Hi All. This year I plan to travel to Western Europe for the first time ever (even though I'm quite old). I've been looking at coach tours, but they seem expensive for what they deliver in many cases. Also I've been looking at just travelling by myself, but even doing it that way is going to be quite pricey. Also some hostels look really crappy. I have no problem staying in basic accommodation, but anything that is dirty or a fire hazard I want to avoid.

Anyway I know there are readers here from all over the place, and also people who are well travelled. What are some of the "must see" things in Western Europe. Which things are over-rated? Which countries are easiest to travel in and which are the most difficult? Which country am I most/least likely to be pickpocketed or ripped off in?

One thing is that I'm not really interested in Art. So if I don't get to see the Mona Lisa or other famous art works I won't be disappointed. I'm especially not interested in queuing for several hours to see some famous painted ceiling etc (Yes I am uncultured ha ha). I'm more interested in nice scenery, architecture, gardens, science and technology.

So please give me advice about what to see. For this trip I was thinking of visiting say 3 countries. How difficult will it be to travel in Europe if the only language I can speak is English? Thanks.

I don't know what to say, but be careful of 2 things in France:

- there are pickpockets in the French subway (even though you can spend your whole life going to work using the subway without meeting one pickpocket).

- French people must learn English (most learn it as their first foreign language) but most French people don't learn to speak it, just understand it a bit and writing it (with books, oral understanding is not really studied).

Prague is my favorite place to go in Western Europe. Rome is awesome as well. I like the Greek islands but Greece itself doesn't seem all that great. If I had the money to travel right now, I would probably go for northern italy. Florance and Venice especially.

Here's some random advice:
* You'll be able to get by pretty well with only English. As mypapa12 said, France can be a bit painful sometimes, but even there you should be able to get around I think.
* Regarding safety/crime, Western Europe should be pretty decent everywhere. Somewhere between U.S. and Japan I guess. No need to plan your travel around it.
* Western European accommodation is usually decent even when it's cheap. Check out youth hostels (Germany has lots of them) if you really want to save money -- if your expectations are not too high you'll be doing fine. (I've stayed in youth hostels a lot.) They shouldn't be age-restricted despite their name.
* Europe is well-connected by train -- check out the Eurail pass for unlimited train rides. Also, bahn.de's search function finds you fast door-to-door (street address) connections in Germany with all public transit (train/bus/etc.), and it should know at least the major European trains routes (haven't checked how much exactly, but give it a try): http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.e...equest=yes
* European domestic flights can be pretty cheap as well, if you're going longer distances.
* Cabs tend to be good but expensive, so most of the time, try to plan ahead with bus/tram/subway routes (use something like bahn.de's search I mentioned above). (Mobile internet helps if you need to plan on the spot.)
* What to visit: The capitals and major cities should be fine. Sometimes there are smaller cities that might be worth a visit for cultural reasons (like Weimar in Germany), but if it's your first visit, just concentrate on the big ones I guess. Try this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_cit...ity_limits I personally think that Amsterdam, Zurich and London are particularly nice (pretty / architecturally interesting) cities, but any city should be fun -- I honestly don't think it even matters that much where exactly you go. When you've picked the cities you want to go to, grab some guide book or whatever to plan your sightseeing destinations; there's plenty to do everywhere.

Enjoy your travels!

London, Paris, Antwerp and Amsterdam, are just a view hours apart. You can see most of the highlights of the Netherlands and Belgium within a day each. the other countries could take some more time, depending on what you'd like to do there.

Public transportation is quite okay in the most parts of Europe, in the rural parts somewhat less, but you could take local tours if there any places you'd like to visit there. You can check if there is a suitable railwaypass to let you travel freely to wherever you'd like to travel within Europe.

From Paris it only takes about 12 hours to get to Barcelona, and about the same to get to Munich, from Munich it's only a bit farther to see Vienna in Austria, Prague in Czech, and to other cities in Germany like Dresden and Berlin.

You it suits you, you could also go camping, as there is an abundance of camping places available, often with excellent facilities, and they are generally quite cheap. The downside is that traveling with the material to do so can get quite tiresome, but it's easy if you have a car.

If you stay within the usual touristic paths, you'll manage fine with just English, and of course there is the use of hands and feet and other body language.

The biggest danger is indeed pickpockets, especially in the bigger cities. But if you keep your wallet in a secure place, and your luggage close by, it's avoidable.

Tobberoth Wrote:Prague is my favorite place to go in Western Europe. Rome is awesome as well. I like the Greek islands but Greece itself doesn't seem all that great. If I had the money to travel right now, I would probably go for northern italy. Florance and Venice especially.

Prague is a really nice city but Czech Republic is not in Western Europe exactly, is it?

There are many cities worth seeing in Europe but if it's your first visit and you can do only 3 countries or so, I guess France, Italy, Spain, Germany and UK would be the most obvious choices.

iAurora Wrote:

Tobberoth Wrote:Prague is my favorite place to go in Western Europe. Rome is awesome as well. I like the Greek islands but Greece itself doesn't seem all that great. If I had the money to travel right now, I would probably go for northern italy. Florance and Venice especially.

Prague is a really nice city but Czech Republic is not in Western Europe exactly, is it?

There are many cities worth seeing in Europe but if it's your first visit and you can do only 3 countries or so, I guess France, Italy, Spain, Germany and UK would be the most obvious choices.

Well I guess it's a question of definition. It's not actually considered a part of western europe but Prague doesn't feel very eastern to me. And it's on the border so it's not like it's far.

Tobberoth Wrote:Well I guess it's a question of definition. It's not actually considered a part of western europe but Prague doesn't feel very eastern to me. And it's on the border so it's not like it's far.

Well, UN puts Czech Republic under Eastern Europe or Central Europe at most, Czechoslovakia was on Warsaw Pact side of the fence during Cold War and Czech language sounds pretty 'east-european' to me.

I don't think it matters much anyway, I just found it bit funny when you said '*Country from Eastern Europe* is my favorite place to go in Western Europe'. I think that if one wants to see Western Europe, there are countries that would be bit more 'west-european' than Czech Republic. With this said, I do find Prague a really nice city and agree with your advice to see it.

In Portugal you won´t have any problem getting by with english. From my personal experience, portuguese people´s english is better than spanish people´s for instance. I think one of the things that makes it this way, is because our TV broadcasts movies and shows with subtitles, unlike many european countries( free immersion while growing up ftw=P) . When i went to spain this was really clear, it´s so weird watching robert de niro or adam sandler with another voice, it just takes away so much from the acting. If you go to Lisbon, be sure to go to Sintra, a beautiful small town near it.

ueshiba Wrote:In Portugal you won´t have any problem getting by with english. From my personal experience, portuguese people´s english is better than spanish people´s for instance. I think one of the things that makes it this way, is because our TV broadcasts movies and shows with subtitles, unlike many european countries( free immersion while growing up ftw=P) . When i went to spain this was really clear, it´s so weird watching robert de niro or adam sandler with another voice, it just takes away so much from the acting. If you go to Lisbon, be sure to go to Sintra, a beautiful small town near it.

What do you mean "Spanish people's English"? The only English speakers I've met outside the airport were tourists and immigrants.
Apparently they can have 10 different languages in the same country, but not learn the most common language in the whole world.