Itinerary help - London, Germany and...?

I wouldn't add a third country. There is enough to do in London for a week, with side trips, such as the train to Paris for the day.

Then add Berlin, drive to Munich stopping along the way at some towns, such as Heidelberg, Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Fussen, Garmish, Oberammergau and you have a great vacation. there are so many small towns the problem will be trying to decide which ones.

September; great time of the year to travel. My personal feelings on your choices. Scored “ - -“ to “++++”

•Barcelona: - - Not particularly convenient to the rest of your trip for what you get in return.

•Copenhagen: Can’t offer an opinion

•Bruges: + For a short stay. But more than a couple of nights it might be wanting

•Prague ++Close, beautiful, good young crowd but tends to be a little crowded and a little more touristy than average. Stay near Old Town. I love the Hotel Ventana. Two full days at a minimum.

•Budapest +++A little further afield, but definitely the different experience you are looking for. My favorite place in Europe (so far), but like I said, a little further out there. Sort of a cross between Paris and Prague; with better food than Prague and better tourist treatment than Paris. For a memorable, just plain beautiful couple of days (3 full days is sort of a minimum to get the most out of it), then this would be my first choice. Stay along the M1 metro corridor as close to the District V boundary as you can afford.

•Istanbul ++++I detest Istanbul. Stunning visually but I couldn’t get past some of the cultural issues and I never felt particularly safe. BUT, this is one of those places everyone should see. Like I said, it’s visually stunning and an education that will be with you forever. Way far afield, but Turkish Airlines is very inexpensive. For just the adventure of it this would be my first choice. Stay in the Sultanahmet District or don’t go. Two full days at a minimum, three would be better.

•Paris ++++if you haven’t been to Paris; then this would be my first choice. Stay on the Île Saint-Louis if budget permits. Two full days at a minimum. Three would be better.

•Florence ++I am not the big fan of Florence that most are. But I give it two + because if so many love it, it must be good. I guess I just prefer places where the tourists don’t outnumber the native population. Two full days at a minimum.

Can offer an opinion on Copenhagen - was disappointed. spent 4 days there 3 years ago and was not impressed. Not as clean as I thought it would be, food just so-so, many panhandlers out after the stores close so it made walking around uncomfortable, history not as interesting, not too many museums. Not a place we would return to visit.

I would choose Paris first by some measure because it's Paris. Any of the others sound great, but I can only speak on Copenhagen, which we loved.

For us, the food was great. Although it does help if you enjoy seafood. The architecture was fascinating. You can tour Roseborg Castle and see the crown jewels, there's Amalienborg, and for us a surprise treat, was the Marble Church -- I had read that it wouldn't be open. I was wrong, lol.

Their harbor tour gives you a great overview of the central core from the water. There are at least two towers you can ascend to get a great view, and the walking streets allow easy access to anything you'd desire to see in the city center.

Perhaps a quick read through a Copenhagen guidebook would help you decide, if you're considering it.

Again, we loved it, but that's us.

Shannon: I am biased towards France but we all have our crosses to bear. I would recommend open-jaw tickets from Canada to London. Stay in London 4 nights. Take the train to Paris and stay 4 nights in Paris. I would then do Berlin (figure out the cost/benefit in money and time of flying versus train) staying 3 nights; and then do Munich for the remaining 3 nights (again, you will have to do some research on the best means of travel). Many on this site will be able to point you in the right direction for cheap flights and discounted train fares. Good luck and enjoy Europe--you can't go wrong!

shannon,

To begin with, can you clarify if your two week trip includes the two flight days? If you're travelling from North America, you'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you depart, and the last day will be spent on the flight home.

Given the very short time frame of your trip, you might consider something like this.....

• D1 - Flight inbound London
• D2/N1 - Arrive London, light touring, recover from jet lag
• D3/N2 - London, touring
• D4/N3 - London, touring
• D5/N4 - London, touring
• D6/N1 - EuroStar to Paris (London St. Pancras to Gare du Nord) - have a look at the excellent Man In Seat 61 website for all the details for buying tickets. Note that the cheapest tickets are usually non-refundable and non-changeable so choose carefully!
• D7/N2 - Paris, touring
• D8/N3 - Paris, touring - perhaps day trip to Versailles or other location
• D9/N4 - Paris, touring
• D10/N1 - Train to Munich - I'd probably use a departure from Paris Est at 09:10, arriving 15:28 (time 6H:18M, 1 change in Mannheim).
• D11/N2 - Munich, touring
• D12/N3 - Munich, touring - perhaps day trip to Dachau or the Castles in Füssen
• D13/N4 - Munich, touring - perhaps day trip to Salzburg
• D14 - Flight outbound Munich

While you could fit in an additional city, with such a short trip it's important to minimize transportation times between locations so that you don't spend an inordinate amount of your short holiday looking at Europe through the windows of a train. You should be able to find good flight options into London and out from Munich. For checking train travel times throughout Europe, use the Deutsche Bahn website.

Unless I missed it, you didn't say when in September this trip would be taking place. One point to keep in mind is that Oktoberfest will be happening in Munich between 19 September and 4 October. That means that hotels will be at a premium, and will have to be booked WELL in advance.

This provides a nice "sampler" of three different countries, cultures (food) and languages, and will give you some information for planning future trips. There are LOTS of great options for "big foodies" in all the cities you'll be visiting. Be sure to try "Pub Grub" in London, as many places these days have really good food! For good Italian food in London, one place I really like is Santini's which is in the Belgravia/Victoria Station area. You could also visit Jamie Oliver's restaurant.

You won't have any trouble finding good food in Paris, and Munich also has some excellent restaurants. If you don't mind a "gaudy party atmosphere with oom-pah bands", be sure to stop by the famous Hofbrauhaus for a pint (or two), where the clientele will be in various states of inebriation (some of whom may require the unusual appliance in the washroom). As I recall, the Augustiner or one of the other places has some great Wheat Beer. One of my favourite restaurants in Munich is Opatija which is close to the Hofbrauhaus.

I'd suggest having a look at Guidebooks for each of the areas you'll be visiting, as they have lots of great information on hotels, restaurants, transportation and sightseeing in all the places you'll be visiting. I usually pack along one of two of the guidebooks, either in hard copy or E-book version, as they make great reference during trips.

I agree that Italy and the Mediterranean would probably be better on a future visit, as getting there for just a few days probably isn't worth the effort (although a short visit would be possible if you skipped Munich).

Good luck with your planning!

shannon,

Don't forget you will loose 1 day flying to Europe.

one thing to remember is that every day your travel, you will be loosing time to do/see/experience things and consider at least 1/2 your day shot.

when it comes to food, everyplace has something to offer you, its will come down to what you will like or won't.

when i first went to london i gave it 4 full days. Munich i gave it 3 full days. I will be heading to Berlin this Sept and I'm giving it 3 full days too.

I gave Paris 4 full days the same as London since what i had planned to do/see/experience was penciling out that way and note that i didnt include any day trips outside of Paris either. Same with London, those 4 full days were in London.

You could add another place, but just remember it will take away some days from each of your places you want to go. If yorue willing to do that then go for it.

To me, i found that Paris was really cool, awesome and fun place. It was overwhelming, but in a good way and like Disneyland for Adults. So much to do/see/experience AND EAT!

Having been to Budapest and Prague last year i also found those places different but fun. I would easily go back too, but after i see some other places.

in my opinion, adding places that are off the beaten path will take more time for travel. Florence, Istanbul, Copenhagen and Barcelona are the ones i think of. Copenhagen maybe closer out of this group though. But if youre willing to chew up some of your to do/see time for longer travel times, then again go for it.

As far as travel goes, look at Seat61.com. link hereHe does a lot of the homework for you so all you need to do is to plug and chug A to B. Also, when it comes to buying train tickets, many times it pays to buy ASAP so you can save some $$$. sometimes you can just walkup and buy your ticket, but i would do some homework to find out when and where you can do that.

Just remember that the trains usually go from CITY CENTER TO CITY CENTER. No need to get additional transportation from the airport to the city since you are already in it! I find that i love the trains more and more due to that and that fact that youre able to wonder around more so than a bus. Its not as loud as a plane either.

Something to think about HOW you travel is to look at your path. the places you've chosen are more or less part of a circular path. Adding Paris will just bring the ends together.

happy trails.

As previously mentioned, 2 weeks is not that long for visiting such great cities. If you can grab two full weeks and a weekend, you can see more.

I'm with you on visiting London. You can fly from Gatwick Airport on Easyjet cheap to Berlin. Berlin's also less expensive than many other large European cities, too.

From Berlin, the train trip through Dresden to Prague--a popular.route.

I adore the Munich area, however their airport is not well serviced by that many budget air carriers.

Hello Shannon. I suggest : after visiting London and Munich, go to Budapest. It is fascinating, and Rick Steves said Budapest is the greatest city in eastern Europe. I place a high priority on visiting Paris, but I suggest that you wait until another trip (in an other year) when you can be in France for ten days, including a few days in Paris. One way of travelling to Budapest is for you to ride in a train from Munich to Salzburg in Austria, be at Salzburg one night, and ride in trains from Salzburg to Budapest via Vienna. Or, you might find a relatively low price for an airline flight from Munich airport to Budapest airport. And fly from Budapest to Canada. (British Airways ?) Or travel in this direction : London -> Budapest -> Munich. Flying from Munich to Canada would be easier than flying from Budapest to Canada.

If you really want both Munich and Berlin, I don't think you have time for another destination. It's going to take you the better part of a day to get from London to Germany and another 1/2 day between Munich and Berlin (there just aren't fast trains to Berlin). Munich is more what we think of as traditional German. Berlin has none of that charm. It's a fascinating city, combination of landmarks (Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate), ultra-modern architecture, and Soviet grittiness.

5 nights London = 4 full days
4 nights Munich = 3 full days
4 nights Berlin = 3 full days
and that's 13 nights.

If you want whirlwind (not a bad idea), London > Paris > Amsterdam > Frankfurt. Easy to do by train (there's one direct train a day at 7.05 a.m. from Amsterdam to Frankfurt (3 hrs 45 min), frequent later trains that take 4 or 5 hours with one or more train changes). That's your longest train ride.

This gives you 4 very different places:
5 nights London (because of jetlag)
4 nights Paris
2 nights Amsterdam
2 nights Frankfurt - it's not Munich, but it's similar. You can day trip to Mainz and Weisbaden or very medieval Buedingen.

I suspect that any other destinations will use up more time in travel. While a 1 hour flight sounds great, by the time you haul out to the airport, go through check-in and security, then wait for your luggage at the other end and get into town, you only save time if your train ride is more than 5 hours. Also train schedules don't change once the tickets are on sale. Budget airlines are apt to change flight times and even cancel flights after you've bought your tickets and on a short trip with multiple destinations, that can really screw up your plans.

Based on your criteria (foodies, historical landmarks) Paris comes to mind. Also easy connection by train (Eurostar) from London. Or Istanbul (amazing location and culture). Or Prague (amazing architecture and picturesque views). Easy to get to from Berlin or Munich by train. From Munich direct nonstop bus operated by Deutsche Bahn.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions - these are most helpful! It looks like Budapest or Prague might be the winners at this point, but now we will look into our detailed activities to see how much time we can spend in each place and go from there.