Pinky

My fiancé and I ( from Texas, USA ) will be traveling to Europe during the Christmas holidays for about 2½ to maybe 3 weeks. We will fly into AMSTERDAM then travel by train to other countries. From all we have read on this website, we would like to spend "X-MAS IN GERMANY". Where should we spend "NEW YEARS EVE"? After Germany, we want to travel to ITALY, SPAIN, FRANCE and maybe Austria and Greece if time allows (not necessarily in this order ). In which order should we travel these countries? Can we travel to all of these countires by train (Rail Pass)? Can we see all these countries in this amount of time? How much time do you think we need to spend in each country? Which are the "MUST SEE SIGHTS" of each country? We don't want to miss their main attractions. Please list the cities and their "MUST SEE SIGHTS". This is our first trip to Europe and we want it to be a memorable vacation. Would love to hear from Europeans or Experienced Europe Travelers. Thanks a Million

nagster123

Well, I have been to the 3 countries ( Spain, France and Italy)...I would take Paris...France over the other 2 in a NY minute.. between Italy and Spain.. it is a coin toss, however, given the time of the year I think Italy would be my first choice since Spain is more of a Summer country...by the way my cities selections are Spain: Barcelona , Italy: Rome, Florence and Vinece....in that order...other places to consider are Bruge, Belgium...BeautifulPrague, Czech Republic...Awsome. Montreaux Switzerland..out of this world (stay at Montreaux Palace)safe travel

cody

I am stationed in england right now (NAVY) and have been to Scotland, Belgium, Spain, Germany, and AustriaFor New Years Eve, Edinborough, Scotland is the place to be. Its where everyone goes.Also, I here Poland is awesome for christmas.One more, Brugge, Belgium was the most beautiful city I have been to, with Munich Germany in a close 2nd. Good luck

NorrieB

Edinburgh castle, scotland also the highlands, greece, and spain.

t_maia20004748

When you are in Germany, the place for New Years' Eve is Berlin Brandenburg Gate. As for time, 2½ to maybe 3 weeks is just enough time to discover max 2 countries. Berlin alone takes a week to see properly, and you need to plan at least 4 days for Amsterdam. I tend to plan 2-3 weeks travel time per country, depending upon the size. IMO 1 week is the minimum time you should allocate to one country. In certain instances one week is just enough to see a certain region in a country, like Bavaria in Germany or Andalucia in Spain. Germany and Italy definitely require 3 weeks, the north or the south of one of these countries country alone could be done in 2 weeks. Austria takes 2 weeks, Spain 3-4 weeks, France 3 weeks.To give you an idea of the scale, Europe is roughly the same size as the Eastern part of the USA from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi. The individual countries are about the size of states in the USA. Think of your home state and how much time a guest would need to see the highlights in your state. Then consider that in Europe regions are much more fractionalised, that within 50 miles radius the landscape, the dialect, dress and local customs and traditions can change drastically. And with all the history there is a lot more to see. Therefore I strongly suggest you pick the 2 countries you want to see the most. You can travel all over Europe by train, it is no problem. There are only a few areas and routes where bus is the better option. Many people in Europe do not own a car, they walk, ride bicycles and take buses and trains all their live. If you want to do it cheap, do not buy a rail pass. If you plan your trip carefully and always use the cheapest method of travel available out of bus, train and plane, you can save up to 20 % compared to a railpass. Germany especially can be done on the cheap by using Laendertickets. I won't be giving you lots of highlights yet, there is just too much in all 5 countries. Ask a new question, stating the 2 countries you have picked and I'll make the effort. As for your choice of countries, I strongly suggest you consider the Czech Republic too. http://wikitravel.org/en/Berlinhttp://wikitravel.org/en/Dresdenhttp://wikitravel.org/en/Czech_Republichttp://wikitravel.org/en/Germanyhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20071101215045AABzbN6

IonelaA

If you want to travel into Europe for Christmas you should choose Austria instead of Spain...There the spirit of Christmas is great...