Europe Suggestions!

[buvezdevin]

I, too, would look at seeing other areas of France, either the South, or the Normandy coast, and any excuse for going to Barcelona is a good one.

That said, *any* of the options you or others mentioned would be delightful!

Do you have any activities or areas of interest, or orders of priority?  While cost is an understandable consideration, is that a primary one, or would the possibility of doing or seeing something of particular interest to you outweigh a pricier option?  Just asking to help focus on things likely to work and appeal most to you.

[bopper]

I had mentioned Barcelona as I found it fascinating and there was a lot to see and it was easy to get around and I still want to see more.
It is European but different than Paris/Amsterdam kind of European.

But truly I would consider the following when deciding:

1) Will you ever go back to Europe?
2) What interests you?  Museums? Photography? Hiking? General site seeing?
3) How will you get to these other countries? Is cost a factor?  So you might want to take a quick train somewhere or you might not mind flying.

It also might be a good idea to do Paris but other parts of France as well.

[Amara]

Oh yes, Bruges! I stayed there for almost two week of a three-month trip and it was my favorite city. So beautiful, so wonderful.

[Rose]

I really enjoy the Netherlands.  Also Interlaken, Switzerland is drop dead gorgeous.

[QueenfaninCA]

If you only have a few days, I wouldn't waste two of them on travel, as much as I like northern Italy.

I'd go somewhere in the french countryside. Where excatly will depend on your interests, but a few suggestions: Southern part of the Rhone Valley, Cote d'Azure, Brittany, Alsace, Massif Central, Loire Valley,... Most of those places probably require a car to really be able to do sight-seeing. I'd just rent a car in Paris and go. Probably not even make plans for more than in which direction to start driving. Just visit things that look/sound interesting to you and in the afternoon find a hotel that looks nice.

[mbbored]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions!

For those who ask, I really enjoy art and history as well as plenty of people watching. And thanks for suggesting Spain: I spent a semester abroad in Spain and explored pretty thoroughly every weekend. I'm hoping to expand my European experience on this trip.

Edited to add: For those who asked as well, yes price is a big consideration. I'm a grad student and trying to do this on a shoe string, so renting a car is out.

[PastryGoddess]

go to Paris...people watching is almost an olympic sport there

[Otterpop]

I was in Paris for the first time in October this year.  It was breathtaking.  My best purchase was a 5 day ticket on the Batobus water taxi (21 Euro total).  Every day I would wake up, breakfast, walk through the Tuilleries to the Quay Leon (or the one near the Lion's Gate of the Louvre) and pick a new destination.  It drops you off at 8 stations w/ another boat coming by every 20 minutes:  Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, Musee' De Orsee, St. Germain, Jardin des Plantes, Notre Dame, Hotel De Ville, and the Louvre.  It filled up the whole week and was very walkable.  You'll love Paris!!!

[cicero]

<oooh thanks for this thread! I'm going to have a full day layover in brussels in march - i understand it's a city that can be "done" in one day. I love history, archaeology, musems, and ooooold buildings as well as people watching. i'd love the name of "the best chocolate shop">

[PastryGoddess]

Don't forget to get some waffles and frites while you're in Brussels

[Shea]

If you like hiking, a lovely and rather overlooked country is Luxembourg. It's absolutely gorgeous and has wonderful hiking. I lived in northeastern France for a time, and used to take the train to go hiking outside of Luxembourg city sometimes. Really beautiful. The city itself is worth a visit as well. I'm not sure of the best way to get there from Paris, but you can take the TGV from Paris to Nancy (city near where I lived) and get a train directly to Luxembourg. There may be a more direct route from Paris though. And while you're over in that part of France, Nancy has fabulous Baroque architecture and is the birthplace of the Art Nouveau movement. Strasbourg, a quick train ride away over in Alsace, is a beautiful city and has awesome German-infused cuisine (get the tarte flambée. You will not regret it).

I also adored Normandy, especially Bayeux. That's largely because I'm a history nerd (the débarquements! Abandoned Nazi fortifications! The Bayeux Tapestry! William the Conqueror's tomb!), but it's beautiful even if you're not into history. Still, I think the historical sights are the biggest reason to go. Also, Mont-St-Michel is quite a sight.

[Firecat]

Mont-St-Michel is gorgeous; the pictures somehow don't quite do it justice. And Normandy; it is an interesting experience to walk around the abandoned fortifications and look out to sea.

Paris is wonderful, and there's a lot to see there. Notre Dame de Paris is well worth a visit, and the Louvre, of course. I could probably spend a month happily walking around the Louvre. Les Invalides (which has the tomb of Napoleon) is also lovely.

[cabbageweevil]

If you enjoy landscape rather than – or in addition to – cities; from my experience, Belgium “has its merits”. The northern part of the country contains many culture-rich cities, but is scenery-wise very flat and dull. The southern part of Belgium has some beautiful scenery – the Ardennes in the country’s south-east (the cave-complex – tours [some in English] given “on all days” – at Han-sur-Lesse, is fascinating if you like that sort of thing); and the IMO exquisite corner close to the French border, around Couvin and Chimay south of Charleroi. Namur, in the south of Belgium, is a fascinating city with a centuries-old fortified citadel – tours of same can be had, some with, as at Han, an English-speaking guide. (My impression is that Belgians are very good with languages – anyone in the tourist trade seems to have a good command of French, Flemish, and English.)

[cicero]

for those who suggested Bruges - is it possible to do this in 12 hours? I have a 13 hour layover in brussels in March. Actually, i will have a 5-hour layover going and then a 13-hour layover going back.

[Kiara]

cicero -

Heck yes.  We did it in a 8 hour cruise ship stop.     If I remember right, Bruges is an hour? from Brussels.  We had a couple of things we wanted to do, but a lot of our time was just wandering around.  I have pictures around here somewhere I can post if you'd like.

Best chocolate shop (IMO) is Dumon - it's a block or so off the main square.  Chocolate was wonderful, and the people there were really nice.  Also, we got our frites right on the square - there's two carts there.