Ten days in Europe: How to spend them?

February 3, 2009 5:17 PM

Our family: 2 adults; one young adult. We all have limited travel experience in Europe. Our budget: 6,000 bucks or so. Our rough plan: Get a taste of the best of Europe without running ourselves ragged. Experienced European Travelers: If you had this time, this money, this background, where would you go and what would you see? Where would you fly into/out of? How would you get from place to place? Any/all suggestions much appreciated!
posted by capcuervo to travel & transportation (29 comments total)

Did this trip about five years ago: Flew into Amsterdam, train to Paris, overnight train to Rome, train to Florence, train to Venice, overnight train to Vienna, train to Frankfurt, train/boat down the Rhine River, train back to Amsterdam. Did it in 12 days, it was definitely a lot of traveling but we got to see a little bit of a lot of fantastic places. If I had to do it again I would do in in about 16 days, but over all it was a blast and would totally recommend it. For just the two of us I think we spent about $4000. We were able to stay in nicer hotels, etc. for that price, although it might be tougher now with the exchange rate being quite different.
posted by cbp at 5:49 PM on February 3

I can't recommend Rick Steves' books on European travel enough.
posted by Ironmouth at 5:49 PM on February 3

Ireland. Rent a car. Head for the west coast -- Kerry, Clare, Galway. Go to small towns like Dingle.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:51 PM on February 3

Rick Steves is great. In addition to the books he also has a great European travel video series (originally on PBS maybe?)
posted by cbp at 5:52 PM on February 3

I'm a big fan of Amsterdam. cbp's suggestions are great, but I can't stand Paris. I really liked Switzerland - Geneva, to be precise - and if I'm not mistaken it was very accessible by train from Milan. I didn't like Milan very much, but I didn't get to see a lot of touristy things while there.

If I had to do it all over again, I think I would start off in Rome and work my way around Europe by train where possible.
posted by arimathea at 5:59 PM on February 3

Ten days? Think 'three cities, three days each, perhaps a travel day on a train' and see how that works out. Any more than that and you're Griswolding. London-Paris-Amsterdam doesn't cover much ground, but you get nice cultural contrasts. Paris-Barcelona-Rome, perhaps, to get a sense of the north-south divide.

Rick Steves' itinerary planning is a good place to start, but you're better joining together a couple of his 'city in three days' itineraries.
posted by holgate at 6:08 PM on February 3 [3 favorites]

I'd make sure I'm seeing somewhere new, if I were you. See it all! Why go somewhere twice?!

I quite enjoyed Paris, it's a beautiful city and a metro day pass will let you see a good portion of it in a day. Don't count on seeing the inside of the Louvre tho (on this trip), it takes hours to get through. Being inside the continental European Union there will enable you to get multiple-country Euro Rail passes. Could be a good starting/ending point.

London is a place I'd suggest skipping on this trip -- sure you can see all the main sights in a day, but it's an expensive city and Central London feels kind of like a tourist trap. The train between London and Paris isn't included in that multiple country Euro Rail pass either.
posted by lizbunny at 6:28 PM on February 3

Amsterdam is a wonderful place, and everyone speaks English.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:38 PM on February 3

I asked a similar question a few months ago, though admittedly I was travelling solo. I chose to spend 10 days in Slovenia and I don't regret it a bit. Its gorgeous, has part of the Italian Alps, Adriatic coastline, some of the most impressive caves going around, beautiful cities, people are friendly ... check out Bled if you go.

To get there you can fly into Ljubjlana, the capital city of Slovenia (I went from Dublin to Frankfurt and changed, I went with lufthansa), from there its very easy to get around by train or guided tours.

Mefi mail me if you'd like to see my photos from that trip.

But wherever you go, have a great time!
posted by Admira at 6:43 PM on February 3

Cool Papa Bell is right about the gorgeous west coast of Ireland, but you should know that it is very heavily touristed. The last time I was in Dingle (more properly An Daingean these days), I counted 52 pubs for a town of a little over 1500 people.

You might want to look at a Eurail Select Pass, which lets you pick three adjoining countries, which is about as much as you can reasonably hope to look at. With a constrained time frame like you have, these will grant you effectively unlimited first-class rail travel in these countries.

And nthing Rick Steves' books as a good place to start planning as a beginner.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:44 PM on February 3

Having been to Europe multiple times I would do one of the following:

1) Rent a self catering cottage in SW Ireland for.????? days and pick another self catering cottage in either France or Italy for ?????? days. Rent the cottage in or close to a small village/town but no more than 1-2 hours drive from a larger city. DO NOT travel to much--enjoy the community, the people, the local food--cottages, apartments etc are generally much less expensive and much nicer than hotels

2) Pick one country and do most of your travel with in it or no more than one additional country--stay at least two nights, preferably three, at each destination--DO NOT travel to much

3) Read Rick Steves if you plan on doing significant traveling through out Europe--

$ 6000 should serve you very well--if you want some "fine dining" have a late lunch--dinner is, I think, often inordinately expensive--try self catering cottages/apartments,you can often get short stays--do not pack, travel and unpack every day--you can generally trust the rating and descriptions given by the major on line web sites(Holiday-Rentals from Home Away is excellent as it has numerous filters and is very user friendly and dependable) or government ratings/stars--make sure there are photos of the rental.

Have fun,relax and do not over do it--you will be going back. BTW, Edinburgh is my favorite city--big enough to be a city, lots of activities, child friendy, very good food and you do not need a car--very pedestrian friendly
posted by rmhsinc at 6:57 PM on February 3

Unless absolutely necessary, and I mean absolutely necessary, do not go during the summer or major Holidays. I don't care what anybody says--Europe in peak travel season is like a gigantic Disney (land/world) unless you really know the country and locale--in fact--I believe your money would be better spent going to Epcot rather most of Europe during prime travel season.
posted by rmhsinc at 7:03 PM on February 3

Fly into wherever's cheap. Really. It won't matter. Get railpasses for each of you, then connect the dots to important places you want to see. It will be really easy to see Amsterdam, Paris and Brussels in that amount of time. London is great too and probably cheaper to get to from the US but, you'll want at least 5-7 days just there. Don't forget that England is connected by train to the rest of europe. If you're worried about pushing yourself too hard, then don't try to do any more than two cities in 10 days. You'll end up skimming over some great stuff.

I've done the backpacking thing a few times and I worked as a study abroad coordinator (read: student travel agent) for a few years. Feel free to mefi mail me if you have questions or want any help.
posted by JuiceBoxHero at 7:07 PM on February 3 [1 favorite]

If you were trying to get a taste of the United States, what would you say is important?

When we went to England a while back we based out of Chichester for the first few days. There were a bunch of things we wanted to see that were an easy day trip from there and it's not being tourist central made it feel a lot more real.

Similarly, a few years ago my corporate masters sent me to Kufstein in Austria. Again, not a big alpha city which feels the need to be just like all the other big alpha cities.

If there aren't specific things you want to see, you may find these small and mid-sized towns feel a lot more like France or England or Germany or wherever than the big cities.

And on preview, I've never been in Europe during the tourist part of the year.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 7:34 PM on February 3

10 days will FLY by. FIRST, figure you'll be jet lagged for the first 1.5 days. Your last 1.5 days will be focused on getting to your final destination and plane home.

SO... I would really recommend you don't try to see too much. I've been on three trips, and the best parts were always the least harried parts. Keep in mind too, that you don't want to use your precious time getting from one place to another. The distances may be relatively short, but with checking out, getting to the train (car?), travel time, finding your new digs... bam, a half a day or more is gone, easy.

I'd pick one region you are most interested in, and keep it there. Figure you'll be back again sometime to see all those other places you wanted to see.

Now, some favorites...

You'll guess that Italy is my favorite. Great art, huge history, nice people, bustling excitement... it's great.

How about a loop from Milan --> Venice* (a highly touristed but unbelieveable, one-of a-kind place) --> Verona (take a boat up the Brenta canal to all the towns along the way!) --> over to Parma (a great mid-sized Italian town)--> down to Santa Margherita Ligure (the poor man's Portofino) - you could do the Cinqueterra (but take heed**) - and back to Milan. Might almost be too much for 10 days.

*tip on Venice: some times of year are less crowded than others, and if you get away from the main square and hot spots, you'll find the city wonderfully uncrowded. Wander the back streets - get lost, quite safe (at least it was 8 years ago).
** Steves' books are super... and everyone know it. We could not find a place anywhere on the Cinqueterra - which he strongly recommends - and were always seeing tourists meandering about with his books in hand.

Other swell spots:

Bellagio on Lake Como is an incredible place.
Figline Valdarno, Italy - in Tuscany near Florence. A classic small town (although Sting has a place there), within striking distance of Florence.
Rome... amazing... and crazy. You could do all 10 days there.
Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Italian Alps.. clean, crisp air, and a neat mix of Austrian/Italian feel.

Have fun! I wish I were going.
posted by ecorrocio at 7:34 PM on February 3 [2 favorites]

I've always hated the idea of a cruise (cheesy!), but they are SO cheap now that they are worth considering. There are cruises in Europe that go for $100 per day... that's way cheaper than what it would cost you to buy a train or airplane ticket PLUS hotel room PLUS cab to said hotel room PLUS all the worries.

It will pretty much eliminate lugging all those suitcases around to different cities, making sure you catch your train/plane on time, etc. I'm looking at a 7 day cruise (Barcelona, Greece, Southern France, Italy) and combining it with 7 days of visiting cities closer (Brussels, Brugge, Amsterdam, Paris) to each other by train to at least get the travel by train experience in Europe. There are shorter cruises so for 10 days you can do a half-half as well if you wanted to. The lousy part is that some cruises have days where you don't dock anywhere so you're stuck on the ship all day and night, but just check the itineraries.

Also for timing, November in the Mediterranean is really cheap and seems like the weather will still be ok. Not beach weather, but not totally freezing either.
posted by Jimmie at 7:38 PM on February 3

Amsterdam is a great starting place because you can get almost anywhere else in Europe from it; Schiphol is a major hub. Depending on your previous experience and interests, you might want to try central and eastern Europe. I'm a fan of Berlin, where I lived for a year. Prague is very touristy but still worthwhile. Krakow, in southern Poland, is less touristy than Prague and absolutely beautiful. Budapest can be hot in the summer but it's also a lot of fun. One idea would be to fly into Amsterdam, spend a few days, fly or take the train to Berlin, spend a few days, take the train to Krakow, and then fly back via Amsterdam.

There's something to be said, though, for visiting smaller cities that are near one another. Munich (OK, not really that small), Nuremberg, and Bamberg, for instance; or Strasbourg, Basel, and Freiburg im Breisgau. If you spend time in Amsterdam, consider a day trip to the university town of Leiden, less than 30 minutes away by train and very picturesque. (It's also Rembrandt's birthplace.)

"Europe" is really too broad an abstraction for a 10-day trip; you're talking dozens of countries with millennia of history. Pick a few interesting places, enjoy them, and then daydream about going back!
posted by brianogilvie at 7:38 PM on February 3

I would say it depends on what you are interested in. Do you like art, theatre, history, architecture, small town charm, the book the Da Vinci code? I've been to the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, and Paris (not all on the same trip) and they were all fun. I would say to not try to kill yourself trying to see too much. Pick your priorities and focus on fun.

Remember to enjoy cafes, pubs, and markets for the local food (the good and the bad) and the local color. Don't pack too much. For a 10 day trip I could probably get away with a single carry on bag.

Finally, give everyone their own digital camera with storage card. You won't all take the same pictures, even if you are standing next to each other. It's fun to see how everyone experienced the trip. I would even go so far as to make a scavenger hunt list for each day of things to get pictures of, and don't forget candid shots. Have fun!
posted by CoralAmber at 7:44 PM on February 3

I traveled with Ms. Mums (to celebrate receipt of her MA) to 9 cities and islands in the Mediterranean on a 12 day cruise, seeing everything from the Acropolis in Athens, to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the ruins of Pompeii outside Naples, Italy, a Medieval castle on the island of Rhodes, the island of Sicily, and Dobrovnik, Croatia, (and a few more ports of call). We were (very) unsure that we would like a cruise, but we both were thrilled with the experience. We had a clean, orderly place to come back to each night, but each morning to evening, and sometimes into the night, we could explore a new city. We saved our main meals to eat on board (cheap---since it was part of the cruise price, wonderful food, fun fellow travelers) and had food specialties of the area as we hiked around the cities where we landed. We paid for excursions at several of the ports as we wanted to make the most of each day, although many ports we just walked off the ship and into the town.

We spent about $4000 total including airfare, cruise costs, tips, etc. (for a total of 15 days we were gone). This included airfare to Europe and back, and costs of an extra 3 days in Rome before our cruise began. Here is a site to find good prices on cruises. What we ended up liking best about a cruise was seeing so many places, and then knowing we could end our sightseeing, get on the ship and just relax at the end of each day.

Essentially the cost of the cruise takes the place of your hotel costs, your food costs, and transportation to each city you visit. There were a couple days at sea, too, and we loved reading, and pursuing Ms. Mums hobby of snapping surreptitious pics of men in speedos by the pool (yes, speedos are big...or should I say "small" in southern Europe!) We couldn't get enough of those!! The page I linked you to was a search I did for 9-11 day cruises, in the Mediterranean and in Northern Europe...(definitely the next one we'll do when we can afford to go)...We can't wait to share our experience w/ Mr. Mums and the other Ms. Mums. I'd be glad to answer any questions. Just email me.
posted by mumstheword at 9:21 PM on February 3

I spent last year living in Paris. It's beautiful, but you'll run yourself ragged trying to see all of it in just a couple of days.

I would give some serious thought to whether you're more interested in seeing the big famous stuff, or whether you just want to find some nice places to have a pleasant time. I'd probably opt for the latter, since in 10 days you can't possibly hope to see much, and you'll still get a feel for the atmosphere wherever you go. Plus, I think a holiday should be relaxing, but of course, it's up to you.

Depending on where you choose to go, think very carefully about whether you'd prefer to fly or catch a train. It becomes a bit irrelevant if you're going a long way, but even though flight times are quicker, getting to and from and through airports can be a royal pain. I would say a 4 hour train ride is a better option than a 1 hour plane trip, becuase you'll leave from and arrive to the centre of the city, and with much less stress and waiting around. Plus, you get to see the countryside along the way. I'm not sure where I'd fly into, but I'd avoid Charles de Gaulle airport if I had a choice - it's a horrible airport. And yeah, pack light.

I did a fair bit of travelling last year, and my favourite places were Stockholm and Lisbon - they're also about as different from each other as you can imagine, although they're far apart which is not ideal. It looks like you could do Stockholm-Geneva-Lisbon on Easyjet cheaply though. I also quite liked Bordeaux, Geneva, Edinburgh, Freiburg, Oxford and Konstanz, in that order. My least favourite place was Venice by a long way - it's pretty, but not enough to make up for the masses of tourists and the (really) grumpy locals. Berlin is cool, but I really found it to be a young person's city.

If you find yourselves in any of the big cities, I really recommend you go on the New Europe walking tours. I went on a few, and found them a really fun, quick and interesting way to get a feel for the city. They're aimed at young people, but don't let it worry you. Plus, they're cheap!
posted by Emilyisnow at 12:02 AM on February 4

I live in Poland.

I'd say that the best time is going to be had if your vacation is a combination of relaxation and with a limited time span, I'd say to stick to just one or two big cities and environs. Now, I don't know your tastes or where you're coming from, but let's presume that you choose Madrid and Rome.

First off, each of the cities has, at least, three or four days of solid sightseeing stuff to do, so if you wanted museums and galleries and monuments and ruins, you could do that, totally, and just fly between them.

However, if you wanted a bit more local flavour, both the cities have great daytrips just an hour or so away: Florence is just 90 minutes from Rome by high-speed train, while Toledo is only 70 km from Madrid. Paris and Lyon; Vienna and Bratislava; Venice and Ljubljana; Dublin and Belfast. Visiting somewhere that's less insane, easier to navigate, and less polluted will be a welcome relief if you're traveling in the summer.

And while it may be heresy to say so, night trains, though romantic, are often more expensive and inconvenient than flying. Check seat61 for train info and Skyscanner for flights.
posted by mdonley at 12:41 AM on February 4

For flights in europe:
- ryanair.com from ireland
- europebyair.com between cities
- skyeurope between amsterdam and vienna

Have a great time!
posted by zia at 1:14 AM on February 4

Focus on what matters to you. I don't want to tell you you absolutely must see all the old master works in the major museums when you have no interest in art. Maybe your undying love for Legos will make the trip focused on visiting Denmark.

While you could spend the time shuttling between the Eiffel Tower, Leaning tower of Pisa, Sagrada Family church, etc that would make a bland vacation, IMHO. Personally I would love to explore the battlefields of Verdun and the Maginot Line.
posted by JJ86 at 6:01 AM on February 4

3 people x 10 days for 4 681 Euros

Hotel accomodation might be quite Expensive for 3 adults, as its really best with a couple.

Are you in the USA? 'bucks' would imply so. is the $USD 6000 to include flight costs?

ie returns from the USA for 3 are goign to cost quite a bit aren't they?
posted by mary8nne at 6:34 AM on February 4

Hotel accomodation might be quite Expensive for 3 adults, as its really best with a couple.

Youth hostels are probably a more reasonable option, and are much better supported in Europe than in the USA.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:49 AM on February 4

Amsterdamn is one of the more affordable European capitals and it's unspeakably charming once you get out of the tourist areas. Plus, it's a major rail link for all of Europe and you can pretty much get anywhere from Centraal Station.

Paris is expensive, you'd be better off in the countryside. Most Hostels are much better than thier American versions.

Self-cater to save money and to experience the unsettling feeling of recognition and confusion provided by strange new supermarkets.
posted by The Whelk at 7:19 AM on February 4

Thanks, everyone, for all the great suggestions. Semi-consensus seems to be: Don't miss Amsterdam and Paris. Don't move around too much. When you do, use the railways. And Rick Steves: read him, know him, live him.

Will sort through all in detail with the family and make a much more informed decision.
posted by capcuervo at 7:42 AM on February 4

My favorite places in Europe so far were Neuschwanstein Castle (pictures don't even begin to do it justice) and Munich, though my explorations were limited to Germany, Switzerland & Austria.

Ryanair can have incredibly cheap flights all across europe if you purchase earlier enough. iirc you can get them in the $20 range, including fees.
posted by thekiltedwonder at 11:16 AM on February 4

Trains are indispensable if you want to travel long distances between countries without spending too much time. But a much cheaper alternative can be the bus. I've taken an overnight bus through Spain which was incredibly reasonable and saved me the cost of a room for a night. Too often people forget about regional bus lines.
posted by JJ86 at 6:56 AM on February 5