Europe on a budget

Katie,

With such a short time frame, you're not going to be able to see much of the "beauty, charm & magic of Europe". You'll hardly be over jet lag by the time you have to return home.

Given your "budget limitations" and the fact that you have a friend to stay with in Paris, I'd suggest London and Paris on this occasion. One day trip in each location would help to make the experience a bit more rewarding and interesting for your friend (perhaps Bath or York from London and Versailles from Paris).

Good luck with your planning!

Hi fellow Boulder mountain person-

I'm with Ken. But FYI, I'm seeing DIA-Frankfurt this fall for under $500 R/T. Direct flight, which is nice.

I'd suggest switchng London for somewhere in the Frankfurt area. I'm not very familiar with that part of Europe, but could you find some lovely little German village for a rural experience, and a few days in Paris for a more urban view of Europe for your friend?

Have fun!

I suggest you stay in Paris(with friend) then see gorgeous "beauty, charm & magic" areas around Paris. Ie Versailles, Loire Valley castles. 7 days is not much when travel time is factored in as well as $. Paris is magical!!!! You will not be disappointed.

If you fly open jaw, you could spend the majority of the trip in Paris and a day or two in Bruges. Easy and fairly quick train connection and a completely different atmosphere from Paris. Bruges also less expensive than London and small size means you can cover a lot in a short time. London can fill 7 days on its own.

Wow...

Thanks for all those quick replies! Its funny..I've been to all the places suggested...Bath, York, Bruges, Versailles, Frankfurt, Paris, etc, but also want my friend to experience those places as well. Tough call, as I want to see something new...

I agree with you all..trips too short & trying to extend even a few days.

Thanks everyone!!

Open jaw is probably a must. London & Paris are great suggestions, but perhaps you can also consider Berlin & Prague, Madrid & Barcelona, Munich & Bavaria, Salzburg & Vienna. Any combo of Venice, Florence, and Rome might work, although you’re a little limited on time and probably can’t do all three.

A lot depends on what you want to do. I'm assuming you are young; two young girls might want to go somewhere with nightlife.

Normally Paris would be expensive, but since you have a friend you could stay with, that might save money.

You say you have seen Frankfurt, but have you seen the middle Rhine area or the Mosel. It's close to Frankfurt (low fares), on a route to Paris, and has some great scenery, and can be relatively inexpensive. Fly into FRA, spend part of you time on the middle Rhine, go to Paris, fly home from there.

If you have seen the middle Rhine, consider the No. Black Forest. There are some beautiful little towns around there (Calw, Bad Wildbad, Bad Herrenalb, Freudenstadt, Alpirsbach), or if you want sothing a little more exciting, stay in Baden-Baden. That area is on the way to Strasbourg, from which there are direct trains to Paris.

If money is an issue, I wouldn't go to London.

One problem with such a short trip is that you could run into bad weather and it could rain for most of the week. If you are just planning this now I would suspect that you are thinking of going in the fall. If this is the case then the farther south you go the better.

Your airfare will be your major cost. If it were me, I would look to see where the best airfare deals are first instead of trying to pick the area then look for airfare. I would also look for a direct flight if possible since delay caused by a missed connection would have a greater impact on such a short trip.

Even if it meant taking a few days off work without pay, if at all possible I would try to extend the vacation for a few days. Once you are over there the extra days will cost you very little. You may alos get much better airfare if you can fly midweek.

I am going to Greece in mid September and outside of Athens budget hotels with good reviews can be found on the internet for around 40 euros since it will be the shoulder season.

In Athens I got a good deal on a high end hotel on Hotwire.com I would suspect that travel is down there too and that in major cites there are good deals on Hotwire, Priceline, and other sites just to fill the rooms.

Greg

hehe....

No wait, I mean....
That's very good advice above! Enjoy your trip :)

What about the Champagne region of France? It's reachable by train, you can see Reims Cathedral, tour some champagne cellars in Reims and Epernay and sample some champagnes not available in the States. Veuve Cliquot has a great tour you can book online.

AP

For beauty, charm and magic, I'd suggest Austria. Probably Salzburg. You can do lots of day trips in the area- the Salzkamergurt, Burchesgarden and Hitler's Eagle's Nest with Salt mines, Innsbruck can be a day trip by train; Munich also. Of course London is always one of my favorites. If you stay there the whole time you could do several day trips. If that intersts you, let me know, I'll give you a link to an article I wrote about day trips out of London. Another area to consider is the Scottish Highlands. Inverness is a wonderful place for a week's stay- again lots of day trips. Culloden and Clava Cairns, Isle of Skye and Eliean Donnan Castle, Glen Coe and Great Glen, Orkney (long but worth it), lots of gardens and whisky distilleries, etc.

I'm also for Salzburg and that area. Just a warning about Eagles Nest. October 31st is the last day you can go up there. I was there in November 2006, and was disappointed I couldn't go up there. But the salt mines are open all year, and that is worth seeing.