Europe Travel Assistance
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vadimivich
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I don't really have a true guest room so staying with me is probably not a great option, but I can probably help you find some cheap places to stay in the city (Vienna is very affordable).
As for cycling in the great Vienna area, there's a few awesome things. The first is the Donauradweg which is a dedicated (paved) bike path that runs basically the entire length of the Danube. You can ride sections of it as you want (say - from Vienna to Bratislava). You can also take your bike on the train for a short trip up to Krems an der Donau and ride through the Wachau Valley region, which is the Austrian prime wine region and a very hilly part of the country filled with vineyards and old castles. In Vienna itself is the Wienerwald which is the very tail end of the maps and makes up the west and northern part of the city. There's tons of riding (including a bunch of great mountain biking) and that's probably where I spend the majority of my time on my bike when I'm not just putzing around town and going to and from a cafe.
TexasDeac10
Alphonso Smith
BUMP.
Wife and I will be taking trip to Paris, Rioja, and Barcelona in June.
We don't actually have much time in Paris (2 days and 3 nights); the majority of our trip (7 days) is in Spain. Anyone have suggestions about must-see/do things in Rioja or Barcelona? We're of course hitting up several bodegas in Rioja, but if anyone has suggestions about particular bodegas, we'd love to hear it. And in Barcelona, we're already planning a tour of the La Sagrada Familia. But what else should we do?
Wife and I will be taking trip to Paris, Rioja, and Barcelona in June.
We don't actually have much time in Paris (2 days and 3 nights); the majority of our trip (7 days) is in Spain. Anyone have suggestions about must-see/do things in Rioja or Barcelona? We're of course hitting up several bodegas in Rioja, but if anyone has suggestions about particular bodegas, we'd love to hear it. And in Barcelona, we're already planning a tour of the La Sagrada Familia. But what else should we do?
TexasDeac10
Alphonso Smith
Gold mine.
elquintodeac
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In the final stages of planning a trip that starts in Paris and ends in Rome. Have hotels/airbnb's booked but having a bit of difficulty nailing down one segment of travel.
After the train from Paris to Aix-en-Provence, we are renting a car and staying outside Riez for 1 night. The next night will be in Florence. We had considered driving along the coast to Florence but the one way rental car fee into Italy is crazy expensive. The two other options I see are flying from Nice which is also fairly expensive or taking the train from Nice to Milan and then Milan to Florence. While the scenery there should be great, it will take 7 hours plus the drive to Nice.
Are there better options here that I am missing? If not, votes for plane or train?
Thanks.
After the train from Paris to Aix-en-Provence, we are renting a car and staying outside Riez for 1 night. The next night will be in Florence. We had considered driving along the coast to Florence but the one way rental car fee into Italy is crazy expensive. The two other options I see are flying from Nice which is also fairly expensive or taking the train from Nice to Milan and then Milan to Florence. While the scenery there should be great, it will take 7 hours plus the drive to Nice.
Are there better options here that I am missing? If not, votes for plane or train?
Thanks.
Have you considered a bus ? I know it doesn't sound glamorous, but might be a decent option.
Honestly, I'd bite the bullet and pay the fee on the one way rental.
Honestly, I'd bite the bullet and pay the fee on the one way rental.
ImTheCaptain
I disagree with you
Brussels is beautiful in the Spring
marquee moon
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elquintodeac
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I'd prefer this but the fee is ~$600. Looking into train/bus to smaller towns and re-renting a car now. The train website I was using kept saying the only way to reserve a ticket to Florence was the route through Milan. But we shouldn't have any trouble taking a train somewhere into Italy from Nice without a reservation, right? Looks like it runs hourly into Ventimiglia from Nice.
Sounds reasonable to me, but I don't know how big of a PITA it will be to get a car in Ventimiglia and what their one-way dropoff fee is.
elquintodeac
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Yeah, that's what I have to figure out. From what I've seen so far, Ventimiglia is a no-go but Genoa would work. Looks like the insane one way renal fee is for crossing the border and/or longer distances.
BillBrasky
#PSF
Manifest and I are booked for 10 days in Munich-Vienna-Prague in late July/early Aug!
Due to work, school and bar exam taking; that's all we can do for now. Will definitely try to visit Berlin soon on a separate trip.
Vad are you going to be in Vienna around Aug 1st? I think that's when we take the train in from Munich.
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Due to work, school and bar exam taking; that's all we can do for now. Will definitely try to visit Berlin soon on a separate trip.
Vad are you going to be in Vienna around Aug 1st? I think that's when we take the train in from Munich.
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vadimivich
Well-known member
Don't have any plans currently to be out of the city then ... obviously stuff can change, but not taking our summer holidays until later. Hit me up when you are on your way for sure.
EatLeadCommie
Tommy Elrod
Bumping this thread. The Wife and I are doing the Prague, Vienna, Budapest trip in June. I see a lot of folks have chimed in already that they've done this or legs of this tour. EuroVad even lives in Vienna. What I haven't seen is a basic synopsis of recommended things to see or do in each city. I'm sure the usual touristy things are a mixed bag and some of the lesser touristy things are probably worthwhile. So beyond the hookers in Prague which are obviously off-limits, what should I do/see there, in Vienna, and in Budapest?
ImTheCaptain
I disagree with you
watch out for Syrians
TBDeac
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Have only spent a couple days in each so my recommendations are probably pretty vanilla, but here goes:
Prague
-Drink the beer. It's phenomenal.
-It's a beautiful city to just walk around, particularly the old city center. The Charles Bridge is gorgeous.
-The astronomical clock is kind of cool to look at, but waiting for the "show" that happens on the hour is a waste of time.
-We went to the Karlstjen castle which was like a 45 minute train ride outside the city. It's at the foot of this small town that was kind of cool and it's very pretty there, but the tour of the actual castle was nothing special.
- The "dancing house" was pretty interesting to see
-They have a history of Communism museum there was kind of interesting but not something you can't miss. The Kafka museum sucked.
Vienna - (spent the least time here)
-Enjoyed the Schoenbrunn palace. If you've been to Versailles, it's got the same feel, but would be a good place to go if the weather is nice.
-There are the obvious site (Hofburg Palace, St. Steven's and the Opera House) that are worth seeing.
- I personally didn't love Vienna but it may be because I didn't have time to explore some of the less touristy things
Budapest
- The thermal baths were a pretty cool experience. Worth doing. Szechenyi is the most famous one.
- Budapest is lit up beautifully at night. I strongly recommend doing one of the night cruises they have along the Danube. There are longer ones with dinner or shorter ones where you grab a drink or two and just go up and river a little bit. Even if you don't do the cruise, at least walk along the promenade by the river.
- The Parliament building is really cool from the outside, but doing a tour inside is not really necessary.
- There is a House of Terror museum (similar idea to the Prague one, but pretty different in execution), which goes through the communist and violent history of Budapest, which is in a building that used to be the headquarters of the "secret police". Definitely get the audio tour if you do this museum, it would be impossible to follow otherwise.
Hope that helps.
DeaconPeach
Beer me
My grandmother grew up in Tabor, about 60 miles south of Prague. If any of you get there, would you take a picture or two for me? On the list of places to go someday...
Wakelaw2006
Well-known member
Two things I really enjoyed that may not be at the very top of the tourist lists are the Strahov Monastery in Prague and Karlskirche (St. Charles's Church) in Vienna. The library at the monastery is really cool and the on-site brewery was solid. The thing that was cool about St. Charles's Church was going up to the top of the dome and essentially being in the frescoes on the walls and ceiling. There is an elevator to a platform, but then you can walk up another 5-8 flights of stairs to get to the very top.
ETA: I thought the Sacher Torte at Demel was better than at Hotel Sacher, but the apfelstrudel at Demel was better than either.
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PM please.
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I won't claim to be an expert, but here's the stuff I enjoyed in Prague and Vienna a few years ago.
Prague
- St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle. The stained glass was amazing.
- The was some restaurant that had tables out on a patio just below the Strahov Monastery mentioned above. We sat out there and had some beers with a full view of the lower part of the city. Highly recommended.
- Didn't have a bad beer anywhere. Spent our last afternoon wandering from bar to bar in the old town area and having a different beer at each one. Ridiculously cheap.
Vienna
- Ridiculously good cordon bleu schnitzel at a random bar/restaurant called Gasthaus Engelhart. Bunch of old men drinking and smoking in there, and then we walked in.
- St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, mostly for the rooftop viewing platform
- Kunst Haus Wien. Museum Hundertwasser was odd.
- Good beer pretty much anywhere here too.
Prague
- St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle. The stained glass was amazing.
- The was some restaurant that had tables out on a patio just below the Strahov Monastery mentioned above. We sat out there and had some beers with a full view of the lower part of the city. Highly recommended.
- Didn't have a bad beer anywhere. Spent our last afternoon wandering from bar to bar in the old town area and having a different beer at each one. Ridiculously cheap.
Vienna
- Ridiculously good cordon bleu schnitzel at a random bar/restaurant called Gasthaus Engelhart. Bunch of old men drinking and smoking in there, and then we walked in.
- St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, mostly for the rooftop viewing platform
- Kunst Haus Wien. Museum Hundertwasser was odd.
- Good beer pretty much anywhere here too.