I have read of tourists coming to Vienna and thinking there is anything worth seeing north of the Danube.
Unless you count the UN headquarters, there isn’t. All of that is a completely unstructured and boring mix of industrial, commercial and residential zones mostly built after WW2 like you find anywhere in the world.
I visited Vienna in 2015 and that’s one of the places where I’d gladly move if I could.
Berlin
France is becoming a far right country on two weeks. Do yourself a favor and stay as far as you can.
You should avoid France.
That’s actually a good rule of thumb for every scenario in life.
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I mean I’ll probably never get over there, but I’d love to visit Carentan (because WWII…well COD2…I loved that map lol) and Suave (because a cartoonist I like lives there.)
Paris is a hard no-no. The rest is fine.
Disagree. Central Paris is something special. Like any European capital there’s tons of stuff to see and do.
It falls off off a cliff once you’ve done the centre though.
I just went on a trip to France last month and while I wouldn’t say Paris was the highlight, the Louvre and Musée D’Orsay were unforgettable experiences. The Versailles gardens were pretty great too but that’s not really in Paris I don’t think.
París was ok when I went, but I do really remember there being loads of dogshit everywhere.
Yeah. Paris is a nice city, but it is still a city. I feel like people who judge Paris harshly don’t like any major urban area.
Paris is lovely, as long as you avoid the worst tourist areas. Seeing people queue in the middle of Champs-Élysées, between lanes of traffic, just to get that one pretend shot of the Arc de Triumphe is a special circle of hell.
The green dots are all fascinating places that I’ve visited or want to visit in France
Note that none of them are in P🤮ris
Paris is pretty sweet - just, for the love of God, don’t fucking drive. The metro and easy access to long distance trains make it a pretty frequent stop for me.
Years ago Paris was great fun to drive around. Getting on and off the Périph can be hair raising but when you make it, the sense of elation makes you feel so alive!
I’m not selling it, am I?
Some people are into extreme sports. Driving in Paris can definitely be classified as such
Driving in Paris is crazy as hell, and I did drive a lot in European cities. Although the worst I’ve ever been to has to be Bucharest. People drive hyper-crazy in Romania.
Is it possible for you to share your list?
If you haven’t been to France before, make Carcassonne your first stop. It’s a wonderful village with an exceptional walled medieval hamlet.
I’m French ahah. But sometimes it’s nice to see your country from an outside perspective. Being a tourist in your own country can be interesting!
The board game isn’t bad either!
Just guessing by the username and domain, they probably heard of it!
Stopped there for a day on the way back from Spain. The walled Hamlet is beautiful, especially nice to stroll through the streets after dark.
Stay overnight next time! The town surrounding the citadel is actually really pleasant and one of the staples of cuisine local to that area is Cassoulet!
Can’t see a way to do it privately, sorry. Unless you know a way
No go zones like in Sweden, and Ukraine atm.
Ah yes, the famously war torn Sweden.
Notice the use of the word “like” which tells the reader that no go zones exist elsewhere in the world
Ah yes, the famous “no go” zones of Sweden.
They have a “no go” zone in the city where I live. I went there. It is nice. The people are poor by Swedish standards but if you’re not from here you would not bat an eye. The only way you believe this is if you have never been to Sweden, or at least not a “no go” zone and/or you get all your news from racist right wing fuckwits who desperately try to convince you that Arabs are destroying European society.
OP Sweden is nice, even Stockholm and Gothenburg, just a bit expensive
Swedes told me that Malmö is a rough and ugly city before I went there. And honestly it was a fairly average coastal city that did not seem rough at all. Also had some beautiful spots.
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Sweden is actually pretty nice, if you stay away from bigger cities
Yeah, I visited sweden once, where I camped in nature. The cities were meh, but the nature was very nice.
Olten
Dublin is a kip, you have far better options throughout Ireland, if you want a city go to Cork or Belfast. Galway is a bit boring to me but could be your scene. After that there are loads of little spots with loads going for them. The entire west coast is great.
Dont rent a big car, I mean big by irish sandards.
Not a place in particular, but if you’re driving, avoid any border crossings during peak holiday seasons. Specifically when you’re crossing from the EU into non-EU countries or crossing from Schengen into non-Schengen area. During peak times you might be waiting at the border for hours.
For driving tunnels in the Alps are the worst. The Gotthard tunnel or the Karawanken tunnel on the first days of the vacation period were the worst traffic I have ever seen.
Don’t drive! You’re in Europe… trains go fucking everywhere!
Well, there are some exceptions. This year, I’m travelling by train to all my holiday destinations, but the last connection I will fly because the trains run in such a stupidly way.
Yea - my statement is generally accurate for Western Europe. Eastern Europe, especially the Balkans, is awful for high-speed coverage.
The high speed Internet coverage is quite the opposite though.
In my case actually Western Europe, but a very specific connection that would either need to go through the alps (which means slow speeds and switching trains a lot) or take a huge detour via Paris.
Things get less well connected in the more eastern nations, especially heading down to Greece.
It seems like you’ve never been to Germany
Wanted to say that too. I mean, technically the train network is pretty well connected but it’s so underfunded that trains oftentimes don’t drive at all or they’re late and then every train after that is also late. It’s mostly fine but it happens way too often. I had to stand in freezing cold for an hour or longer too many times in the last three years where I took the train daily.
I don’t know, maybe it’s just particularly bad where I live, but I regularly have to the the god damn Schienenersatzverkehr, and even this god damn fucking bus that is supposed to replace the train is always like 20 minutes late. Like how the fuck do you even mess that up DB? HOW?!
Yeah, I had to take a SEV for a while too because there was construction on the train tracks and I came late every single day because apparently nobody at DB thought that 2 full trains (and with full I mean that people always had to stand because there weren’t enough seats) couldn’t just fit into one bus. That bus was always completely full (people standing in the middle up to the front door) and a lot of people still just wouldn’t fit in.
Average DB experience
But I’m sure it’s gonna get better if the FDP keeps taking away funds to use them for autobahns
Just to note, this doesn’t apply to the UK. Our trains are generally useless and expensive.
Any reason in particular? I would have thought that the UK would be all over good rail transit.
One word: privatization
Avoid French cities: people constantly harass you for money and drugs and it looks shady and feels uncomfortable everywhere. Smaller towns can be nice.
And Italy: it’s expensive, people are rude and arrogant and nearly every place I stayed at gave me a curfew so you can’t even go out at night (but there’s nothing to see there anyway).
Better avoid the whole of Europe to be safe.
I’m always impressed by people projecting “arrogance” onto others, especially people you don’t shared a language with. Rude? Sure. Dismissive? Why not. But arrogant? How do you know? Did he give you a five page newsletter that extols his superiority? Are you a mind reader?
This comment doesn‘t hold any value anyway. Just bashing the people living there and then saying the whole country is shit.
Usually when hotels close past a certain time you can use a secondary entrance with your keys/card or at most call. Most hotels have a desk open 24h so this doesn’t even apply.
Also, I really don’t think Italians are generally rude. People are friendly, but also loud and warm, which often can be misunderstood. Assholes exist, obviously.
Usually, yes. But not where I stayed. It was all locked down. Maybe I just had bad luck. It was in Triest and Milan by the way.
Sorry, who gave you a curfew?
Several hostels I stayed at closed at 10 pm and wouldn’t allow people to go in or out
Don’t go to Amsterdam.
wat is dit nou weer voor onzin?
it’s one of the more friendly capitols in europe
Ten opzichte van welke andere hoofdsteden?
Well, it’s more like we don’t want them to come here.
As an American (but an immigrant), who wants to go to Amsterdam, what can I do to be mindful and not annoying?
Don’t get really drunk or stoned and end up being obnoxious.
Try to be aware of traffic (especially bikes) and of blocking sidewalks/alleys etc. Look both ways on every lane of traffic you cross (including both bike lanes).
Try to branch out your trip from the exact center of the city (or by the train station) and don’t rent an Airbnb inside the city center (they drive up local rents).
If you’re standing on red bricks or red tarmac, you’re probably blocking the bike lane.
If you can’t see the bike lane, it’s likely that you’re standing in it (they aren’t always marked).
As someone planning on going in a year or two, this is really good advice. Thank you.
I had a great visit there in 2013. Nearly everyone speaks English, but don’t just assume, ask (in Dutch) if they speak English. Very walkable, with pretty great transit. Lots to see just walking around. Just be a normal person and you’ll be treated fine.
Tbh even if you speak Dutch, they’ll just reply English. That’s the weird Amsterdam behavior
This happens in a lot of countries. For me I noticed it particularly with young people in Germany, and pretty much anyone in Norway.
Can make it slightly frustrating when actively trying to learn the language by speaking with people 😅
I think that’s kinda common in a lot of countries. If you look like you aren’t from there then they will speak in English.
I dont think so. I even replied in dutch and they still continued in English. The only place that ever happened to me
Don’t
don’t get drunk and fall in the canal and drown when you’re trying to take a piss
Digitalprimate
Oh simply be polite and most of all have a sense of your surroundings/situational awareness, i.e., don’t get in the way. You probably want to spend as little time in the main “downtown” area (roughly central station to the Rokin) as possible.
Although everyone under 80 years old speak near-native English (I exaggerate), you’ll endear yourself by learning to say good morning, good evening, thanks, and please in Dutch and to start conversations by asking “Is English ok?” in Dutch.
Basically just don’t be a jerk and the native Amsterdamers will happily take your holiday money.
True, but also if you go to Amsterdam as a tourist, you’ll end up in the tourist trap places. Shady coffee shops, tours of the red light district, and over priced bars where you have to pay for toilet usage. And you can be rushed through the Anne Frank house for a price.
Fair enough!
It’s still possible, in my opinion, to visit as a “tourist” (I live in Haarlem now, so technically I’m a tourist when I go) and avoid all the trashy stuff. You can seek out the cool little neighborhoods like the Jordaan or de Pijp.
I visited Amsterdam last month and loved every bit of it.
As someone planning on visiting there in a year or two, do you have any advice?
The public transport system will make you feel like you’re in the 2030s. Super simple. Have your smart phone or smart watch connected to a credit card, or just have a chipped credit card, and you boop your way in any transport, you boop your way out and it charges you for whatever distance you traveled.
The hotels are incredibly expensive there and we didn’t take one in the old city, but somewhere at a reasonable distance from a subway station a little further from the city center.
Do not neglect the possibility to bike in the city. We were walking everywhere, or taking trams or the subway, and I wish we biked more.
Boat tours are cool, you learn a lot. Lots of museums to visit. And if you can afford it, try these restaurants for an extraordinary experience : Wilde Zwijnen (The Wild Pig) and Moeders (Mothers).
You can visit Windmills with a 40 minutes bus ride. Pretty nice things to see and to taste (cheese!!!).
Thanks for the advice! I’ll be sure to keep it in mind :)
I’m reading this at Amsterdam airport. Trying to get the hell away from here asap.
Why?
because they don’t know how to pronounce Schiphol and therefore are probably lost and too touristy to ask for directions
Why? Amsterdam is always a great time.
this is an extremely tourist friendly city. but it’s also filled with drunk pieces of shit at night. they will try to fight you for a cigarette.
Yeah for sure, avoid big groups of British English speaking dudes for sure (and some of my best friends are English and they would agree!)
drunk people are garbage in general but English drunk people in Amsterdam are just fucked
And drugged pieces of shit as well. It’s a horrible city if you don’t do that kind of stuff
The news say Eastern Ukraine, though take that with a grain of salt as I haven’t been there personally.
Belgorod.
Common tourist places during tourist season are usually the worst. I took a 10 day trip to Paris one summer and it was a mix of the most popular tourist places (Louvre, Eiffel tower, etc) and some underground shit my sister found.
Every tourist place was jam packed with annoying tourists, costly and had tons of scammers surrounding it. Every less known place was really awesome, aside from one sketchy neighborhood we had to walk through where we were followed for a while.
I’d also say that Northern Europe has generally been much more pleasant to travel through, for me.
Beware of blind Belgian nuns
