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Eurotrip

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  1. #1

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    Eurotrip

    Hi Guys,

    Can someone advice us for a good itinerary for Europe trip next year may be in June end for 2 weeks? So far I have planned is

    HK-Barcelona-Paris-Zurich-Vienna-Milan-Florence-Rome (Vatican)-(by flight to) Barcelona-HK

    Do you think its possible to cover in 2 weeks. Also suggest if anything interesting we missed. We are a couple and would want to travel by EU Rail. Some good advice please.


  2. #2

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    I would skip Milan. Having spent a bit of time working there, I can say that it is a very scruffy and nondescript city by Italian standards - Florence and Rome on the other hand are lovely. In Milan you can see the last supper but that's about it.

    What about London?

    Last edited by luckycat; 03-10-2011 at 11:18 AM.

  3. #3

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    Hmm should I include Brussels then ? Make Italy shorter?

    HK-Barcelona-Paris-Brussels-Zurich-Vienna-Florence-Rome (Vatican)-(by flight to) Barcelona-HK

    But that would be 6 countries may be getting too tight in one or two of them.


  4. #4

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    Instead of Zurich-Vienna-Milan-Florence-Rome make that Zurich-Milan-Florence-Rome-Vienna. Makes more sense, unless you want to waste hours to drive back and forth.

    Instead of Milan, you could also go to some nicer place such as Lake Garda (Lago di Garda).

    lago di garda - Google Maps

    If you include Brussels, also include Amsterdam. You could also add a flight or two for the long distances (ie. AMS-ZRH, or ROME-VIENNA).

    It should all be possible within 2 weeks with proper planning, and all without a lot of stress. I've done similar things with friends using a mix of airplane and rental cars, and my wife recently took some of her Chinese friends with family all by train. I can ask her for some feedback on the train travel if you want, as far as I remember they had a EuroRail ticket or something like this, but for France they had to book separately to be on the TGV.

    Last edited by 100LL; 03-10-2011 at 11:33 AM.
    amrit.bharadwaj likes this.

  5. #5

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    Instead of trying to cram too much I think it is better to choose a couple of places and stay longer. You don't want it all to become a blur.
    Skip all the packing and unpacking, losing time in airports and train stations and soak up the atmosphere. Barcelona, Rome and Paris are personal favourites.


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by amrit.bharadwaj:
    Hmm should I include Brussels then ? Make Italy shorter?

    HK-Barcelona-Paris-Brussels-Zurich-Vienna-Florence-Rome (Vatican)-(by flight to) Barcelona-HK

    But that would be 6 countries may be getting too tight in one or two of them.
    Forget Brussels. It's cute but I would not make the trip there on purpose. I would also skip Zurich to be honest, it's nice but you will find it so so by comparison with the other cities you intend to visit.

    Barcelona (3 days) - Paris (4 days)- Vienna (2 days) - Florence (2 days) and Rome (3 days) are more than enough for 2 weeks if you want to visit them - if the purpose is to say "I have been there" then obvioulsy the more the better.

    And if I were you I would avoid doing all the trips by plane (some but not all). Train/driving is great in europe and you get to see a lot more of the countryside which is VERY different from the big cities.
    amrit.bharadwaj and Mrs Koala like this.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by 100LL:
    Instead of Zurich-Vienna-Milan-Florence-Rome make that Zurich-Milan-Florence-Rome-Vienna. Makes more sense, unless you want to waste hours to drive back and forth.

    Instead of Milan, you could also go to some nicer place such as Lake Garda (Lago di Garda).

    lago di garda - Google Maps

    If you include Brussels, also include Amsterdam. You could also add a flight or two for the long distances (ie. AMS-ZRH, or ROME-VIENNA).

    It should all be possible within 2 weeks with proper planning, and all without a lot of stress. I've done similar things with friends using a mix of airplane and rental cars, and my wife recently took some of her Chinese friends with family all by train. I can ask her for some feedback on the train travel if you want, as far as I remember they had a EuroRail ticket or something like this, but for France they had to book separately to be on the TGV.

    Thanks just looked at the Map!

  8. #8

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    Cool

    Quote Originally Posted by Mat:
    Forget Brussels. It's cute but I would not make the trip there on purpose. I would also skip Zurich to be honest, it's nice but you will find it so so by comparison with the other cities you intend to visit.

    Barcelona (3 days) - Paris (4 days)- Vienna (2 days) - Florence (2 days) and Rome (3 days) are more than enough for 2 weeks if you want to visit them - if the purpose is to say "I have been there" then obvioulsy the more the better.

    And if I were you I would avoid doing all the trips by plane (some but not all). Train/driving is great in europe and you get to see a lot more of the countryside which is VERY different from the big cities.
    Would like to squeeze in Switzerland too

  9. #9

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    Sorry, I just learned that the EuroRail ticket includes the TGV in France, I mixed up another trip where they had to book separately.


  10. #10

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    Absolutely do the whole thing by rail - rail is great in Europe and very cheap with the eurail tickets. Driving, on the other hand, is extremely stressful if you do not know where you are going.

    Completely agree too with the other people that you are trying to cram in too many places. What is your theme? Are you after culture? Or scenery? Or food? Or "just said I've been there"? Different places are good for different things. The best of switzerland, for example, is NOT in the big cities at all - but in the smaller towns/villages/mountains. Zermatt, for example is beautiful and not too far off the high speed rail routes. (the train to zermatt is an experience in itself). However, nobody goes to Switzerland for the food ... (sorry all the swiss on here, but compared to france, italy etc, swiss food is horrible!).

    I could (and have) spend 2 weeks by rail in Switzerland alone, so just a day here and a day there ... you'll be SO tired and nothing will register.

    Last edited by MovingIn07; 03-10-2011 at 02:27 PM.
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