BigSmooth
Lifer
LondonTown.com was a helpful resource for my trip to the UK a few years ago.
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MrsBugi and her sister are going to Europe!
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1. rick steves books are great. he does recommend off the beaten path stuff, but he also has great tips on how to save money. i got his books for both paris and london. but i also got other general tourist books so that i could look up stuff on my touristy needs.
2. wow i guess prices are higher in the summer. my ticket to london and coming back from paris was 650 including taxes on american. i went for about 9 days. well practically 10 with all the flying.
3. get some good maps of the subways in paris and london. that's how i got around for everything. buy day passes.
4. since your time in each city will be short, draw up a list of the things you MUST do in each city, and then see if they will be open on the days you will be there. i had every day planned out to the hour to maximize my time. i spent 3 full days in london, 3 full days in paris, and parts of days in each one. i didn't see everything i wanted to see, but with good planning, you can hit up a lot of stuff
my london musts:
changing of the guard/buckingham palace
london eye
westminster abbey
st. paul's (this church is just... wow.)
portobello road market (some of the best "bargains" i found in london, plus it's in notting hill, which is super cute)
camden lock (more cheap stuff... and the land of punk)
tower of london/tower bridge
high tea!!! (this was my most expensive meal in london.)
i also wanted to go to the british museum and the kensington palace,and if i had super time, i would have gone to princess di's estate.
there are also tons of great museums, such as the tate britain, tate modern, etc. also if i had a lot of money, i would have done the harry potter tour of england.
paris:
eiffel tower
arc de triomphe
notre dame (MUST MUST MUST)
sacre coeur (we were too tired and just couldn't make it out there though)
the louvre
versailles
two girls alone in europe actually wasn't that bad. there are tourists everywhere. just make sure you keep your wallet on you or in a place that's hard to get - the pickpockets are out in full force.
EDIT: oh and since you'll be gone for a while, i'll let you know, i got really homesick around day 4. i was calling either my mom or my bf every night, but i still had fun. but after a while, you just want to get home. being a tourist is really tiring.
2. wow i guess prices are higher in the summer. my ticket to london and coming back from paris was 650 including taxes on american. i went for about 9 days. well practically 10 with all the flying.
3. get some good maps of the subways in paris and london. that's how i got around for everything. buy day passes.
4. since your time in each city will be short, draw up a list of the things you MUST do in each city, and then see if they will be open on the days you will be there. i had every day planned out to the hour to maximize my time. i spent 3 full days in london, 3 full days in paris, and parts of days in each one. i didn't see everything i wanted to see, but with good planning, you can hit up a lot of stuff
my london musts:
changing of the guard/buckingham palace
london eye
westminster abbey
st. paul's (this church is just... wow.)
portobello road market (some of the best "bargains" i found in london, plus it's in notting hill, which is super cute)
camden lock (more cheap stuff... and the land of punk)
tower of london/tower bridge
high tea!!! (this was my most expensive meal in london.)
i also wanted to go to the british museum and the kensington palace,and if i had super time, i would have gone to princess di's estate.
there are also tons of great museums, such as the tate britain, tate modern, etc. also if i had a lot of money, i would have done the harry potter tour of england.
paris:
eiffel tower
arc de triomphe
notre dame (MUST MUST MUST)
sacre coeur (we were too tired and just couldn't make it out there though)
the louvre
versailles
two girls alone in europe actually wasn't that bad. there are tourists everywhere. just make sure you keep your wallet on you or in a place that's hard to get - the pickpockets are out in full force.
EDIT: oh and since you'll be gone for a while, i'll let you know, i got really homesick around day 4. i was calling either my mom or my bf every night, but i still had fun. but after a while, you just want to get home. being a tourist is really tiring.
Don't do so many cities. Instead, cut out a few cities that are out of the way or kind of "meh" on your list, and then spend more time in the remaining cities. I do not recommend going to that many cities in such a short amount of time. Travel time, checking in/out of the hotel, learning the transportation system, etc will end up eating too much of your time.
no, atm's are free, basically. most of them, at least. it is not standard procedure to charge people for using atm's. in london you can use cashpoint. in paris use their lynonnais credit union one.
do you have citibank? they have locations in europe also.
wamu i heard bad things about. some people were reporting that in italy their cards wouldn't work.
and if you skip switzerland, i think other than england the countries all take euro. so you can just get a lot in the beginning.
no. have you gone to europe and tried the atm's?
short guide to using atm's:
first, make sure your bank doesn't charge. most everybody will charge you the 1% conversion fee (they say it's by mastercard, visa), but some banks don't charge a fee for using an atm. for example, some credit unions, online banks, etc.
second, find an atm that doesn't charge a fee. as i said, cashpoint (it's green) in england doesn't, and it is all over the place. bank of america has an agreement with some banks (you can look it up on their website) to not charge. and citibank at their own banks don't charge. hsbc probably would do that also.
Off the top of my head, withdrawals from BoA accounts are completely free on ATMs of Barclays (UK), BNP-Paribas (France) and I think Deutschbank (Germany). Not much love for the rest of Europe.. $5 flat fee for the rest if I'm not mistaken.
You plans sounds good. Spending more time in each city is definitely the way to go.
You plans sounds good. Spending more time in each city is definitely the way to go.
imported_Tango
Golden Member
My personal advice: less places, more time. Moving around so much you will basically never get a serious idea of the culture of any place you visit, and you'll spend too much time traveling. That's especially true for your sister who's never been there before.
My advice?
Paris 5 days
Rome 5 days
a third destination
In places like Rome and Paris you could stay 3 months and still be visiting only the tourist attractions. Venice and Florence are gorgeous but are small towns living a lot on tourism, while Rome is a living metropolis that feels more "true" in my opinion. Driving around Tuscany is amazing and it's an added bonus of visiting Florence though. Personally I don't really love London and Dublin, but it's a matter of personal taste.
Madrid and Barcelona are very interesting and beautiful. Amsterdam is a very unique city. Although I love Switzerland I don't think it would be worth a trip considering the limited amount of time, unless there is a specific thing that you like about it, for example you are a big mountain landscapes lover. I don't personally like Bruges.
YES I HAVE GONE TO EUROPE AND USED THE ****** ATMS. (Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, etc)
First, all banks charge a conversion fee. Secondly, almost all US banks charge for using an ATM overseas. This is simply an undisputable fact. I'd be happy to scan my ****** checking account statements if you'd like. I'm not talking about the ATM charging your when you withdraw, it is the fact that the Bank in the US WILL charge you for using an ATM out of network, overseas, or at a bank they are not partnered with.
😱 I stand corrected!
With the airfare, I flew Ryanair over to Dublin, bought tickets well in advance and paid ~$40 US, but that was a couple years back, so prices may well have gone up a bit.
Just as a "fair warning" kinda thing, when I flew Ryanair then they had some pretty big restrictions on the amount of luggage you could have without being charged extra (1 checked, 1 carry on kinda stuff)...dunno if they still do that though...
xospec1alk
Diamond Member
re: Credit Cards in london...a lot of places won't accept your CC if you don't have Chip and pin...some sorta security measure...so if you try to use your amex blue...it would probably fail..
xospec1alk
Diamond Member
Barclays doesn't charge you a fee to take out money from their ATMs...(at least in London)....
the US bank will most definetely charge you though...plus foreign fees.
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