Tips for getting tickets in Europe:

[Evilo]

Nerja indeed.

 

[S E P H]

The plan is to London-Paris-Geneva-Rome-Barcelona-Montreal. This way my movement wouldn't be erratic.

What type of luggage? My friend just came back last year touring France, Germany, and Belgium and all he had was a carry-on. He stuffed extra empty bags in his carry-on which helped when he was returning.

EDIT : Marseille has 18 violent act (doesn't mean murder) for 1000 people in a year.

Yeah, but what crime? If it's petty robbery, then every tourist-y place in Europe will be like that from Paris to Florence to Milan to Munich to Rome to Berlin to Krakow to Moscow.

I don't get how it's fun to go to Paris though, there are almost as many tourists visiting it than French people. No wonder why Parisians are always pissed off. I would much rather go to Nice, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, and Lyon. I have never done this, but what actually would be a dream trip is from Lyon to Grenoble to Turin to Genoa to Monaco to Nice in a (luxury) car.

 

[Evilo]

I thought I was clear : VIOLENT act. Anything of violence. It's double the normal french rate. But certainly VASTLY inferior to most NA cities.
Not fun to go to Paris? Possibly the most beautiful city in the world? Why do you think there are so many tourists exactly? Louvre, Tour Eiffel, Versailles, Notre Dame (well), Sacre Coeur, Musée d'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Quai Branly, Panthéon, Palais Garnier, and that's just a small part of the cultural places to visit. You're also in one of the capitals of the nights. Moulin Rouge, night clubs, everything you want, you can have.
But : it's noisy, crowdy, expensive, etc... And many parisians are assholes.

 

[S E P H]

I thought I was clear : VIOLENT act. Anything of violence. It's double the normal french rate. But certainly VASTLY inferior to most NA cities.
Not fun to go to Paris? Possibly the most beautiful city in the world? Why do you think there are so many tourists exactly? Louvre, Tour Eiffel, Versailles, Notre Dame (well), Sacre Coeur, Musée d'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Quai Branly, Panthéon, Palais Garnier, and that's just a small part of the cultural places to visit. You're also in one of the capitals of the nights. Moulin Rouge, night clubs, everything you want, you can have.
But : it's noisy, crowdy, expensive, etc... And many parisians are *******s.

Ahh that's kind of sucks. Why in Marseille compared to the rest of France?

Oh I absolutely get why it's such a culture hub, but I just don't get why are those are considered more popular than other locations in Europe. I mean Notre Dame is truly amazing, but Italia has Cathedrals that match and could surpass it. Versaille is once again amazing, but Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg is just as good. Never been at Musée d'Orsay, but British Museum? Not sure what's so special of Arc de Triomphe. I mean Italia's landscape is filled with aqueducts which is older. I am not trying to discredit these aspects in Paris because they're all amazing, but as you said it's super crowded, expensive because of all the tourists, and just filled with tourists. You get people from America planning trips to Paris all the time, Europeans going to Paris, and a huge population in Asia going to Paris because it's a beautiful city. Having so many people in a city based off 14th century civil engineering (probably much older) just doesn't seem appealing for me. I think there are way better places in France, specifically Strasbourg.

 

[Evilo]

Because drug traffic.

I'm not sure many cathedrals surpass Notre Dame, but I'm certainly not arguing Italy can't offer plenty of cultural marvels. Roma, Naples, Venice, Firenze are amazing cities. Even Milan. Torino sucks though.
Been to St Petersburg and while it's an amazing city (which I said earlier), it's not Versailles.
British Museum is nice, but is not comparable to Orsay or Louvre (in terms of what's in there).
Basically, le Louvre is British Museum and the National Gallery into one. More comparable is l'Hermitage in St Petersburg. Office Gallery in Italy, Prado in Madrid, those are amazing museums too.
To sum up, I'd say Italy, Spain, and other countries can offer comparable cultural things, but not in a single place. Paris is an epicenter of culture.

There is IMO no other french cities that compare in that sense (and few if any in the world), but if you're talking about where you want to hang out in a peaceful path along the beach, then yeah Paris shouldn't be your thing. Nice, Cannes, Valencia, Tarragona are the places to go.
Strasbourg is a nice looking city, but no more than say Chester or Bath.

 

[gary69]

As others have said, if you're going to both Rome and Barcelona, definitily go to Riviera between them. And if you have more time in Spain, like Evilo mentioned, Granada is worth every minute.

 

[robertmac43]

If you end up in Germany and want something fun and cheap when it comes to football go to a Kaiserslautern. Unreal atmosphere and good beer

 

[Chimaera]

You can easily make that trip with a carryon. Just a few pairs of shorts and moisture wicking shirts and hand wash them out when you can at a hotel/hostel. It’s pretty easy to pack light. You can always hit a laundromat if you had to while there.

As for the crime deterring you, I wouldn’t let it. As long as you have your wits about you and you don’t advertise that you’re a lost tourist, you are generally safe in most places you’ve mentioned about traveling (and in most of Europe to be fair). Pick pocketing will be something that you have to be aware of, and honestly, they’ll probably get you if you aren’t vigilant (or at least try). But generally if you stay to tourist areas, don’t wander too far off the beaten path at night, you are basically fine. There’s places I wouldn’t feel very comfortable at night, but in general during the day, there’s not many places in Europe I wouldn’t feel ok at least. Most very safe. The people who do real crime in Europe aren’t worried about tourists and police have a great reason to make sure you’re ok. They might want a bribe here or there and they’re happy to prosecute you, but you’re safe in Europe. (I’m also assuming, but if you’re male, it’s also easier)

I will second that as amazing as Paris is, most of the people I met were jerks (at best) and it’s always crowded. It’s worth doing, but you can come away with bad experiences on occasion.

I will disagree slightly with criticism of the British Museum, it doesn’t have the art you’ll see in Paris, but historically, it does have some seminal pieces in European history. Both are worth the trip and you’ll still never see it all.

 

[Evilo]

I didn't mean to criticize the BM, it's amazing. I simply said the Louvre is both a historical collection museum and an art museum.

Other amazing cities you could go to rather than Geneva : Krakow, Prague, Budapest, Bruges, Amsterdam, Zaragoza, etc...

 

[Chimaera]

I mean the list is endless. I wouldn’t have Geneva first in Switzerland. But it’s really what you want to make of it. Maybe you’ve got family history there. Maybe there’s a particular famous person’s house you want to visit. I didn’t think I would enjoy Ulm and I did. You never really know until you kinda get there and explore.

 

[S E P H]

I heard only but great things about Budapest. One of the most underrated cities in Europe easily.

This museum talk really comes down to personal preference in all honesty, I can appreciate art, but over time all the painting just become so saturated that I think it loses some meaning. You can't beat what the Louvre has for art, but at the BM you actually have artifacts from all the important time points in human history. I mean I knew someone who waited in line for like two hours to see the Mona Lisa and all she said was that it was smallish painting which is more a tourist trap. Da Vinci has way better pictures he painted in his lifetime, his Last Supper and Lady with an Ermine are both superior paintings IMHO.

 

[Evilo]

There are plenty of beautiful painting than Mona Lisa in Le Louvre IMO.
But I repeat : Le Louvre is amazing for artifacts as well. Limitating it to painting is wrong.

 

[maclean]

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

I don't get the question. You mean paying online with a card? Your bank converts it automatically, it's not a big deal...

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Oh indeed, there's a high crime rate, though it's mainly in some surburbs. Besides, any US city has a higher crime rate (no I'm not kidding).
I think Nurnberg, Wien, Zurich, Venice, Naples, Sevilla, Valencia, Zaragoza, Nice, Granada, Lisbon are all nice cities than Geneva, that's just in the area (St Petersburg is incredible). That's only my opinion of course.
The Alhambra in Granada is possibly the most beautiful place in the world. I've travelled a lot through Europe, the US, Australia, Africa, etc... And Andalousia is to me the most incredible sight.

EDIT : Marseille has 18 violent act (doesn't mean murder) for 1000 people in a year.

There's a high crime rate, but I went to Mexico which is by every standard way worse and had the time of my life. I don't think that matters tbh.

Crime rate didn't really bother me as the idea that Barcelona/Marseille being overkill. I've been to Chicago and had a wonderful time not a single rude person met there. Amazing city and people.

 

[Peen]

I'll be in europe for two weeks with my friend in august.

Thankful for the suggestions in this thread.

We'll be flying in and out of paris but unsure where to put our time.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

What type of luggage? My friend just came back last year touring France, Germany, and Belgium and all he had was a carry-on. He stuffed extra empty bags in his carry-on which helped when he was returning.
.

Not sure really what is a good amount of luggage for a 2 week trip to Europe?

 

[Peen]

Would you guys consider doing a city a day to be a waste? We fly into paris on the 19th and fly out on the 2nd.

We just want to walk around towns, go to some cool local tourist stuff, and go for beers at night. Typical 21 year old stuff.

Our 100% cities that we feel like would be a waste not to see are Venice and Barcelona.

We were also thinking of going to the coasts of Croatia and Portugal, but unsure if it would just be better to do more within italy/france/spain.

 

[Chimaera]

2 weeks? It depends are you going quick and don’t need to change two or three times a day? Are you going to taxi a lot or lug a big suitcase? Do you need stuff to go out at night or just casual for tourist stuff and for the day?

I mean, in a standard carry on packed well and a backpack (a must IMO) you can carry plenty, if you don’t mind rewearing a pair of shorts twice / three times. It also matters if you know if you will have time to get to a laundry facility or if you’ll have a sink and a second night in a place.

It kinda depends on what you are used to. For me, I travel for comfort and usually on the cheap. So my carry on and backpack have something around the following.

3-4 cargo shorts. Ones that are lighter cloth of a moisture wicking variety are best as they fold tight and don’t hold moisture and will dry out quick if I wash them in the sink.

5-6 light moisture wicking shirts. Usually one or two of the under amour variety with a collar (I can wear that out in a pinch). Plus one or two Columbia’s style button shirts.

I usually wear my long pair of pants on the flight out, usually a nicer pair of khakis (this awesome golf pair was my go to because it was light and dried fast if I hand washed)

6-7 light moisture wicking underwear , 4-5 cotton undershirts. The same good socks.

One or two basketball / athletic shorts. I sometimes wear one under my khakis on the flight out.

Plus your basic necessities, but that’s usually a combo shower soap wash, sometimes non water camping wash, toothpaste and a wash cloth. I also carry instant coffee with me usually, or some granola bars / snacks. But often, I’ll just snag some stuff at a bakery when I’m moving. Oh and the cheap sandwich shops that kinda look like 7-11 are your friend in some places. Others they can be expensive

 

[Chimaera]

Would you guys consider doing a city a day to be a waste? We fly into paris on the 19th and fly out on the 2nd.

We just want to walk around towns, go to some cool local tourist stuff, and go for beers at night. Typical 21 year old stuff.

Our 100% cities that we feel like would be a waste not to see are Venice and Barcelona.

We were also thinking of going to the coasts of Croatia and Portugal, but unsure if it would just be better to do more within italy/france/spain.

I mean, you can do one City in a day. But you’re going to spend so much time traveling, you will miss so much.

There are some cities you could spend a month and never do it all. But if you’re looking at typical times, you’re going to expect to do 3-4 days minimum in your major stopping points (Rome, Paris, Barcelona, etc). But even that’s a touch less than I’d want.

Understand that while 21, your energy will be way higher, so some pub and drinking at night will be possible (though often expensive), you’re probably gambling in being able to get up and to sites early. If you go in the summer, sites get packed early, and if you sleep in late, you might miss things. It also gets hot in places.

You can do what you want, but if you’re going to Paris and leaving Paris, you’re probably not going to have time to get to Portugal. I would say you’re best off doing Southern France and then either Italy or Spain (or since you’re 21, going to Amsterdam and Belgium)

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Thank you @Chimaera . Ok so y'all convinced me not to go to Geneva but another city around the coast. I really like the water obviously. Just need to decide on what city.

IM looking at the map now and the price for tickets. Athens isn't too far off but kinda expensive to go from Athens to Barcelona. So, not really sure.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Really?
You can spend 2 weeks in Andalousia and never be done with it. Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba, Antequera, Arcos de la Frontera, Ronda, etc... Amazing.

Even comparing London to Paris or Rome... I don't see it in any shape or form.
I like hot weather, so I don't care about going in the summer (and besides, do we know when he goes?).

Late August is my target. How about Dublin?

 

[Lepardi]

This year I'm going to London, Amsterdam and Paris. Hoping for better fixture luck this time around.

How much more expensive would it be if you waited for the fixtures to be released before booking your travel? That's what I do when I travel to England to see the Premier League or to North America to see NHL, NBA, and NFL games. You can start planning Premier League travel in June and North American travel in August when the NBA schedule is released.

Match dates get switched around ofcourse in Europe due to TV broadcasting and European competitions but they usually only change the date from Saturday to Friday or Sunday. Those changes seem to come as a surprise to many Finnish people who travel to England or Germany to see football and book their travel before the TV matches have been announced.

Yeah avoid England.
When you can visit Italy, France or Spain three of the most beautiful countries in the world you don't spend time in England. Scotland maybe. But not England.
Andalusia especially IMO.

There's one thing I like about English people compared to the French: They (like Americans, Canadians, Germans, Swedes and Danes) can sell you a beer or a bottle of water at a sporting event in less than three minutes. I went to Eurobasket 2015 in Montpellier, saw eight matches at Euro 2016 and also went to a game at the IIHF Worlds in Paris in 2017. The organizing was terrible. Finding the ticket collection point at Stade de France was a nightmare and buying a soda or some food at the stadia took ages because the people working at the concession stands were absolutely clueless. They were so slow to serve you your food and drinks that there were times when fans standing in line were looking around in disbelief to see where the hidden camera was.

Luckily France will be hosting no matches at Euro 2020. We're planning to apply for tickets in the lottery for round of 16 matches in London and Copenhagen right now. Budapest, Bucharest and Munich might also be viable options to visit. I'll be surprised if the organizing in any of those cities is as bad as it was in France.

French trains are usually on time.
They're however expensive too and sometimes they just aren't there at all.

I didn't find French trains expensive at all when travelling around France during Euro 2016, but ofcourse it helped that we'd planned our trip well before the event. A trip from Paris to Marseille for example costs only €29 if you book it three months in advance.

 

[S E P H]

Not sure really what is a good amount of luggage for a 2 week trip to Europe?

Sorry I had a longer post, but my laptop crashed and lost all of it.

It depends on how big your carry on is and how needy you are. I get wanting fresh boxers everyday, but if you don't mind re-wearing some clothes then you should be fine. Also there are some freshers (not sure if you can take them on the plane) out there which help in keeping your clothes clean without having to wash them. It all comes down to convenience, if you're going to country hop it might be better to take as little as you need. However, you might also be the person who considers convenience when you have extra stuff (aka a woman), so perhaps you prefer to take a carry-on plus a big luggage bag as well. Also remember that certain countries might run customs on you and having just a carry-on will get you through in half of the time.

Also another idea you can do is lockers for your stuff, in train stations throughout Europe you can rent lockers. When my friend went there, he rented a locker, put majority of his stuff there, and carried around all the essential items he needed that day in bags. However, my friend is a professional photographer and he carries around immensely expensive gear everywhere, so it was worth buying slash-proof bags which he found on Amazon. Honestly, the only thing you're going to have to worry about is getting robbed, Europe is safe in majority of areas.

 

[S E P H]

I'll be in europe for two weeks with my friend in august.

Thankful for the suggestions in this thread.

We'll be flying in and out of paris but unsure where to put our time.

It depends on what you like to do. Some countries have amazing nighttime scene while others prefer tranquility (aka Suisse). If you're big into history, then Europe is an entire WWII museum with many through every country. If there is one museum every single person on Earth should go to, it's Auschwitz. It's outside Krakow which is one of the best cities you can visit in Europe, it's touristy, but like Paris it's for a good reason. Another city that is awesome to just chill is Gdansk, it has Malabork right outside which is one of the best castles in Europe, and since Nazi's used the city as a harbour it wasn't heavily bombed or damaged compared to Warsaw. Plus Poland is insanely cheap compared to majority of Europe.

Would you guys consider doing a city a day to be a waste? We fly into paris on the 19th and fly out on the 2nd.

We just want to walk around towns, go to some cool local tourist stuff, and go for beers at night. Typical 21 year old stuff.

Our 100% cities that we feel like would be a waste not to see are Venice and Barcelona.

We were also thinking of going to the coasts of Croatia and Portugal, but unsure if it would just be better to do more within italy/france/spain.

I've had 8 friends in the last half decade go throughout Europe and 100% of them said that Portugal was the best country they've ever been to. I hear that Lisbon in particular has an amazing bar/club scene. If you want to cheque out beers, then Belgium is your best bet. They have a ton of brewers and ones you can tour.

Venice is the biggest tourist trap in Europe IMHO, I am not saying to avoid it, but word of warning. If I were you lot I would rather spend the time in Rome and Florence instead (also Lake Como as well). Again Prague and Budapest are also getting insanely underrated here, Prague is like a mini Paris since a lot of Czech students went to Paris to study and came back with very similar Gothic architecture. Plus it's a huge beer city.

Personally for me, I think Austria is one of the best countries in Europe. I personally prefer mountains to beaches, but Austria is like Suisse yet more reasonably priced and better. Salzburg was probably my 2nd favourite city I've been to after Florence.

Late August is my target. How about Dublin?

Word of warning, that is the main time where Europeans travel all over the place before school starts again. I would go to Dublin during the six nations, not sure if it's amazing by itself.

 

[Evilo]

Thank you @Chimaera . Ok so y'all convinced me not to go to Geneva but another city around the coast. I really like the water obviously. Just need to decide on what city.

IM looking at the map now and the price for tickets. Athens isn't too far off but kinda expensive to go from Athens to Barcelona. So, not really sure.

Athens is not a good looking city. Save the amazing temples of course.
Dublin is a nice town, but not much to do outside pubs
Prague and Budapest are nto getting underrated. I already said they were amazing cities.