I have 2 weeks to get from Paris to Berlin via Amsterdam at the end of May. I would like to explore some new places along the way. I've been to both Paris and Amsterdam before but would like to spend some time in both of those places (about 3-4 days in Paris - which includes a day to visit Chartres - and about 5 days or so in the Netherlands).
The plan now is to spend a few days in Paris (with a side trip to Chartres), take the train up/over to Bruges/Ghent and maybe spend a day in Antwerp before going up to the NL. (I've been to both Antwerp and Brussels before.) What are some other interesting places to visit along this route? I've been to Rennes, Mont St-Michel, Blois, and a few other smallish towns around there. I'm not too interested in the Loire Valley and I'm traveling on a grad student budget (aiming for $40-50/day or less not including transport) so going to places where gourmet food, wine/champagne tours, etc. are the main draw (as most of the guidebooks I've been reading seem to highlight) isn't an option and frankly doesn't interest me all that much. I'm a solo traveler and won't be equipped for outdoor activities like hiking, etc. (although I wouldn't mind seeing some nature, I'd prefer to spend time in small towns rather than out in the woods).
I've been toying with the idea of flying down to Italy (ryanair has some ridiculously cheap flights from Charleroi to Milan right now)...I'm also not opposed to overnight trains. I've been to the big "must-see" Italy destinations (Siena, Pisa, etc.) before and would love to explore further.
So - with 2 weeks to explore, with Paris and Amsterdam as must-go-to destinations, and ending in Berlin, where would you go on a shoestring budget? Where do you think I should go?
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Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
A must-see for a student between Amsterdam and Berlin is Cologne (Köln), a huge student party city. It's also home of most of Germany's TV stations, TV production companies etc but still quite affordable. Pubs are just lined up all over old town. Then in Wuppertal there's the oldest still running hanging mono rail in the world and you can use it for the fare of a regular bus ticket. It hangs above a river that's winding thru the city. Düsseldorf would be a rather fancy shopping city but also has got extensive night life to offer. Their old town bar district has got more pubs next to each other than the world famous Temple Bar in Dublin. Hamburg is Germany's most beautiful city and has got an almost Scandinavian flair to it. Half way between Hamburg and Berlin is the famous Müritz lake district which is quite unique - yet calm, quaint but with plenty of free beaches.