Europe!

Barbiiieee

Is anyone else going to Europe? We are flying into Germany and getting Eurail passes and plan to spend three weeks between Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. Anyone have any must see or do things over there?

Snippylynn

I'd ptobably cut out a country, but that's me.

Anything else depends on time of year.

aloisk57

Ah!  We're going to Europe too!  We are doing Paris, Cinque Terre and Rome in 12 days...I think you'll have plenty of time   I suggest "seeing" the big sights (Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa) but not spending the money actually going IN them.  They are tourist traps in my opinion.  I've always enjoyed finding the more local things to do and really experiencing the culture.  I hope you have a great time!

cwaggoner07

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_europe?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:79676c76-0590-4a01-936f-a4b8ef8d6783Post:2baf29f0-673a-496c-bbc8-8cd3f424cb9f">Re: Europe!</a>:
[QUOTE]Ah!  We're going to Europe too!  We are doing Paris,<strong> Cinque Terre</strong> and Rome in 12 days...I think you'll have plenty of time :)  I suggest "seeing" the big sights (Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa) but not spending the money actually going IN them.  They are<strong> tourist traps</strong> in my opinion.  I've always enjoyed finding the more local things to do and really experiencing the culture.  I hope you have a great time!
Posted by aloisk57[/QUOTE]

YES. You will exhaust yourself on those tourist traps and spend half the day to do so.
Cinque Terra is hands down, the best place I have seen in the world. I loved it so much. They have a long hiking trail, and if you do the entire thing and stop at the cities in the middle to walk around, rest, grab a bite to eat, can take you an entire day (that's a good thing!). And you really get the feel of small town Italy.
I went to a lot of great places in Europe, but the only must-see I tell anyone about is CT.

dazyabbey

I think 4 countries in 3 weeks would be doable depending on what you want to do in those countries and what you plan on seeing and how many cities you want to stop at. We just got back from London and Paris a little over a week ago and we spent 5 1/2 days in each and that was the perfect amount of time for such large cities with so much to do.

As for the 'tourist trap' aspect of some cities I agree and disagree. I think it depends on what your interests are and what you want to spend your time doing. There were a lot of things we just looked at from the outside and took pictures and left but there were lots of things we went into as well. I couldn't imaging going to Paris and not going into Versailles though the historical aspects of it and just getting to see everything.

I think you should figure out your prorities and what is worth it to you. The line to get onto the Eiffel Tower was probably 2+ hours long so we did not want to wait. But we ended up going to dinner on the Eiffel Tower and getting to go out on the platform so it was a nice exchange. :-)

Have fun and if you need further information about the specific places check out Trip Advisor. This forum tends to be more focused on beachy type vacations and although there are many brides on here who have been to Europe on the TA forum you have experts about the areas and they can give you some good ideas and great advice!

aragx6

We're doing 5 nights in London and two at a B&B in a little town outside of Bath called Bradford on Avon. The vacations where you try to rush though and see everything stress me out. I really want to go to Belgium and Italy and Spain etc., but I'd rather wait and do each when I can really enjoy each individually.

monkeysip

I've only been to Italy, but I also have to agree and disagree on the tourist trap thing too.

Overall, I agree that you'll have more fun if you just try to enjoy the culture and scenery, but there are some things you have to go inside to enjoy!  One on of my first days, I saw the Coloseum from the outside, and it was great.  I didn't think I was going to have the time to go inside.

A few days later, I had some time, so I did a tour inside.  I was stunned.  I was so glad I went in because just being inside was an incredible experience.

I also wouldn't go to Rome without seeing St. Peter's basilica and the vatican museum (sistine chapel, etc.), but I will say that my interests are particularly history, religion, and art, so maybe I'm just biased.

Have fun! 

Texasgal05

I backpacked through Europe one summer in college.  I think you can do the 4 countries in 3 weeks, it just depends on what kind of honeymoon you want - Figure out a speed you want to go at and just be comfortable with your plans. I think making a list of your "HAVE TOs" "want tos" and "its ok if we miss out of these"  really helps to make sure you keep your focus on the things you will be sad that you missed.
Hope I helped!

ChatonDeSexe

This could get long...feel free to PM me if you want more ideas!

Like Texasgal, I backpacked through Europe a few years ago. Except we did 8 countries in 23 days, which was definitely too much, but we were going for that crazy I-may-never-come-back-I'm-an-insane-grad-student experience. Four countries (especially neighboring countries) is doable if you use the railpass smartly...ie don't go from Berlin to Rome then back to Frankfurt then to Lucerne. You can also take the overnight trains for the longer distances, which worked out really well for us!

I've been to Paris, Berlin, Rome, Venice, Interlaken, and Lauterbrunnen in the countries you're going to (and many smaller cities on France's Eastern side-Nancy, Metz, etc-while studying abroad). It depends on what your budget is, what you're looking to do, and of course what cities you want to go to. My best advice is to make a list of things that you must see and do a lot of research before you leave, but leave yourself some flexibility.

Some of my favorite things in the countries you mentioned...
Paris: Eiffel Tower, Louvre, riding on a bateau-mouche, Montmartre
Berlin: taking a trip to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, taking a free walking tour of the city (http://www.newberlintours.com/daily-tours/free-tour.html)
Rome/Vatican: Seeing the Sistine Chapel, throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain, walking through both the Coliseum and the ruins around it
Venice: going to the island where they make glass
Interlaken: white water rafting
Lauterbrunnen: seeing the waterfalls

Snippylynn

You know that Cinque Terre was hit by massive mudslides last year and is not in the same condition anymore? As in, a lot of the towns were almost totally destroyed. You might want to check into how things are now before you plan that. 

Snippylynn

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_europe?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:79676c76-0590-4a01-936f-a4b8ef8d6783Post:2baf29f0-673a-496c-bbc8-8cd3f424cb9f">Re: Europe!</a>:
[QUOTE]Ah!  We're going to Europe too!  We are doing Paris, Cinque Terre and Rome in 12 days...I think you'll have plenty of time :)  I suggest "seeing" the big sights (Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa) but not spending the money actually going IN them.  They are tourist traps in my opinion.  I've always enjoyed finding the more local things to do and really experiencing the culture.  I hope you have a great time!
Posted by aloisk57[/QUOTE]
This sounds like such a terrible idea. Why not spend 12 days in France, or 12 days in Italy? You'll get to see so much more. 

alithebride

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_europe?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:79676c76-0590-4a01-936f-a4b8ef8d6783Post:2baf29f0-673a-496c-bbc8-8cd3f424cb9f">Re: Europe!</a>:
[QUOTE]Ah!  We're going to Europe too!  We are doing Paris, Cinque Terre and Rome in 12 days...I think you'll have plenty of time :) <u> I suggest "seeing" the big sights (Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa) but not spending the money actually going IN them.  They are tourist traps in my opinion.  I've always enjoyed finding the more local things to do and really experiencing the culture</u>.  I hope you have a great time!
Posted by aloisk57[/QUOTE]

I disagre completely. I think paying the extra to actually go in and see what they're about is FAR more important that just seeing the outside. Leaning tower-amazing. fun climb up, outsanding at the top and gorgeous view. if you're not going to go in you might as well skip it imo. santa croce in florence-outside it's a church, inside it has amazing works of art and is gorgeous. spend the $ and go in. in fact going in you get a far clearer picture of the history and therefore the culture and significance.

ElleB87

H and I got married and spent our honeymoon in Ireland.

Snippylynn

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_europe?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:79676c76-0590-4a01-936f-a4b8ef8d6783Post:d1b3b1d4-f72a-41b5-962b-8a712f343ace">Re: Europe!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Europe! : I disagre completely. I think paying the extra to actually go in and see what they're about is FAR more important that just seeing the outside. Leaning tower-amazing. fun climb up, outsanding at the top and gorgeous view. if you're not going to go in you might as well skip it imo. santa croce in florence-outside it's a church, inside it has amazing works of art and is gorgeous. spend the $ and go in. in fact going in you get a far clearer picture of the history and therefore the culture and significance.
Posted by alithebride[/QUOTE]
I agree with you, and honestly, anyone who goes to these places and doesn't spend time there, go in, explore (the area and the country and the cities) is just there to say the were there. Like a notch in their belt. But they don't particularly care about the significance. If they did, they would plan more than 1 day in a place.

hoffse

I think you're trying to hit too many countries, but that's just me.  I've only been to Italy, but I spent 3 weeks in Rome, and I barely felt like it was enough time.  I took a day trip to Florence, which really needed 2 days, and I took a day trip to see Pompeii, which is hand's down one of the coolest things I've ever done.  If you go to Italy, see Pompeii.  It's crazy.

In Rome, the Vatican/Vatican museums are a must - a tour of the Vatican museums will dump you out in the Sistine Chapel.  I thought the Colloseum was ok, but I had studied it extensively in several art history classes, so it was exactly the size that I thought it was going to be.  The Sistine chapel and St Peters was a lot larger than I was expecting.  I'm also more into the art and history thing than the tourism thing - most of those 3 weeks was spent studying the art in the churches all around the city, which was truly incredible.  If you go to Rome, it's also worth seeing San Giovanni in Laterno, Santa Maria Majore, San Zeno, and Santa Maria della Vittoria - they are all churches with some really cool/famous pieces of art in them.  San Zeno is next door to Santa Maria Majore, and San Giovanni is actually the cathedral of Rome (St. Peters is not).  Santa Maria della Vittoria has that super famous Bernini sculpture "Ecstacy of St. Teresa:"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Saint_Teresa

Also, Michelangelo's best sculpture ever (in my humble opinion) is in Rome, in this piece of crap church (San Pietro in Vincoli) that's really off the beaten path - it's his sculpture of Moses.  So much better than the David (in florence) or the Pieta (in the vatican).  That church also has the chains that held St. Peter when he was executed, supposedly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo%27s_Moses

Just my $0.02.  We're going to Europe as well, but we're sticking with 1-2 cities for about 11 days - we're most likely going to do Austria/Prague or else Austria/Budapest.

jsquared62009

I agree w/the PP that said you have to decide what speed of honeymoon you're comfortable with. If you are completely okay with just hitting all the major points of interest in a city/country then what you have listed is just fine! Like PP said, if you use the railpass smartly it'll help a lot. When I travel I like to see as much as I can since I don't get to go that often so I tend to spend a day or two in each place. Other people prefer to really delve into the culture/sights of one specific place. I don't think either one is wrong, it's just two different styles of traveling. Figure out which one works for you and your FI and plan around that. Either way it's your honeymoon so you will have a fabulous time! GL!

MerAndTrick

We're doing Europe too... I've been over a handful of times, and agree with PPs.  There is so much to see and Europe is one of those things you don't want to rush.  It's so much more fun to take your time, get lost, eat in every single little restaurant.  Maybe if you have things you want to see in each country limit the number of cities...  You guys will have such an amazing trip though!  Three weeks will fly by quicker than you know.

hz80408

It really depends what you want to see in each country and how many cities in each.

We did an 18-day trip to Amsterdam, train to Paris, flight to Barcelona, flight to London in April and although we spend 4ish days in each city, we saw a lot and wouldn't have done the trip differently for our first trip to Europe.

I also recommend prebooking any big sights in advance.  We prebooked our Eiffel tickets which easily saved us 3hrs of waiting in a line (and PS- IMO, it's totally worth going up the Eiffel). 

As far as what to see, it's hard to say because there is so much.  I'd do preliminary research and then ask specifics when you've narrowed down your list.

I've blogged about our time in Paris if you're interested about what we did the 4 nights/days we were there: http://justcallmehaha.blogspot.com/search/label/Paris