Potential Itineraries

After taking the survey, it was discovered that we had way too many places and not enough time!  I constructed 3 potential itineraries.  I am thinking they will change, because I think we will want to take a much longer trip. 

 

Northern European Tour – 20 Days

Scotland

England

Netherlands

Belgium

France

 

Fly to London

Day 1: London

Day 2: London

Day 3: London

Day 4: Day trip to Oxford and Stratford upon Avon

Day 5: Day trip to Stonehenge, Salisbury and Bath

Day 6: To Scotland - Edinburgh

Day 7: Edinburgh

Day 8: Glasgow

Day 9: Inverness

Day 10: back to London probably and then to Amsterdam

Day 11: Amsterdam

Day 12:Amsterdam

Day 13: Valkenburg? To Brussels

Day 14: Brussels

Day 15: Brussels

Day 16: Gent

Day 17: To Paris

Day 18: Paris

Day 19: Paris

Day 20: Paris – fly home

 

 

 

Eastern European Tour – 20 Days

Austria

Germany

Switzerland

France

Netherlands

 

Day 1: Arrive in Paris

Day 2: Paris

Day 3: travel to Netherlands

Day 4: Amsterdam

Day 5: travel to Berlin

Day 6: Berlin

Day 7: Berlin

Day 8: travel to Munich

Day 9: Munich

Day 10: Munich

Day 11:  Travel to Vienna

Day 12: Vienna

Day 13: Vienna – travel to Geneva

Day 14: Geneva

Day 15: Geneva – travel to Zermatt

Day 16: Zermatt – Travel to Marseille

Day 17: Marseille

Day 18: Marseille – travel to Paris

Day 19: Paris

Day 20: Paris - Depart

 

 

Southern European Tour – 20 Days
Greece
Italy
Austria
Germany

Day 1: Arrive in Munich
Day 2: Munich
Day 3: Munich
Day 4: To Vienna
Day 5: Vienna
Day 6: Vienna
Day 7: to Venice
Day 8: Venice
Day 9: to Florence
Day 10: Florence
Day 11: Florence
Day 12: Florence to Rome to get to Athens (travel day)
Day 13: Leave Italy for Athens
Day 14: Athens
Day 15: Greek Islands
Day 16: Greek Islands
Day 17: Greek Islands
Day 18: Greek Islands
Day 19: Greek Islands
Day 20: Fly out of Athens

 

Any ideas for me?  Any of these sound good/bad?  I'd love to hear advice/ideas from other travel-philes!

For our trip, we decided to make a survey to decide where we wanted to go.  We listed countries that interested us, as well as cities in them, and things to see/do in the cities. 

 

Please rate the following countries on a 1 to 10 scale.

1 - meaning 'not interested at all in this country'. 

5 - meaning, this place sounds great - I'd be happy to go if you felt strongly about it.

10 - meaning, if I do not visit this country I will feel incomplete as a human being and spend the rest of my life aching to go here.

 After rating the countries then read the city descriptions, and check mark any of the cities that interest you.  Do this even if the country did not recieve a high mark of interest.  Don't mark any city that doesnt EXCITE you.  seriously. 

 

After rating the countries and checking the cities, there are a few adendum questions at the end that are multiple choice.  I know, I am a NERD, but this is the most fun I've had since I can remember, and this trip is going to be incredible.

 

Please try to be as specific and accurate as possible.  Do not feel obligated to choose ANY city or country.  And only think about yourself while filling out the survey.  Please dont choose a place because you think I would want to go there.

 

I will also fill out the survey VERY honestly, and then create an incredibly complicated math formula to determine which cities both of us want to go to the most! 

 

From there, we can write up an itinerary and present it to the parental units.  Really don't worry about Mom and Dad before that point.  Don't even mention that we are planning.  After 22 years I have figured out that they initially say no to EVERYTHING (unless it involves me moving out of the house!)  but when presented with a well developed plan, they are always reasonable.  So don't worry!  If we want this enough, it will happen.  And I don't know about you, but I want this enough for the both of us. 

 

Ok so here is my VERY lengthy survey!  Enjoy!  Take your time and read things, I hope you think it is interesting, I liked writing it up for us! 

 

Next Step: setting up a travel blog site?  Picking country appropriate novels to enjoy?  Language courses?  just kidding. 

 

 

 

Austria

‘the hills are alive with the sound of music’

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Innsbruck  Salzburg  Vienna  __________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Innsbruck

        - Tomb of Emperor Maximilian

        - Helblinghaus - Gothic architecture

        - Old town

        - River tours

        - Bergisel - ski resort sun valley type place

♦ Salzburg

        - Hohensalzburg Fortress

        - St Peter's Churchyard

        - Carolino Augusteum Museum

        - Salzburg Cathedral

        - Old town

        - Mirabel Gardens

♦ Vienna

        - Art Gallery

        - Austrian National Library

        - Church of the Augustinians

        - Clock Museum

        - Danube River Cruises

        - Schubert Museum and Park

        - Belvedere Palace

        - Schonbrunn Palace

        - Beethoven's house

 

  

Belgium

Waffles.  Belgian Waffles. 

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Antwerp  Brussels  Gent Luxembourg  __________

 

 

♦ Antwerp

- Diamond Capital of the World (Center for art and fashion too!)

- Museum of Fine Arts / Flemish Culture

♦ Brussels

- Antique markets

- Modern Art Museum

- Royal Palace

♦ Gent

-  Medieval Ruins

- Flower City of Belgium

- Saint Bavo Cathedral – holds ‘the most beautiful Flemish painting’ 

♦ Luxembourg (not in Belgium, but close enough)

- Grand Ducal Palace

- Notre Dame Cathedral

-  The Casemates (underground fortifications)

 

 

Czech Republic

Czech it out

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Prague  __________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Prague

        - Mozart Museum

        - Charles Bridge

        - Klementinum - beautiful mirror chapel

        - Museum of Communism

        - National Museum

        - National Theater

        - Old Town (cool plaza, town hall, astronomical clock)

        - Prague Castle

        - Sea World

        - Wenceslas Square  

 

 

 

England

Oh to be in England now that spring is there

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Bath  Cambridge  Kent/Dover  Hadrian’s Wall  London  Oxford  Salisbury  Stratford Upon Avon  Windsor __________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Bath

- Awesome Roman Baths

- Thermae Bath Spa

- Bath Abbey

- Jane Austen stuff

♦ Cambridge

- All Saints Church

- Cambridge University (Library, Press bookshop, etc)

♦ Kent/Dover

- Canterbury Cathedral

- Dover Castle

- Chartwell – Winston Churchill’s home

- White Cliffs of Dover

- Hever Castle (where Anne Boleyn was from!)

♦ Hadrian’s Wall

- Roman Architecture man!  Enough said! 

♦ London

- British Museum

- Globe Theater

- Queen’s Theater

- Piccadilly Circus

- Buckingham Palace

- Tower Hill

- National Gallery

- Tate Gallery

- Hyde Park

- Abbey Road

♦ Oxford

- University

- Museum and Botanical Garden

- Radcliff Camera

- Walking tours

♦ Salisbury

- Stonehenge!

- Salisbury Cathedral

♦ Stratford upon Avon

- Shakespeare’s home

- Really adorable little town

- The Royal Shakespeare Company

♦ Windsor

- Windsor Castle

- William and Harry

- Crooked Tea house

 

France

Tous les oiseaux de point du jour chantent l’amour

 

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

 Avignon  Biarritz  Bordeaux  Cannes  Grenoble  Lille  Lyon  Marseille  Nantes  Nice  Paris (obviously!)  Toulouse  __________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Avignon

- Pierre de Luxembourg Museum

- Papal Palace

- Lapidaries Museum

- Chartreuse de Val de Benediction

- Old town walls

♦ Biarritz

- Super excellent beaches

- French resort city

- Napoleon's castle

- Beautiful little town

♦ Bordeaux

- Gorgeous river and bridges

- Many fountains

- Fun night life

- Some good sights - very popular French city.  Johnny Depp lives there!

♦ Cannes

- Home of international Film Festival

- Beaches

- Good shopping

♦ Grenoble

- French Alps

- Abby de Saint Chef - cool old Abby

- Nearby fortified mountain castles

♦ Lille

- "European City of Culture"

- Old town, art museums

- Interesting narrow streets, Gothic Cathedrals

- My friend Marie lives here, we could stay with her…she has a pool

♦ Lyon

- Scenic medieval architecture

- Roman Ruins

- 'old town' with gothic cathedrals with notable stained glass

- Small castles/chateaus 

♦ Marseilles

- Old castle on an island

- super impressive cathedrals

- Art museums, old town, gardens etc

♦ Nantes

- Musee des Beaux Arts

- Old Town

- St Pierre et St Paul

♦ Nice

- Neptune Beach

- Lots and lots of old churches

- Museums, art galleries

♦ Paris (obviously!)

- Musee d' Louvre

- Musee d' Orsay

- Champs Elysee

- Versailles

- Notre Dame

- Saint Chapelle

- Roman Ruins

- Latin Quarter

- Eiffel Tower

- City of love

- The most thorough underground system in the world

- Centre Pompidou

- Moulin Rouge

- Pont Neuf 

- Sophisticated French men with cigarettes

- Chocolate croissants

- Arc du Triumph 

- Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise

- Le Catacombs

- St Michel Fountain

- Le Sorbonne 

- The Siene

- My heart 

 

♦ Toulouse

- My ex boyfriend.

- Cool cathedral

- University of Toulouse

 

Germany

An appeal to fear never finds an echo in German hearts

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Berlin Cologne  Dresden  Dusseldorf  Frankfurt  Hamburg  Hannover  Munich  __________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Berlin

        - Berlin Philharmonic Hall

        -  Alexanderplatz

        - Berlin Cathedral

        - Checkpoint Charlie

        - Museum of Natural History

        - Museum Island (heaven?)

        - Pergamon Museum

        - Under the Lime Trees Avenue

        - Nicolai Quarter

        - Berlin Zoo

        - Collection of Classical Antiquities

        - Charlottenburg Palace

        - Spandau Citadel

♦ Cologne

        - Cologne Cathedral

        - Wallraf-Richartz Museum and Ludwig Museum

        - Great St Martin's Church

        - Museum of Chocolate

        - Old Town Hall

♦ Dresden

        - Albertinum (collection of Paintings)

        - Bruhl Terrace

        - Georgentor Castle

        - Liberation Street

        - Theaterplatz      

        - Zwinger

♦ Dusseldorf

        - Ehrenhof Museum of Art

        - Hofgarten

        - Lobbecke Museum

        - Rheinpark Bilk  

♦ Frankfurt

        -  Frankfurt Cathedral

        - Eschenheim Tower

        - Hauptwache - scenic part of town

        - Romberberg

        - Theaterplatz

♦ Hamburg

        - Altonaer Museum

        - Museum of Art and Industry

        - Hagenbeck Zoo and Aquarium

        - Inner Alster

        - Reeperbahn

♦ Hanover

          - Opera House

        - Kestner Museum

        - Provincial Museum

♦ Munich

        - Court Hall

        - Hundskugel House (Medieval architecture)

        - Max Joseph Square

        - Royal Residence

        - State Collection of Egyptian Art

        - Olympic Park

        - Bavarian National Museum

        - Odeon Square

        - Sculpture Gallery

        - Nymphenburg Palace

        - Glyptotech

 

 

Greece

Mama Mia, here I go again….

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

 Aegina  Athens  Chios  Corinth  Crete  Ios  Meteora  Mykonos  Naxos  Olympia  Paros  Rhodos  Santorini  Sparta  Thessaloniki  __________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Aegina

        - Ancient Temple to Aphia where you can get very close

        - Amazing sand beaches

        - Dancing Zorbas castle summer discothèque.  Need I say more?

♦ Athens

        - Acropolis

        - Parthenon

        - Monestraki (cool neighborhood)

        - Archeological Museum

        - Coffee Right (Greek Starbucks)

        - Plaka

        - Ancient Agora

        - Greek and Roman Ruins

        - Greek theater stuff

♦ Chios

        - Beaches!

        - Archeological and Byzantine Museum

        - Turkish baths

♦ Corinth

        - Cute little town

        - Roman archeological site

        - Archeological Museum

        - AcroCorinth (a big hike)

♦ Crete

        - Agios Nikolaus Church

        - Minoan Ruins

        - Cool reconstructed bronze age archeological site

♦ Ios

        - Beautiful beaches

        - Beautiful island port town

        - Archaic ruins

        - Ancient temple to Apollo     

♦ Meteora

        - Amazing spectacular breathtaking cliff top monasteries

♦ Mykonos

        - Party capital of the Mediterranean

        - Famous architectural style

        - Beautiful beaches

♦ Naxos

        - Art museum

        - Archeological Museum

        - Cathedrals

        - Windmills

        - Ancient Mycenaean city

        - Venetian castle

♦ Olympia

        - Archeological site

        - Original Olympic Stadium 

♦  Paros

        - Marble quarry

        - Archeological museum

        - Aesculpium (ancient hospital)

♦  Rhodes

        -  Old town

        - Popular Greek vacation spot

        - Archeological museum

♦ Santorini

        - Ancient Thira

        - Donkey rides

        - Santorini volcano

        - Sisterhood of the traveling pants! 

♦ Sparta

        - Tomb of Leonidas

        - Olive Museum

♦ Thessaloniki

        - Beautiful costal city

        - Archeological sites

        - Beautiful Byzantine and Roman ruins

 

Italy

Ciao Bella

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Florence  Milan  Naples  Pisa  Pompeii  Rome  Sardinia  Siena  Turin  Venice  _________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Florence

        - Baptistery of St John

        - Cathedral Museum

        - Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

        - Piazza della Santissima Anninziata

        - Boboli Gardens

        - Palazzo Pitti

        - Palazzo Rucellai with Museo Alinari

        - Palazzo Vecchio (awesome daVinci and Vasari Paintings)

        - Piazza di Santa Maria Novella

        - Michelangelo House

        - Michelangelo’s David

        - Medici House

        - Uffizi Museum (the coolest?)

♦  Milan

        - Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology

        - daVinci's Last Supper painting

        - Castello Sforzesco

        - Brera Picture Gallery

♦ Naples

        - Alexander Mosaic (its cool...)

        - National Archeological Museum

        - Vesuvius, Pompeii, Herculaneum nearby

        - Posillipo (old scenic house)

        - Piazza San Domenico Maggiore

♦  Pisa

        - The leaning tower

        -  That’s seriously it

 

♦ Pompeii

        - 2nd century Roman walls preserved up to 10 feet (sweetness!)

        - Ancient preserved Roman city basically, with wall paintings

♦  Rome

        - The Eternal City...

        - The Pope

        - Vatican, Vatican Museum

        - St Peters

        - The Pantheon

        - The Coliseum

        - The old Roman Forum

        - Gelato

        - Capitoline Museum (a personal favorite)

        - Trevi Fountain

♦ Sardinia

        - Barumini Archeological Site

        - Caprera, Garibaldi's house

        - Emerald Coast

        - Cool island

♦ Siena

        - Etruscan Stuff (pre Roman culture)

        - Old town fortress

        - National Gallery

        - Piazza del Campo

        - Church of the Annunciation

        - Salimbeni

♦  Turin

        - Shroud of Turin (that mysterious picture of Jesus)

        - Mole Antonelliana (cool spiral topped building)

        - Where they filmed 'The Italian Job'

♦ Venice

        -  Grand Canal

        - Academy of Fine Arts

        - Gondola Rides

        - Baroque Palaces

        - Rialto Bridge

        - St Mark's Square

        - Basilica of St Mark

        - Doges Palace

        - San Giorgio Maggiore Island

 

 

 

 

Netherlands

Tulips, Canals and Windmills

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Amsterdam  Delft  Rotterdam  Utrecht  Valkenburg   __________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Amsterdam

- Van Gogh Museum

- Oude Kerk (Gothic Cathedral)

- Dam Square

- Royal Palace

- Canals

- Tulips

- Red light District

- Rembrandtplein Square

- Windmills

- Anne Frank

♦ Delft

- Jan Vermeer stuff (the artist from girl with the pearl earring)

- Blue and white porcelain

- Historic marketplace

♦ Rotterdam

- Euromast Tower

- Museums

♦ Utrecht

- Cathedral St. Martin

- Catharijne Hoog (music hall)

- Huis Doorn (old fortification)

♦ Valkenburg

- Catacombs

- Thermae 2000 (garden spa thing)

- Cave Aquarium

- Kasteel Den Halder (castle)

 

 

Portugal

Olá Mundo

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Algarve  Lisbon  ___________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Algarve

        - Cape St Vincent, historic town walls observation point 

        - Atlantic Beaches

        - Castro Marim

        - Fortaleza de Sagres

        - Castro dos Mouros

♦ Lisbon

        - Amoreiras Shopping Center

        - Bairro Alto

        - Botanical Garden

        - Igreja de Sao Roque

        - Baixa, aqueduct

        - Fig Tree Square

        - St George's Castle

        - Old quarter

        - Monument to the Discoveries

        - Palacio Nacional de Mafra

 

 

Scotland

Where ‘skirt chasing’ is not sexist!

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Aberdeen  Dundee  Edinburgh  Glasgow  Inverness  Stirling __________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Aberdeen

- Victorian Era Architecture – Granite and Quartz

- 8 significant art galleries, also some museums

- 16 nearby castles

♦ Dundee

- Championship Golf Courses

- ‘Highland Glens’ scenic coastline

- Glamis Castle

♦ Edinburgh

- Edinburgh Castle

- Royal Botanic Garden

- Scottish Parliament

- National Museum of Scotland

- National Galleries of Scotland

♦ Glasgow

- 13 free museums and galleries

- 70 parks and gardens

- Vibrant night life

♦ Inverness

- Lochness Lake!

- Culloden battlefield

- ‘terror tour’

♦ Sterling

- Heritage Capitol of Scotland (Braveheart Country)

- Sterling Castle, National Wallace Monument

- Bannockburn Heritage Center

- Old town jail and cemetery

 

Spain

Y por eso los grandes amores de muchos colores me gustan a mi.

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Barcelona  Bilbao  Cordoba  Granada   Ibiza  Madrid  Pamplona  San Sebastian  Seville  Toledo  ___________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Barcelona

- Antonio Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

- Aquarium

- Montjuic Spanish Village and magic fountain

- Picasso Museum

- Juan Miro Museum

- Las Ramblas - most famous street with promenade

♦ Bilbao

- Guggenhiem Museum (super awesome)

- Hanging Bridge

- Casca Viejo

♦ Cordoba

- Roman and Medieval Ruins

- Great Cathedrals

- Alcazar

♦ Granada

- Alhambra Palace

- Moorish Baths

- Flamenco performances

♦ Ibiza

- Nearly 60 beaches to choose from

- Big nightlife

- Water park

- Little villages

♦ Madrid

- Museo del Prado

- Museo Reina Sophia

- Retiro Park

- Royal Palace

♦ Pamplona

- Running with the Bulls

- Fiesta de San Fermin

♦ San Sebastian

- um the coolest city ever!

- Sweet nudie beach

- Aquarium

♦ Seville

- Alcazar

- Barrio de Santa Cruz

- Parque de Maria Luisa

- Cool roman cemetery

♦ Toledo

- El Greco Museum

- San Domingo Monastery

- Tavera Hospital – there is some cool art there.  Not really a hospital.  

 

 

                                                        Sweden

The country that produced ‘Abba’ … so you know its good

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Gothenburg  Ikea (jk!)  Karlstad  Malmo  Stockholm  _________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Gothenburg

        - Castle Wood

        - Museum of Art

        - Liseberg Amusement Park

♦ Karlstad

        - Fryken Lakes

        - Lacko Castle

♦ Malmo

        - Charlotte Weibull's Doll House

        - Municipal Theater

        - Carriage Museum

♦ Stockholm

        - Riddarholm Church

        - Wasa Museum

        - Royal Palace

        - Stockholm Cathedral

        - Knights House

        - Swedish National Museum

        - Stockholm Underground

        - Nordic Museum

        - Knight's House

 

Switzerland

The land of cheese and chocolate

 

Rate Interest in this Country _____

Check Cities of Interest:  Geneva  Interlaken  Lausanne  Lucerne  Lugano  St. Moritz  Zermatt  Zurich  ___________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

♦ Geneva

        - Beautiful Lake, cool hydraulic power stuff

        - Rousseau Island

        - St Peter's Cathedral

        - Old Town

        - Mount Saleve - take a cable car up the mountain.

♦ Interlaken

        - Hohematte Castle

        - Schynige scenic site

♦ Lausanne

        - Notre Damn Cathedral    

        - Rose Window Cathedral

♦ Lucerne

        - Mountain lake, cruises around several villages

        - Nice art galleries

        - Lion monument statue

♦ Lugano

        - Old Town

        - Lots of hiking places

♦ St. Moritz

        - Cableways to take people around the mountains

        - Lots of hiking and climbing

♦ Zermatt

        - The Matterhorn, the Alps

        - cablecars to go up the mountain

        - walking tour of Schwarzsee

♦ Zurich

        - coocoo clocks

        - Franz Marc stained glass cathedrals

        - Fantastic window shopping.  Really phenomenal