If you were visiting europe what would you see?

[youngsterbiker]

As title, Planning a trip around europe.... The route so far: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Paris,+France/Carcassonne,+France/Andorra/Monaco/Milan,+Italy/Treviso,+Italy/Memorial+and+Museum+Auschwitz-Birkenau,+Wi%C4%99%C5%BAni%C3%B3w+O%C5%9Bwi%C4%99cimia+20,+32-603+O%C5%9Bwi%C4%99cim,+Poland/N%C3%BCrburgring,+Nuerburg,+Germany/Circuit+de+Spa-Francorchamps,+Route+du+Circuit+55,+4970+Stavelot,+Belgium/Paris,+France/@46.504306,1.2580709,5z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m62!4m61!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e1f06e2b70f:0x40b82c3688c9460!2m2!1d2.3522219!2d48.856614!1m5!1m1!1s0x12ae2c390116bd8b:0xe28fdf3b77a114c7!2m2!1d2.353663!2d43.212161!1m5!1m1!1s0x12a5f52e989ef095:0x7c93ed778ea7f92!2m2!1d1.521801!2d42.506285!1m5!1m1!1s0x12cdc26f7b3f8531:0x74f7784c3ac49cfc!2m2!1d7.4246158!2d43.7384176!1m5!1m1!1s0x4786c1493f1275e7:0x3cffcd13c6740e8d!2m2!1d9.1859243!2d45.4654219!1m5!1m1!1s0x47793e99135113bd:0x307098715907f00!2m2!1d12.2430617!2d45.6668517!1m5!1m1!1s0x4716be32014dffa1:0xe8e173d6821a53c5!2m2!1d19.2019829!2d50.0274106!1m5!1m1!1s0x47bfad369010c559:0x80dbc21b73ca589a!2m2!1d6.9426625!2d50.3340981!1m5!1m1!1s0x47c07b5c0460f737:0x78105e8819c35c0e!2m2!1d5.97205!2d50.4369118!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e1f06e2b70f:0x40b82c3688c9460!2m2!1d2.3522219!2d48.856614!3e0
We are flying to paris and renting a car (three of us) as my little petrol astra will ruin our wallets driving from scotland. Is there anywhere you would add if you could?
Cheers.

[midden]

http://www.interrail.eu/interrail-passes/global-pass


For starters I'd consider this option.............I did it years ago for whole of August it was best experience.

[youngsterbiker]

ahh but the point is we want to drive.. and we only have a weel :P thanks for the option though, if driving falls through, thats our next best option
 

[celticdog]

Buchenwald Concentration Camp Museum and Memorial. A half hour detour at most.

[BBROWN1664]

We are flying to paris and renting a car (three of us) as my little petrol astra will ruin our wallets driving from scotland. Is there anywhere you would add if you could?

Unless you are getting a very good deal on airfares and car hire, you will probably be better off driving down from Scotland. A lot of hire places charge a fortune of you take a car out of the country and don't even think about changing cars at the border. It will bankrupt you.
As an example, I had to hire a car in Paris earlier this year and wanted to drop it off in London. Price was €2500 for one days hire!!! I ended up dropping the car off in Calais but that still cost €400 for about 3 hours use!

Places to see for me would include Normandy for the beaches and a museum or two. The rest would depend on how long you have to do the tour.
Poland for the concentration camps, Munich in September for the beer festival, Koblenz in August for the Rhine in Flames festival, Monaco for the race circuit, Venice, Milan, that pass from Switzerland into Italy, Milau viaduct, Barcelona etc etc

[Mick-H]

Loads of foreigners 

[the cueball]

I had an amazing 2.5 month ride around Europe this summer on my Pan European, I wouldn't even dream of driving it.


Far too many road works, crashes, narrow roads and passes meaning car drivers spend most of their time doing nothing. I [size=78%]think you'll find it very frustrating doing it in car, especially if you go anywhere near tourist areas.[/size]


If you do make it to the more eastern countries, remember to get a vignette, needed for the motorways.


The roads are far better over there, and even the petrol is cheaper and higher rated that our stuff (I was using shell race fuel sold at most of their garages - 106 RON, for under 80 pence a litre).


I wouldn't bother with the Stelvio pass in Italy either, completely overrated as a driving/riding road... the route heading south into Bornio is far better (IMO)


Southern Germany has some great roads, as does Southern France into Spain. The route around Italy into Monaco etc is very nice, but again it's really jam packed with cars at a standstill in all the small villages etc.

[sadlonelygit]

ok, deep breath and..................
milan, meh!, but lake como, Bellagio, mandello del lario for the guzzi museum and factory tour. sirmione is nice as you're passing.
cross into slovenia at uccea, do the julian alps to kranska gora
bratislava is ace for a couple of days, then up to zakopane using the country roads. dunajec gorge is a hoot.
visit the Wieliczka salt mines and oswiechim
spend a day in Krakow
avoid the road to wroclaw, cut over to czech r and hit prague (st cyrils church and the hoes on wencelas sq) stop off at ardach teplice (sp) on way to prague.
head north to Teplice and wave at the friendly girls on the roadside, head north to dresden, have fun and watch out for motorway carnets

[Fazerider]

I was very impressed by Gouffre de Padirac near Rocamadour, admittedly I was 10 years old at the time… still, it's not far from your route so might be worth a detour if you like caves.

[youngsterbiker]

Cheers for all the feedback. it is true i have not reserched the rental part, have to talk to rental companies. i will check out all the places you have all suggested on the interwebs later. As far as roads go, although i originally wanted to go by bike, none of my friends ride, a trip like this would be to much alone... so car it is. As for sitting in traffic.. well ill make sure its my turn to sit in the back and admire the views/drink

[Mick-H]

Could a campervan be an option?

[pilninggas]

Could a campervan be an option?

OP: If you can do a bike (and lots of us tour Europe and further alone riding into the heart of a great city and parking for free is not to be underestimated.), buy a camper van - a decent one - use it and sell it when you are done. You'll get your money back, unlike a hire car, and if you catch the bug you can keep it. You can still hotel, you can stay in the laybys and aires or in campsites.

All routes, particularly non motorcycle will hve compromises. But Como to Bolzano then the back roads to venice is a million times better than Milan to Venice on the Autostrada - it's pretty industrial on that route anyway.

[sadlonelygit]

Could a campervan be an option?

that's how we do it.............and we chuck a bike in the back for days away

[locksmith]

Thats some route for a week !!!
Thats 7 hours driving every day 

[Val]

I would loose completely concentration camps from the route. Nothing to see there, this part of Poland is goats and sheeps only, and huge detour for it. You will learn way more by visiting NS museum in Cologne, El De Haus; is the former headquarters of the Gestapo: http://www.museenkoeln.de/ns-dokumentationszentrum/pages/315.aspx?s=315

Will add Cologne (catedral, 36 museums and great town, Koblenz and Lahneck Castle, Prague, Budapest)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahneck_Castle

IMO if you have not visited Prague and Budapest you can't say you have got European trip.

And why anybody would want to see Andorra? Then you have 550 miles from Andorra through the most boring part of France to Paris? Except Milau viaduct nothing to see or do on your chosen route there.

This trip for 7 days is a complete waste of time. You need to plan less travel and more sightseeing. Otherwise you will see European motorways and roads only not the things that worths seeing, because you will travel most of the time. You need at least 3 days for Paris only.

[Val]