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Which European city, end of September?

kasperhauser

kasperhauser

pfm Member
My wife and I will have basically 3 days free, maybe 4, in between business engagements, during the last week of September into the first week of October. We're trying to decide what destination would deliver the biggest bang for the buck.

We're flying into and out of Frankfurt, so someplace within a few hours train ride would be ideal. Considering Paris, Prague, Amsterdam... are there better options?

Excepting Italy and Germany (although we haven't been to Berlin yet), we aren't extensively traveled in Europe, so most major cities will be new for us. Weather is a consideration, as we will be leaving cold/wet/miserable behind us; we don't mind cold, don't mind wet, but prefer not to vacation through both. Maybe that's unrealistic for the time of year.

Appreciate any recommendations.
 
Go south. Paris and Amsterdam are too far north at that time. S France is good then, and Geneva. Prague, maybe.
 
Croatia, we're going to Split in mid September to catch some sunlight before it disappears from the sky in our neck of the woods.
 
Strasbourg, Only about 100 miles away. Beautiful. Food is kind of French German too, so a bit less poncey than some French food. The French seem more chilled out there too, perhaps because they're a bit German?
 
If you haven't been there, then Paris, it's pretty much No 1 on the must see list. If you've already been there, then Amsterdam is a good choice.
 
Vienna is also an option you might consider.It is much more relaxed than Paris. The chances the weather will be good are also higher. It's 800km from Frankfurt but the ICE fast train connection is very good - about 7 hours.
 
That's a full day on the train - a bit much when you have only 3 days.
 
Do you have the opportunity to fly via Munich? Very nice in itself, Italy is not far from there by train, you could visit Venice :)
 
I have decided.

Prague and Barcelona.

Yes, both.

Both will be nice at this time. Both are fantastic. Each so very different.

Aeroplanes make going from/to your Frankfurt hub and between them easy. They go very fast up in the sky so do not take very long. But you are rather late in the day to get great deals.
 
Cloth-Ears said:
I have decided.

Prague and Barcelona.

Yes, both.

Both will be nice at this time. Both are fantastic. Each so very different.

Aeroplanes make going from/to your Frankfurt hub and between them easy. They go very fast up in the sky so do not take very long. But you are rather late in the day to get great deals.
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Good call, I'd steer clear of Paris now, went there for work this year after 20 years and it was sh1t IMO, dirty, crowded, street beggars pestering us all the time, very different indeed to what I remember.
 
Vienna is expensive. €20 for a schnitzel. You can pay less but you are struggling to find a table.

Prague is mostly a tourist trap unless you decide in advance where you want to go and use a map.

You need to do the same in Berlin but for a different reason: the place is vast and you can wander around for hours looking for something. The former East Berlin at Mitte is where everything of interest is.

I agree with Steve. Avoid Northern France in late September. Head South or East, preferably East as late September can be stormy and wet in the South of France, certainly near the Mediterranean.

Central France is generally ok but there isn't much there in terms of cities with enough to do apart from Bordeaux and Lyon. France is generally expensive anyway in larger cities.

I'd recommend the following:

Munich. Make sure that you take in the concentration camp at Dachau. Everbody should visit one in their lifetime. Other points of interest are the Olympic village and the tower that looks out as far as the Alps. The BMW museum, showroom and plant is nearby too and is worth a visit. For beer go to The Augustiner Keller, the Hofbräuhaus and the little Kloster Andechs pub in the middle of town. Despite its appearance (it looks touristy) this are is frequented by locals who are very friendly. Munich is as big as Vienna, not quite as grand and without the swagger but is decidedly cheaper. The beer is also better. Excellent public transport.

Saarbrücken is quite charming and a tram will take you over the border to France. I mention it because it is reachable by train from Munich within a few hours.

Ditto Heidelberg.

Bratislava, 40 miles from Vienna. Beautiful in the Old Town, a little run-down in parts but it has its charms. There are also great places to eat and drink but all are outside the Old Town. Dirt cheap.

Brno, the Czech Republic's second city. Great food and beer and dirt cheap. The public transport is also good within the city and for travelling to other places like Olomouc or even Bratislava.

Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It's perhaps a bit far but worth a mention. We went there in July and enjoyed it so much that we're going back in mid-september for 5 days. A beautiful city with stunning scenery. You can also see the Julian Alps bordering with Austria without climbing a tower! Food and drink are good and very reasonably-priced. Think German, East European and Italian fusion! The locals are exceptionally friendly, as we found. The trains are virtually non-existent but the buses will get you out of the city to other places of interest in and near the Alps like Lake Bled and Kamnik. The best way to get around within the city (it isn't that big anyway) is on foot or by bicycle. You can hire municipal bicycles for peanuts.

http://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Frankfurt.htm#.Vc8VcXhwbqA
 
So, according to pfm-ers, Barcelona, Ljubljana, Seville, Bratislava, Granada, Split and S. France are all a couple of hours away by train.

Back to geography classes for the lot of you!

Kasperhauser, stick to Paris or Amsterdam, you'll enjoy both. You'll also get there in 4 or 5 hours, whereas Barcelona, for example, would take 13.
 
It depends on your style of tourism: do you want to hit the museums, see the sights, shop?

Putting aside those considerations (as well as Germany and Italy, as you've already been there) this means you're left with cities like Paris and Amsterdam where nobody can guarantee the weather at that time of year (unless you're ready to fly for your 3-day escapade). The good news is there is so much to see in these places that the weather is less important if you're only staying a few days.

Some of the other places mentioned here are great, but if you haven't visited Paris or Amsterdam I would start there. Both are stunningly beautiful cities with lots of character and plenty to see and do, and both are much nicer (IMHO) for the first time tourist than Berlin. Paris is great. It is a large city but the good stuff is fairly concentrated along the Seine, so it is quite easy to visit. Amsterdam is smaller than Paris but is beautiful with all those cute canals and brick houses. It has equally good museums and better beer, but I would still start with Paris if you can make the trains timetables work. I like Strasbourg and Colmar and Bern and Bruges and all these other smaller places, but would recommend seeing Paris first.

If you are ready to fly to avoid the possible rain, I would look at Rome, Barcelona, Sevilla and/or Granada, probably in that order.
 
If you took Thalys, not DB to Paris, you'd go via Brussels, and that city is well worth a stop for lunch. Great food and beer, plus the city centre is very pretty.
 
avole said:
So, according to pfm-ers, Barcelona, Ljubljana, Seville, Bratislava, Granada, Split and S. France are all a couple of hours away by train.

Back to geography classes for the lot of you!

Kasperhauser, stick to Paris or Amsterdam, you'll enjoy both. You'll also get there in 4 or 5 hours, whereas Barcelona, for example, would take 13.
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Bratislava is Vienna + 1 hour by bus or by train. You can also go by boat down the Danube but that takes longer. Vienna is virtually the same distance as Paris. Add another 40 miles for Bratislava.

Saarbrücken and Heidelberg are very close indeed but they are in Germany.
 
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