The beauty of Europe around every corner. What a mesmerizing continent that has to be on everyones list of places to visit in their lifetime. Paris, London, Rome and more!
Choose your trip:
European Travel Tips:
Luggage: Do your best to bring carry on luggage. You will be carrying your luggage a good deal and sometimes up and down very narrow stairs and elevations, so it’s much easier to carry something lighter than a huge 29” bag. If you use travel cubes along with rolling your clothing, you can really fit a lot into carry on luggage. With that, I would also recommend getting luggage with rollerblade wheels as opposed to spinners. Spinners can be challenging to roll down the streets in Europe and can often get away from you.
Clothing: Plan your trip days out in advance. It’s never going to be a perfect scenario. Obviously you can’t control the weather. With that in mind, you still know that you will need at least one dressy outfit, something to wear if it rains, and depending on where you are going and when, something warm to wear.
Cell phone: Every time I have traveled to Europe, right when I get off the airplane, I look for a place to find a SIM card. Every airport will usually have some type of vendor with these. The international SIM cards are cheap and can be used across all countries in Europe with great service and data. Most cell phone services charge a lot for international plans. It’s something to look into.
Transportation: Get to know your form of transportation. Train travel is extremely easy in Europe and I’ve never had issues with the efficiency of these. I would highly recommend using all forms of train and bus systems. The tickets are usually extremely affordable vs getting a car. Plus you don’t have to deal finding parking, reading street names on the fly and more! Something we also recently loved that was introduced to Germany is the lime bike. These electric scooters are so convenient. Look at the lime app and see if they will be around the area that you are traveling to. It takes a second to get used to but we loved them!
Eat local: Please don’t be that person that goes to Paris and eats McDonalds. There are so many amazing places to try all over Europe and the local cuisine is truly fantastic. Yelp should be your friend with reviewing restaurants and bars. It’s rare in most cities that they don’t accept credit cards, but just in case, always have Euros on you.
Airbnb: Be prepared for a difference in Airbnb for the most part. You can find some absolutely amazing places that are very close to top sights in each city. Expect them to a bit smaller sometimes vs US Airbnb. The showers are also extremely small a lot of times so here is the heads up. The best thing I can say with accommodations is find a place central to the main sites you will be seeing. You will thank me when you don’t have long to travel at the end of the day. Also, if you can make it work, find a place close to the rail. It’s so much easier to just walk across from the train station or have just a short car ride.
Itinerary: Plan your trip out and know when places are opening and closing. In Europe, a lot of places are closed on weekends or Mondays. Make sure that you know what will fit into your schedule or you could randomly show up to a museum and be extremely disappointed.
Language: Almost all places that we have traveled in Europe know English. That being said, get to know some of the basic phrases in the country you are visiting. It will go a long way with people.
Take a walk: Do this, take a day on your itinerary and just use most of it to walk around the city you’re in and do as the locals do. You’d be so surprised to see how much you learn about the culture and even fantastic restaurants. We’ve found so many amazing places and met very friendly people that have given us great advice on things to do. If you take a walk, you have no idea what you can find out that won’t be on any travel guides you find!
Football: If you get a chance in Europe, go see a football match or any other sporting event that is happening. Football is taken very seriously in Europe and has a culture in itself. The intense rivalries between cities and the hype leading all the way up to the match is unbelievable to watch. You won’t see anything like it at a sporting event in the United States. We have been to matches in England with the premier league and the Bundesliga in Germany and you can’t beat the atmosphere.
Grab a Pint: Europeans are very dedicated to their crafts and their crafts often lead to some type of alcohol. Whether you are in Paris and drinking a fantastic wine, Belgium trying a Tripel or Italy drinking an Aperol Spritz. Try the local favorites. Europe has spectacular drinks that sometimes you will never find again. Try all that there is to offer, you will be pleasantly surprised.
Take the Stairs: I learned this from our first trip to Paris. Every European city has amazing views that you will not see unless you get to a higher elevation. If there is an option to take the stairs up to a top level and see the city do it. Petra Tower in Prague, Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre in Paris, or the top of the Duomo in Florence. Yes they will be a bit of a walk, but the view is well worth it.
Watch for scams: Be careful of scams around high tourist attractions. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Sadly we fell for a scam in Paris involving a group of people hiding a ball under a cup and you have to guess which cup it’s under. It’s purely a scam and you won’t win it. Sadly there are many people that think they will. Be very careful not to fall for these scams. They are everywhere.
The Thoughts of a Traveler 