Things to see/do for 30 days in Europe?

Question

I'm planning a 30 to 45 day trip to Europe after I graduate college. What are some definate "must-sees" that people may not know about?

Answer 1

Definetly go to Switzerland, Britain, France, Spain, and Italy. Switzerland is a great combination of the "European experience"-- great dining, shopping, nightlife, culture, and natural beauty. You can get a Swiss Pass for while you're there, which lets you go anywhere in Switzerland by train. I suggest you stay in Zurich and make day trips to Bern, Basel, Geneva, Luzern, and Interlaken.
When you're in Europe though, try and get a Eurorail train pass if you want to travel by train. You have to get one a few weeks before you go though- you can't buy them there.
London speaks for itself, but its getting pretty expensive. If you want to save money, stay in hostels/share rooms with friends.
In spain, Ibiza (sp?) is supposed to be really nice if you want to go out to clubs and stuff. Madrid is a must for all the museums, and Barcelona is really tourist friendly and supposedly really gorgeous. There are plenty of towns/cities in Spain such as Toledo, Seville, and Granada where you can make day trips.
If you want to get some traditional, European culture, try Vienna or Salzburg in Austria. You can visit where the Sound of Music was filmed (Salzburg), Mozart's house (Salzburg,) or get great architecture and see the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Good shops there too.
Personally, I haven't gotten to travel to Scotland or Ireland yet, but they seem worth going to see. Scotland has great countrysides, and you rent a car and take a scenic drive.
Italy is a MUST- especially Rome and Venice. Rome has the traditional stuff-- Colosseum, Vatican, Circus Maximus, ruins, etc. as well as amazing shopping, dining, and nightlife, just like in all of Italy. If you're going to the Vatican, I would suggest going with a tour or getting there very very very early in the morning. I went there last summer and reached the Vatican at 9am, and then waited in line for almost four hours. Tours get to basically skip the line.
Venice is great to spend a couple of days, but its very very crowded and its a bit challenging to navigate around.
If you want a really unique experience in Italy, try going to Grado, this wonderful beach town in the region of Gorizia. Its off next to the Slovenian border in northeast Italy. A lot of German tourists go there- not many international travelers-but if you want some genuine culture, thats the place to go. There's a beach, good food, a really nice club on the beach, and of course, yummy gelato!
I hope this helps!! Have a good trip!

Answer 2

I would definately hit Rome, Paris, Vienna, Prague, and Barcelona. Each have awesome night life and are beautiful cities. If you get you Eurail pass they will be easy to hit if you plan you trip outright. Paris is a must for its great food, fun clubs and culture, Vienna is similar but smaller and easier to get around in. Rome is HUGE, but if you do a lil research there is infinate things to do there. Prague i especially think is worth it if you like clubbing and partying, the Czechs know how to get down. Finally Barcelona is simply beautiful and has great beaches, weather should be great there that time of year, nice place to start or finish a wonderful trip. One more place i would reccomend to you is Salzburg Austria because i used to live there, its a not a huge city but is one of the most beautiful in europe, has great places to eat and party, and some cool cultural sites.

Answer 3

you should definitly see Slovenia and Croatia. Slovenia is a small country by italy and austria...come see the capital Ljubljana, if you like mountains, beaches and nature in general, there are lots of places you can visit within 1-2 hours traveling from Ljubljana. while you're in slovenia, travel down to croatia-they have the best beaches in the world, especially on small islands (there are hundreds of islands). other than that, i suggest you go see france (paris, provance...), netherlands, belgium, go enjoy spain for a few days->you might as well take an interrail ticket and travel all over europe-i did it for a month after we graduated from highschool and it was one of the best trips i've had.

Answer 4

Everybody is always traveling from town to town.
If you go to the villages in between you will have a different experience.
If you stay in a village you will learn more about life in that country than you would ever in the towns.
Besides, it is mostly cheaper, so you can stay longer for the same money.
If you like small towns, and do not care about the nightlife in town, stay in villages near the towns, as transport will not be a problem.
If you life for the nights in the disco, spending the day in a smaller place might be the way to get your energy level up again.