My Europe itinerery, travel advice and things to see!

Wow. That is a big question!

London: The British Museum, the Tower of London, the Tate (hate the Tate modern!), St James Park and Buckingham Palace, Harrods, the Victoria and Albert,and, of course, Pubs.

Paris: The D'Orsay, Notre Dame, San Chapelle, the Orangerie, Marais, Eiffel Tower, and, of course, cafes. Some of my other favories include Pere La Chaise cemetary, visitng street markets, and just walking around.

Florence: David, Ufizzi, the Medici Palace, the Ponte Vecchio, and, of course, great Italian food!

Venice: Ride a gondola, St Marks Square, the Bridge of Sighs are my favorites.

Rome: Forum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain,

Sorry about the spelling! Have a great time. By the way, Paris is worth the whole time. And even if you don't buy souvenirs, take some time to shop. It is such a part of the way of life in Europe, and not to be missed.

3 nights is plenty for the Cinque Terre and Nice. I would add another to London (or 2), Paris or Florence.
I don't think it's that busy of a trip. I am sure you guys will have a blast!

when in Nice take the bus to Eze!!!!!
its actually on the way to Monocco.
trust me on this it is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much you all! I love hearing what people enjoyed on their trips. I cant WAIT!!!! WOOOHOO!!

I have been to many of these places, it is certainly a personal choice and it depends on what you are going to do, but I think you nix one of the nights in Nice and add it one of the other locations.

Some of my favorites include:

-Cinque Terre-we were actually only there for 1 night, which was way too fast (spent more time in Nice and regretted it). There was this great little gallery in Riomaggiore, their signature paiting is unfinished by a local artist who passed away while he was making. I have never been treated so nice in a gallery, they showed us all the paintings and told us the back story, it was great, especially as it was clear we couldn't afford any of them. We did buy a print of the painting I mentioned for 11EU (I had it framed and it's hanging in my living room)

-Venice-Take a vaporetto to some of the surrounding islands, we went to Murano, where they are known for glass blowing, much of it is geared towards tourists but still very interesting and cool. Also, on the bridge Rialto, there is a store that sells handbound journals, books and photo albums, the owner is Giorgio and he and his wife run it. A great place just to visit or buy a travel journal or photo album. I also really enjoyed the "dueling" orchestras in St. Marks square in the evening, again very touristy but really fun. I was with a friend and we decided it was worth it to sit down and splurge on a very expensive Bellini!

I see Verona is not on your itinerary, and there isn't much to do there, but it looks like you will be in Italy during the Opera festival, if you can divert some time to experience this it is amazing. I am not into opera really, but this is outdoors in the Arena (which is what the colliseum must have looked like before it was stripped of its marble),the sets are incredible and the atmosphere is wonderful.
http://www.arena-verona.com/
http://www.

Edinburgh is so great, there is this baked potato place off of the main road, you can find the address for it in the MTV Europe guide. I can't remember the name or the street but if you ask around somebody is bound to know it. It's really yummy.

The British Museum was amazing in London, go see a show. You can get cheap tickets last minute, my sisters and I saw 2 while we were there. Wicked was my favorite. I've seen it twice now.

Go to the Palace in Paris. Some of the train lines are free if you bought a Eurail pass, but make sure to find out which ones they are, we made that mistake and still had to pay. The line that goes all the way out to the Palace is included but some/most of the interior lines in the city are not.

Venice = amazing. Be ready to wade in the water if it starts raining. Take the secret tour of Doge's Palace. It's worth the $! Eat gelato every time you pass a stand. It's just not the same when you get home and walk the Piazza at night for live musica.

You really need a copy of MTV's Europe guide. It tells you the markets and their addresses. Bring the little cutting board and knife like RS reccomends and eat cheese and crackers, makes your trip really cheap and gives you a change to mingle with the locals and shop with them. Plus walking the market and seeing all the different things are pretty neat. Oh the cookies that come in the cylinder package wrapped in paper laying on their side are good no matter what company they are from. I highly reccomend.

Also, bring extra cards for your camera. You are going to take far more pictures than you're prepared for.

I have always thought of the British Isles as a seperate trip from mainland Europe. You could think about nix'ing it and spendng time elsewhere. I backpacked for 2.5 months when I was in my 20's and we did not attempt to go to the UK. One other place that I would more certainly leave out: Nice / Monaco. Nice and Cannes are really disappointing. If you have your heart set on going to the south of France, stick to the small towns (ie: Provence).

I don't know if you are a huge history buff or a glutton for punishment, but 5 nights in Rome is too much. See the major sights and I personally would make sure to be done with Rome after a maximum of 3 days / 2 nights. I would make sure that you spend some time in the Hill Towns of Tuscany. I know how it is on a budget, but the problem with the train is that it takes you from one large city to another. You might want to think about train to Florence, then rent a car for the rest of the trip until you get to Rome where you could turn it in.
What are your plans for using the train? (1 month pass, etc...?).
One other thing: your trip really is not "quick and jam packed". A month is a long time to have for Europe and I think you could change some things to get a better variety of scenery / sights / cities.

We leave in two and a half weeks, so I'm really not looking to change the places we are going to. We wanted to go to the cities we are going to, that way we can experiece the touristy and also the way of life. I just really dont know much about things to do while in each of the cities.

amy,, I know this may not help,, but Venice was painfully expensive compared to most other cities,, so my personal thought would be to shave a night off there,, I mean, the gondola rides are at least 100 euros ,, if not more,, so definately not a "budget" friendly destination.. Just a thought.

While in Paris, if it interests you,, it is a great daytrip to Versailles. The train ticket is only 5. 9 euros return, and there is lots to see and do there.

Another super fun way to see Paris is to take the Fat Tire Bike Tour,, I did the night one, and it was so fun, it included a night boat cruise,( and a couple of glasses of wine) and it was a great introduction to Paris. It is only about 25 euros , and well worth it, they do a day one that does not incldue the boat cruise, but would really help you get the lay of the land in the city.. Look up their website, its all in english.

There is a lot of free stuff to see in London, The British Library is a must see, from the Magna Carta, Mozart's Diary, Leonardo Sketches, trust me you will see something there that will knock your socks off. Walk from St. Pauls across the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern. Definitely take a vapareto to the Islands around Venice. Just get lost there. Go to the Luxembourg Jardin in the evening or on Sunday when in Paris. It's a great place, kids in sandboxes and the men playing boules. You'll feel like you live there. Find a Picards (French TV dinners) if you have kitchen privileges in Paris. Don't leave without sampling crepes. Find markets, just wander. Manage to miss something important so you will have an excuse to go back.

Have a great trip.

Amy,
My partner and I did the same thing the first time we went to Europe. We used Rick's guides religiously! Suggestions:
Rome: Get to the Vatican Museum early, don't let the long line scare you. It moves fast! When you get in go straight to the Sistine Chapel first before the crowds get there. Follow the signs to it.
Paris: Nectarine at Place des Vosges is a great place to eat. We loved Rick's walking tour of Pere LeChaise (sp)_ Cemetery. The Paris Museum Pass is a great buy!
Florence: Take a quick bus ride up the hill to Fiesole and see the Roman Amphtheatre. We stayed at Bellevue House (http://www.bellevuehouse.it/index.asp). Large rooms, includes breakfast which is a voucher that you take to a nearby coffee shop for coffee, pastry, juice that you have with the local Florentines as they go to work, great place to really feel like a local! And only a very short walk from the train station. The best gelato in the world is in Florence!If you want to tour the Ufizzi get tickets ahead of time! I can't emphasize that enough! You walk in ahead of everyone else and the line is LONG! I used: http://selectitaly.com/index.php
London: depending on when you're there: free performances in the amphitheatre next to the Mayor's Office on the South Bank, cheap tickets to Shakespeare's Globe if you stand in the yard (the only way to see Shakespeare at the Globe!) also City of London Festival has free performances in the heart of the city, Borough Market for the great food! For housing try Vandon House near Buckingham Palace, ( http://www.vandonhouse.com/) or The Alhambra near St. Pancras (http://www.alhambrahotel.com/index.html)