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Originally Posted by linz06  I am loving this thread! My boyfriend and I are planning a trip next year around September. I've been saving up for a year already  He has been there before - he worked in Ireland for 4 months and travelled around a few countries during that time. We're taking 3 weeks (I'm trying to push for 4!) and we'll just be backpacking and staying in hostels. Our basic plan is to fly into Spain and fly out of London to come home. We'll go wherever we feel like going! But I have a few places I'd like to see for sure... Paris, Venice, Vatican City, and I really want to go to Hungary (my grandma is from there).
I'll be following this thread for tips, and I hope you have a great trip! |
Once again, I'm drooling
! Push for the 4 weeks, if you can. The more time you can spend in your favorite places, the better - you get such a deeper understanding of the city's personality - and of the people.
In Spain, I've only been to Madrid - spent a week there. Madrid is incredible - very cosmopolitan, def a big city. The architecture is a real treat - old, gothic, rich, opulent - there is SO much to see, it's tough to even know what to say
. Plaza de Mayor is a must see (plaza in middle of the city), there are lots of tours you could take, the Prado Museum is fantastic.
The shopping is a blast (and I generally *hate* shopping) - so many different little and big shops. Just walking around Madrid is sumptuous in itself - little winding streets, just what you would picture in an older EU city, super charming. "Old Town" is very cool to see, and very hip/fun.
You can get lost sooooooo easy in Madrid (and I did, several times) and it's often best to step into a hotel and ask for help, rather than ask strangers. Even tho it's a big city, I didn't find Madrid to be as fluent in English (by far) as most other EU cities - but most hotel desks are fluent and can help. I felt quite safe in Madrid, though not quite as safe/easy as I did in Amsterdam - it has a much different feel.
If you can get to the countryside or seaside...then you have all sorts of other things to see!