Student Travel in Europe with limited travel budget

Hello Wendy. I guess a student at a university will need to rest at that time. I recommend that a student in Paris, having not much time, and not much money, in the month March, go to a small town that is quiet and peaceful, with a pool of warm water to swim in, and a warm water jacuzzi, and get a massage there. I recommend that she stay in France. The spa resort Aix-Les-Bains is located 13 km north of Chambrey, which is located 44 km south of Annecy. At Aix-Les-Bains is the modern spa centre Les Thermes d'Aix-les-Bains, one of the best places to experience the healing qualities of the local sulphurous water. Entrance there costs 15 Euro per day. It is near the charming Musee Faure, an elegant house with a small but impressive collection of nineteenth-century art on display, including a room of sculpture by Rodin, paintings from the best-known Impressionist artists, and some lovely Degas pastels. South of place Maurice-Mollard lies the compact warren of pedestianized streets in the old town. The town has elegant architecture. SNCF trains go to Aix-les-Bains. It has a tourist office, and nearly one hundred hotels. In the 1800s the high society people of Europe and England went there to relax and take the waters. Now, most of the people who go there are retired French people. 3 km west of the center of Aix, along avenue du Grand Port, lies a lake -- Lac du Bourget. It is a protected reserve. The French writer Balzac said "Nowhere could one find such perfect concord between water, mountains, earth, sky". Mountains are near the Lake. // All of the countries that you mentioned could have unpleasant weather in March. I think Italy is too far from Paris, considering the limited time for a trip, and limited money.

You mention 4 countries and say budget concerns are a primary factor. In general, of the four countries you mentioned, here's a list of them arrayed from most expensive to least expensive, based on the cost of accommodations, food and sights but not including consideration of the transportation cost to get from Paris to the country, that would take some research to determine):Switzerland is the most expensivethen ItalyGermanyPortugalLooking at the map, portions of Germany and Switzerland are closest to Paris in terms of miles, which may be related to the transportation cost (but not necessarily).They could also stay right in France, I'll bet they haven't seen everything there yet.

If they rent an apt. it will be cheaper than staying in a hostel, especially if they go some place like Berlin. This is a city that would be wonderful and fun for college students, and the prices there are very reasonable. I found food there to be fairly cheap too. If they look on the Ryan Air map, they should be able to find something, just remembering that the airports are outside of town - For example, "Frankfurt Hahn" is 120 km from Frankfurt!

Once again....thank you all for the great ideas..

The R&R suggestion sounds divine and inviting...
Travel to Switzerland and Germany seems manageable and I will share all of this information with the student travelers.

This gives them a great start...any suggestions on youth hostels in Switzerland and Germany is much appreciated by this cautious Mom:)

Many thanks!

Wendy

When I studied abroad, I did a good amount of traveling, and last year I did tons of traveling as well when I was a language assistant in France. If your daughter and her friends are looking for traveling cheaply, they need to cross off Switzerland from their list. I personally adore Switzerland but everything there costs tons of money (trust me, I learned this the hard way). I could not find a meal for less than 10CHF (when I was there last year, the dollar and the Franc were about equal; I understand that exchange rate is more in our favor now). Nonetheless, I even found the hostels (which are meant to be budget accommodations) expensive.

I agree with the others who said that your daughter should just stay in France; there's plenty to see! My favorite cities in France which I'd consider must-sees: Lyon, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Avignon, and Aix-en-Provence. I've never been to the Northern part of France, but people say that Lille is a nice city.

Hope this helps!
Erica