Places to go and Things to do in Europe?

[Terramax]

Yo!


I'm currently planning a few trips to Europe over the next year or two. I'll either take a ferry from the UK to France then drive through Europe to the preferred country or I'll take the Euro Train to a specific destination then tour around a singular country (both scenarios I'll be driving on my motorcycle).

Thing is, I'm not sure what I want to see and do. I don't want one of these trips where you just sleep in a hotel and sunbath during the day. I want to see the real Europe and real people if you know what I mean? Basically I don't want any of this noob tourist crap.

I've noticed a few people on these forums are in other parts of the continent. Are any of you able to give me pointers as to where you think I should go and what I should experience?

Got any personal favourite destinations or activities they did when they were there?

 

[Nickolai77]

I take it then you will be traveling within France, the low countries and Germany.
I don't know much about France, but I've been to Germany- the road's are great, if your going to bring your bike, head down south on the autobahn's towards the black forest- Munich, Stuttgart and Heidelberg are lovely cities, if your willing to go that far. Mercedes has a good car museum, and i know of a lovely swimming pool down there- it had literally everything you could imagine a swimming pool could have- unfortunately i can not remember it's name.. it's near pforzheim.

I could tell you plenty about Italy, but that's quite far if your not going by plane or train.

 

[WrongSprite]

Go to Germany around Christmastime. The Christmas markets (I went to Cologne) are really epic.

France, stick to the countryside, it's in the fields and villages where you'll find the real France. Lovely place.

 

[Hookman]

If you go to Italy check out the amazing cliffs and the Opera houses. I've seen them myself and they are breathtaking.

 

[Terramax]

I could tell you plenty about Italy, but that's quite far if your not going by plane or train.

Tell me all about it if you like. I may consider travelling for a good month if I can, so Italy wouldn't be a problem. Or there's the Eurotrain that could take me the majority of the way there.

Yes, I went to Munich a while back and it was awesome. Would love to go there again. The Christmas markets sounds exciting.

Was planning to go to the French countryside this month but had to postpone it

Will hopefully be able to go by the end of the year if I can get the parts for my bike in time.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I can wholeheartedly recommend Barcelona, I went there once, it's an awesome city. Pretty architecture and a relaxed feel in general. Also Italy in general, great food, beautiful landscapes and cute little villages.

 

[Jovlo]

Should you end up in Belgium, skip Brussels if you can, that city is dirty, gloomy and there isn't that much to see.
If you want a beautiful, smaller city with a nice medieval charm, visit Bruges instead.
If you want a big city instead, visit Antwerp, always sprawling with life.
Ghent could be described as what would happen if Bruges and Antwerp had a baby.
These cities are nice for stopping by should you be on your way from Paris to Amsterdam.
Never a bad idea to wiki them, or hover over them on Google Earth.

If you want to see the real Europe, I suggest you ask the locals (just as you are doing right now).
Also, as the poster above me pointed out, DO NOT skip Barcelona, it really is a must see.

 

[Thedutchjelle]

Well I live in The Netherlands myself, so I recommend visiting Amsterdam. I'm not sure what other great cities cater tourists, you might try Rotterdam. Also you should ride on the Afsluitdijk ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afsluitdijk ) on your trip.

Otherwise I would say the Czech republic is lovely (and dirt cheap), went there once, though I can't list any good cities ( just liked the landscape, mountains and forests can look awesomely nice. )

 

[ioxles]

Come to Gibraltar - travel south through Spain (Spain is also really good to go round on a bike)

 

[Joa_Belgium]

If you're interested in visiting tiny Belgium, go have a look in Bruges. It's not called the Venice of the North for no reason. Or visit Ghent and Leuven if you'd like to discover more culture.

Antwerp is the place to be if you want to do some shopping, by the way. I only recommend parts of Brussels. It has very beautiful parts, and very ugly ones as well.

Belgium really has a lot more to offer than meets the eye. And don't forget to stop in Belgium for some genuine fries. Our cuisine is really the frigging bomb.

 

[VanityGirl]

Should you end up in Belgium, skip Brussels if you can, that city is dirty, gloomy and there isn't that much to see.
If you want a beautiful, smaller city with a nice medieval charm, visit Bruges instead.
If you want a big city instead, visit Antwerp, always sprawling with life.
Ghent could be described as what would happen if Bruges and Antwerp had a baby.
These cities are nice for stopping by should you be on your way from Paris to Amsterdam.
Never a bad idea to wiki them, or hover over them on Google Earth.

If you want to see the real Europe, I suggest you ask the locals (just as you are doing right now).
Also, as the poster above me pointed out, DO NOT skip Barcelona, it really is a must see.

I'll agree with you, Bruges is BEAUTIFUL.

Go there!

 

[Optimus Hagrid]

Come to Leeds and smell that authentic aroma of flavourless chewing gum and cigarette ash.

 

[Desert Tiger]

Word of advice - don't treat Europe like a country. It's a continent. It's a huge group of little countries that have little or nothing to do with each other, from a cultural perspective. Not saying you would, but I've had it up to here with American tourists asking me what Europe's like.

Still, not as annoying as that time on a forum...

"your from europe? how do u speak english?"

...

 

[Mozared]

For what I know about Spain, I'd say the southern area is the most interesting. The dry landscape, ocassionaly gypsies and even wild-western-like towns can be astonishing.

As for my own country, Holland, I recommend the county of Limburg, which is the peninsula attached to the far south-eastern part of the land. My family (which is from that area) always tells me the biggest city in that regio (Maastricht) is horrible, but having been there plenty of times I can tell you that everything else in the region is lovely. Amsterdam is alright, but if you're going for the feeling and non-touristy areas you'd probably want a city like Den Bosch (or 'S-hertogenbosch), and the countryside around it.

As a Dutch person, I'd say Holland doesn't have a lot of special things to offer, but some of the forests and countryside can be worth it. Don't go out of your way for Holland anyway, the southern parts of Germany, France and Spain are loads more interesting.

 

[Spaghetti]

Word of advice - don't treat Europe like a country. It's a continent. It's a huge group of little countries that have little or nothing to do with each other, from a cultural perspective. Not saying you would, but I've had it up to here with American tourists asking me what Europe's like.

Still, not as annoying as that time on a forum...

"your from europe? how do u speak english?"

...

Seconded. I once got asked "Britain, that's next to like Russia right?"

Go to Glasgow, the friendliest and most violent city in the Western World. They'll stab you, but they are nice enough to give you directions to the hospital afterwards.

Seriously though, Northern France and Belgium are Beautiful

 

[stone0042]

Well I've been to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. They're all pretty kickass, but i preferred Ireland. It's just a beautiful country, with some great people. Definetly go to Blarney Castle, gotta get that Gift of Gab. Plus, no drinking age (I'm 16). Um, London's pretty cool, you can easily spend a few weeks there and not get bored. Check out the castles, they're pretty interesting.

 

[Sonicron]

I agree with most of what Nickolai77 said - I can especially recommend Heidelberg, just beautiful!
Another good city for walking around and sightseeing is Mannheim... I could lose myself every time I'm wandering around the central district. And it's very close to Heidelberg, so if you end up visiting that city anyway, do yourself a favor and visit Mannheim, too. ^^

Should your path lead you to the northern parts of the country I can recommend Hamburg (the Kiez in particular ), and on a sidenote perhaps Kiel and Flensburg.

 

[Pimppeter2]

GREECE!!!!!

Go to Mykonos.

Party and drink up!

Don't forget the women!

 

[Sonicron]

Still, not as annoying as that time on a forum...

"your from europe? how do u speak english?"

Bah, that's nothing. I read an article in one of the biggest newspapers we have in Germany, about 4 years back I think. It contained questions from American students to German students about our country. Here are the top 3:
3. - "Is it true that your girls don't shave their armpits?"
2. - "Is Hitler still your president over there?"
And the winner is...
1. - "Are there currently any troubles at or around the German-Chinese border?"