Tips for getting tickets in Europe:

[robertmac43]

Anyone have any tips for buying footie tickets in Europe?

Favourite websites?

Strateges for getting tickets day of?

Etc, etc.Looking for any kind of tip really.

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[Stray Wasp]

With a lot of English clubs I suspect it'd be as simple as registering with their official website, keeping up to speed with the date match day tickets are put on sale and applying.

Certainly that was my experience managing to obtain tickets for the old Boleyn Ground and Craven Cottage. Inevitably it might be more difficult with some of the top EPL sides, but even they struggle to sell all their tickets on occasion as it isn't a cheap day/night out.

Unfortunately I can't help regarding mainland Yurp.

 

[maclean]

Team websites are probably the best place to go, though many won't have English, but Google Translate is pretty decent these days. In the Czech Republic you can buy tickets to most games through the same ticket portals that sell say concert tickets, but those sites will probably vary country-to-country. Never been to games in other countries though so not sure

 

[East Coast Bias]

I went this past spring to Roma and Fiorentina matches. Both tickets for both off the clubs website.

Be careful of the secondary market. Some clubs have strict requirements at the gate. When I bought my tickets for both italian clubs, I had to enter my name, passport country and date of birth. They then checked it against the ticket at the gate.

Reach out to the clubs you want to see directly. I traded emails with both clubs PR offices. They told me how it would work - tickets will be released to the public within 4 weeks of a match, make sure you align ID with ticket info, etc.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

What happened to that thread about European travel or new to the game? Anyone bumping this up because I'm going on a Euro trip (never been) London (maybe liverpool too), Paris, Geneva, Rome and Barcelona. Was hoping to get help from my soccer buds. Best ways to travel from city to city( cheapest ways) things to do/see. Food to eat any recommendations really. Price of football matches. Open to all suggestions and tips.

 

[Evilo]

Cheapest way to travel is by bus. If you don't have many luggage low-cost flights can be cheap if you book then quickly.
For the rest a lot depends on how long you stay in each city.
Also I'd suggest you skip Liverpool to go to somewhere like Sevilla, Venice or Naples all of which are wonderful cities.
You could spend 2 weeks in Paris or Rome and not be done so you'll have to be more specific on things you want to do.

 

[maclean]

Football game prices in Czech Republic are like six bucks. Play quality is roughly corresponding tho

 

[Chimaera]

I mean, what are you looking to go to? You need to be slightly more specific.

Bus might be cheaper, but the train is your most common way of getting from big town to big town. If you're in England, you can get anywhere with a train ticket. Heck, if you're going across Europe, they do have EuroRail Passes(prices have gone up a bit) where you can basically travel wherever for a flat fee. You pay up front, then schedule your trips, and go wherever. That said, it's cheaper if you just do individual if you're only doing a couple of routes/stops. If you're going to do all of Europe (or at least 7-8 countries) a EuroRail pass could be a better option. If you're just doing like France and Spain, or England and Scotland, I wouldn't get a EuroRail Pass.

Airfare is also way cheaper than you think. I would highly, highly recommend you sign up for the email for Scott's Flights (don't pay premium unless you're expecting to take a number of trips). While you can find some of the deals on your own, the service emails out cheaper tickets they find, and if you're not completely set on a day, it helps you get a good deal.

As for going to matches, my recommendation would be to find the major fan forums for clubs you're looking to go to. They're pretty helpful. BigSoccer forums were pretty helpful in what to do when I went to Liverpool. If you're trying to go see matches for major clubs, you could also contact some of the supporter groups and see what they have as far as info. As has been said, the club websites are also a resource. They're more than happy to have you, because they know you'll probably take a tour and buy some stuff.

Really, big matches are the main ones that are difficult to get to. You're not going to United / Liverpool unless you know someone or pay a big price for 3rd party tickets (which can be dicey in many countries, with fakes, scam sites and overselling relatively common). Some stadiums sell out, but if you look for matches in League Cups, you can often find affordable tickets, even day of. You do want to make sure you're wearing some either nondescript clothing, or make it clear at the box office you're a tourist. My sister got to go to Stamford Bridge, Craven Cottage, and White Hart Lane with cheap tickets to see matches when she was there on a winter semester for cheap. She just went day of, said she was a student, paid the price, and sat with the other tourists/out of town people. They didn't see any particularly great matches, but if you want to go, it's not crazy hard. I mean, you can go to basically most of the Bundesliga or Serie A matches without much trouble if you want. The only thing you're going to struggle to get is for some of the bigger matches for massive clubs, or the derbies. Sure, they're not cheap, and many places are going to try and gouge out of town visitors, but it's doable.

I would also say that don't completely rule out some of the cities until you have a plan. While I wouldn't want to spend a number of days in Liverpool, if you can time it to do a match there, and a match in Manchester, it's worth doing that. There's enough touristy stuff in Liverpool (Beatles, Liverpool One) for a day or two, but not much more. If you're getting the most bang for your buck, and want to do cultural stuff, then you need to stick with the major touristy hubs. But understand that it might also limit some of your football match options if there's major tourist areas. Some of the bigger cities do also have access passes. It was a bit of a weird experience for me to travel overseas a number of times because you have to pay to see everything. Living close to DC, we don't pay for basically any museum. They're all free. In Europe, that's really not the case at all. So, like London, Paris and the like have passes where you can get into everything for flat rates. But you better be ready to hustle. They're not worth it if you're going to do one or two things and then hit up the pubs. They're only worth it if you're going to bust your backside to get to stuff.

 

[robertmac43]

Bus travel through Europe | FlixBus

Try this site out . I used it a lot for some long hauls in Europe, just get a bus that leaves in the evening and you save money for accommodations that night as well :p

 

[robertmac43]

As for getting tickets just be creative.

I did not have a ticket to the Brighton v Leicester game the day before and messaged a guy who youtubes every game if he could hook me up using his membership. He was all for it and I ended up paying the face value of a supporters section ticket (35 pounds) instead of paying upwards of 100 pounds to get a seat in a random part of the stadium.

 

[Chimaera]

Yeah, I mean, if you don't really care to go to the top clubs, getting tickets isn't hard at all.

Plenty of guys are happy to have out of town people come see the club if you're generally interested.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Big thank you for the replies. Much appreciated.

Cheapest way to travel is by bus. If you don't have many luggage low-cost flights can be cheap if you book then quickly.
For the rest a lot depends on how long you stay in each city.
Also I'd suggest you skip Liverpool to go to somewhere like Sevilla, Venice or Naples all of which are wonderful cities.
You could spend 2 weeks in Paris or Rome and not be done so you'll have to be more specific on things you want to do.

I'm spending 2 weeks for the entire trip. My main goal is to visit the camp nou. While also going to Anfield hence liverpool. It's not the important and if something better comes along I'm open to it. I just figured London and Liverpool 2 hours apart isn't all that bad. Time is an issue I don't want to spend most of it travel from city to city. I want to get to the destination at reasonably fast. Since I'm staying around 3 days for each city. I figure I can't see it all or enjoy the city at full capacity. Just wondering what is the can't miss stuff to do/see and eat for each city.

I mean, what are you looking to go to? You need to be slightly more specific.



I would also say that don't completely rule out some of the cities until you have a plan. While I wouldn't want to spend a number of days in Liverpool, if you can time it to do a match there, and a match in Manchester, it's worth doing that. There's enough touristy stuff in Liverpool (Beatles, Liverpool One) for a day or two, but not much more. If you're getting the most bang for your buck, and want to do cultural stuff, then you need to stick with the major touristy hubs. But understand that it might also limit some of your football match options if there's major tourist areas. Some of the bigger cities do also have access passes. It was a bit of a weird experience for me to travel overseas a number of times because you have to pay to see everything. Living close to DC, we don't pay for basically any museum. They're all free. In Europe, that's really not the case at all. So, like London, Paris and the like have passes where you can get into everything for flat rates. But you better be ready to hustle. They're not worth it if you're going to do one or two things and then hit up the pubs. They're only worth it if you're going to bust your backside to get to stuff.

Very informative thanks. Again the only games I want to catch are Barca and a liverpool match. The other cities Im going there just for sightseeing.

IN theory can the Euro rail take me from each city I mentioned?

 

[Chimaera]

I mean, you could get from Barcelona to Liverpool by train. But you're going to have to go up through France, through the Chunnel, through London, and make connections to Liverpool. For two weeks, it also might not be worth it getting a Eurorail pass, when odds are you're looking at maybe three or four train tickets tops. Eurorail really pays off when you're doing a new city each two or three days over a couple of weeks. 2 weeks? I wouldn't think it makes sense to get the full ticket.

If those two are the only places you're really looking to go, you have a few other options. It might be better off to take a flight from Barcelona to London, and then take the train to Liverpool. There are also ferries that leave from ports in Spain to England, but that's another thing to look into, and it takes a while (sitting on the Ferry takes a long while). I've done a ferry from Holyhead in Wales to Dublin, and while that didn't take all that long, a ferry from Spain to England would be. It wouldn't be crazy expensive, but it would also be kinda dull.

You're probably better off eating the cost of a flight between the two if you're set on it.

I'll be honest, if you're doing Spain, you're probably better off not trying to hike all the way up to Liverpool if it was me. I'd recommend from Spain sticking with either southern France or Italy as your offshoot or maybe doing a London. The transfer time, unless you're getting a direct flight from Barcelona to Liverpool (which might or might not be expensive, I don't know) is going to be a bit of a negative. Direct train from London to Liverpool is a couple of hours (2-3). That's easy enough. Train from Barcelona to Liverpool is forever.

 

[Live in the Now]

To get from London to Barcelona I could not more strongly recommend flying out of Luton. With all that advance notice the flight would be dirt cheap.

 

[Burner Account]

Epic bump.

In September 2017, I went to Barcelona, Amsterdam and Munich and somehow my only football option was Espanyol. We didn't wind up going.

This year I'm going to London, Amsterdam and Paris. Hoping for better fixture luck this time around. I'm taking the train between each of those three cities. The cost is comparable to some budget airlines so it comes down to a time difference in not having to travel to the different airports.

I'm also committed to getting to Anfield before the end of 2019. From what I gather, flying into Manchester and taking the train to Liverpool makes the most sense. What have others done?

 

[Chimaera]

Epic bump.

In September 2017, I went to Barcelona, Amsterdam and Munich and somehow my only football option was Espanyol. We didn't wind up going.

This year I'm going to London, Amsterdam and Paris. Hoping for better fixture luck this time around. I'm taking the train between each of those three cities. The cost is comparable to some budget airlines so it comes down to a time difference in not having to travel to the different airports.

I'm also committed to getting to Anfield before the end of 2019. From what I gather, flying into Manchester and taking the train to Liverpool makes the most sense. What have others done?

I'm sorry it went like that. It's sometimes hard to get tickets for the biggest clubs.

I like the train, it's nice to see the countryside, even if I'm not stopping, and I don't mind being able to snag a sandwich and a beverage or two. Sometimes it's good to catch up on the sleep with the train.

Either flying into Manchester or flying into London and taking the train are your easiest options in my mind. It's more a matter of cost. Either one is pretty easy, and I've done the fly into London route and take the train up. I've also done Dublin first, ferry over, and train up.

 

[Burner Account]

I'm sorry it went like that. It's sometimes hard to get tickets for the biggest clubs.

I like the train, it's nice to see the countryside, even if I'm not stopping, and I don't mind being able to snag a sandwich and a beverage or two. Sometimes it's good to catch up on the sleep with the train.

Either flying into Manchester or flying into London and taking the train are your easiest options in my mind. It's more a matter of cost. Either one is pretty easy, and I've done the fly into London route and take the train up. I've also done Dublin first, ferry over, and train up.

It wasn't even a matter of getting tickets, just none of those three clubs having home matches. Rotten luck

All good options. Guess the first order of business is getting my ticket and planning around that.

 

[Chimaera]

Yeah, tickets, or at least a lead on tickets is probably the first requirement.

 

[East Coast Bias]

It wasn't even a matter of getting tickets, just none of those three clubs having home matches. Rotten luck

All good options. Guess the first order of business is getting my ticket and planning around that.

If you're flying from NY, I've found Dublin to be a lot cheaper than London or Manchester (flown into all 3 before). When I went to Manchester last I flew to Dublin, then connected to Manchester. Like a 30 min flight. Shaved off like $400 direct to Manchester from JFK. Of course it depends on time of year and all that, but if you're flexible with layovers you can save a ton.

 

[SouthGeorge]

EPL is easy. Just sign up for their club and you can get really good tickets for face value. I'm sure Liverpool might be hard now but like Arsenal or somebody is easy.

Bundesliga/Bayern was hard. You can't sign up for their club as easily so I used viagogo. Which is sketch for many reasons. There's no official secondary market. They don't get the tickets until like week of the game. I wanted the actually tickets because I feared they would just send me digital and go with the hard tickets and I would be ass'd out (That actually happened to a friend) I got the tickets like two days before I left.

 

[Burner Account]

If you're flying from NY, I've found Dublin to be a lot cheaper than London or Manchester (flown into all 3 before). When I went to Manchester last I flew to Dublin, then connected to Manchester. Like a 30 min flight. Shaved off like $400 direct to Manchester from JFK. Of course it depends on time of year and all that, but if you're flexible with layovers you can save a ton.

One of the perks of living near three major airports.

 

[robertmac43]

EPL is easy. Just sign up for their club and you can get really good tickets for face value. I'm sure Liverpool might be hard now but like Arsenal or somebody is easy.

Definitely not as easy as this. A lot of prem teams make you buy a suite ticket the first time you go through with a free membership. Technically it is face value, but usually that equates to a ticket that is 110ish pounds where as the general stands ranges from 35-60 pounds.

When I went to the Emirates I got lucky and nabbed a single ticket on Stub hub for only 90 Canadian and I was 6 rows up. Couldn't get anything like that with a membership.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Also, apologies to our resident English posters, but don't spend 3 days in Liverpool or Manchester. Or any English city. Pack on more time in Italy or Spain.

/Ducks

 

[robertmac43]

If you don't spend at least a week in Brighton did you really go to England?? :p

 

[S E P H]

Team websites are probably the best place to go, though many won't have English, but Google Translate is pretty decent these days. In the Czech Republic you can buy tickets to most games through the same ticket portals that sell say concert tickets, but those sites will probably vary country-to-country. Never been to games in other countries though so not sure

What about exchange of currency? Like US/Canadian Dollar for Euros? British Pound for Euros? And vice-versa?

Cheapest way to travel is by bus. If you don't have many luggage low-cost flights can be cheap if you book then quickly.
For the rest a lot depends on how long you stay in each city.
Also I'd suggest you skip Liverpool to go to somewhere like Sevilla, Venice or Naples all of which are wonderful cities.
You could spend 2 weeks in Paris or Rome and not be done so you'll have to be more specific on things you want to do.

Train? I get that bullet trains in France are super expensive, but what about normal trains? How about renting a car?

I mean, you could get from Barcelona to Liverpool by train. But you're going to have to go up through France, through the Chunnel, through London, and make connections to Liverpool. For two weeks, it also might not be worth it getting a Eurorail pass, when odds are you're looking at maybe three or four train tickets tops. Eurorail really pays off when you're doing a new city each two or three days over a couple of weeks. 2 weeks? I wouldn't think it makes sense to get the full ticket.

French police are notorious for preying on tourists with speed cameras (we also ran into big problems with Gucci wearing Italia police as well). I think I would rather spend the extra money for train than deal with speed cameras.