana has a beautiful old town. Bled is definitely worth a day trip (walk around the lake and visit the castle), as is Logarska Dolina and the panoramic road around it if you have the time. Slovenia is small enough that you can definitely base yourself in the capital and day trip it out no matter where you want to go. Slovenia is awesome because there's just no tourists compared to the rest of Europe, and the people are absolutely the nicest people you will ever meet in your life. I love Slovenia, and think it's the most underrated country in Europe.
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Mar 14, 2017 18:59
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Thanks dude; looking like this is going to be the trip. How do you recommend getting to the places not in the city? You mentioned a rental. Could do that, but how would I park in the city? Or just rent for a day?
Dominoes fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Mar 14, 2017 |
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Mar 14, 2017 19:07
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Sweevo posted:Why does everybody from America think they're going to get scammed or robbed the second they step off the plane? Eh... I've met more than a handful of Europeans who are afraid to go to New York because of "terrorism" and afraid to go to many other places in the US because of "mass shootings", both of which are similarly stupid and statistically-baseless concerns. Almost everyone here (in Europe) was terrified when my girlfriend moved to Tunisia for a few months, which is also pretty stupid. You guys act like the US has a monopoly on people being baselessly scared of everything. My (Swiss) aunt's family won't go to Morocco anymore either, which they used to do a lot, because of "terr'rism". E: But yes, more "serious but not usually life threatening" crime like armed holdups and stuff are way more common in cities in the US than basically anywhere a tourist or even backpacker might go in Europe. Saladman fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Mar 14, 2017 |
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Mar 14, 2017 20:49
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