suggestions for place to visit on a 4 week trip

Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 4 week trip to Europe in May.
Given that there is so much to see in Europe I am having a hard time
deciding where to go. We are in our 30s and would love to include at
least some days for the following
1. natural scenery/landscapes.
2. beach ((only if the water is warm enough in May)
3. city sightseeing (nightlife is not a priority). We like seeing
different architecture but are not into museums or art galleries.

Also I do not want to include UK in this trip. Given this what sort of
itiernary would you recommend?
Thanks a lot for your help.

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 07:52:35 -0800 (PST), khuana <saurabh_mahajan@m>
wrote:

>Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 4 week trip to Europe in May.
>Given that there is so much to see in Europe I am having a hard time
>deciding where to go. We are in our 30s and would love to include at
>least some days for the following
>1. natural scenery/landscapes.
>2. beach ((only if the water is warm enough in May)

Greece or Turkey.
--

Martin

On Dec 24, 4:52 pm, khuana <saurabh_maha...@m> wrote:
> Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 4 week trip to Europe in May.
> Given that there is so much to see in Europe I am having a hard time
> deciding where to go. We are in our 30s and would love to include at
> least some days for the following
> 1. natural scenery/landscapes.

Switzerland. Norway. What landscapes impresses depends on where you're
from, though.

> 2. beach ((only if the water is warm enough in May)

Greece? In May beach options are limited.

> 3. city sightseeing (nightlife is not a priority). We like seeing
> different architecture but are not into museums or art galleries.

Paris. Barcelona. Berlin. Rome. Venice. Any major city will do.
With 4 weeks you have plenty of options to see different places, using
low cost airlines to move between the major spots.

What is your nationality? It might be easier to stick to Schengen
countries, where you can move around on the same visa.

> Also I do not want to include UK in this trip. Given this what sort of
> itiernary would you recommend?

5 nights per major stopping point is good guideline.

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:20:23 -0800 (PST), Jesper Lauridsen
<rorschak@stofanet.dk> wrote:

>On Dec 24, 4:52 pm, khuana <saurabh_maha...@m> wrote:
>> Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 4 week trip to Europe in May.
>> Given that there is so much to see in Europe I am having a hard time
>> deciding where to go. We are in our 30s and would love to include at
>> least some days for the following
>> 1. natural scenery/landscapes.
>
>Switzerland. Norway. What landscapes impresses depends on where you're
>from, though.
>
>> 2. beach ((only if the water is warm enough in May)
>
>Greece? In May beach options are limited.

I have had 3 beach holidays in Greece in May. The sun shines, the water is warm
enough the beach is clean what more do you need? I've even had a successful
beach holiday in Turkey in April.
--

Martin

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:13:33 +0000, d4g4h4.uk (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

>Martin <me@address.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:20:23 -0800 (PST), Jesper Lauridsen
>> <rorschak@stofanet.dk> wrote:
>>
>> >On Dec 24, 4:52 pm, khuana <saurabh_maha...@m> wrote:
>> >> Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 4 week trip to Europe in May.
>> >> Given that there is so much to see in Europe I am having a hard time
>> >> deciding where to go. We are in our 30s and would love to include at
>> >> least some days for the following
>> >> 1. natural scenery/landscapes.
>> >
>> >Switzerland. Norway. What landscapes impresses depends on where you're
>> >from, though.
>> >
>> >> 2. beach ((only if the water is warm enough in May)
>> >
>> >Greece? In May beach options are limited.
>>
>> I have had 3 beach holidays in Greece in May. The sun shines, the water is
>> warm enough the beach is clean what more do you need?
>
>And in most places, it's a lot quieter than peak season- best time to
>go. I also like early September for Greece, though the sea can get
>choppy towards the middle of the month. (Water is warmer then too, after
>the summer.)

The beach had a fair number of naked Swedish teenage women.
--

Martin

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:19:33 +0100, Magda <hello@keepthis.rs> wrote:

>On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 10:04:02 -0600, in .europe, Joseph Coulter
><seeLOOKATsig@> arranged some electrons, so they looked like this:
>
> ... khuana <saurabh_mahajan@m> wrote in news:c48851ae-d23f-408a-bab8-
> ... d8f2adecec92@e25g2000prg..com:
> ...
> ... > Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 4 week trip to Europe in May.
> ... > Given that there is so much to see in Europe I am having a hard time
> ... > deciding where to go. We are in our 30s and would love to include at
> ... > least some days for the following
> ... > 1. natural scenery/landscapes.
> ...
> ... > 2. beach ((only if the water is warm enough in May)
> ... > 3. city sightseeing (nightlife is not a priority). We like seeing
> ... > different architecture but are not into museums or art galleries.
> ... >
> ... > Also I do not want to include UK in this trip. Given this what sort of
> ... > itiernary would you recommend?
> ... > Thanks a lot for your help.
> ...
> ... Germany (Austria, Chch Rep. and Switz) Be sure to see the Wachau valley,
> ... the Danube, Nurenberg, Vienna and Prague. Hit Salzburg and Berchesgaden
> ... (sp?) then up to Munich cheching out some Mad Ludwig castles on the way.
> ...
> ... Just stay out of the water.
>
>Puddles less than 3 ft deep are probably safe.

The lake next to Neuschwanstein is full of leeches.
On the plus side the water is crystal clear and you can see them.
--

Martin

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:45:25 +0000, d4g4h4.uk (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

>Martin <me@address.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:27:59 +0000, d4g4h4.uk (David Horne, _the_
>> chancellor (*)) wrote:
>[]
>> >There's a great beach near Matala which is clothing optional- a good 45
>> >minute walk over the cliffs (no road) but worth it.
>>
>> We went to Matala around 1984. We were given the impression that we should
>> have been there 10 years before. At the time it was definitely past it's
>> sell by date.
>
>I think the 70s was when it had the hippies staying in the caves. We
>were there in May 2001, and it seemed like fairly normal- just small
>hotels, restaurants and a few tourist shops. But it was _very_ quiet-
>it's not somewhere we'd have wanted to stay when busy- but that goes for
>most places. We also had very nice accomodation which was very cheap and
>the restaurants were very quiet too, so here was no competition for
>tables with the best views etc. You felt a little as though you had the
>run of the place- I'd say it was at most 20% occupied judging by the
>rooms available, and at restaurants...

Sounds like when we were there. Except the accommodation wasn't nice or cheap.
Eventually we found Malia. It was fully booked. One of the cleaning women let us
stay in a very nice maisonette that should have been occupied by an English
family who hadn't turned up. We stayed a week for almost nothing.
--

Martin

On Dec 24, 4:52 pm, khuana <saurabh_maha...@m> wrote:
> Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 4 week trip to Europe in May.
> Given that there is so much to see in Europe I am having a hard time
> deciding where to go. We are in our 30s and would love to include at
> least some days for the following
> 1. natural scenery/landscapes.
> 2. beach ((only if the water is warm enough in May)
> 3. city sightseeing (nightlife is not a priority). We like seeing
> different architecture but are not into museums or art galleries.
>
> Also I do not want to include UK in this trip. Given this what sort of
> itiernary would you recommend?
> Thanks a lot for your help.

I think that Istanbul is Europe's most interesting city, it's exotic
and easy to find enough to do for a week. Then staying in Turkey,
maybe a week near Cappadocia (sp?) and the coast south of there for a
beach. Then my second most favorite place in Europe, Salzburg. This
pleasant small city has a pleasant blend of culture and superb Alpine
scenery being literally on the doorstep of the Alps. Then another
week driving around rural Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany for the
excellent Baroque churches, palaces and monasteries in Oberschwaben
(Upper Swabia), the Black Forest, Bodensee (Lake Constance), and the
lovely old college town of Tuebingen with its hilly cobblestoned
streets, thrown in with some nice intact castles and castle ruins on
the Schwaebische Alb (low limestone mountains with plenty of caves and
castles). The beer gardens in Germany are lovely at this time of year
with the blooming chestnut trees and there is also the special
multipage asparagus menus. Stuttgart also has the world's largest
Spring beer festival in late April to early May, and the cherry trees
blooming on the hillsides near the greening vineyards of the Rems
Valley just to the east is one of the best sights I've seen anywhere
in the world..

This would make a diverse enjoyable vacation with lots of excellent
things to see and do.

George

On Dec 24, 10:52 am, khuana <saurabh_maha...@m> wrote:
> Hi folks - my wife and I am planning a 4 week trip to Europe in May.
> Given that there is so much to see in Europe I am having a hard time
> deciding where to go. We are in our 30s and would love to include at
> least some days for the following
> 1. natural scenery/landscapes.


the Alps, especially in Switzerland
the Greek Islands
Provence

> 2. beach ((only if the water is warm enough in May)


Probably not. The Mediterranean is only warm enough for swimming in
the summer.

> 3. city sightseeing (nightlife is not a priority). We like seeing
> different architecture but are not into museums or art galleries.


Architecturally the most interesting cities on the continent
(excluding the UK) are Paris, Barcelona, Venice, Berlin, Prague and
Vienna.

> Given this what sort of itiernary would you recommend?


Given the above, something like Paris, Provence, Swiss Alps, Vienna,
Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris.

On Dec 26, 12:56 am, khuana <saurabh_maha...@m> wrote:
> Thank you guys - this definitely gives me a lot to investigate
> further. How long would you suggest spending in Greece in case we
> decide to go there?


1 week - either islands or mainland - don't try to do both in too
short a time. Don't spend more than 1 day in Athens, the armpit of
Europe.

> We would love hiking-biking, visiting castles and
> driving through country/small towns. I am thinking we would visit
> Italy, Germany, Switzerland and possibly Greece.
>
> Do you have any websites that I can look at for a) trains between
> cities and b) flights between cities.


For cheap flights, try Ryanair, Easyjet, and Air Berlin.