Mudboy From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 1167 posts, RR: 5 Posted (2 years 8 months 4 days 3 hours ago) and read 2954 times:
Ok, on my next R&R, I am flying home from Iraq to the US for 2 days, CUN for 2 and then going CUN to LHR arriving on Dec 3. Back to the States on the 10th, and back to Iraq in the 14th. Yes, I know, I am crossing the pond 4 times!!
Anyway, I have talked my girl into doing the 3,4,5 and 9th in London, which leaves 6-8 to travel. I was looking at LHR-MXP-PRG, ZRH or VIE and then to MUC-LHR. Early flight-spend the day and night-repeat next day. 3 cities in 3 days. I want to take lots of pics, but go to cities that are easy to get from Airport to city, and get around town. The reasons I am looking at MXP and MUC is they are hub cities and more chance for a direct flight. I am not really worried about price, schedule is more of a concern.
If you were going to recommend good cities for pics, with good access, where should I go? CDG, BUD, LON, FCO and AMS have all been done before. Oh, and I don't care if I freeze, I just want some good pics, she already passed on going to the Alps! Stay Safe!!
AF1624 From France, joined Jul 2006, 586 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (2 years 8 months 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 2933 times:
PARIS :
Going around :
Really easy, the transportation system works really well. There are fifteen subway lines with metros every 2-3 minutes during the day. Bus lines everywhere. Also tour lines that are quite cheap for the distance they cover. Taxis aren't too common though.
Getting there :
Depends if there's a strike or not. If there's no strike (which is rare), it'll take you 40 minutes from CDG to the center of Paris with the RER line B (very well indicated in CDG). If there is a strike, that time can easily be doubled.
The people :
I won't lie. They will not be nice or polite unless you say something in French, especially because you're American. Most of them speak english quite well, with an accent but the words and expressions are correct. But for them to be nice to you you'll have to say something along the lines of : "Bonjour, parlez vous anglais ?" If you start speaking American-English right away, you won't get the tiniest smile. Had it been British english, it would be better. I know it's terrible but hey, if I came to the middle of Texas and spoke French, I'd get shot.
Places to visit in Paris :
Notre Dame de Paris
The Louvres
The Grand Palais
The Champs Elysées
The Arc de Triomphe
The quartier latin
The Seine river banks
The Madeleine, the Pantheon, the Sacré Coeur
The Opera Garnier
it goes on and on.
Hope this helps.
If you do decide to come to Paris, send me a pm, I'll be glad to help.
MadameConcorde From San Marino, joined Feb 2007, 10346 posts, RR: 40 Reply 2, posted (2 years 8 months 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 2919 times:
I would suggest flying to Nice and visiting the French Riviera.
The airport is a 15 minutes bus ride from the city center and the beautiful Promenade des Anglais. There are a lot of very scenic towns along the coast within fairly short distances that can easily be reached either by train or bus, whether you choose to go East in the direction of Antibes and Cannes, or West, in the direction of Monaco, Menton and San Remo (by rail) with a short transfer in Ventimiglia.
The sceneries are like in no other place and the weather is still very good at this time of the year. Tourists still go swimming spending the day on the beaches.
Photo galleries - just to give you an idea of how beautiful and scenic these places are
AF1624 From France, joined Jul 2006, 586 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 2880 times:
MadameConcorde
I agree that the french riviera is a place worth visiting, but not really during december. It's great during spring and summer but in the middle of winter there's not much to do there.
NoUFO From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 7802 posts, RR: 13 Reply 4, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 2863 times:
A city for a day trip in December? I would say Vienna.
- It is ok when it's cold in Vienna (not so in Paris or Rome, the cities of light or love respectively). When you feel chilly, you just enter the next Café and try one of those coffee specialities and have a cake or Topfenstrudel (curd cheese strudel)
- For some reason, American seem to love Christmas markets
- Downtown Vienna (Innere Stadt area) is extremely accessible: just aimlessly walk around. Public transport is good, too
- Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, only nightlife seems to be mediocre, but for a day trip that won't hurt
Perhaps grab a copy of "Before Sunrise". No sure if those boy-meets-girl themes attract you, but you get a nice introduction to Vienna.
MadameConcorde From San Marino, joined Feb 2007, 10346 posts, RR: 40 Reply 5, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 2861 times:
Quoting AF1624 (Reply 3): in the middle of winter there's not much to do there.
For a day trip, I have listed a lot of wonderful places that our Forum member can see. This guarantees to fill up a day or even more. Plus the weather will be better down here than in most places in Europe, other than Italy or Spain.
Also this area hardly gets hit by strikes and mass protests than let's say Paris or any other large cities in France. Even Nice is fairly quiet in that respect.
There was a better way to fly it was called Concorde
luckyone From United States of America, joined Aug 2008, 1656 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 2856 times:
Quoting NoUFO (Reply 4): A city for a day trip in December? I would say Vienna.
I was going to say the same thing. Either Vienna or Munich, both of which have a fantastic Christmas market. The Marianplatz in Munich is chock full of goodies around Christmastime.
NoUFO From Germany, joined Apr 2001, 7802 posts, RR: 13 Reply 7, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 2834 times:
Luckyone, I live near Munich, and while it is an interesting city, it is noticeable that 90 percent of its old town was bombed into rubble, as opposed to 20 or 30 percent in Vienna. Vienna's Innere Stadt also has cute "Gassen", narrow pedestrian areas that come out well when it snows. And then there is the coffeehouse culture, whereas Munich is famous for the beergardens. Beergardens are great for summer nights, but not so much for winter.
MadameConcorde From San Marino, joined Feb 2007, 10346 posts, RR: 40 Reply 8, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 2832 times:
Quoting luckyone (Reply 6): Either Vienna or Munich, both of which have a fantastic Christmas market. The Marianplatz in Munich is chock full of goodies around Christmastime.
I can only agree there. I have done trips to MUC during Christmas Market time. It is really nice! Plus the Marienplatz is an easy train ride from the airport you can get from point to point in not too much time. It's a very pretty ride especially if there is snow out. The food there is really yummy.
Wien is also very nice at that time of the year and so is Salzburg. None of these places are tourist traips.
There was a better way to fly it was called Concorde
Uhm no ..... he wants to take pictures and lots of it. What are you going to take pictures of in Dortmund?
I'm certainly not too fond of Christmas markets, but I can say that the larger ones aren't necessarily the best. Take Munich: Marienplatz has a huge one that was mentioned a couple of times. But the smaller one in Schwabing is less touristy and more cosy.
CPH-R From Denmark, joined May 2001, 5754 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 2737 times:
I'd suggest CPH. Plenty of choice in early flights ex-LON, and once you land, you can hop straight on the metro or the regular trains, both of which puts you in downtown Copenhagen in a matter of minutes.
Most of the city will be covered in Christmas decorations (and if you're lucky, snow!) and the town square will have its usual giant christmas tree. Take a walk along the lakes of Copenhagen, the harbor front, or walk around the old fortifications that makes up present-day Christiania. Or walk through one of the numerous parks dotted around Copenhagen. Hit the narrow streets of old Copenhagen, take a walk along Strøget, perhaps go skating on the Ice Rink at Kongens Nytorv. Enjoy a warm Glögg in one of the many cafes and end the evening in Tivolis christmas market.
Caryjack From United States of America, joined May 2007, 265 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 2709 times:
Barcelona is a good choice. It's large and pleasant with an easy to navigate old city section. Lots of nice bars, shops and restaurants. It's a port city with beautiful Mediterranean beaches, board walks and many interesting things to see.
Take the tourist bus at the foot of La Rambla, the one that has 3 routes. You get an all day pass (or two day ) so figure out where you want to go then use those buses like taxis, getting off & on when you please, switching between routes as desired. The must-sees are the Gaudi designed buildings, which you actually can't miss, and Park Guell. The 4 Cats Restaurant & Bar (Cerveseria Modernista) is close and famous so go if you can.
Take the worlds smallest elevator to the top of that Christopher Columbus Monument at the foot of La Rambla. The stairwell entrance is on the the water side of the base, I think.
Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 5): Plus the weather will be better down here than in most places in Europe, other than Italy or Spain.
I'd expect nice weather in Barcelona.
Thanks,
Cary
Aesma From France, joined Nov 2009, 4934 posts, RR: 9 Reply 14, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 2685 times:
I don't know Milan yet, my family being from Tuscany. So I would suggest Florence, Pisa and Venice in Italy, 3 towns I have visited countless times and somehow always go back to. I'm not saying you should go to the three of them, just suggestions. I have used Pisa airport several times but always got someone to pick me up, however it seems easy enough to get into town from it. I never used Florence's one, it's quite small and from Paris the flights are more expensive. On the other hand there are a million things to see, and I'm in fact going myself in December. Venice, well, it's Venice ! Never used the airport either but I know it's not too difficult.
New Technology is the name we give to stuff that doesn't work yet. Douglas Adams
AF1624 From France, joined Jul 2006, 586 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (2 years 8 months 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 2661 times:
I also suggest Vienna like the above posters. A little wonder of a city, human sized, and yes, the food is brilliant if you like pastries and tarts and that kind of stuff. Hum makes me wanna go.
Plus, the Austrian people are nice, that's a plus.
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21679 posts, RR: 23 Reply 16, posted (2 years 8 months 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 2545 times:
Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 8): Quoting luckyone (Reply 6):
Either Vienna or Munich, both of which have a fantastic Christmas market. The Marianplatz in Munich is chock full of goodies around Christmastime.
I can only agree there. I have done trips to MUC during Christmas Market time. It is really nice! Plus the Marienplatz is an easy train ride from the airport you can get from point to point in not too much time. It's a very pretty ride especially if there is snow out. The food there is really yummy.
Prague is one of my favorite cities during the Christmas period. Also very cheap by public transit from the airport by bus/metro (one change from bus to metro) and about 30 minutes to the city center for the equivalent of about $1.50 each way (or about $6 for a ticket permitting unlimited travel on buses/trams/metro for 24 hours).
airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4068 posts, RR: 51 Reply 17, posted (2 years 8 months 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 2507 times:
Go to Berlin. You'll have Christmas markets, very good shopping, cheap hotels/restaurants and most important, lost of history and museums which you can visit. You can fly to both TXL (AB, LH, BA) or SXF (4U, EZY).
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
BAViscount From United Kingdom, joined Mar 2004, 2338 posts, RR: 4 Reply 18, posted (2 years 8 months 18 hours ago) and read 2466 times:
How about Venice? If you're wanting to take photos you'd better make sure you've got plenty of memory cards (or film should you be that way inclined!) as you'll be snapping away like a dry twig! I don't think I've ever been anywhere so photogenic. I've been there twice, once for a few days in November and once for a daytrip in December, and both times the weather has been perfect - cold, but sunny with clear blue skies, and of course there are less tourists at that time of year. But both times I've come back with literally hundreds of photos, most of them keepers.
Ladies & gentlemen this is Captain Tobias Wilcock welcoming you aboard Coconut Airways flight 372 to Bridgetown Barb
chootie From Germany, joined May 2007, 275 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (2 years 8 months 1 hour ago) and read 2432 times:
Hi!!
I would suggest Cologne, Germany!!!!
easy to get to from London--3 daily connections LHR-CGN with LH/BD... or STN/CGN with 4u(would not be my choice).
At least 6 christmas markets in the city with different themes. A quaint city center-Altstadt, the beautiful Rhine river, and some old roman ruins from the old city walls.
GREAT pubs and food in the evening, and very friendly people.
On a side, you could then go to Duesseldorf the next day and visit there. Many connections DUS--LON with LH/BA and a few others. Or take the german railway from Cologne along the Rhine down to Frankfurt and enjoy the wonderful landscape. (Do not take the ICE route because that has too many tunnels and is not located near the river bank.!!)
From FRA also alot of connections to LON.
Whatever, have a safe journey and THANK YOU!!! (had to say it being and ex-pat!) .... and stay out of harms way!
Woof From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 20, posted (2 years 7 months 4 weeks 2 hours ago) and read 2318 times:
If money was no option (and you're not fussed about the VISA requirements), why not try Moscow, or at least St Petersburg. OK so it would need to be at least 2-3 days, but you'll really feel like you're abroad.
I might also add one of the baltic states, Estonia maybe?
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The stairwell entrance is on the the water side of the base, I think. 
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.... and stay out of harms way! 
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