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Greece / France Must See Cities - Looking For Large Carry-On (Back Pack Style, Wheeled Bag)

Greetings,

My wife and I are planning a 21 day adventure to France, Italy, and Greece. Many years ago I took a 80 day, 13 country backpack trip which included all these countries so have a fairly good idea of what I'd like to do when there, but am very interested in hearing further suggestions of what fellow travelers felt was "must see's" in each of these countries. A stand out for me is Meteora in Central Greece which I plan to return to. We'll also be in Santorini which I haven't visited yet.

Suitcases are another serious issue. I'm all about traveling light which obviously is the only way to go. I'm looking for suggestions on the largest carry-on that can be worn as a back pack or wheeled. I have an inexpensive one and know they are out there...just want to go with something higher quality.

Thanks and keep traveling :)

Posted by
8163 posts

France Must sees Pont Du Gard, Loire Valley Chateaux, Chambord Chenonceaux Mt St, Michel, Normandy D-Day Beaches, Bayeux Tapestry, Provence (Rousillion, Gordes, Les Baux,) Strasbourg, Colmar, Lyon

Italy Must sees (besides the usual) Cinque Terre, Orvieto, Bologna, Assissi, Perugia,

Have not been to Greece

This backpack won't break the bank
HIGH SIERRA ADVENTURE ACCESS CARRY-ON WHEELED BACKPACK WITH REMOVABLE DAYPACK
Item NO.: 636051053

Posted by
236 posts

With all due respect, I would suggest picking just one of those countries and touring that for 21 days. Of course, if you are restricted to absolutely, positively hitting all three in that time frame then you're really kind of limited to six nights at each spot plus a seventh travel day. In which case, how do you decide how to spend six nights in France? You could easily enjoy Paris alone for that amount of time. So, tough to call anything "can't-miss" in those circumstances. Same goes for Greece. You can visit Metora and Santorini but Meteora is about four hours from Athens and Santorini likewise necessitates a rather long travel day to reach (plane is easiest but you have to allow for time to get to the airport, wait for at least an hour at gate, plus flight time - Ferry only requires easy trip to ferry port but long eight-hour ferry trip.) Personally, I try not to stay on any island for fewer than three nights so if you spend any appreciable time in Santorini, time's up. Again, since one could conceivably spend six or seven nights alone in the capital Athens, how to choose from among the countless choices is hard to nail down. A 21-day tour of Greece, though? Sublime. Rick always says, "Assume you'll return.". You know better than I do if that's true, but one unforgettable 21-day tour of any one of those countries sounds better than trying to see a lot of three different countries in that amount of time. Of course, "many years" ago I, too, did a classic backpack / Eurail trip and the thought then of doing your trip sounded great. Actually, if you were traveling exclusively by train and willing to go only to cities you could knit together a fun trip. I've been traveling more and more by car to get to the hard-to-reach places. Have fun.