So I’m finally doing it–I have a month off in late October/early November, and I’m going to backpack Europe.
I’ve decided to limit the trip to primarily Italy and Spain (and southern France, since it’s in between). There is so much of Europe that I want to see, but I only have three weeks, and I’d rather not spend it trying to see the whole damn continent. (I’ll be back, eventually.) Italy and Spain are two countries I always thought I would like, and the weather should still be pretty good at that time of year.
Any must-see stops on my tour? Any advice from experienced European backpackers?
Barcelona and Florence are two of the coolest cities in the whole universe. Make sure they are on your itinerary. If you like markets, the Boqueria (off las Ramblas in Barcelona) is an amazing fruit/vegetable/food market and a good place to buy some snacks for the road. The outdoor leather market in Florence is cool but will leave you wishing you had some serious $$$ to spend.
mmm… the Arena (Roman coliseum) at Nimes (S. France) is pretty damn cool and just a short walk from the train station. There are a number of cultural attractions/small museums and you can buy this ticket that is good to all of them.
It sounds cheesy but make the side trip from Florence to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Truly amazing and you can stare at it all day for free. Its a few degrees past the point at which it was supposed to topple so don’t leave it for next time! Don’t stay overnight in Pisa which IMHO is the Tackiest Place in Europe. The stalls selling statues of ladies doing naughty things to the Leaning Tower haunt me even to this day.
If you observe any fellow Americans acting obnoxiously, pretend to be Canadian. “no, really, I’m from Toronto!”
A book published by Rough Guide called First Time Europe has helpful planning advice.
Keep a scrapbook, journal or sketchbook. Whichever you prefer. Don’t rush around too much. Sit in cafes and watch the people go by (its a vacation, remember?)
Thanks for the advice! Firenze and Barcelona were definitely on the list; I’ll have to add Toledo and Nimes. I was planning on giving Pisa the bypass, but you might talk me into it.
A few more questions for the experienced Euro-backpackers:
–It looks like I can fly into Rome and out of Madrid or Barcelona. I’ll be in Europe for 21-23 days. How many days should I get on my Europass? I am the kind of guy who likes to keep moving, but I don’t know how much is too much. (Unfortunately, I’ll be too old to buy the Youth Pass–by a week!)
–Is Morocco worth the trip? I would only have a few days, at most, but it would add another continent to the trip.
You can’t do that unless you have the secret Canadian sign on display. Fnord.
There actually is one. On my recent jaunt in Germany I was recognized by a guy out of Saskatchewan because I had sewn on my daypack. And no, it’s not a maple leaf
I recommend getting a train pass, finding a friend to go with, buying a travel pack (with a flap that zips over your backpack straps), a money belt, and learning the local language. At least enough to say: hello, how much, where is the bathroom, and which track is the train to xxx.
The first thing you should do is make a rough list of the places you want to see and the order in which you want to see them. You don’t have to stick to it, but it’ll help to have some idea.
Note cost of railpass, divide by number of days, and figure out how you’ll make it pay. Unless you’re going to be taking several major journeys on consecutive days, you’ll probably want a flexipass; use it for your five or ten biggest travel days, and pay as you go the rest of the time.
One final caveat: I don’t know much about the train system in Italy, but in Spain it’s notoriously limited and uses Madrid as a hub; often you’ll get a faster trip and a better price using the bus. There are a number of different bus companies, but ALSA covers most of the long distance routes, and they are generally very good. See http://www.alsa.es for bus information and prices.
Oh yes, and a bit more about must-see places in Spain. (I’ll try to restrain myself, as you’ll be there until April if you listen to all of us.)
If you’re thinking of heading toward Morocco, definitely stop in Granada. It’s tourist-heavy, of course, but the Alhambra is one of the most amazing places you’ll ever see. The Arab quarter is fun, too – great street life and sticky pastries.
Also, if you’ve got time try to see a bit of the north, where you’ll find the friendliest people and the best tapas. Santiago de Compostela is amazing, though very crowded with pilgrims and tourists; the whole old town is pretty much a monument in itself. San Sebastian has good beaches and hiking, awesome nightlife, and marvelous winding medieval streets; Bilbao, home of the new Guggenheim museum, is an easy day trip from there.
Agree on Barcelona. While you’re there, Figueras is worth a day trip to see the Dalí museum.
And wherever you are, try to get out into some of the smaller towns and villages – the great-city great-monument thing gets old after a while, and you’ll find that people are much nicer in places that are not inundated with tourists.
Cinque Terra. This is the Italian Riviera. It is in the North West of Italy, just on the coast and is comprised of 5 towns built until the cliffs on the sea. The towns are connected by a trail. Each town is postcard perfect. The area is known for olives, lemons, and grapes and the products produced from these (olive oil, limoncello, and wonderful wine). It is mountainous and so it may be a bit chilly at the time you are planning to go.
Sorrento. Sorrento is a bit touristy but is still a lovely town. If you get a hotel on the coast, you can see Mt. Vesuvious across the bay. You can also take a short ferry ride from here to Capri. There are many wonderful shops, restaurants, and bars in the alleys of this town.
Pompeii. I’m sure you’ve heard of Pompeii. It is just a short ride on a train (the Circumvesuviana, I beleive) to this ancient city. I knew about Pompeii before I went, but I was still shocked by how large and organized this ancient city was. I recommend getting a guided tour (which we didn’t do, but we did over hear some tour guides).
Just wanted to echo Fretful’s advice re: trip planning. Here’s what I did When I went I used the Flexipass with 5 days. I figured that (at the time) each “day” was worth $50 american. (recall that a Eurail “day” starts at 9pm and ends the following midnight giving you 27 hours of travel.) I used “days” for the following legs:
Madrid - Barcelona
Barcelona - Montpelier
Arles - Pisa
Venice - Budapest
Prague - Frankfurt
All other trips we just bought tickets cause it was cheaper that way. (BTW I was out 7 weeks)
I dunno about Cinque Terre – it was recommended to me but when we got to the Genoa Train Station EVERY backpacker was going there. They’re small towns and it seemed they’d be overrun so we skipped. Maybe its different in the fall?
And the best advice I got from “First Time Europe” – “set out the bare minimum of things you think you’ll need for your trip. Take half.”
I went in the early spring and there weren’t very many people there at all. I imagine it would be the same in the fall. I did hear from the locals that there are many, many people there in the summer time. If you don’t mind not being able to swim (there really was only one small beach between the 5 villages) and wearing a sweater or light jacket, then I still recommend going to Cinque Terre.
The beauty is astounding. Thinking about it literally makes me ache to see it again. I met the most wonderful people and had the best seafood ever while I was there.
The Cinque Terre is, near as I can tell, becoming the worst kept secret in European travel. I’m definitely making it there. I really want to spend some time roaming the Italian countryside, through a lot of the little towns.
Ok, if you’re looking to backpack through the countryside, why not fly into the bottom of one of the countries, then go all the way north, then back down south to the tip of the other one? For example, you can fly into Catania airport in Sicily, make your way up through Italy, hitting things like Mt. Etna (hey, when else are you going to be able to see Europe’s largest active volcano erupting), Taromina, take the train across the straights of Messina, to the mainland, hit a few of the hill towns of the Umbria area, then stop by Pompeii for a day. You should be able to see it and Vesuvius in one day, then grab the train up to Rome, about 2 hours or so, see Rome for about 3 days, 2 if you just hit the high points. Then take the train up to see Florence, about 2 to 4 hours, depending on what type of train you get on. One thing about the trains, the lines to buy tickets are long as hell, so if a train you want to get on is leaving in like 5 minutes, head out to the platfrom, and take a look at it. If it doesn’t look very full, hop on. You can purchase your tickets right on the train for no penalty or anything. That can save you missing a train, and having to sit around for 3 hours waiting for the next one. Take some time to explore the Tuscany area around Florence, and be sure and hit the major sites there. David is truely inspirering, and seeing the finger of Galileo is kind of neat. The tombs of Galileo, Dante, Machiavelli and Michelangelo are all located there, although Galileo isn’t actually buried at the site of his memorial. Take a day side trip to Pisa, then you can jump back onto a train, and be in Venice in 3 hours…spend some time wandering the canals, sit in San Marco square, and listen to the orchestra’s play. Then you can grab another train, and head around the Alps into Spain. Hit Madrid, and Toledo, and head on down south till you make it to Gilbralter, and fly out from down there someplace.
Whatever way you decide to go, remember to relax, enjoy the trip, and don’t get frustrated with the sometimes erratic scheduals.
can I go slight OT with an Italian standing-in-line at the train station story?? Course I can.
So, we’re standing in line at the Florence train station – to buy tickets for the train to Verona. We are 3rd or 4th in line and at the head of the line is an American businessman type who is angry because there is no “1st class car” (on this train 1/2 the front car was designated 1st class). So this guy is going on obnoxiously (in English) at the ticket guy about the uselessness of the Italian train system (and the ticket guy is supposed to do what to correct the “problem,” exactly? Call the mechanics and tell them to hook up a new car?). At this point my boyfriend and I are listening with amazement and pretending to be Canadian (“how 'bout them Blue Jays?”). When finally the Businessman bursts out with the classic:
“I want to complain!”
To which the ticket guy looks at him blankly, and replies:
“But you’re complaining now, aren’t you?”
Which causes travel partner and I to collapse in laughter, earning angry stares from businessman, who stomps off.
Check out the Valley of the Fallen in Spain. Franco’s memorial to the war dead, of both sides. Definitely the most impressive state monument that I’ve ever seen. It’s about an hour’s bus ride from Madrid, if I’m remembering correctly, and I think that El Escorial, the big palace, is reasonably close by. Also neat, but not nearly so cool as the valley.
I was in Nimes 10 days ago. We drove out to see the Pont Du Gard, a huge Roman aqueduct. Not only is it a wonderful sight, but you can swim and boat and cliffdive below it.
If you go to Portugal, you might go up a little to the north and west of Lisbon. There is a spot there on the coast that is the western most point of continental Europe. The countryside is fantastic (couldn’t descibe it to you my life depended on, but it is really cool.) There is at least one Roman castle on the way out to the coast. If you go to the right place on the coast, you can get a certificate that states that you stood on the western most point of the continent. OK, big whip. It did take me about five or six business trips to Lisbon to finally get to see the coast and get my certificate. Portugal is great for fish dishes, and I am told that you have to eat the grilled sepia. OK, I haven’t eaten that. I just have a problem with the smell of all things fishy. One of the guys I traveled with once ordered them, and he just loved the them. I was up wind of him (we had a table outside of the restaurant) but the smell still got me so bad that I had to stop eating, hold my nose, and wait for him to finish. The fish smell was bad enough for me, but you see, they don’t remove the beaks from the sepia before they grill them so that you have this horrid burned bone smell to contend with as well. Umm, I hope I haven’t put you off of what I am told is actually a very tasty meal. The guy I was with certainly scarfed the things down with obvious pleasure.
Oh, yes. Along the way from Lisbon over to the coast, there is a spot along the cliffs where the tides, high seas, and a peculiar vertical cave sometimes conspire to create the most awesome natural fountain that you have ever seen. Sorry I can’t be more specific, I was only there once when we had a couple of hours to kill on one of our business trips down there.
Only go to Morroco if you enjoy being hasseled all the time. As soon as you land you will have people all around you wanting to show you the souke. They will not take no for an answer and after a time ,especially if it is very hot ,tempers can get a little frayed.
My recommendation for Italy is Bologna. Wonderful town and ,having a very large university, plenty of cheap eating places and other spots where the students hang out.
“no, really, I’m from Toronto!”