top attractions...need suggestions!

My question is, why have you planned to go places when you do not have any idea about what you want to see there? Why do you want to go to Venice instead of Pompeii? Why Paris instead of Nice? Why Munich instead of Berlin? Every place has something that is interesting to different people and what I like may not be what Kent likes or Tom or Cate. You should be excited about visiting Geneva because you have dreamt your whole about finally seeing .......... (fill in the blanks). Otherwise plan on going some place else.

Do you not have any guide books? Have you not spent any time online researching these places? Something made you pick out Geneva and "somewhere" in Southern France. I hope you do not think I being mean or anything, I am trying to get you to really think about your trip so that it becomes YOUR trip and not Jo's favorite trip.

definitely good points! We picked these places because these are the places our friends have said are places we should go. they have been to Europe and we havent. Im really open to anything! I just want to see and experience. I am hoping to post this on here to get ideas from other people besides our friends...just to get variety.

the furthest I have traveled is Ensenada, Mexico. ...so really, anything in Europe will be amazing, and I want to see it all! I just need to narrow the sights down, since I know I cant do it all.

Paris, Id like to see the Eiffel tower.
Munich, really, I have no idea. Id like to go somewhere in Germany as this is part of my cultural heritage.
Venice, for the canals.
Cinque Terra, because I have not yet heard anything bad about this quaint town...plus ive heard the pesto is amazing!
Florence, ..well, my friends really wants to go here, so thats why im asking of what to see here. I really dont know what to see except for the statue of David.
Rome, well, of course the Vatican and the coliseum.
Southern France, ...again, my friends wants to go here.

Im a new-be to traveling, so really, anything is worthwhile for me to see!

Michele,

As you're leaving on the first, that doesn't leave much time to get your sightseeing sorted! Since this is your first trip to Europe, my first suggestion would be to have a look at the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door.

Given the fact that your trip is only 3-weeks, one thing that stands out very clearly in reading your post is that I don't see much allowance for travel times between the cities you listed. The locations are somewhat "geographically distant". You might want to check the Bahn Website ASAP to get some idea on your travel times.

I'd also suggest packing along copies of at least the France and Italy Guidebooks, as they'll be a valuable source of reference during the trip.

A few suggestions on sights you might be interested in:

- Paris: Eiffel Tower (you'll need to queue, extra charge to get to the top); Louvre (limit yourself to the Denon wing); Musee d'Orsay; Notre Dame Catheral. (A 2-day Paris Museum Pass would be a good idea).

- Munich: Marienplatz; day trip to Neuschwanstein or Dachau (check Radius Tours website); Viktualien Market; Churches; Englisher Garden; Deutsches Museum (16 kM of exhibits!); Hofbrauhaus (Beer!); Munich Walks tour.

- Cinque Terre: This is actually a group of five villages (where Pesto was invented). You'll need to decide which one you're staying in. Hiking the trails is a favourite activity (park pass required).

- Rome: Where to begin? The Vatican; Colosseum (buy a combo ticket on Palatine Hill to minimize the queue at the Colosseum, take official guided tour when you get inside); Borghese Gallery; Spanish Steps; Trevi Fountain; Trastevere; the Pantheon.

- Florence: Uffizi & Accademia (reservations advised!); the Duomo (climb the dome); Red Bus tour of the city & Fiesole; Ponte Vechio.

Not much time to plan.

Ciao e Buona Fortuna!

Michele,

continued.....

I'm not sure you're going to have time for one night in the south of France, as you'll need to allow for travel times as well. As Rick often says "assume you will return".

Have you pre-booked accommodations, or are you "winging it"???

Which cities are you flying into and out of???

BTW, how are things in Ensenada? Haven't been there since the early '70's.

haha, yes, last time I visited Ensenada was, well, Ensenada. :-)

yes,I do have Ricks books of Italy and Best of Europe. definitely taking those and have been reading them, but there is just so much that its a little overwhelming to read it all!

We are flying in and out of Paris. Hmm sounds like everyone is saying we have too much going on for only 23 days. Maybe I will take out south France.

I think the whole transportation thing has me confused since I dont know any of the languages, and it seems most of the transportation sites I have seen are not in English (or at least the towns listed are not how I know them to be pronounced or spelled).

We have reservations for a hostel in paris, but other than that, we have no lodging plans. we would like to stay in either a convent or monestary in Rome. i saw a website with some listings for this, but again, the contact information is not in English, so im not sure if i email them, they will understand or be able to write back.

thank you for all the suggestions! that does help in narrowing down what to see!!

I agree you have too many destinations. Travel will eat up your time (and money - trains arent cheap). For instance, Venice to Florence is over 3 hours on the train - you still have to get to the station in time, buy the tickets, and then get to your new lodgings, another 1.5 hours (or more). Each new city takes up extra time too: locating your lodgings, checking in, getting oriented generally to the city.

On the subject of lodgings, on a whirlwind trip, you don't have time to spend looking for places to stay. Choose your hotels/hostels/whatever now and consider booking them in advance. September in Italy is high season, if you don't book ahead, you may not find beds - or be relegated to the outlying areas, then spending more time (and money) commuting to the tourist sights. This will also give you an idea of costs.

I am guessing that you are flying in and out of Paris, so you have to traverse most of France to get home. On the map Geneva is really out-of-the-way from your other stops unless you go thru Geneva from CT to Paris. You might want to skip Geneva as well as the south of France. You will probably need the "saved" time to travel between your other destinations.

You can use the Trenitalia website in English to get train schedules and prices in Italy. Choose a date within 7 days, otherwise you won't see the cheaper (and slower) regional trains. For Cinque Terre, use La Spezia - from there you will take the local CT train anyway. I think you have a good allocation for Italy, but you may save by staying more in Florence (take a late train from Venice to Florence and an early train from Florence to CT). I think you will find cheaper beds there than Venice and CT.

Though choosing attractions is more fun, you won't enjoy them nearly as much if you don't have your travel and lodging arrangements sorted out in advance.

thank you! i really do think we will cut out some stops since the majority of you think this is too much. I think its just the excitement of traveling...trying to pack so much into one visit. but i know, that someday I can come back!

does anyone know when Germany is having Oktoberfest? It would be fun to go to it, but I know costs will be more, so Id like to stay away during that time if at all possible.

thanks!

Michele, "Germany" does not have Oktoberfest. Munich is the only place.

Many towns and cities have fall festivals, some of them are almost as large as the Oktoberfest, such as the Beer festivals in Berlin and Stuttgart (don't have the numbers for these, but the attendance will be a couple million at least), or the Museum Riverbank Festival in Frankfurt (with 3.5 million attending in 3 days), and various large wine festivals.

It is just so easy to Google Oktoberfest to get the dates, that I am going to refrain from doing it for you, so you get the chance to sort of look this up yourself. In fact, you can get a wealth of information about sites to see by going to each cities website of all the places you want to visit.

Wow,, so much to say,, so little time.. LOL

First, your budget is about 85 euro a day. For food, lodging , and entrance fees, and transport.

I would seriously reconsider how you think you will pay for train tickets all over europe and eat too!!LOL

Definately cut your travelling way down. Venice is VERY expensive, drop it,, you can go back later.

If I was you, I would concentrate on three or four places max. I often hear about people not liking a place, and invariably when questioned,, they have only been there 2 or 3 days max,, likely rushing about,, stressed out. Relax and enjoy places. Sit at a cafe and nurse a pitcher of house wine in Paris, ,, walk the trails between the villages in Cinqe Terre,, take the time to visit two or three of them,, spend a whole afternoon at the beach,, etc.

I don't know when Oktoberfest is.. but I am pretty sure it is not in the beginning of Sept,, and I am also sure you would be smart to make reservations,, as Munich would be packed with travellers there to enjoy it also, and many would be seeking same budget accomadations as you!

As for Rome and reservations.. please contact them, many of them do speak enough english to allow you to book a room, you can google for a list of convents that rent out rooms. Remember,, they, like some hostels, may have curfews.

Michele,

If you need to work out train routes, use the German Rail Website as it has an English option.

The fact that you're leaving very shortly and only have accommodations booked for one city is a bit of a concern. September is the fall shoulder season and it will probably be BUSY in Europe. There are several significant problems with not booking accommodations at this time of the year:

• You'll have to waste valuable travel time looking for something when you arrive in each new city. You'll be hauling all your wordly possessions with you which is a bit of a pain.

• You may have to compromise and either settle for a "dodgy" property or one that is located in a part of the city that is not exactly convenient (such as in an outlying city, which will add to your travel times and costs).

• If you do find something convenient, you may have to pay far more for lodgings than you originally planned.

As "the whole transportation thing" has you confused, I'd HIGHLY recommend that you either read the "Rail Skills" chapter in Europe Through The Back Door or download the free PDF Rail Guide from this website (click the "Railpasses" tab at the top and then look in the lower right corner). You WILL NEED to be somewhat sorted to use the trains in Europe, especially if you're having trouble with the languages.

If I think of any further suggestions, I'll post another note.

Good luck!

Just some small differences to the previous posts.

Munich - Englisher Garden if it's a nice day, if not save the experience for a better day and do something indoors. I like the Alte (and Neue) Pinokotek much better than the Deutsches Museum. It depends on whether you prefer art or gadgets.

CT - shorten to two nights and add the extra night to Rome. The hike between the towns is nice but it's mostly a place to relax, no must sees.

Florence - get reservations for Uffizi and Academia. I got reservations by phone about 48 hours before we went without trouble. Even in October, there was a giant line of people who didn't get reservations.

The Duomo has major historic significance. People had lost the ability to reproduce Roman domes until this was built. Climb the stairs, get a close look.

Later in Rome, see the small square cut out of the roof of the Pantheon by the designer of this dome to figure out how the Romans constructed it.

The Piazza della Signoria is great people watching and has great art in it's own right. We also liked Piazza Michelangelo for the view, people watching and a hard to find less touristy experience in Florence.

Skip the Boboli Gardens - not worth the admission IMO.

Rome - too much to talk about, you really have to decide which sites are most interesting to you.

Obvious biggies Pantheon, Forum, Coliseum and Vatican but there are so many outstanding sites beyond that it's amazing.

We really liked Trevi fountain at night as part of our walk.