Backpacking in Europe: Suggestions?
 

I plan to be in Europe for two months this summer. I'm flying into Dublin and then will backpack from there. I plan to go to Paris, Bruxelles, Hannover, Berlin, Venice, Barcelona, Denmark, Helsinki, Munich, London, and perhaps Turkey.

If anyone has any suggestions please put them here.

Thanks.

well, if it was me, id definately hit normandy, just cause I donno I hear its moving

sorry, for the pun, didnt mean for it to sound like that =S

Brussels is stupid. Skip it. London is ok. Eat fish and chips and go to the Cheshire Cheese.

Munich is the bomb digity. Stay at the 4U Munchen, and go to the Augunstiner Restaurant. Get Weisswurst and Weissbier. Sunbathe naked in the Englisher Garten. Go to the German museum.

Always visit churches wherever you go. They don't build them here like they used to.

I'm pretty sure you've already been to Paris, but if you need anything cool to do there, let me know.

Wow, have fun. Make sure if you need visa's to get them ahead of time. See as much as you can. Try to hit Africa. We always gave the locals American coins ( way back when ). Watch "An American Werewolf in London" before you go!

I would've rather taken the trip abit further down south. For interesting culture, go to Greece and Italy. You might even get some sun and sea aswell. The greek islands can be very nice if you can get out of the touristy ones. And the toursity ones can be really nice if you want to party.

I might be biased, since I'm european and all. But I still think that Rome and Greece has a lot more culture to offer. Especially if you're interested in ancient history. Oh, and it's cheaper too! Being a backpacker, that's a huge plus!

If you go to Belgium, go to Brugge. Not only is it Dr. Evil's hometown but it is much nicer than Brussels.

Definately hit Prague and Munich. If you can be in Munich for Octoberfest all the better.

If you can swing it, go to the south of France. Nice is well... nice. There are a ton of amazing galleries down there as most of the the impressionists and Picasso and few others lived there and would pay their summer bills with paintings.

The Italian riviera is nice as well.

Go to Tuscany, great location, food, wine and everthing else.

When you're in Berlin stay away from the west side, it's where all the tourist go and whilst it's okay just for a quick look, if you plan to go drinking then the east has it all. Plus it's cheaper.

Stay at the Cirucus Hostel, it's in the east and really nice, central to. Also when travelling around make sure you buy a day or week transport pass, works on everything and they do have ticket inspectors everywhere who are just in plain clothes - no chance of escape when everyone around could be an inspector.

i'd skip Brussels to.

8 to 9 countries lined up so far in two months and all by train or ferry. Holy Moly.

Now, if you have to fly in AND out of Dublin, I honestly say you might have trouble seeing everything. Or you will see everything for a day or maybe two, get back on the train again to the next destination for a day or maybe two again.

If you paid a few hundred extra and can fly out of any city in Europe, maybe you can see everything you want. I don't know...I would rather find a handful of places you really want to see and stay for 5 days or a week.

Bottom line is to re-check your route, decide if it's feasible to see everything. I remember meeting people whose idea of Europe was to see as many countries as possible in a certain amount of time and they really never saw anything. Good luck and have fun.

London is wonderful. Incredibly expensive--prices are about the same they would be in the US, but the pound is worth twice the dollar. A pint or two of beer and a sandwich in a pub will run you upwards of $20. Great city though, I really loved it.

Ill echo the Tuscany suggestion. Just got back from there (Florence for several days with a day trip to Siena) and loved it. Not too expensive, great food, great wine, gorgeous countryside... It rocked. If you're backpacking, its pretty hilly, but that could be a good or bad thing for you.

Personally I hated Brugge and loved Brussels in my travelling. Brugge felt like such a tourist trap albeit one with beautiful canals and art. Brussels has a tiny statue of a boy taking a piss as it's city emblem, you gotta love that. My favorite city in Europe was Berlin, but it's a different place now than it was five years ago. At that time it seemed like the whole city was under construction. If you go take the walking tour.

If you're looking for a break from big cities I recommend Gryon in Switzerland (look it up in your guidebooks). It's up in the mountains and the hostel there is always organizing various trips--to the spas, cheese farms, hiking, year-round skiing.

Barcelona is wonderful as well, I enjoyed it much more than Madrid. Be sure to see as much Gaudi architecture as you can, obviously his cathedral. Gaudi seemed like such a breath of fresh air after so much of the classic European buildings.