EURO TOUR in several European countries!
In July 2011, the two of us traveled independently to Europe along the route Moscow-Cologne-Amsterdam-Paris-Barcelona-Madrid-Rome-Pisa-Florence-Milan-Katowice-Moscow (Russia-Germany-Holland-France-Spain-Italy-Poland-Russia ).
Katowice in Poland was just a transfer point from plane to plane, we spent 6 hours at the airport, we didn’t go anywhere. We flew low-cost airlines, traveled by trains on cheap tickets. In total there were 5 air flights and 7 trains (7 according to the preliminary plan, but in reality - 9).
Everything was planned and bought in advance in Moscow, via the Internet.
Useful sites when preparing a route
www. skyscanner. net Excellent and convenient search for the cheapest flights. At the end, it redirects to the airline's website to buy a ticket
www. gpstourist. ru rental of an electronic navigator-guide in European cities
www. wikitravel. org/en Great guidebooks and up-to-date information on airport transfers (English version only, Russian version very incomplete).
www. lonelyplanet. com/thorntree/index.
jspa - a giant forum in English. language with answers to any questions related to travel. There is a very useful FAQ for each country.
shop. lonelyplanet. com/index. jsp? lpaffil=lphp-topindex - you can download for free some chapters of Lonely Planet guides (the most useful of them - Getting started) for any country in the world. In English.
www. Bahn. de-railway Germany
onlineboeken. nshispeed. nl railway Holland
www. trenitalia. com railway of Italy
www. renfe. es - railway of Spain
www. movelia. es - buses in Spain
www. thalys. com High speed trains in NW Europe (Germany, Belgium, Holland, France)
www. eurolines. com - buses throughout Europe
www. hostel world. com - hostels all over the world
www. booking. com - hotel booking
www. wizzair. com, www. easyjet. com, www. ryanair. com - large low-cost airlines, the rest will find www. skyscanner. net
Credit card
For Internet payments, I made a Visa Classic euro card at Alfa-Bank. It costs 700 rubles a year, it takes a week. Then you put the required amount in euros at any branch of Alfabank, where there is a terminal for receiving rubles.
I did a Dutch visa in Moscow at the visa center.
The site has a list of required documents. In addition to them, I handed over a fax with confirmation of hotel reservations in Amsterdam, printouts of hostel reservations on www. hostel world. com, itinerary by day, round-trip airfare, train ticket Cologne-Amsterdam. I asked for a visa for 25 days, they gave me for 18 days (exactly on the dates of the air tickets). A visa costs 35 euros + 1200 rubles for visa center services. You can apply directly to the Dutch embassy and do not pay the visa center, but you need to make an appointment at least 6 weeks in advance. On the website of the visa center, you set the day and time when you come to submit documents. If this is not the first Schengen in the last couple of years, then there will be no interview. There are no queues in the center, everything is very polite and correct. In the same center, you can apply for visas for Spain and Belgium. I did insurance in Rosno (600 rubles for 25 days). A certificate from the bank about the account and movement on it cost 400 rubles.
Travel itinerary, 18 days
16.07 Thu Moscow-Cologne SVO-CGN (www. wizzair. com) 17:50-19:4.26, 4€
07 Fri Cologne-Amsterdam train (available at www. bahn. de or http://onlineboeken. nshispeed. nl ) 08:48-11:25 (2:37) (ICE) 29€
18.07 Sat Amsterdam
19.07 Sun Amsterdam
20.07 Mon Amsterdam-Paris Train Thalys (www. thalys. com) 14:26-18:3.33€
21.07 Tue Paris
22.07 Wed Paris-Barcelona CDG-BCN (easyJet. com) 18:10.19:5.41, 24 €
23.07 Thu Barcelona
24.07 Fri Barcelona-Madrid night train (www. renfe. es) 22.20-07.21 33€
25.07 Sat Madrid
26.07 Sun Madrid
27.07 Mon Madrid-Rome MAD-CIA (www. easyJet. com) 6:50-9:1.23, 24€
28.07 Tue Rome
29.07 Wed Rome
30.07 Thu Rome-Pisa regional train (Regionale) (www. trenitalia. com)
10:15-14:2.17, 5€
Pisa-Florence 5.7€ regional train (Regionale) (www. trenitalia. com)
31.07 Fri Florence
1.08 Sat Florence-Milan. Train (www. trenitalia. com) 06:38-10:05 (03:27.23, 5€
2.08 Sun Milan-Katowice BGY-KTW (www. wizzair. com) 12:40-14:2.52€
Katowice - Moscow KTW-SVO 20:45-23:15 (www. wizzair. com) 34.5 €
Each traveled with one backpack up to 10 kg, it was taken on planes as hand luggage. They didn’t put anything in luggage anywhere, and, accordingly, they didn’t pay extra for it. The size restrictions for hand luggage on all low-cost airlines are 55x40x20 cm. With a ruler, no one checks or weighs luggage. But if the luggage is very large in appearance, they can find fault.
In the case of online check-in with Easyjet, they generally look at it at the last moment, already when boarding the plane. If there is an overweight, you can hide the excess somewhere, check in, and then return and pick up the hidden luggage, since you carry your hand luggage on board yourself.
Before the start of the trip, we ordered a navigator-guide "two in one" gpstourist, it is convenient and not to get lost, knows maps of sightseeing cities, and shows sights on the map. in addition, as you approach them, it turns on an audio track with the guide's stories. It's funny.
From Moscow we flew to Cologne (Cologne Bonn Airport). It is located between Cologne and Bonn, you can go to any of them, which is why the airport is called that. Electric trains (S-Bahn) run from the airport to Cologne, cost 2.3 € one way, buy from a machine (you need to have euro coins or small bills), the train travels 15 minutes and you arrive at the Koln Hbf main station.
Right next to the station, the main attraction of Cologne is the cathedral. One of the best in Europe.
We saw the city (3 hours or half a day is enough), spent the night and left in the morning by train to Amsterdam. ICE train, bought a ticket at www. Bahn. de (29€) there are a lot of them during the day, you should look for cheap tickets well. When buying tickets at www. Bahn. de you must carry the card you used to pay on the website during your trip (virtual cards are not suitable). No card - ticket is invalid. The train leaves at 2:37, arriving at the main station in Amsterdam. Tickets are checked on the train by the same controller (one for the entire train) 2 times.
Stayed in Amsterdam for 3 days. There are no free maps of the city at tourist offices, you can only take them at a hotel or hostel. The center is small, you can move around on foot or by bike. We never took the subway, there was no need. Time to explore the city - 1-2 days (for 1 you can do it if there is very little time).
Entrance to the Van Gogh Museum - 12.5 €, discounts do not apply. There is a good catering point (there are several of them around the city) - Wok to go or Wok to walk. 5-7€ per serving (noodles or rice with meat or vegetables) - very tasty, you can eat well in one serving. In Amsterdam, it is worth renting a bike for at least 3 hours (€6). The city is very well adapted for bicycles, paths are everywhere, cars give way to cyclists everywhere, and pedestrians huddle in fear to the side of the road.
From Amsterdam we went to Paris by train www. thalys. com for 33€. Like everyone else, the ticket was bought in advance on the site. It takes 4 hours, there are many departures during the day, not all of them have cheap tickets (mostly cheap tickets for inconvenient times). Tickets were checked once already on the train.
The train arrives in Paris at the Gare de Nord station. This is a large transport hub. It was the second time in Paris, so I paid attention to places that I didn’t manage to visit the first time.
A free map of the city can be obtained from tourist information points. A metro ticket costs 1.6€, it’s more profitable to buy 10 tickets at once (carnet) in the machine - 11.6€. I have never met controllers, but they happen (the Parisians told). Some stations also require a ticket to get off. However, free ride is real. Fine - 50€. You need to plan at least 3-4 days for Paris (if for the first time). But you can stay for 2 days and then come back sometime.
Entrance to the Louvre - 9 €, closed on Tuesdays, the first Sunday of each month the entrance is free. Attention for ball lovers! The Louvre has luggage storage, it's free. And you can check in your luggage without buying a ticket, as the luggage room is located in the lobby, up to the ticket control point. And no one in the cell checks whether you have a ticket or not. That is, you can take your backpack there, walk around Paris all day, and pick it up in the evening, before the museum closes.
From Paris we flew with easyjet. com to Barcelona for 41.24€.
With easyjet, there is a small nuance. The declared price on the site is lower, but when paying with any other card, except for Visa Electron, a commission of about 8-9 € per transaction is added to the amount at the very end, and it cannot be avoided in any way (except to pay Visa Electron, but not the fact that payment by it will pass). Also on the easyjet website. com after buying a ticket, you can do an online check-in (online check-in) and print a boarding pass. This can be done as early as 60 days before your flight departure. If you have only hand luggage (1 item up to 10 kg), with this boarding pass you can immediately go to the security control (security control), and then to the gate (gate). The plane flew from Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG). From Paris, you need to get there by RER train, line B. A ticket costs 8.4 €, you can buy it from a machine or at the box office (there are far from all ticket offices with staff in Paris stations). The train ride takes about 40 minutes. There are 2 RER stops at the airport. The penultimate one is for terminals 1 and 3, and the last one is for terminal 2.
See on your ticket which terminal you have.
From the airport (Barcelona International Airport (BCN) to the city center - 10 km. The Renfe train runs every 30 minutes, travel time 25-30 minutes, cost 2.20 €. Or you can buy a T-10 ticket from the machine (€ 7.20 for 10 trips , including all bus and metro trips made within 75 minutes after activation). Thus, we got from the airport to the center for 0.72€ - a European record! The same ticket was used immediately for the metro, the additional trip was not counted. This T-10 is a card programmed for 10 trips, i. e. it can only be used by two people if you travel together all the time.
We were in Barcelona for 2 days, but I would love to stay there for 3-4 days. Gaudi architecture is very impressive (La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Park Guell)
I also highly recommend a trip to Mount Montjuï c (metro, then on foot, or a funicular. But the funicular (suspended cabins) is very expensive, and it takes about 15-20 minutes to walk).
In Barcelona there is a beach, you can swim in the Mediterranean Sea. Outside the city (about an hour by train) - the beaches are better.
We left Barcelona for Madrid by night train (www. renfe. es). Rides 22.20-07.21, cost 33€. I chose the Joven Tracheta (youth card) fare on the site, tickets are cheaper at this fare. No one checked the availability of youth cards (ISIC, Euro26). There is another option - several night buses (www. movelia. es), but I could not buy tickets there with my card, since the site did not accept it. On all other sites I bought normally. Buses run 8-10 hours and cost 30€. Security measures at Barcelona's Sants railway station are the same as at airports - luggage is seen through, people are let through the frame. ETA terrorists are feared. Tickets are checked 3 times at the station itself, before entering the track. On the way and in the train itself, no one checks anything. The compartment consists of 8 seats (opposite each other), if the compartment is full, it is not very comfortable to sleep.
In our compartment, besides us, there was also a Pole and a specially trained Chinese man and a half meters tall. He couldn't even toss his suitcase into the luggage rack by himself. Each got 2 opposite chairs. The Chinese did not feel any discomfort at all. We spent the night in wild perverted poses, but slept well. There are other cars - there are no separate compartments, the seats are arranged according to the principle of a bus. In Madrid, from the station, we took the metro to the center (ticket 1 €, there is a package of 10 tickets, it costs about 7.4 €).
If you don't have much time and don't go to the Prado Museum, one day is enough for Madrid. We were two days, the second just rested. There is an interesting center for contemporary art Tyssen (across the street from the Prado). The only large supermarket in the center is in Sol Square, in the basement of the El Corte Inglé s shopping centre. Sol Square (metro station of the same name) is the most central square, all routes around the city start from it.
In some places there are tourist information centers, they will give a free map and answer all questions. In Madrid, it is worth going to the Royal Palace (€3.5 according to ISIC, Euro26). Also a very cool Retiro park.
Since we had a very early plane to Rome (6:50), we didn’t have time to get to the airport by metro in the morning, so we spent the night at Barajas International Airport (MAD). We arrived there at night by metro (1€ for a metro ticket + 1€ additional fee for a trip to the airport, this additional ticket can be bought from a vending machine right at the airport, you won’t go through the turnstiles without it). The metro from the center takes about 20 minutes (there is a special line to the airport). The aircraft was an easyJet. com, 6:50-9:10, the price for one is 23.24€.
If you spend the night at the airport and you have a boarding pass from online check-in in your hands - do not wait for check-in to open in the morning, go straight to the security check, and then sleep and wait for boarding the plane in the waiting room.
Because there are no benches anywhere before the waiting room - you have to sleep on the floor. There were many such characters in front of the check-in desk, creating the atmosphere of a gypsy camp, almost our entire flight. We also joined them and did not get much sleep.
Buses run from Rome's Ciampino Airport (CIA) to the city. The cheapest option is to take a bus from the airport to the final metro station Anagnina (1.2€). They go every 40 minutes. Tickets can be bought from the driver. Bus stop right outside the airport. The chaos is wild there, as elsewhere in Italy, so think quickly, do not get lost. In Italy, everything is almost at home, so the survival skills acquired at home will help a lot. Then take the metro to the center (Termini station). A metro ticket costs 1€. Surprisingly, there are only 2 metro lines in Rome - A and B. Termini - transfer.
How many days do you need in Rome? Minimum - 2 days. Optimal - 3 days. We looked at almost everything for 2, on the morning of the fourth day we left for Pisa.
The most important objects are the Colosseum, next to it is the Palatino, the forums, Piazza Venezia. Then the Vatican. It takes 20 minutes by metro from Termini station. Not far from the Vatican is the Castel Sant'Angelo. Also of the main attractions are the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon. But in general, there are a lot of interesting things in Rome. The navigator-guide greatly reduces the time of orientation on the ground. If you don't have a navigator, you can get a free map at the airport (at the desk of the company that sells bus tickets) and at the hotel/hostel.
There are always long queues at the Colosseum, but there is one tricky trick. A ticket to the Colosseum also gives you the right to enter the Palatino (a large area next to the ruins of all stripes) and the Roman Forum. The entrance to the Palatino is 300 meters from the entrance to the Colosseum. First you go to the Palatino ticket office, buy this single ticket there (12 €), then skip the line to the Colosseum, looking down on timid tourists. After the Colosseum - in Palatino.
I beg you not to succumb to mass madness and do not do this.
There are many regional trains from Pisa to Florence (Firenze in Italian) (every 30-60 minutes, 5.7€). For some reason, no one checked the tickets in it. It was painful. I really liked Florence. We were there in the evening and the whole day - that was enough. There is also the famous Uffigi Gallery. If you are going to it - plan more time. But in principle, you can still do it in a day. Florence is very small. And the atmosphere in the city is much more historical and friendly than in Rome. The city makes a pleasant and holistic impression.
In the morning we had e-tickets Florence-Milan (06:38-10:05), 23.5€.
Arriving at the central station, we did not find any traces of our train. The scoreboard did not work, maddened crowds of tourists and Italians rushed around the station, no one knew from which path what was sent, there were no personnel at the station.
Everyone listened to accessible and understandable announcements in Italian (250 words per minute). Then we found out that we had mixed up the stations. We came to the central, Santa Maria Novella, and the train departed from the secondary Stazione Firenze Campo Marte. But we realized it too late. Train has gone. Railroad workers suddenly appeared in uniform and informed us that we could take the next train and only pay the difference. Trains in Italy are high-speed (about 47 €, the Florence-Milan journey takes 2 hours), medium - 3-3.5 hours and about 25 € and regional (there are no direct lines between Florence and Milan). We waited for the next middle train, imposingly took other people's seats and drove off. The inspector who appeared an hour later did not share our optimism and dropped us off in Bologna. He did not demand a fine, he said that we had to buy a Bologna-Milan ticket, since we were late. The Bologna-Milan ticket cost 25€.
I decided not to give up so easily, went to the customer service (there is one at every major station), explained to them the difficult story of my life, and they wrote me incomprehensible squiggles on my expired ticket, stamped it, and said that we could get to Milan free of charge by two regional trains. First Bologna-Piacenza, then Piacenza-Milan. So we did. So pay close attention to which station your trains depart from.
There are very few attractions in Milan. Cathedral (central metro station Duomo), castle, La Scala Theatre, shopping street Monte Napoleone. The cathedral and the castle are very impressive, the theater looks like an ordinary house, the shops give rise to a feeling of class hatred. There are a lot of shops, money can be easily spent at a rate of 1000 € / meter and more. There is also a traditional set of democratic clothing brands. Sightseeing may take 2-3 hours.
The next day we went to Bergamo airport.
It is the farthest airport in the Milan area. Buses to all 3 Airports (Malpensa, Linate and Orio al Serio airport, Bergamo) depart from Milano Centrale station (main railway station, metro station of the same name). A ticket to Bergamo airport costs 8.9€, 3 tickets are sold for the price of two (17.8€). You can buy both at the kiosks at the station and from the driver. Buses run every 20-40 minutes, they travel for an hour, traffic jams are possible on weekdays, you need to make a margin of time.
Wizz Air plane. com Milan-Katowice BGY-KTW (Wizzair. com) 12:40-14:2.52€
Wizz Air plane. com Katowice - Moscow KTW-SVO 20:45-23:15 (Wizzair. com) 34.5 €
Then we flew to Polish Katowice, where we waited for 6 hours at the airport. There is absolutely nothing to see in Katowice itself, it takes 1.5 hours to go to Krakow (minibus to Katowice + train or direct minibus, which is more expensive). In the evening we boarded the Katowice-Moscow plane and two hours later we were at home. The journey is over.
Hostels booked through www. hostel world. com, also searched for entries on www. couchsurfing. org. In Italy, Italian couchsurfers only accept girls in any quantity.
If you wear the proud title of a man or travel as a couple, then contact women or forget about registration in Italy in general. In Florence, however, I found free accommodation, read about it below.
www. bp club. en/goto.html? http://www. hostelworld. com/availability. php/Station-Hostel-for-Backpackers/Cologne/15508.18. 5€ per person/day per bed in a 6-bed mixed room. Ideal location (300 meters from the Cathedral and train station). Clean. Recommend.
Booked on their website www. hotel-abba. nl
37.5€ per person/day for a double room, toilet and bathroom shared by 2 rooms. Send confirmation by fax to the embassy. In case of cancellation of the reservation, in any case, the cost of the first 3 nights will be charged from the card. Was chosen only because of the visa, in general there are cheaper options. Location - 15 minutes walk to the center. Breakfast is included in the price (buffet).
Paris, Barcelona
Housing on www. couchsurfing. org
www. bp club. en/goto.html? http://www. hostelworld. com/availability. php/Hostal-Miralva/Madrid/3586
Booked for 17€ per person/day per bed in a 6-bed mixed room.
We were given a double room for the same money, because there was a large influx of tourists. Located right in the center of Madrid, they clean it with manic persistence. Our room (Private) had no windows.
www. bp club. en/goto.html? http://www. hostelworld. com/availability. php/Hostel--Hotel-Positano/Rome/7531.18€ per person/day per bed in a 6-bed mixed room. Good hostel, located near the main station (Termini), to the center 15-20 minutes on foot. There is an inexpensive Pam supermarket 200 meters from the hotel. Clean, very comfortable bed, clean bed. Recommend.
Lived in a hostel, but on www. couchsurfing. org. They provide one room (4 beds) for couchsurfers. You have to pay only 4€ for membership in their organization. A bed is provided only for an additional 2€, you can sleep in your own sleeping bag. Good location, good conditions. Profile in CS www. bp club. en/goto.html? https://www. couchsurfing. org/people/ospitale/
www. bp club. en/goto.html? http://www. hostelworld. com/hosteldetails. php/Adelchi-Hotel/Milan/1608.22, 5€ per person/day. Room for two. Located in a gloomy area, next to the Lambreta metro, 20 minutes to the center by metro. Clean, bathroom and toilet in the room.
Good conditions for this money. There are very few hostels in Milan. This is actually a 1 star hotel. There is a supermarket 200 meters from the hotel.
In Madrid, a set lunch per person in a restaurant costs 12€, in Rome - 15€. Often there is an extra charge of 1-2 € if you sit on the terrace, and not inside the establishment. Mostly bought in supermarkets. A set of groceries for lunch or breakfast + lunch for two usually cost about 5 €. Almost every supermarket has promotional products, as well as private label products - the supermarket's own brand. They are significantly cheaper than other brands. Basically, they took just such products. Fruits and vegetables cost about the same as in Russia. We didn’t buy water, we collected water in a 1.5-liter bottle from columns and taps. In Spain and Italy, there are a lot of drinking water taps on the street. In supermarkets, almost everywhere, water cost 0.42-0.75 € for 1.5 liters. In Europe, the further north, the more expensive.
Of our countries, the most expensive was Holland, then, in descending order - France, Spain, Italy.
5 flights and 7 trains cost 319€ per person
Accommodation (11 nights in hotel/hostels) - 224.5€ per person
Free accommodation - couchsurfing (6 nights), 1 night Barcelona-Madrid train, 1 night Madrid airport
Average daily expenses per person - 16€ (food, city transport, transfers to/from airports, entrance to museums)
In total, the whole trip (18 days - all transfers, flights, accommodation, meals, daily expenses, entrance to museums, public transport, transfers to airports) cost 800€ per person.
It is very convenient and cheap to travel around Italy by regional trains. You do not need to buy tickets in advance - 2 minutes before departure, they cost the same as 2 months before departure. Tickets for regional trains never run out. This mode of transportation is especially convenient if you want to visit many small towns in Italy. Schedule and prices - at www. trenitalia. com
Lowcosters are often late. 15-30 minutes late is a very common occurrence. Consider this.
Good route, visited many iconic cities. Nothing is impossible! You can visit anywhere in the world, you just need to want and make an effort.
It was a little annoying that they were all big cities (except for Pisa). Such routes should be diluted with some kind of nature and small towns / villages. In the end, the freshness of perception is lost, what is seen does not cause a great emotional upsurge. It is also a good idea to plan a day of rest somewhere in the 6-7 days of active travel. Because a strong fatigue accumulates from continuous walking, sightseeing and new experiences.