help us brainstorm our perfect vacation place.
October 27, 2011 9:54 AM Subscribe
Please help us plan a 2-3 week overseas trip. We like good food, moderate weather, and bicycles.
-t and I are looking for ideas for a 2-3 week trip out of the US. We don't have an operating budget yet, but less expensive ideas are better than super-deluxe ones. No restrictions on season or time of year, though we would prefer pleasant weather. We're really at the brainstorming stage; we've got a few ideas already but would like to tap into the collective for further suggestions.
Things we're looking for:
good food. This can mean daily markets and great bakeries, or it can mean places with wonderful cafes or great street food. Basically, places that take food and eating seriously. We eat anything and everything.
bicycle-friendly. I realize that much of the not-US world gets around by bike, but I think I'd be more comfortable if it was actually doable for tourists and not like fighting your way out of Thunderdome just to get across town.
urban-ish—not necessarily a huge city, but we would like to be able to walk/bike to most things we want to do. Easy access to the countryside or coast is a plus.
Interesting and quirky. Our dream plan is to rent an apartment for a couple of weeks somewhere, shop at the market and mostly cook for ourselves, ride bikes, roam side streets, meet people, and chill out.
In addition to food and bikes, we like interesting beer, good wine, modern design, cool art, local music. Bonus for fiber history or culture (knitting or weaving) but not necessary.
Things we don't need:
touristy stuff. While we might make a day trip to see an especially cool area or museum or something near by, we don't feel like we need to see ALL THE THINGS in a given place.
major tourism infrastructure.
So far, we've thought about:
Frankfurt. A big city, but seems to have its own interesting identity. I like how cosmopolitan/not monolithic it is. Neighborhood suggestions?
Madrid. Great architecture to look at, food we love.
Copenhagen. From what people tell us, we like everything about Copenhagen—except that it's super-expensive. Any ideas for doing it less expensively?
We're mostly focusing on Western Europe, obviously. SE Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are out for various reasons. Are we ignoring something perfect for us in Australia/NZ or Eastern Europe or South America?
Basically, I'm looking for a little crash course in the flavor of various cities around the world, and ideas for neighborhoods to stay in if you want to actually live there for a short time (as opposed to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants).
We would also think about spending a few days in a few different places. Ideas for potential areas to roam around?
Have you done this kind of vacation before? What worked well, and what would you do differently?
Thanks AskMe!
-t and I are looking for ideas for a 2-3 week trip out of the US. We don't have an operating budget yet, but less expensive ideas are better than super-deluxe ones. No restrictions on season or time of year, though we would prefer pleasant weather. We're really at the brainstorming stage; we've got a few ideas already but would like to tap into the collective for further suggestions.
Things we're looking for:
Things we don't need:
So far, we've thought about:
Basically, I'm looking for a little crash course in the flavor of various cities around the world, and ideas for neighborhoods to stay in if you want to actually live there for a short time (as opposed to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants).
We would also think about spending a few days in a few different places. Ideas for potential areas to roam around?
Have you done this kind of vacation before? What worked well, and what would you do differently?
Thanks AskMe!
I rented an apartment in Budapest and it was AMAZING and cost almost nothing. I LOVED the food in Budapest too. Cafe Kor, near my apartment, served the most amazing goose and sour cherries dish. For dessert we had chestnut-rum puree that was also really good. Great wine too.
Another wild card is Tallinn, Estonia. It's much cheaper than Denmark, has great food (try Aed), has a gorgeous old town, and has a fiber-arts community.
Or try a smaller Swedish city like Uppsala. Sweden is a little cheaper than Denmark. I lived in Uppsala and biked everywhere there. You can bike along the coast and visit little towns there quite easily. Åre is another nice area and they have very good craft beer there.
posted by melissam at 10:12 AM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Another wild card is Tallinn, Estonia. It's much cheaper than Denmark, has great food (try Aed), has a gorgeous old town, and has a fiber-arts community.
Or try a smaller Swedish city like Uppsala. Sweden is a little cheaper than Denmark. I lived in Uppsala and biked everywhere there. You can bike along the coast and visit little towns there quite easily. Åre is another nice area and they have very good craft beer there.
posted by melissam at 10:12 AM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't think it gets much more bike-friendly than Amsterdam. And it's such a flat country, it's easy to ride well out of town.
I also would say central Paris is pretty bikeable. And they've got this going on. If you're not interested in touristy stuff, you might skip it, although the buildings are so beautiful there. And, if you did Amsterdam first, it's a short train trip (three hours).
posted by troywestfield at 10:40 AM on October 27, 2011
I also would say central Paris is pretty bikeable. And they've got this going on. If you're not interested in touristy stuff, you might skip it, although the buildings are so beautiful there. And, if you did Amsterdam first, it's a short train trip (three hours).
posted by troywestfield at 10:40 AM on October 27, 2011
My vote goes to Maastricht. You'd be a couple of hours away by train/car from some great cities (Antwerp, Brussels, Bonn, etc.) if you wanted a change of scenery. If you like food, try to time your visit for Preuvenemint, where you can get a taste of what the local restaurants have to offer. As for beer -- well, you would be well placed for it; the good doctor and I spent many a pleasant evening downing pints at the various pubs lining the canal. It's definitely bike-friendly, as the racks in front of the central train station can attest to.
posted by evoque at 10:56 AM on October 27, 2011
posted by evoque at 10:56 AM on October 27, 2011
Stockholm has some touristy bits, but they're pretty contained to Gamla Stan, in my opinion. From Stockholm, you can also go out on boat trips to the archipelago and even spend a few nights out on various islands.
posted by mogget at 12:02 PM on October 27, 2011
posted by mogget at 12:02 PM on October 27, 2011
I was going to suggest Stockholm, too. It meets most of your requirements, except for the spendy bit. Still in Sweden, Lund is another alternative. It's a college town, not very far from Malmo, which also means only a ferry-boat ride (or drive across the bridge) away from Copenhagen. It might be possible to find some kind of sublet in the summer. For Scandinavia in general I'd try to be there in the summer, say June.
posted by needled at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2011
posted by needled at 12:47 PM on October 27, 2011
My wife and I seem to have pretty much the same interests and we had an awesome time in Spain. We spent a week in San Sebastian and a week in Barcelona and pretty much spent the focus of the trip on eating and walking about. You also can't beat Barcelona for the art and it is right on the beach. We spent some time in Madrid as well but it didn't have as great a time there, maybe because we did a bit more touristy kinds of things like the Museums. We didn't bike while there but both places seemed really bike friendly.
posted by JayNolan at 1:35 PM on October 27, 2011
posted by JayNolan at 1:35 PM on October 27, 2011
Oh here is my Flickr albums of Budapest, Rattvik (a town in Sweden), Ultuna (outside Uppsala), and Uppsala. Here is Estonia, unfortunately my camera broke there so I didn't take many. I also went to Krakow, which I loved, but it's not very bike friendly from what I could gather.
Bergen, Norway was absolutely amazing, but very pricey. If you go a more expensive place, I'd pick Bergen because of the mountains and Fjords. You have to be in good shape to bike there though.
Estonia and Latvia can also function as 1-day trips if you are in Stockholm. It costs about $50 (windowless room, you can pay more for a nicer one) for an overnight cruise to those places (or Finland or Lithuania). You spend the night on the ship, wake up in Estonia, spend the day there, and then spend another night on the ship and then you are back in Stockholm. There were no other Americans besides my friends on the boats I took, so it was a very interesting experience. We had a great time singing Latvian karaoke one night. Everyone laughed at our mispronunciation and bought us drinks.
I thought Budapest was probably the most impressively beautiful place I visited. I should also mention that the art museums and classical music there are incredible.
posted by melissam at 1:36 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Bergen, Norway was absolutely amazing, but very pricey. If you go a more expensive place, I'd pick Bergen because of the mountains and Fjords. You have to be in good shape to bike there though.
Estonia and Latvia can also function as 1-day trips if you are in Stockholm. It costs about $50 (windowless room, you can pay more for a nicer one) for an overnight cruise to those places (or Finland or Lithuania). You spend the night on the ship, wake up in Estonia, spend the day there, and then spend another night on the ship and then you are back in Stockholm. There were no other Americans besides my friends on the boats I took, so it was a very interesting experience. We had a great time singing Latvian karaoke one night. Everyone laughed at our mispronunciation and bought us drinks.
I thought Budapest was probably the most impressively beautiful place I visited. I should also mention that the art museums and classical music there are incredible.
posted by melissam at 1:36 PM on October 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
A thread about places with good food, moderate climate and an affinity for bikes should really not be allowed to get this far without a mention of France. From your more detailed description I would suggest a smaller city than Paris that makes it relatively easy to escape to countryside. Perhaps somewhere like Strasbourg, Montpellier or Toulouse.
posted by rongorongo at 3:42 PM on October 27, 2011
posted by rongorongo at 3:42 PM on October 27, 2011
I used to live in Frankfurt. It is not great for cycling. The traffic is dangerous and there are often no cycling paths. If you are happy to stay out of town somewhat, though, some of the surrounding villages have nice forests for cycling through.
I would recommend anywhere in the Netherlands or Scandinavia. If Copenhagen is too expensive, try a smaller Danish town: Aarhus is nice, as is Aalborg.
I just spent a week in Nijmegen in the Netherlands and LOVED cycling around the region for hours at a time. The market was good for food. Nijmegen (and probably other Dutch towns) has a cycle hire place at the trainstation. It cost me 50 Euro for a week.
Paris is lovely for markets etc, but cycling in traffic is really hairy. I kept feeling like I was going to die at any moment, especially on roundabouts. It's also less flat than your other options. On the other hand there's a great system where you buy a cheapish membership card, and then can use bicycles all over the city for free as long as you return them within half an hour. That's usually plenty of time to get from one place to the next, and the bicycles were high quality and in good repair. If you want to keep the bike for longer than half an hour, you have to pay a little extra, but it still works out cheaper than using the metro.
posted by lollusc at 4:56 PM on October 27, 2011
I would recommend anywhere in the Netherlands or Scandinavia. If Copenhagen is too expensive, try a smaller Danish town: Aarhus is nice, as is Aalborg.
I just spent a week in Nijmegen in the Netherlands and LOVED cycling around the region for hours at a time. The market was good for food. Nijmegen (and probably other Dutch towns) has a cycle hire place at the trainstation. It cost me 50 Euro for a week.
Paris is lovely for markets etc, but cycling in traffic is really hairy. I kept feeling like I was going to die at any moment, especially on roundabouts. It's also less flat than your other options. On the other hand there's a great system where you buy a cheapish membership card, and then can use bicycles all over the city for free as long as you return them within half an hour. That's usually plenty of time to get from one place to the next, and the bicycles were high quality and in good repair. If you want to keep the bike for longer than half an hour, you have to pay a little extra, but it still works out cheaper than using the metro.
posted by lollusc at 4:56 PM on October 27, 2011
Response by poster: You guys! These are amazing responses so far, exactly the kind of information I was looking for!
I think Budapest is intriguing us most so far, but please keep the suggestions (especially of smaller cities and towns) coming, please!
posted by peachfuzz at 8:04 PM on October 27, 2011
I think Budapest is intriguing us most so far, but please keep the suggestions (especially of smaller cities and towns) coming, please!
posted by peachfuzz at 8:04 PM on October 27, 2011
Where ever you go, I want to go there too!
The Loire Valley is known for it's cycling, and you might find a town to use as a base. Definitely ticks the food boxes.
Another possibility is Potsdam. Great cycling, and close to Berlin (you can take your bike on the train) which has already been given as an option, but is way, way bigger. Food might not be all that exciting though.
I had a great time cycling around the Achensee in Austria. If you also like to hike, it's a great place, and the food, whilst simple, is very fresh, particularly in Summer. The only problem would be it's remoteness. Nearby Innsbruck might be worth looking into.
posted by kjs4 at 9:25 PM on October 27, 2011
The Loire Valley is known for it's cycling, and you might find a town to use as a base. Definitely ticks the food boxes.
Another possibility is Potsdam. Great cycling, and close to Berlin (you can take your bike on the train) which has already been given as an option, but is way, way bigger. Food might not be all that exciting though.
I had a great time cycling around the Achensee in Austria. If you also like to hike, it's a great place, and the food, whilst simple, is very fresh, particularly in Summer. The only problem would be it's remoteness. Nearby Innsbruck might be worth looking into.
posted by kjs4 at 9:25 PM on October 27, 2011
I'm sad to hear Asia and Africa are out. My two favorite continents.
I'd say if you're gonna do it in Europe, consider Munich. I lived there for several years in the 90s and it was wonderful. Bicycle paradise. Try to find a flat next to the Englischer Garten. Schwabing-Freiman is a nice area. Go in the Spring.
posted by Dr.James.Orin.Incandenza at 5:34 AM on October 28, 2011
I'd say if you're gonna do it in Europe, consider Munich. I lived there for several years in the 90s and it was wonderful. Bicycle paradise. Try to find a flat next to the Englischer Garten. Schwabing-Freiman is a nice area. Go in the Spring.
posted by Dr.James.Orin.Incandenza at 5:34 AM on October 28, 2011
You can buy an Inter-rail pass which allows you to travel between countries in Europe very cheaply. My SO and I are going away this spring and I looked into this - I think it's about £190 for a multi-country pass.
I'm going to Estonia, Finland and Sweden next year, but I'm also dying to go to Porto, Budapest, Amsterdam and Berlin, all of which are very cheap and very interesting places to see. We went to Paris earlier this year and found we could walk around to most places, plus the walking was plenty of fun (and if you do go, MeMail me and I'll tell you where the embroidery shops are...)
posted by mippy at 6:43 AM on October 28, 2011
I'm going to Estonia, Finland and Sweden next year, but I'm also dying to go to Porto, Budapest, Amsterdam and Berlin, all of which are very cheap and very interesting places to see. We went to Paris earlier this year and found we could walk around to most places, plus the walking was plenty of fun (and if you do go, MeMail me and I'll tell you where the embroidery shops are...)
posted by mippy at 6:43 AM on October 28, 2011
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posted by corvine at 10:07 AM on October 27, 2011