Going to Europe in March - any tips?

I can provide lots of tips for Rome if you're interested, I went for about a week in September.

Wonderful city. Friendly people, walkable sightseeing, great museums, amazing food, and not as expensive as you'd think.

What's your daily budget?

take photos!
someone turn on the gaby signal.
he's our resident european (frenchman).

By KingGondoI can provide lots of tips for Rome if you're interested, I went for about a week in September.

Wonderful city. Friendly people, walkable sightseeing, great museums, amazing food, and not as expensive as you'd think.

What's your daily budget?

That'd be great! We're planning a food budget of about $80 a day. Considering we're also planning to visit supermarkets and buy cheap bread/cheese/whatever for quick breakfasts/meals, I think it sounds pretty reasonable. Some people have told me that's more than enough (except in London), but I'd rather overbudget than have to eat out of tuna cans during the last half of our trip or something like that :P

We have a separate budget for museum entrances and stuff like that; so far our biggest expenses in that regard have been a Steven Wilson concert we're gonna attend in London, and a "Meet the Penguins" thing at London's Zoo, which was crazy expensive but is going to be very much worth it, considering my gf is obsessed with them and has never seen one live. If the London/Paris passes are good deals and not tourist traps, those will probably also come from that budget.

By viakadotake photos!
someone turn on the gaby signal.
he's our resident european (frenchman).

I got a camera in December (a Sony A6000) with this trip in mind. I had a great time taking pictures last time I was in Europe, so I'm looking forward to shooting some more during the trip.

By Fireblend

By KingGondoI can provide lots of tips for Rome if you're interested, I went for about a week in September.

Wonderful city. Friendly people, walkable sightseeing, great museums, amazing food, and not as expensive as you'd think.

What's your daily budget?

That'd be great! We're planning a food budget of about $80 a day. Considering we're also planning to visit supermarkets and buy cheap bread/cheese/whatever for quick breakfasts/meals, I think it sounds pretty reasonable. Some people have told me that's more than enough (except in London), but I'd rather overbudget than have to eat out of tuna cans during the last half of our trip or something like that :P

That's more than enough for Rome. The B&B we stayed at (which cost $120/night) included a simple breakfast (a croissant, or "cornetto" with a cappuccino) and lunches were generally fairly light as well. In the late afternoon they have their own version of a siesta ("riposo") and most restaurants didn't open until 7 or even 8. For 50 USD you can get a really good meal for two. Wine is super-cheap (we're talking like 10 USD for a gallon of the house wine, which was always good in my experience).

The specialty of Rome is their pasta, specifically cacio e pepe. Simple preparations with seasonal, local ingredients. Our favorite restaurant was called Su e Giu. Beautiful family-run little spot with great service (most of the wait staff speaks English) and phenomenal food. Literally everything we had there was remarkable, and we went for 3 separate dinners.

I highly recommend doing guided tours for certain sites. We used City Wonders (formerly known as Dark Rome Tours) for the Coliseum and for a day trip to Pompeii, which is a must if you're into the history.

Our favorite museum wasn't the Vatican, actually (although Saint Peter's Basilica is mindblowingly large and awe-inspiring), it was the Borghese Gallery. Typically they require a reservation though.

Also, make sure to check out Trastevere, a sleepy part of the city that's great to just wander around in.

Feel free to ask me any other questions you have.

A B&B in Rome is $120/night? How the hell?

You can't find a hotel room at the SF-OAK airport for less than $200/night. The Airbnb spot in Nob Hill I found was $150/night.

I went to Paris, Brussels and Antwerp in November. Can give you some tips but probably nothing you wouldn't be able to find on trip advisor.

By reiloA B&B in Rome is $120/night? How the hell?

You can't find a hotel room at the SF-OAK airport for less than $200/night. The Airbnb spot in Nob Hill I found was $150/night.

It wasn't anything fancy, but it was more than nice enough. We had our own kitchen and private bathroom, and it was in a nice quiet part of the city core as well.

Rome was seriously way cheaper than I thought it would be.

It's called B&B Calamatta if you want to look into it. :)

By KingGondoIt wasn't anything fancy, but it was more than nice enough. We had our own kitchen and private bathroom, and it was in a nice quiet part of the city core as well.

Rome was seriously way cheaper than I thought it would be.

It's called B&B Calamatta if you want to look into it. :)

Ugh that sounds fantastic.

Looking at the pics this is more than wonderful. $120/night? Unbelievable.

By pilonv1I went to Paris, Brussels and Antwerp in November. Can give you some tips but probably nothing you wouldn't be able to find on trip advisor.

How long did you stay in Paris and did you buy any of those Paris pass things? My gf's been pressuring me to buy those since some friends of us who went there got em and said they were great, but I really have no idea how much of a convenience those are.

I've been in Brussels before, lovely city though it was snowing really hard the whole time and I felt like I was freezing to death.

By reiloA B&B in Rome is $120/night? How the hell?

For this trip we've been using Airbnb exclusively. We don't really need anything fancy (we got a really nice apt all for ourselves in Prague though), all we need is a bed and a decent bathroom, so we've been saving tons of money on that front.

I sent Gaby a link to this thread. He's from Paris so hopefully he'll be nice enough and provide some tips.

By reilo

By KingGondoIt wasn't anything fancy, but it was more than nice enough. We had our own kitchen and private bathroom, and it was in a nice quiet part of the city core as well.

Rome was seriously way cheaper than I thought it would be.

It's called B&B Calamatta if you want to look into it. :)

Ugh that sounds fantastic.

Looking at the pics this is more than wonderful. $120/night? Unbelievable.

We booked it through hotels.com so it was a bit more expensive, but if you go directly through them it's cheaper.

I was expecting huge bills having traveled to London and Tokyo before, but it really just wasn't that pricey of a city to enjoy. Lots of free tourist sites (the city center *is* a tourist site, really) and as I mentioned earlier, the food is inexpensive as well.

By Fireblend

By pilonv1I went to Paris, Brussels and Antwerp in November. Can give you some tips but probably nothing you wouldn't be able to find on trip advisor.

How long did you stay in Paris and did you buy any of those Paris pass things? My gf's been pressuring me to buy those since some friends of us who went there got em and said they were great, but I really have no idea how much of a convenience those are.

5 nights, wasn't long enough sadly. We didn't get a Paris pass as November is quiet for tourists. No lines for anything of note (took us not even 5 minutes to get to the Mona Lisa). I would skip one unless you know for sure you want to hit everything on it.

I would HIGHLY recommend doing one of these walking tours as soon as you get there

http://booking.newparistours.com/en/

They're free (just tip the guide at the end), takes about 2-3hrs and you see all the main stuff. We did ours and got some great tips on how to get into some museums easily and avoid the busy parts. Like the Louvre is open late on a Friday, so you can go late afternoon and it's pretty empty in the evening. They also tell you how to spot the pickpockets and other random stuff. Can't recommend them enough.

Good info! Yeah, I'm leaning towards not getting the pass. We're not staying that long and sprinting from each attraction to the next just to make the investment worth it isn't the way I want to get to know Paris. Same with London, with the added benefit that the biggest museums there are for free.

And I've gone on New____ tours before. I agree they're pretty great! It's crazy they do them for pretty much free; I get that in reality they're hooks for their other paid tours, but the value of the free ones is always great.

Take a power board.

You only need to buy one "universal adapter". Just take a power board too, so you can plug everything into the power board.

Simple. Obvious. But you never think about it.

Also, if you can find one, those USB chargers that can take multiple USB cables in will come in handy. When you add in a phone each, a tablet, possibly a camera. Maybe an mp3 player.You use more slots than you think.

By giririsssTake a power board.

You only need to buy one "universal adapter". Just take a power board too, so you can plug everything into the power board.

Simple. Obvious. But you never think about it.

This

HOWEVER check the voltage before you go.

Luckily coming from Australia were compatible with pretty much everywhere. Coming from the USA you could easily fry something inadvertently.

The power thing bit me in the ass the last (and only) time I was in Europe - I should really write that down and put it somewhere visible lest I forget. I don't want to be powerless for 2 days again while I figure out how to go to Ikea and buy an overpriced converter I could have bought here for less than half the price =X

Thanks guys! I know this isn't a forum as frequented or populated as some others but I've still gotten plenty of great info out of this thread :) keep it coming.

get a shot for socialism, that shit is contagious.

For Berlin, I'll suggest you try out some local fast food like Currywurst or Bratwurst.
Berlin also offers a pretty big variety of turkish cuisine, you should try out Köfte and Döner, both are pretty famous over here.

You should also find plenty of good normal restaurants for a bit more classical food and stuff.
For your breakfast you should visit some real bakers, the bread variety here is unmatched, so try that out.
There is plenty to do and there are alot of touristic guides that should help you along the way.

London is the best city in Europe so cancel everything else and spend the entire time here.

Get a Doner!

By VivalabanterLondon is the best city in Europe so cancel everything else and spend the entire time here.

Why you gotta lie like that?

I'm from Madrid. You gotta visit El Madrid de los Austrias, Museo del Prado, Reina Sofía. Gran Vía, Callao. El Rastro at Sunday Morning.

Some of the best restaurants are:

- Combarro.
- La Maquina.
- Asador Donostriarra.
- Portobello.
- Lucio.

Just to name a few. Enjoy some good tapas at Don Quijote too. And get lost in his wonderful nightlife. Overall is a nice and wonderful city to visit. Very and open with foreigners too.

De Madrid al Cielo!

Going trough Europe and skipping Amsterdam? Boo

When you're in London, don't go to Nandos.

By KikarianWhen you're in London, don't go to Nandos.

Everyone I know love the hell out of that chain. I don't understand it (since I am vegetarian) what is so good about it? and why do you hate it?