My brother, my wife and I are planning a 10-day trip, probably early June, 2009. We'd like a reasonable schedule, as this hopefully isn't a once-in-a-lifetime type trip.
So between Barcelona and Genoa what are the must sees, for a somewhat relaxing trip?
Or, what are some alternative 10-day European trips (excluding Paris and Italy) that could also be taken at a leisurely pace in June for late 20-somethings?
Each traveler would do this differently and there are 20 different possible itineraries, here's one:10 days Barcelona to Genoa/Genova:Barcelona area 3 days Provence 4 daysFrench Riviera 3 days including day trip to MonacoUnless you're already committed to Genoa, if Barcelona is your flying in point, I'd say it makes sense to fly out of Nice and not go the extra distance to Genoa.Added: Good advice from Trotro.
I second the comment about not goint all the way to Genoa. St. Remo is a cute town, with a great market and is an easy day trip from Nice.
I warn you, nothing about June in the Riviera will be leisurely and laid back. The only thing slow will be the movement of trafic from once you hit Beziers. This is when all the Europeans from cold countries arrive. Things are croweded, rowdy, and a very party scene. Not to mention expensive and high crime.
Personally I would focus on the area West of Marseille, and East of Nice (also North). Trafic and crowds will still be a bear but not quite so. Save the Glitzy beach scenes for max one day. (Unless this is really your thing.)
I'm not trying to get down on your trip. I lived and worked in Antibes for 5 years, as much as I like the area summers are hard. (though I spend some of my best summers hiking in the Provence area.) You can pm me if you any other questions. Oh Yeah get your hotel reservations way in advance.
It is pretty though, I can still feel the wind off of the sea coming in the train window.
Thanks for the tips. I was a little worried about crowds.
To clarify what I mean by leisurely, I meant trying to do too much stuff in a day. My wife and I went to Paris in June for 6-days, and although there was plenty we didn't get to do, we felt sort of rushed trying to get to the must-see locations. We had a great time, but we were wanting more of a walk around, soak up the atmosphere type trip next summer. My favorite part of the Paris trip was spending a long afternoon exploring the gardens of Versailles.
Is Genoa not recommended because it's too much for one trip, or because it's lower priority than the other places?
Thanks, again, for the great advice.
Finally, someone who doesn't want to make a frantic dash through their destinations, checking them off as they drive by!Answering your question about Genoa first: think of Genoa as a way lower priority than your other choices, not even close to being in the same league with Provence (nothing wrong with Genoa but given your other choices it's not in the same league).Now, based on what you said in your last post about your preferences after your Paris trip--that 6 days in Paris seemed to rushed--I understand and based on that input from you, I'm changing my recommendation from what I said in my first itinerary (because it would probably feel too rushed to you) and instead suggest that you consider these alternatives:Option 1: Flying into Provence (Marseilles airport) instead of Barcelona and doing 6 days in Provence and 4 days Riviera, flying out of Nice. Your 6 days in Provence could be done using one or at most two home bases. Many travelers use either Avignon or Arles as a home base.Option 2: All 10 days in Provence. Send me a Private Message if you want recommendations on how to spend a leisurely, relaxed, wonderful 10 days in Provence.Option 3: If you're not Riviera beach scene kind of people (especially the Riviera in the summer, see Trotro's post), consider splitting your 10 days between Barcelona and Provence, with, say, 3 days in the Barcelona area and 7 in Provence.
