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European Travelling - Must see places?

Spinning off RedPanda's Hidden Gems thread -
I wanted some advice and suggestions on where to travel in Europe. It'll be August/September time when I am going and will probably end up being mostly Eastern Europe though I do want to fit in Northern Europe time/money permitting! All suggestions are welcome, I'm not looking for places that are cheap to get bamboozled (though that is a bonus) but places with rich culture and history also grab my eye.

Any events/places you have been to that offer fantastic experiences?
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  • Monaco, although ridiculously expensive, offers sights that are hard to find elsewhere, Capri is like walking onto a Disney set, Nice has a lot close by, Eze Village, Grasse where leading perfumes originate, a fantastic flower market, and not too far into Italy is Ventigmelia ( dodgy spelling) with beautiful glassware.
  • Warsaw and Kracow from which you can visit Auschwitz

    Stockholm is great but not cheap.

    Berlin although very different from the 80s.
  • Sheffield
  • Anyone witnessed the running with the bulls in Spain? Not that I approve of their barbaric treatment of the animals, it must be quite a spectacle
  • Anyone witnessed the running with the bulls in Spain? Not that I approve of their barbaric treatment of the animals, it must be quite a spectacle

    Yes been to the running of the bulls and a bull fight.

    How long are you going travelling?
    How long do you want to spend in one place?
    How are you travelling?

  • Rome is a great place to visit for the Roman History etc... if its not too far South.
  • Paris, Barcelona, Venice & Florence.
  • Berlin is quality for everything, Utrecht in Holland (great if with the missus), Hamburg for filth!
  • @SheffieldRed

    I'm intending to see as much of Europe as possible, so I'd hazard a guess at roughly 3 days per city, but the bigger the city is (the more there is to visit) the longer I'd stay.
    I'll probably be using an interrail ticket to get around.

    Did you run or were you just watching?

  • The train is a great way to get around as it allows you to recover / sleep while you travel. If it's only a month you are going for, you may need to choose between seeing much of what a city has to offer and seeing say 10 places or just getting a taste of each city and going to more places with a view to going back to the ones you like.

    When we went to the running, we got to Pamplona midday, loads of people from the English speaking world (Hemingway's legacy) and lots of Spanish, all having a few drinks. It's basically an all day and night festival. In the evening, we bought tickets outside the arena and went to the fight. Then back out again and stayed up for the running at ~7am. I watched the running, the day before I went to Pamplona a bloke was badly gored running the bulls.
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  • I love Italy and will always recommend that people go. Therefore I'd fly to Rome, then on to Florence/Siena and Verona. Catch some Serie A.

    From Verona you can easily get to Austria and Switzerland. That then opens up Germany and Eastern Europe. Prague, Budapest and Krakow are all enjoyable, Ljubljana I liked a lot and everyone raves about the Croatian coast. Zagreb's okay for a night or two, Serbia's hit and miss.

    Don't over plan, take things as they come. Don't feel you have to rush through cities as you could regret it later. Don't go to Bratislava. Tips for hostels you can get along the way, when booking (ideally when in the city prior) check to see if there's a bar and happy hour. That should guarantee meeting people.
  • @RedPanda

    I was looking into Ljubljana and I've heard its good. I think I'll be finishing off in Croatia at Outlook festival in Pula but I may continue on if I'm not feeling up to it! Highly doubt that I won't be, I do love travelling 8)
  • Anyone witnessed the running with the bulls in Spain? Not that I approve of their barbaric treatment of the animals, it must be quite a spectacle

    Was in Pamplona last September, big festival on, though not the running of the bulls, great city to visit.
  • Cadiz, great weather and city beach, old fashioned town centre with an almost south american feel. Amazing annual festival. Sardinia, great food. Fethiye in Turkey, lovely people great sea, cheap.
  • @RedPanda

    I was looking into Ljubljana and I've heard its good. I think I'll be finishing off in Croatia at Outlook festival in Pula but I may continue on if I'm not feeling up to it! Highly doubt that I won't be, I do love travelling 8)

    Take in Split if you get the chance, plenty of history there. Diocletian's palace etc, great coast line too.
  • Northern Italy is pretty well served by trains and provincial capitals are usually about an hour or two away from each other. Bologna doesn't have any particular sights I remember but it was a really nice place to wander round and eat in. Ferrara which is also in that corner of Italy is not much known, but has a massive castle in the middle and again lovely food. Their speciality is pasta stuffed with pumpkin. Go to any Spanish city when they have a festival on and you will have a good time, not sure if the TAV is covered on your ticket though as normal Spanish trains are very slow. Don't know Eastern Europe much, enjoyed Prague, lots to see and do, likewise Berlin.
  • Dubrovnik, Tallinn, Prague, Stockholm, Helsinki are all hi-lights for me.

    Going to Riga later in the year and am hoping that is nice.

    Wasn't overly impressed with Oslo, Copenhagen, Innsbruck or Frankfurt.
  • Venice is a must. Then catch the train through the Alps to Vienna and then onto Budapest.
  • Mountains of Abruzzo, Italy
  • edited February 2014
    Black Sea .. Romania, Constanta and around .. great empty beaches in the area and some bizarre/interesting architecture in the resorts .. leftovers from the Ceaușescu regime during which there were attempts to make Romania/Black Sea Coast the 'riviera' of the east .. a bit off the beaten track though
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  • edited February 2014
    Venice, Volterra, Rome, Salzburg, Agrigento, Taormina, Berlin, Helsinki. Venice

    I'd also recommend some out of the way places for day trips but may be too hard to get to by public transport: Monpazier, Angles Sur L'Anglin, Chauvigny, Rocamadeur etc
  • If you've never been to some of the A-list places (eg Venice, Rome) then you've got to be tempted - these are places everyone should visit at least once.

    BUT don't make my (1970s) mistake of trying to tick them all off in one trip. For a start you'll burn through cash. But you'll also overlook smaller quirky places.

    A combo of Italy/Balkans/Greece/Turkey would be a good mix IMO
  • Anywhere in Central/Northern Germany mate, very underrated. Munster, Paderborn, Osnabruck all pleasant as is Hanover and Celle (taking in Bergen Belsen whilst there). Hameln (Hamlin of Pied Piper fame) is also lovely and whilst in that area you can go to the Mohne Dam, that of Dam Busters fame. Lived in Germany for 5 years circa late 80s/early 90s and absolutely loved it.
  • @RedPanda

    I was looking into Ljubljana and I've heard its good. I think I'll be finishing off in Croatia at Outlook festival in Pula but I may continue on if I'm not feeling up to it! Highly doubt that I won't be, I do love travelling 8)

    If you go to Ljubljana, you have to go and see Bled too, lovely.place, and I can't recommend a day trip called the Emerald River Adventure by a company called 3glav adventures highly enough - basically a trip round the best bits of that quarter of Slovenia - Mountains, river spring, waterfall, rafting, etc.
  • Croatia and the pitvice lakes
  • If you get to Yugoslavia then try to visit the Postojna cave in Slovenia.
  • Germany: Mosel, Rhine, Romantische Strasse, south Bavaria, Black Forest... Absolutely love these beautiful places and no one goes there. Almost wish I was German!
  • A Few places In Germany Koln(Cologne) Dusseldorf, Berlin, I was there prior to the wall coming down, i'm sure it's still worth a visit.
  • Stockholm for the biff. It's everywhere.
  • Badger said:

    If you get to Yugoslavia then try to visit the Postojna cave in Slovenia.

    This is a must if you are anywhere near here.

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