Started By
Message

Europe Trip

Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:05 pm
Posted by tigers444
Member since Jun 2009
3083 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:05 pm
I'm thinking of planning a trip later this year to Europe. Would covering London, Paris, and Barcelona in 10 days (without travel) be too exhausting? I saw an itinerary online and thought it might be too much. I have never been to Europe and trying to see if this would be a good idea. Any recommendations/suggestions would be great.
Posted by BamaGradinTn
Murfreesboro
Member since Dec 2008
26993 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:09 pm to
It will be a bit exhausting, but I think you could do it. I've been to London and Paris, but never Barcelona. If you've never crossed the Atlantic, be prepared to be wiped out by jet lag the first day or two.
Posted by Pettifogger
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Member since Feb 2012
79326 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:15 pm to
Probably. Plus the proximity isn't that great for the time frame.

Some will say you can't do more than one of those in 10 days. I think you can do a 1-2 major cities and perhaps a minor city/daytrip in that time frame. You could do 2/3 within that time frame I think, though it'll be much easier if you fly in and out of different cities. Paris/London or Paris/Barcelona.

Other ideas with one as hub-

London+Amsterdam (add in a Dutch/UK day trip or Brussels if you like).
Paris+Strasburg/Zurich/Normandy/Burgundy/Bordeaux/etc.

If this is your first trip to Europe I think London+Paris or London+Holland/Belgium would be ideal. You ease into it in the UK then get to spend a few days on the continent.


Posted by tigers444
Member since Jun 2009
3083 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:32 pm to
Thanks for the advice. I would be flying into London and out of Barcelona/Paris. I just saw flight deals from Paris so that's when I went researching. Amsterdam looks great. I will consider that too.

Here's the itinerary I randomly found if interested.
LINK
Posted by Pitch To Johnny
Houston
Member since Jun 2015
4195 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:33 pm to
Depends on what you're looking for. Not sure what you mean by without travel, but 4 full days in one, and 3 full days in the other two on top of the bit you get out of travel days would be just fine. However I got a lot of blowback that I was wanting to do too much on my trip. I'm young and was alone, so it was worth it to me. I crammed in more than that into the same general time frame. If you're dead set on these cities, I'd suggest Flying into London - rail to Paris - Fly to Barcelona - Fly home, or the exact opposite. (I don't know if theres a train from PAris to Barca)

London-Paris is a Eurorail stop, so thats only about a half day door to door anyway.

Have only been to London, and time of year would definitely be a factor but some baseline comments:
- Loved the Tower of London. Wait for a Beefeater to give a free tour. Absolutely worth it.
- Took a picture in front of the Eye and moved on. Wasn't going to wait 1.5 hours to sit in the little globe another .5
- British Museum was really cool. You could spend the entire day in there if you're a history buff.
-I did a "Free" walking tour in ever city I visited and was never disappointed. They show you all the hot spots + commentary, and they're free lance tour guides working only for tips, so it was really good. Tipped 15-20 pounds/Euro each time.
- I was told to just use apple pay for the tube, and it worked great. The tube is really easy to navigate. Use it as soon as you get there and you'll be a pro by the end. It does shut down at a certain time though, so if you're out partying have a backup plan.
- I worry too much and paid for data, but If you're using wifi download the city map before you leave.
- Churchill War Rooms was awesome. If youre going now youll need to go early in the morning to beat crowds. I went during slow season.

No matter how much time you spend in London, you're going to be leaving something on the table. its a giant city with a lot to do. I plan to go back for a short trip soon. Your age range, group size, and interests will help narrow this down. The options are endless in a lot of these cities. My perfect trip could be awful for you.
Posted by BamaGradinTn
Murfreesboro
Member since Dec 2008
26993 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:36 pm to
You could spend a week in London alone. You may have already asked yourself this, but ask yourself why you want to go to those cities. The famous sites like the Eiffel Tower and the Tower of London? Museums? What is it you're looking for? Museums? Beautiful scenery? Nightlife? Great food?

Eastern Europe is wonderful. Something like Munich-Prague-Budapest might be doable.
Posted by BamaGradinTn
Murfreesboro
Member since Dec 2008
26993 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:43 pm to
I can't emphasize the jet lag enough. Imagine landing at Heathrow at 10:00 AM local time. But your body thinks it's 4:00 AM, and you haven't slept any on the flight. An hour to get off the plane, get your luggage, and get through customs and immigration...if you're lucky...and another hour to get to your hotel. It's noon, but your body thinks it's 6:00 AM and you've been up all night. You'd like to go out and do something, but the body doesn't cooperate. Or you may be able to, but at some point you just hit the wall and you have to crash. You may have trouble sleeping at night or getting up at a reasonable time in the morning. Don't over plan the first two days.
Posted by TigerAlumni2010
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2011
4355 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:45 pm to
That is doable, but there are probably better options that don't have as much travel time.

I would suggest doing London/Paris with the Eurostar as someone previously mentioned. Another 2 suggestions would be Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam or Rome/Florence/Venice.

I have used tripmasters.com before and you can pretty much customize everything, and they tend to have fairly reasonable prices.
Posted by Fun Bunch
New Orleans
Member since May 2008
116326 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:45 pm to
Way too much for ME, but I know people that have done it, and I find that people that do this think they will never be back in Europe...but you will.

Stick to London and Paris at most, and maybe a day trip from either London or Paris, IMO.

I find that the best trips are the ones where you can take your time seeing the sites and relax a little bit, where you can take your time in a cafe and watch the city.

Going to 3 different countries in 10 days is a lot. Trust me I've done similar trips and those have tended to be my least favorite.
Posted by NOLA Tiger
New Orleans
Member since Sep 2006
824 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:46 pm to
Recently did London and Paris in one trip, and the eurostar connection makes for an easy transition between the two. Its a two and one-half hour trip from Paris to London, but you pick up an hour from the time change. You can leave Paris at 8:30 am/9 am and be at your hotel well before lunch.
Posted by baldona
Florida
Member since Feb 2016
20535 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:52 pm to
If I was going to do something like that I'd look into an overnight train from Paris to Barcelona.

But yeah that's not nearly enough time to both see what you will want to see and actually enjoy yourself. You'll be on the run the entire time.
Posted by tigers444
Member since Jun 2009
3083 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:53 pm to
10 days once in Europe...so not including the flight travel.

Thanks for the info/recs!

That's what I hear about London...that there will not be enough time on one trip.

Age-mid 30's
2 of us. Maybe 4.
I would just like to experience Europe in general. Honestly, not sure what to expect. More for site seeing, tourist stuff. but definitely would like nice food and drink while there.
Posted by tigers444
Member since Jun 2009
3083 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:55 pm to
quote:

Going to 3 different countries in 10 days is a lot. Trust me I've done similar trips and those have tended to be my least favorite.

That's what I was thinking. I'm usually more of a beach guy and taking time exploring cities in Mexico/Caribbeans when I'm there so I was thinking it'd be too much.
Posted by tigers444
Member since Jun 2009
3083 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:57 pm to
quote:

Museums? Beautiful scenery? Nightlife? Great food?

Yes to all those. Nightlife is least priority.

I definitely hear about the jet lag so will take that into account!
Posted by NOLA Tiger
New Orleans
Member since Sep 2006
824 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 3:04 pm to
I think two full days in London is fine for a first trip. You're not going to see all of any place on your first trip and I think hoping through Europe for at least two full days in each country/city is fine, as long as you find transportation efficiencies and plan it right. 10 days starting in Barcelona, to Paris and ending in London is feasible. Your first stop should probably be the longest to catch up with the jet lag and you will be giving up 1/2 day travel for each move, so you're looking at 9 total days.
That being said, two locations would be easier to manage.
Posted by Pitch To Johnny
Houston
Member since Jun 2015
4195 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 3:04 pm to
quote:

10 days once in Europe...so not including the flight travel.


Gotcha. May want to stick to the London-Paris-Amsterdam if thats the case, but again it will be up to you and your group. If you have no desire to go to Amsterdam and are really fired up about Barcelona, the extra few hours or travel are worth it.

I've heard Paris is pricy, and the people aren't very friendly. I was single and alone, so I saved it for another time. If this 2-4 is couples, then yall can have a great time in Paris at the tower, in museums, and in restaurants.

London fits what you're looking for perfectly, and from what I'm told, Barcelona does as well.

Don't let not enough time to do everything scare you off though. You can always go back.
Posted by Pitch To Johnny
Houston
Member since Jun 2015
4195 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 3:10 pm to
quote:

I definitely hear about the jet lag so will take that into account!


I left at 8pm Houston time and landed ~11am London time. Had a few beers after take off, ate the plane dinner, took a melatonin, and slept the rest of the flight. Felt a little groggy like after a short night sleep, but was ready to go and was out all night. Left ~2pm London time and got back 6pm Houston time. Napped on the plane, and was able to go to sleep at a decent time. Started a new job the next day. I wouldn't give yourself that little of cushion, but jetlag isnt bad if you plan.
Posted by Thecoz
Member since Dec 2018
2557 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 3:34 pm to
That is a lot
Depends on your energy level and depth of local experience
I always said if you visited one place in Europe you should experience Paris first. The city is amazing and not destroyed and Napoleon basically stole a lot of cool stuff from around the world and put it in one place for you This should be your longest stay area
London is nice but after the tower dungeon some museums parks hanging trees etc started blending in and those can be covered in a few days

I would choose Paris as s critical part and plan around that
Amsterdam was mentioned and very nice but sorta like visiting New Orleans
You get the gist of it pretty quick and then is still great but you will be seeing lot of similar stuff (whatever you chose)
Posted by Fun Bunch
New Orleans
Member since May 2008
116326 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 3:39 pm to
Just to be clear, I've been to all three cities and liked them all. My personal preferences has Paris way above the other two, followed by Barcelona and then London.

I would just do London and Paris, and maybe take a day trip while in London to Stonehenge/Bath and maybe a day trip while in Paris to Reims/Champagne or Normandy.

That's still a lot but I would do Spain in one trip separately. Barcelona/Seville/Madrid etc.

I personally like focusing on one country.

Also...I love Paris so much I want you to enjoy it.
Posted by Thecoz
Member since Dec 2018
2557 posts
Posted on 7/11/19 at 3:45 pm to
This is the best advice so far in my opinion


Bath is waaay cool if able to get there but may take too much time
But the city and Roman bath house druids etc was something that I found interesting
But it imay be to much logistics to get to it at expense of time in Paris or London
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 2Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookTwitterInstagram