First Time in Europe - Where to Go?

• 

  crashloaded on 02/06/2019 - 16:35

  +2

  You don't need 8 days in London that's for sure, I'd go to Italy out of those options.

  It will be cold but not freezing. You just need to hope for no rain I guess.

  Spending money I'd budget $100au per day but it's subjective too.

  • 

    mskeggs on 02/06/2019 - 17:07

    +5

    You don't need 8 days in London that's for sure,

    Wow. I could easily spend 12months exploring London.

    FWIW, my first trip to Europe was a month and all the destinations you listed (plus Geneva). It wasn’t rushed, but sure meant there was heaps to see on subsequent visits.

    • 

      Mikey88 on 02/06/2019 - 17:55

      I hope you enjoyed your trip! What were the prices like compared to Australia, food etc.?

    • 

      crashloaded on 02/06/2019 - 18:28

      +1

      I could spend 12 months exploring any city lol. That's called living there. I wouldn't spend 8 days in london, that's my opinion. I'd go north and visit the Yorkshire Dale's and stuff like that.

  • 

    sane on 02/06/2019 - 17:12

    +1

    8 days in London isn't even close to enough time really. You can do the obvious tourist bits, but there's so much more. 8 days between London and Paris and you'll be jumping from spot to spot. You won't see 'everything' not by a long way.

    However, November it will be getting cold, and dark, in London & Paris.

    On the other side Venice is a complete tourist trap, and won't be great at that time of year either.

    With your interests in museums and historical landmarks, I'd probably still give it to London and Paris - with Rome you've one cut of things (Roman) but with London & Paris there's so much more to see and do - particularly in the way of museums, etc. I'd plan your days, and stay in the heart of things to reduce travel times. Segment the cities into regions, and do one per day. For a rough idea, you can easily spend an entire day in the South Kensington area of London. I'd also look to see if I could arrange one day outside the cities as well, and take in a show or two in the evenings (book ahead).

    And look to travel between London and Paris on the eurotunnel - that would give you another experience on your trip (different to another airport).

• 

  RiseAndRuin on 02/06/2019 - 17:01

  the weather in November is hard to predict at this stage, but I'd suggest trying not to waste your time traveling, so maybe do either Rome and Lazio (Tivoli, Viterbo, etc…) or Florence and Tuscany (Pisa, Siena, etc…). London/Paris/Venice might already be too cold and rainy, but you cold get lucky, so up to you really.

• 

  jace88 on 02/06/2019 - 17:36

  +1

  Paris was a real disappointment IMO.

  If you prefer comfort/convenience then #1. If you're trying to see historic/different places of beauty, go #2. I'd be inclined to go #2 given you seem to appreciate museums/landmarks more than pop culture.

  • 

    Mikey88 on 02/06/2019 - 17:53

    Thanks for the suggestion! I'm curious, why was Paris a disappointment? :)

    • 

      jace88 on 02/06/2019 - 19:28

      +1

      I don't know to be honest - just felt underwhelming. The Eiffel tower, Arc de Triumph, etc… and shopping too. Hotel standards are typical European (which is very poor value vs. Asian hotels if that's what you're accustomed to). Food was also nothing that special but then I don't like sweet things that much- I did enjoy the pasta in Rome though.

      But one thing I would suggest is pay for a tour guide. I didn't believe in it before but when you're doing short trips, paid tours are a quick way to get the experience & info, and sometimes skip queues too.

      Top tip: Uber app.

      I personally enjoyed my first trip to London more where I drove up to Scotland and back vs. my trip around France/Netherlands/Italy/Spain.

      • 

        jace88 on 05/06/2019 - 00:05

        Not sure who negged me or why… would be curious to know.

        • 

          tabitha731 on 05/06/2019 - 09:24

          +1

          @jace88: Thank u for being more descriptive eth ur disappointment wit Paris, as I mentioned earlierin thsi feedi felt like Paris was complete waste of time for both trips I went. I'd be happy to never see Paris again. The imitations of the Eiffel Tower in Vegas is much better and now pleasant to visit

          • 

            jace88 on 05/06/2019 - 20:59

            @tabitha731: I think in case someone else was wondering and wanted more clarity as to my views, I guess my sentiment was more just I had an expectation of some very special place based on movies/TV/pop culture and instead it was more just like any other city.

            The shopping didn't feel special but obviously it is nice to have all the high end luxury stores/boutiques close by such that if you're hunting for something specific there's a good chance you'll find something (but it isn't for everyone). That being said, some stuff is cheaper there or so I've heard, and you can get a good chunk of your VAT back (but not all) back when you leave.

            Eiffel Tower has some great photo ops on the ground near the park, but it was not something I could spend that much time at (it wasn't exciting to me).

            I did enjoy the Louvre and am glad I did the tour as that was interesting. It was also convenient to get around with Uber.

            But overall I just felt it was like any other modern city (although by that logic, I'm not sure why I enjoyed London more). At least if you visit Italy it "feels" different.

            • 

              tabitha731 on 06/06/2019 - 08:08

              @jace88: Evrtything u see about Paris in the movies/ TV etc.. Is sensationalised rose-coloured glasses view of Paris.those views are very fake, and far from reality. It's def not at all romantic

• 

  [Deactivated] on 02/06/2019 - 17:44

  Don't worry about the season…fewer tourists is a big bonus. Cheaper prices. Things even out.

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  buzymum20 on 02/06/2019 - 19:22

  +1

  We were recommended and ended up buying a London Pass which gave entry to many tourists sites plus priority entry and saved queues. We put our 3 day pass to good use and didn't regret buying it. I'd suggest checking it out.

  • 

    Mikey88 on 02/06/2019 - 21:55

    Thanks, I will definitely check that out. What's the best way to buy it - online or in London?

    • 

      backpaqer on 05/06/2019 - 07:50

      You mentioned you were mostly into museums etc… Most of them are free in London, the London pass says it gets you in… Technically it's true but you'd get in for free without it too.

      Also, check atlasobscura for the really interesting places

• 

  payless69 on 02/06/2019 - 19:55

  -3

  November? Fly into Pisa, up the tower, fly to Barcelona into the Sagrada up the Ramblas rental car to Grenada, (history why the Muslims were so welcome breaking existing corruption) on to Malaga,Gibraltar, Cadiz, Seville and into Europe's warmest city Lisbon. This option saves you goosebumps and shows you a bit of history to wet your appetite. You really need 8 months in each country. Above is perfect in November, one can make cash deals at hotels or use smartphone apps to crash overnight. Endless Lidl stores and kebab +pizza joints and your daily outlay should be lower than back home.
  Paris: the tower has become small compared to the rest of the world, the church is still smoking and Lisbon has a Lift built by the Eiffel apprentice. London and the rest of England will still be there after brexit, just slowly sliding into poverty after losing the strength of numbers. Any plastic should work like 21 deg with no foreign fees but Euros is all you need except Gibraltar where plastic is cheaper then buying pounds. You can drive a small car right up the rock and see the monkeys.
  Venice: If qld has real high tides so has Venice and wet feet in November well your choice.

• 

  Randxyz123 on 02/06/2019 - 20:02

  +2

  To be honest with you, you could spend 8 days in London and surrounds exploring and you would hardly scratch the surface. 8 days really isn't enough time to cover 2 cities. I would highly recommend asking for more than a week off or you'll be exhausted from jetlag.

  Since you like history I would probably give it to London/Paris but only because Italy is amazing and that isn't enough time to appreciate all 3 cities.

  For money if you have an ING account and meet the requirements, use that. Otherwise, get a Citibank debit card. No overseas fees. Will work for cashout but most places take card so you don't need cash at all. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/cards_with_no_overseas_tra… has more info.

  3UK have a pretty good deal for sim cards.

  • 

    Mikey88 on 02/06/2019 - 21:56

    Thanks for the suggestions! Will look into it.

• 

  AdosHouse on 02/06/2019 - 21:26

  Regarding your money question, any of the Visa or Mastercard debit cards will be fine.

• 

  YTW on 02/06/2019 - 21:49

  +1

  I don't think you can make a bad choice between those two options. If you could manage another couple of days it would make the trip feel less hurried and give you time to really enjoy the places you are going. It would also add a bit more flexibility in case you are ill or tired. If you have rubbish flights over there it can take a day or two to recover.

  I would say your choice really depends on a few different personal factors - how comfortable you feel negotiating cities in different languages, what kind of history you are more into (ancient, modern, war, art, natural etc), whether you are seeking a really immersive cultural experience or not. Google walk your way around your options, have a look at a few of the main attractions you'd visit and see which you're the most excited about the prospect of visiting.

  We've spent many a happy hour in the vast museums and galleries in London and Paris. You could quite happily fill your days between those two cities. The Eurostar is a good way to get between the two. London has a long list of galleries and museums, you just need to choose which ones you want to visit. The British museum is great and has a small amount of a wide selection of cultures on show - you can see Egyptian mummies in one room, Roman artifacts in the next etc. Then there are other museums such as the Churchill War rooms, which are also very interesting and a completely different historical experience. There is the Tower (central London) and a variety of palaces if you are into English history - you've got Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle etc. The palaces are about an hour or so from London. In Paris we've tended to focus more on the art - the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay filling our time. The landmarks are all beautiful and fun to see in real life. We loved wandering along down the river at night and seeing the Eiffel tower sparkling away. The food was amazing in Paris and we enjoyed the cosmopolitan feel of both cities.

  We've also been to Italy a few times and thoroughly enjoy it too - it feels like a bigger cultural leap than London/Paris to us. Last trip we flew into Rome, caught the (fast) train up to Florence and then again onto Venice with a few days in each city. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, visiting all the ruins and museums. In Rome you are literally surrounded by the history and it is great fun to walk through the ancient ruins and explore that history in it's original form - rather than removed to a museum. The art you can see (Sistine Chapel, Galleria Borghese etc) is also impressive - have a look inside the different galleries on Google to see what you'd enjoy visiting (London, Louvre, Uffizi, Doge's Palace etc) . Venice is a great experience just for the novelty of it, so different to everywhere else we've been to. We've only ever been there in off season (which is still busy) so have enjoyed it without the crowding issues. Just watch it won't be under water, that would be miserable in the cold. Florence was very interesting too - we loved the winding streets and they had plenty of things to explore as well as the galleries/museums.

  Whatever you choose, just do a lot of planning ahead of time and it will pay off when you are travelling. Check for big events that will affect your ability to see things or get a hotel. Even though it isn't a busy time of year these places are always busy and there are plenty of things that can be pre-bought to save money and/or time. For instance Galleria Borghese limits the people in each session and books out in advance - you can't just front up and expect to go in. The Louvre has multiple entrances and you can skip the main queue if you've pre-bought your ticket. The Uffizi is similar.

  As for money we used ING for cash withdrawals and 28deg for purchases last time and it worked well for us. We'd just hit up an atm as soon as we arrived in a different currency and get some cash for the little stuff and use our cards for everything else.

  • 

    Mikey88 on 02/06/2019 - 21:54

    Thanks for the insight! Will definitely be doing a lot of planning beforehand!

  • 

    jace88 on 05/06/2019 - 00:02

    On the topic of 28 degrees, I found it to be very effective and it even worked on my iPhone/Apple Watch too!

    If you can, let GE Money know where you'll be travelling so you don't accidentally get blocked for fraud protection!

• 

  drewbytes on 03/06/2019 - 07:41

  My 2c would be London, but with some countryside as well. London is cool for a first-time visitor, but the real beauty of the UK is the countryside and attractions therein. Whilst 8 days isn't very long, I'd consider maybe 3-4 days in the capital itself, then hire a car (relatively cheap in the UK) and spend 4 days seeing some of the major attractions outside London. We spend 6 weeks in the UK every 3 years, there's so much to see and do you could spend years there and not see it all.

• 

  tabitha731 on 03/06/2019 - 08:01

  -1

  I would personally recommend not bothering with Paris.. It's the most over-rated city. And it's filthy as well. The people are arrogant. France hasn't achieved muxh in recent times.. They're still going on about napoleon, the Eiffel Tower etc De triumph, etc.. Ur money is better spent elsewhere.

  • 

    PlasticSpaceman on 03/06/2019 - 10:07

    +1

    …been to Paris a number of times, was there a month ago, and have always found it to be lovely. People are friendly, food wonderful, streets clean etc. I've seen a lot of tourists acting very badly so can understand why Parisians sometimes might be less than friendly to tourists occasionally. It helps a lot if you attempt to speak a little French - just the attempt is appreciated. I would not hesitate recommending visiting Paris.

• 

  backpaqer on 03/06/2019 - 08:16

  For a first timer to Europe I'd pick London/Paris over Italy. London being English speaking is an easy in. Paris is easy to get to from there.

  Italy is for the more advanced tourist imho. If you pick Italy go with a tour group to make life easier. Everything is a little broken in Italy… It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but you have to be ready for the unexpected.

  Read up on scams.

• 

  netjock on 03/06/2019 - 09:38

  Due to the time being November I'd suggest Rome, Florence. Venice is on the other side and possibly colder. Not anywhere near as cold as London or Paris.

  Have spent a lot of time travelling across Europe for leisure having lived there for a while I'd suggest the following:

  Rome (easy to fly into),

  Drive (it is crazy but fun if you are a confident driver)

  Naples (Pompeii)

  Take the ferry to Capri

  Amalfi coast

  That could be about a good eight days.

• 

  PlasticSpaceman on 03/06/2019 - 09:58

  Fly to London. Allow a day at the British Museum, and visit the British Library as well (magna carta, original manuscripts from Mozart, Beethoven, etc). As time is short, get a one day 'original tour' hop on/off bus ticket. It includes access to a boat trip on the Thames. Spend maybe 3 days in London as I'd spend more time in Paris. Take the train to Paris. Do the Louvre - also allow a day for that. See Paris from the Eiffel tower during the day, but also see the tower at night as light show lovely. Don't eat at the tower. Highly recommend having lunch at https://tourdargent.com/la-rotisserie-dargent/. Also visit the catacombs and Pantheon. For a laugh, can always do a day trip to Disneyland. In both cities use the metro/underground - oyster card in London, paper tickets in Paris. Where possible, book tickets ahead - in November it shouldn't be too busy, but even so try to visit the popular places early in the morning. Have fun!

• 

  Angelino on 03/06/2019 - 10:11

  Money: I've travelled a lot for work and pleasure. I've looked quite a bit into what cards have less charges. You'll save quite a bit in bank charges if you open an account with ING bank and use their card at ATMs for transactions. ING do not charge transaction fees for ATM withdrawals and they will actually refund your ATM fees charged by foreign ATMs. The conditions for an ING card are that you need to deposit $1000/month and make 5 transactions/month. Most other banks will charge you a percentage of your withdrawal amount (e.g. 1 or 2 percent) and you may also have an ATM fee fee from the local bank on top of that.
  London: Get the Citymapper app for public transport. Anybody who uses public transport in London uses that app. Indispensable. You'll also want an Oyster card if you're going to use public transport in London.
  Not going to give advice on cities. You really are the best judge of what cities you will like and which you won't. Could easily spend 8 days in any one of the cities that you've mentioned and you will have the advantage that November may be cold but won't have the enormous number of tourists that those cities get in peak summer season. Personally I quite like train travel in Europe. It enables me to relax and enjoy the countryside and interact with people rather than being cooped in a car and worrying about dodging traffic. If you're going to do any train travel in Europe (or anywhere in the world really) then Man in Seat 61 website is awesome: https://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-travel.htm

  Have fun.

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  TimOfEastBNE on 06/06/2019 - 07:55

  Don't forget to double check which galleries and museums are open (many close for the winter and depending when you go they might start closing in November), and take note that particularly in Italy many are closed on a Monday. Can ruin your plans!!

  I'd go back to Italy any day. Florence is so wonderful, I'd do 8 days based there and explore… easy to get to the Cinque Terra and all of Tuscany is amazing. South of France is lovely too!

  Enjoy, but 8 days is not enough!