You step off the plane. Everyone else doesn’t know it yet but you’re the best thing to hit Paris since Fashion week. In fact you are Fashion Week! You have a suitcase full of looks and a rudimentary French vocabulary with an accent that will have them switching to English within seconds. Now, where are you going to start?
Planning a travel itinerary for some of Europe’s most famous cities can be overwhelming, and there are just as many don’ts as there are dos, so let me walk you through how I see the city without too many quirky li’l menty-Bs.
Step 1: Know you!
There are a lot of things to do in a new city, some things that might even seem like must-dos simply because everyone does them. But we’re all different, and we’re all going to find different things to love in every place we visit. So throw out the typical itinerary for your destination and make one tailored to you. Ask yourself: what do I like to do in the city? Am I at my destination because I love food? Am I here to learn about the history? Do I just want to see the famous landmarks and move on? Do I just want to look fabulous with an intellectual-ish book on a cafe patio? Remember, if you would hate it at home, you’re probably going to hate it abroad too.
Step 2: Set a timeline
If you hate cities, I suggest the sweet single day visit. If you’re a city lover, maybe you want to spend your whole vacation surrounded by cobblestone streets. Either way, setting the right amount of time in the city can make or break your visit. Personally I’m a fan of the two to three day city vacay after which I flee to more natural spaces.
Step 3: Set some goals.
I think setting 3 goals for a city visit is the most you should bother with. After that, you can plan all your activities in alignment with these goals. I also feel like everyone’s first goal should be to experience the city’s unique vibe!
Some of you will be sitting there angry that I would dare tell you what to do. Others may fell like this is a no-brainer. But in my experience, this goal is easily lost in the hurry to see as much as possible.
The other two goals should be personal to you. For me those goals tend to be to learn the city’s history and to eat and drink well. For the sake of this article, I’m going to show how I would plan to fulfill these goals.
Step 4: Plan your itinerary with your goals in mind.
I’m going to spend two days in my lovely world-famed example city, here’s how I’m going to plan with my goals in mind.
Day 1: It’s all about the vibe.
I like to dedicate the first day to getting to know the city and her culture. My main activity for the day is going to be the city audioguide. Most European cities will have an audio guide, and if yours doesn’t then they are sometimes available on GetYourGuide or through free apps. Quality can vary so I recommend reading reviews before you buy. I like the audio guide because it lets you explore the city at your own pace, it’s cheap, and you can stop mid-tour to try that delicious looking pastry shop, have lunch, or read your book by the river. I find that these are the moments where you can really soak in the sights and sounds of the place. I also find that these are the first moments that get scheduled-out when you’re in a hurry. The audio guide day touches on all my goals: history, vibe, and I usually eat a lot. I always end up regretting it when I schedule more activities into this day.
Day 2: Time for the deep dive.
Day two is when I focus on a couple experiences that enrich my understanding of the city. I love a guided tour or two, whether it’s a food/wine tour, a museum tour, or even a class, this day is all about focussing on the things I find interesting. It’s also a great day to fit in a show! Lots of the cities you’re visiting have awesome arts and culture scenes that you will not dip into on the touristy side of things.
Step 5: No FOMO
We’re all human, and if something gets missed or you just don’t have time, don’t freak out. I promise you overstuffing your days is worse, I’ve tried it. Maybe you’ll come back? Maybe you won’t? Who cares! No matter what you do some things will always fall through the cracks, so don’t sweat it!
Don’t
Monument cram: if you fill your day walking between different monuments taking photos and spending very little time enjoying any one spot, you will leave with lots of pictures that mean very little to you, and few memories. You’ve seen a million pictures of the Eiffel Tower, unless you genuinely want to go see it in person for it’s own sake, don’t be afraid to cut a few famous monuments.
Go to museums if you hate museums: When you look up any city in Europe, you will get a list of the museums a mile long. Lots of people are going to love these museums, but unless it’s a topic you’re interested in, that person might not be you. As someone who knows very little about art, I know that a room full of famous sculptures start to just look like a lot of guys with their dicks out to me. So I skip the art museums, even the famous ones, and I’m not ashamed.
Pack your days too full: I find my brain needs a bit of time to think about what I just saw to really appreciate things, so I like to have like a two hour lunch in the middle of the day. This time lets me think, absorb the rhythm of the city, and most importantly, eat something delicious. I’ll often take this time to read, journal, work on a personal project or even just sit there.
Spend a lot of time in cities if you’re not a city person!: If you hate cities at home you ain’t gonna feel differently in Europe. Select a few cities you want to explore and then head to the countryside! There is some incredible nature and culture to be found outside of European cities, so don’t feel left out.
Go in peak seasons if you hate crowds!: Seriously, you will hate every moment of it. Winter off-season skips the crowds entirely at the cost of some closures. If you want to make sure everything is open, opt for the shoulder seasons.
Now go forth and show the cities of Europe what you have to offer!
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