I work in a hotel and can get free rooms so I have booked a round trip flight to london for ten days and rooms in london for the first three and last three nights. I can get free rooms in hamburg dusseldorf cologne and mainz on the four nights in between but I really long to see paris which I can't get free. Would it be better to do two and two in london and travel by rail to paris and some of the other places? My funds are low and I have never been to Europe so I am a little lost....I want to make the most of it but I don't want to be stressed out by trying for too much in too little time
Posted by
Spring, Texas
635 posts
You can get to Germany from London by train but I would personally fly. If you are limiting yourself to the cities listed I'd go somewhere else on my first trip to Europe. The Eurostar or plane are both reasonable ways to get from London to Paris which would be a great place to go for four days. I can't really comment on how all that would fit into your budget. Paris isn't cheap. I don't know if hostels are available but they probably are. Another thing to consider would be seeing more of Great Britain. Edinburgh and York are easy train rides from London. You could easily do both in four days but they aren't Paris. It's nice to hear from someone that wants to not stress out on their first trip. The typical "first timer" wants to see most of Europe in a week.
Posted by
Paradise
6774 posts
"I can get free rooms in hamburg dusseldorf cologne and mainz on the four nights in between but I really long to see paris which I can't get free." Wow, that's great! I would spend 4 nights in London - maybe 3 up front and one at the back end before you fly home (presumably your flight must leave from there, hence the split-up time there; of course, it's wise to fly home from Germany or France if you can still arrange that.) Then I'd spend the other 6 nights in Germany AND Paris. Cologne or Mainz/Frankfurt would be the best destinations in terms of ease of transport. Fly into Cologne - from the Köln-Bonn airport it's only a 15-min. ride on the S-Bahn train into Cologne. It's about the same for FRA to Frankfurt proper or to Mainz. (Frankfurt Hahn airport also works - Ryanair flies you cheaply into Hahn, about 1 hour and 12€ from Mainz by bus.) From Cologne it's only about 3 hours and 35€ (advance-sale tickets on the Thalys train at www.bahn.de ) to Paris. From Frankfurt to Paris it's about 4 hours and 39€, a little longer from Mainz. Mainz would be best/cheapest for visiting the scenic area of the Rhine by train. The Rheinland-Pfalz ticket (daypass, 21€ for one) doesn't include Frankfurt but will get you around nicely from Mainz: http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and-fares/ticket-offers/rheinland-pfalz-ticket/ Rhine Castles: http://www.marksburg.de http://www.st-goar.de/17-1-.html I'd spend 2-3 nights in Mainz. Then see Paris for 2-3 nights - not a lot but better than nothing. Check Ryanair and Eurostar options for returning to London.