(hypothetical) Europe Road Trip!
So, a friend of mine who lives in Zurich and I were talking about dream road trips across europe.
[ATTACH]37907[/ATTACH]
from:London, United Kingdom
to:Le Havre, France
to:Nantes, France
to:Bordeaux, France
to:Bilbao, Spain
to:Porto, Portugal
to:Madrid, Spain
to:Barcelona, Spain
to:Marseille, France
to:Zurich, Switzerland
to:Florence, Italy
to:Venice, Italy
to:Salzburg, Austria
to:Vienna, Austria
to:Prague, Czech Republic
to:Berlin, Germany
to:Copenhagen, Denmark
to:Stockholm, Sweden
to:Oslo, Norway
to:Nürburg, Germany
to:Amsterdam, The Netherlands
to:Bruges, Belgium
to:Cardiff, United Kingdom
to:Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Anyone more familiar with europe than me: how does this look for a road trip itinerary to be accomplished in roughly a month? The cities listed are mostly not so much destinations in and of themselves, most just define the route. That is to say I wouldn't necessarily STAY in Bilbao or Bruges or whatever, but theyre along the way and I'd pass through them.
edit: also, I think i'd hit up Ireland somehow, and probably more cities in the UK than just the three listed. Google Maps limits the total destinations.
Speaking as a person who has never been to Europe ...
If you're going for the European culture and scenery, you're moving way too fast and are going to miss heaps.
If you are going for the road-trip driving experience, do the autobarn, the Italian alps, and that highway in Romania that Top Gear endorse as the best road in the world.
its as much for the rural road experience - seeing the countries, not just the cities - as it is for anything else. I'm thinking stay a few days each in major great cities, and maybe just hours or just passing through others. But trying to get out and see a bunch of the country. Taking back-roads and stuff when I can find my way. Iono. Google Maps says it's only like, 5 24-hour-days of drive time, leaving in theory 25 days for sleep and tourism.
Well, if it is serendipitious adventure you want ...
Buy a paper map.
Draw a giant dick across the continent.
Follow the lines of the dick.
Just make sure the tip doesn't touch the sea, else you'd be incontinent while in continent, and you wouldn't want that.
Like Zen says, it's far to ambitious a schedule. For me, just a few hours in each place is a waste of time.
I think you'll need longer than a month, esp. if you want to explore the back roads. Add Luxembourg ( Luxembourg City is really beautiful) to the mix when you're near Belgium. I spent a bit of time there growing up. It's quite lovely.
For me, just a few hours in each place is a waste of time.
Compared to possibly - probably - never seeing those places at all?
If i were ever to afford a month-long trip to europe (yeah right) why would it be better spent doing, say, a week in london, a week in paris, a week in oslo, a week in amsterdam, or whatever?
as a Geneva resident.... my opinion?
if you have a very fast car, and don't actually want to see anything it's a great trip.
otherwise... for a month long trip pick half a dozen spots and plan your itin. around them...and then stop at another place or two that catch your fancy enroute.
its as much for the rural road experience - seeing the countries, not just the cities - as it is for anything else. I'm thinking stay a few days each in major great cities, and maybe just hours or just passing through others. But trying to get out and see a bunch of the country. Taking back-roads and stuff when I can find my way. Iono. Google Maps says it's only like, 5 24-hour-days of drive time, leaving in theory 25 days for sleep and tourism.
you talk about taking rural back roads etc... and then google says it's only 5 24hrs !! :rolleyes: guess what.. that is highway driving I'm sure
marseille to Geneva on highway would be about 6 hours (without pee breaks ) plus another 3 to Zurich ...
on the backroads?... that leg of the trip is a full day driving in itself again without pee breaks, gas breaks, food, and asuming you don't get stuck behind a french farmer with a tractor load of parsnips
:eek:
Realistically - whatever Google says, it will take you three days to drive your UK itinerary. Also, I wouldn't bother with Cardiff. And adding Ireland will add minimum two days to your itinerary.
I agree with Grynch.
Roads, even big ones on the European continent, are nothing like the roads you have in the US (so i'm told, never been to US).
I think Grynch's structured but flexible plan is a good one.
That highway I mentioned was the Transfagarasan highway. I think it is best if I just show you the google images results page:
[ATTACH]37908[/ATTACH]
:driving: :D
Something about shortest distance between two points is a straight line...
It's definitely doable in a month, but you're going to be going through the places pretty quickly.
I recommend getting a tent and car camping. You will save a ton of money on hotels, and you can afford to turn it into a 2 month trip. Also, buy a used car and then sell it later. Don't rent one.
I'd also recommend going up from Switzerland into southwestern Germany and spending a day or two in the Black Forest/Freiburg and cutting over into France around Mulhouse and then going down to Southern France.
Also, how can you skip Rome? Unless you have already been there? And Pompeii?
they say the trains in europe are fast and run on time
they say rail passes in europe are economical
they say never drive a car in london town
that's what they say
Zen, the "grand st. bernard pass" between Switz. and Italy is much the same....
Hey grynch. Where have you been????????
I want to go to Switzerland something fierce. Look up some distant relatives.
Hey grynch. Where have you been????????
I want to go to Switzerland something fierce. Look up some distant relatives.
alien abduction
re. switzerland... now is the time... a very cold winter is coming to an end
Frickin' frackin' aliens. They PROMISED me I'd be next. :(
You just want the probing, donchya?
those probes.. ya, know you'd think they could warm them up just a 'wee bit first.
ya know what I'm sayin?
No fucking way Ib. As one who has travelled extensively in Europe and is happy to "do" a city in a couple of hourse, it won't work. You'd be lucky to manage a third of that in a month.
Speaking as a person who has never been to Europe ...
If you're going for the European culture and scenery, you're moving way too fast and are going to miss heaps.
If you are going for the road-trip driving experience, do the autobarn, the Italian alps, and that highway in Romania that Top Gear endorse as the best road in the world.
For another view of the roads, watch The Italian Job, the original with Michael Caine, not the remake (good in its own right).
Well, if it is serendipitous adventure you want ...
Buy a paper map.
Draw a giant dick across the continent.
Follow the lines of the dick.
Just make sure the tip doesn't touch the sea, else you'd be incontinent while in continent, and you wouldn't want that.
I disagree, everybody's got to pee.
you talk about taking rural back roads etc... and then google says it's only 5 24hrs !! :rolleyes: guess what.. that is highway driving I'm sure
marseille to Geneva on highway would be about 6 hours (without pee breaks ) plus another 3 to Zurich ...
on the backroads?... that leg of the trip is a full day driving in itself again without pee breaks, gas breaks, food, and asuming you don't get stuck behind a french farmer with a tractor load of parsnips
:eek:
welcome back grynch!!
***
waaay back in the day, Tink and I flew into Paris and drove around Europe for a few days. We made a rough counterclockwise stagger around the continent, sleeping in the car, collecting passport stamps along the way. We left from Calais and went to Dover, walked up to the window to get our stamp and then directly to the return line. Ah, good times. :)
Ehh, just listen to this:
[YOUTUBE]fwl7tthqzkA[/YOUTUBE]
What if I connect E there on the map to J skipping spain, and N to T skipping the czech republic and scandinavia?
better, but what's the mileage and what's your longest road trip so far? Why not go by train?
OK. tell me the attraction in each city. There's a lot of France in there. And you really can miss Belgium. And probably Switzerland......
Don't miss Paris unless you've already been there, do take in Carcassonne. Northwest of France. mmmmmm not really necessary.
Oh, and why Florence? Go to Rome.
No. Avoid ALL the cities.
OK. tell me the attraction in each city. There's a lot of France in there. And you really can miss Belgium. And probably Switzerland......
Why else does anyone go to belgium - it's sort of on the way. Just ask Germany.
(boo, hiss. ouch.)
The friend of mine who I was planning this with and who I'm super totally crushed out on and in love with lives in Zurich right now, and he says I have to see Switzerland with him. so it stays on the list. Plus I've heard that it and Austria are fun to drive.
And you're right about France. I was going around the coast through spain so I needed coast. Someone draw me a better line through France, but missing Paris.
Don't miss Paris unless you've already been there, do take in Carcassonne. Northwest of France. mmmmmm not really necessary.
I did Paris in 10th grade and liked it. I'd like to go back sometime, but i WOULD want to spend a couple weeks there, and would thus probably skip it this trip.
similarly I might skip the british isles altogether and then do a UK/Ireland trip some other time.
Oh, and why Florence? Go to Rome.
I don't really wanna do too much of Italy but said friend said totally do florence. Rome doesn't strike my fancy much anyway. I'll go sometime i hope but its not a priority.
No. Avoid ALL the cities.
I'm almost leaning towards that. Again, just cause a city's marked on the map doesn't mean i'm stopping there.
Why else does anyone go to belgium - it's sort of on the way. Just ask Germany.
(boo, hiss. ouch.)
Bwahahaaahaaaa ... ZING!
Plus I've heard that it [Switzerland] and Austria are fun to drive.
According to Top Gear (and who are we to question them?) the Swiss police regard traffic offenses as little short of mass murder.
I don't really wanna do too much of Italy but said friend said totally do florence. Rome doesn't strike my fancy much anyway. I'll go sometime i hope but its not a priority.
That's Florence Mansuitti, yeah? I hear she's hot. Totally do her. Twice. (if you're still into that sort of thing).
According to Top Gear (and who are we to question them?) the Swiss police regard traffic offenses as little short of mass murder.
its not always about speed. one of my favorite drives (to ride not that i've driven it, im not near good enough yet even if i had been able to drive in taiwan) is the way down the east coast of Taiwan, and lemme tell you, you wanna drive slo-o-o-w.
I totally agree with Rhianne. Avoid all big cities and tourist spots, you can do those when you are an old lady.
Because you are young you have the time and leisure to have a Laurie Lee style trip, finding undiscovered corners and really understanding the the small quiet lives of the countryside. Wait [record scratch]. No you don't.
A whistle-stop tour (my second anachronism in a few lines!) should give you snapshots of cultural icons referenced extensively in the Arts. If you can't spend days in the shadow of the Puy de Dome, you won't understand the stoic nature of the hill villages dominated by the volcano, see the abandoned vineyard because the son it was passed down to moved to Clermont Ferrand, see the 14 year old moped drivers taking their lives in their hands, etc etc. I did because I was abandoned there to learn French :) Driving through it would have imparted none of that to me.
Driving through London would be the same. I know you've "been" but you could see more.
And Amsterdam. There is so much to see and discover. Just going on the Red-Light tour, as touristy and banal as it sounds gave me such an insight into the city. It was conducted by a Dutchman who was moved to America by his parents and returned by choice to the 'Dam after their deaths. A great commentator on the mores and morals of two very different countries.
I'm not knocking your choices. Horses for courses. But like Monster I'm reasonably well travelled in Europe. If you have limited time and resources I think it's better to see places that are often referenced. Save the hidden gems for when you can afford to spend more time on them. And accept that you can't absorb much from travelling by car. Winding country roads are too slow for your itinerary. Motorways/ freeways/ autobahns will show you nothing.
Rail would be much better. And probably cheaper.
I'm with Limey. Rail all the way.
monnnnnnnnnnnnsterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...book me a rail to Oxford!
I'll rail you alright!
Should pass Dayton about 6pm, hop on board. I will have no camera so It'll be like it never happened ;)
I may pass you on the 'state.
Don't know what time, but imma oxford-bound manana. ;)
I sure hope they have that semi cleaned up. Shut the interstate this morning. I just hit the last of the back-up before my exit.
Be. Very. Careful. Going through Date-un at that time.
Northwest of France. mmmmmm not really necessary.
We're going to have words :(
I would suggest the Mont Saint Michel, Bayeux and its tapestry, Rouen and its cathedral, D-Day sites such as Omaha Beach, Normandy cider and camembert. Of course, you can forget Le Havre (entirely destroyed during WWII). Pushing west in Brittany, there's the coast of "Granit Rose" on the north and the prehistoric site of Carnac and the Morbihan Gulf in the south. And, in the westernmost part, there's ME !!! ;)
(they say never drive a car in London Town)
(and when I say they I mean ME because I did it and it was HORRIBLE)
This car that you will hire and return in London... and drive all over Europe...
Right-hand drive and manual, yes?
You say you think driving is FUN?
Only one way to get that feeling taken straight out of your soul.
So it's like driving through Atlanta? Or worse?
Driving in London is not for the faint-hearted. It's not as bad as Paris or Rome, but I'm going by my experience as a pedestrian in the last two. I drove in London for three years, but I knew my way around reasonably well - in that if I went the wrong way I could identify roughly where I was and that if I followed signs to the Elephant & Castle I could get back to Waterloo, or that I could follow signs for Woolwich to get back on the right road for Greenwich.
Driving in England is probably more of a culture shock for Americans than vice versa. Many Brits pick up cars in America and drive to their villas/ hotels, especially in places like Florida. But we're used to driving manual, so automatic is a breeze. You have much wider roads and you don't have all the quirks we do. For example zebra crossings, pelican crossings and toucan crossings. And roundabouts.
Driving in mainland Europe would feel more comfortable of course. But you'd be best in a left hand drive car. Again, many friends and family have rented cars abroad and had no trouble with the roads and traffic systems.
Don't take a car to Amsterdam though!
Still, if you'd only be there for a day you could just park up on the outskirts anyway.
I like your expansive dreams.
You know you'd never stick to the schedule anyway. Start off in the 'Dam. Find a good coffeeshop, find a trans* bar and go home eventually realising you didn't even take any photos. Or at least none in focus :lol:
I like your expansive dreams.
You know you'd never stick to the schedule anyway. Start off in the 'Dam. Find a good coffeeshop, find a trans* bar and go home eventually realising you didn't even take any photos. Or at least none in focus :lol:
This lol
For example zebra crossings, pelican crossings and toucan crossings.
Are these real things, or are you poking fun? They sound like they could be real, but I've only ever heard of zebra crossings...
No, real.
Pelican and Toucan are both lights-based pedestrian crossings. Toucan is supposed to be safer; it's more advanced technologically.
As a pedestrian myself I'd take the old-style Pelican any day.