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-   -   Prague or Monaco for a flying visit... (http://www.travelbanter.com/showthread.php?t=173904)

]v[etaphoid[_2_] October 6th, 2011 09:22 AM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
Hey campers,

I stayed up last night taking advantage of some dirt-cheap offers from Qatar
Airways to fly to Europe for the equivalent of $900 US. By local standards,
that's about half what it cost and gives me a great opportunity to take
advantage of a $5,000 cruise voucher I won from Princess Cruises while I'm
over there.

Long story short, I've got 6 days to kill in Europe before the cruise
departs Rome. I've narrowed my choices to two options;

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, spend a couple of days in Monaco,
before spending 3-4 days driving down the west coast of Italy through
Genova/ Pisa and the rest of the Italian xxx coast before arriving in Rome.

b) Fly into Prague, spend two-three days there before another flight into
Rome where we could spend a bit more time seeing the sites of Roma, if not
anywhere else in Italy.

We've already done the UK and France, so really want to experience a
different side of Europe. Would love to hear thoughts from any seasoned
travellers.



Erick T. Barkhuis[_3_] October 6th, 2011 09:24 AM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
]v[etaphoid:

Hey campers,


Hi...errrm...


Long story short, I've got 6 days to kill in Europe before the cruise
departs Rome. I've narrowed my choices to two options;

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, ...

b) Fly into Prague,...


You haven't mentioned when the trip will take place. The weather
expectations may play a serious role in your choice.

]v[etaphoid[_2_] October 6th, 2011 09:55 AM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
Erick T. Barkhuis wrote:
]v[etaphoid:

Hey campers,


Hi...errrm...


Long story short, I've got 6 days to kill in Europe before the cruise
departs Rome. I've narrowed my choices to two options;

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, ...

b) Fly into Prague,...


You haven't mentioned when the trip will take place. The weather
expectations may play a serious role in your choice.


Good point. I fly out in 12 days.

This is a *very* last minute trip...



Surreyman[_3_] October 6th, 2011 10:26 AM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
On Oct 6, 9:22*am, "]v[etaphoid" wrote:
Hey campers,

I stayed up last night taking advantage of some dirt-cheap offers from Qatar
Airways to fly to Europe for the equivalent of $900 US. By local standards,
that's about half what it cost and gives me a great opportunity to take
advantage of a $5,000 cruise voucher I won from Princess Cruises while I'm
over there.

Long story short, I've got 6 days to kill in Europe before the cruise
departs Rome. I've narrowed my choices to two options;

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, spend a couple of days in Monaco,
before spending 3-4 days driving down the west coast of Italy through
Genova/ Pisa and the rest of the Italian xxx coast before arriving in Rome.

b) Fly into Prague, spend two-three days there before another flight into
Rome where we could spend a bit more time seeing the sites of Roma, if not
anywhere else in Italy.

We've already done the UK and France, so really want to experience a
different side of Europe. Would love to hear thoughts from any seasoned
travellers.


Well, if you've 'done' France surely it makes more sense to now
experience Italy, and Rome's sights are well ahead of anything in
Monaco!
It's also further south re the weather at this time of year!

Frank Hucklenbroich October 6th, 2011 10:45 AM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
Am Thu, 6 Oct 2011 19:22:29 +1100 schrieb ]v[etaphoid:

Hey campers,

I stayed up last night taking advantage of some dirt-cheap offers from Qatar
Airways to fly to Europe for the equivalent of $900 US. By local standards,
that's about half what it cost and gives me a great opportunity to take
advantage of a $5,000 cruise voucher I won from Princess Cruises while I'm
over there.

Long story short, I've got 6 days to kill in Europe before the cruise
departs Rome. I've narrowed my choices to two options;

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, spend a couple of days in Monaco,
before spending 3-4 days driving down the west coast of Italy through
Genova/ Pisa and the rest of the Italian xxx coast before arriving in Rome.


What do you want to do a couple of days in Monaco? The country is tiny, and
can well be seen in one day. I went there on a cruise and had about 6
hours, that was enough to see part of the palace (not opened all year), the
car-collection and some of the other sights.

Keep in mind, that hotels in Monaco are very, very expensive. So I would do
that in a day-trip and rather explore a bit more of the scenery around
Southern France.

Pisa is okay, but very touristy. The major sights can be seen in a day.
Count Florence in and maybe Lucca or Siena. Genova can be missed, unless
your ship starts from there. It's not really such a nice city (compared to
the other places you want to visit). Rather keep a bit more time for Rome.

b) Fly into Prague, spend two-three days there before another flight into
Rome where we could spend a bit more time seeing the sites of Roma, if not
anywhere else in Italy.


That sounds also interesting to me. There are lots of things to see there.
Depends on the season, though - Prague can be very cold in the winter. If
you travel in autumn or spring or even winter I would prefer France and
Italy - the weather will be nicer there than in Prague.

Regards,

Frank

Frank Hucklenbroich October 6th, 2011 10:47 AM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
Am Thu, 6 Oct 2011 19:55:47 +1100 schrieb ]v[etaphoid:

Erick T. Barkhuis wrote:
]v[etaphoid:

Hey campers,


Hi...errrm...


Long story short, I've got 6 days to kill in Europe before the cruise
departs Rome. I've narrowed my choices to two options;

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, ...

b) Fly into Prague,...


You haven't mentioned when the trip will take place. The weather
expectations may play a serious role in your choice.


Good point. I fly out in 12 days.

This is a *very* last minute trip...


Then take option "a".

Prague could be cold and rainy this time of the year, where as in
Southern-France you could still have a few warm days.

Regards,

Frank

Mike Lane[_2_] October 6th, 2011 10:49 AM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
v[etaphoid wrote on Oct 6, 2011:

Hey campers,

I stayed up last night taking advantage of some dirt-cheap offers from Qatar
Airways to fly to Europe for the equivalent of $900 US. By local standards,
that's about half what it cost and gives me a great opportunity to take
advantage of a $5,000 cruise voucher I won from Princess Cruises while I'm
over there.

Long story short, I've got 6 days to kill in Europe before the cruise
departs Rome. I've narrowed my choices to two options;

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, spend a couple of days in Monaco,
before spending 3-4 days driving down the west coast of Italy through
Genova/ Pisa and the rest of the Italian xxx coast before arriving in Rome.

b) Fly into Prague, spend two-three days there before another flight into
Rome where we could spend a bit more time seeing the sites of Roma, if not
anywhere else in Italy.

We've already done the UK and France, so really want to experience a
different side of Europe. Would love to hear thoughts from any seasoned
travellers.



I wouldn't recommend your option a) - driving down through Italy to Rome.
I've done it in reverse and although it sounds interesting, in reality it's
no fun at all. Unlike France which as you probably know, has a superb network
of minor roads one can use if one's not in a hurry, in Italy there's really
no alternative to the autostrade for going any distance. Driving on Italian
autostrade is a really dismal experience - in general they're poorly
surfaced, crowded, and have laughably inadequate stopping facilities. In
addition they're fond of building concrete walls on either side of the
motorway which effectively block any view one might get of the surrounding
countryside.

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com


Joe Makowiec October 6th, 2011 11:48 AM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
On 06 Oct 2011 in rec.travel.europe, ]v[etaphoid wrote:

b) Fly into Prague, spend two-three days there before another flight
into Rome where we could spend a bit more time seeing the sites of
Roma, if not anywhere else in Italy.


We loved Praha when we visited there in October a couple of years past.
Prices were reasonable, and there's enough to keep you entertained for
several days. Transit is inexpensive and quick. The weather was OK, if
on the cool side. In the evening there were concerts taking place all
over - just look for signs, or wait for somebody to pop out of a building
and give a mini-concert to entice you in.

Followups set to r.t.e

--
Joe Makowiec
http://makowiec.org/
Email: http://makowiec.org/contact/?Joe
Usenet Improvement Project: http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/

Giovanni Drogo October 6th, 2011 12:55 PM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
On Thu, 6 Oct 2011, ]v[etaphoid wrote:

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, spend a couple of days in Monaco,
before spending 3-4 days driving down the west coast of Italy through
Genova/ Pisa and the rest of the Italian xxx coast before arriving in Rome.

b) Fly into Prague, spend two-three days there before another flight into
Rome where we could spend a bit more time seeing the sites of Roma, if not
anywhere else in Italy.


Well, I'd do the second since I'd never been there, but as a standalone
trip, and possibly in a different season. But I see you are forced to do
it now, and to terminate in Rome (which would otherwise be odd).

Since I do not drive, and do not like what airports have become, I'd do
the trip by train. Perhaps a train trip from Prague through Austria and
Italy could be fun, and parts of it rather scenic. May be you could
combine also a boat trip on the Danube, visit to Vienna and or Venice.

Concerning your first alternative, I do not think Monaco has much to be
seen, an urbanized area with a fake castle. Perhaps the Oceanographic
Museum. Also the drive on the motorway, which in Ligury runs up on the
hills and slightly inland, is not particularly scenic. By train, closer
to the sea, it could be slow, and with lots of tunnels (even more in the
modernized part).

Anyhow here are some interesting sights over the way.

Just after the Italian border there are Balzi Rossi, a prehistoric cave
near the sea, little museum with a funny cobbled beach. Also in Mortola
there are the Hanbury gardens which are very nice. All these places are
on the normal road (not motorway) between the border and Ventimiglia.

The old town of Ventimiglia on the hill is nice, but a few hours are
enough.

There are interesting villages inland, but a bit out of the way.

The rest of the coast is heavily urbanized, and the towns are not in
general particularly interesting. I would except the Parrasio (the old
centre of Imperia Porto Maurizio, the Olive Oil Museum in Imperia
Oneglia just on the back of the rail station, the village of Cervo which
has a beautiful view from the sea, also Laigueglia and, later on,
Varigotti, are nicer Mediterranean-type little towns. Albenga is a city
of roman origin, and the centre can be walked in a couple of hours.
Similarly Final Borgo (slightly inland from Finale Marina). Nice views
on the village of Verezzi (up on the hill over Borgio) and nice walks up
to there and down to Finale (but very steep).

Of course Genova is an interesting though busy city. Ancient churches
and buildings, lots of interesting museums (Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo
Rosso in via Garibaldi, the Galata Museum of the Sea and the Aquarium in
the old harbour). Also the gardens in Nervi (an eastern suburb) are
nice.

Later on the 5 villages of the Cinque Terre, and Portovenere and Lerici
on both sides of the La Spezia gulf (but not La Spezia itself) are nice.

I do not know much the Tirrenian coast (from La Spezia to Livorno,
Grosseto and Civitavecchia), but there is no motorway there, and no high
speed train line. May be a disadvantage or an advantage ...

In Latium there will be interesting Etruscan sites at Tarquinia and
Cerveteri.

]v[etaphoid[_2_] October 6th, 2011 02:31 PM

Prague or Monaco for a flying visit...
 
]v[etaphoid wrote:
Hey campers,

I stayed up last night taking advantage of some dirt-cheap offers
from Qatar Airways to fly to Europe for the equivalent of $900 US. By
local standards, that's about half what it cost and gives me a great
opportunity to take advantage of a $5,000 cruise voucher I won from
Princess Cruises while I'm over there.

Long story short, I've got 6 days to kill in Europe before the cruise
departs Rome. I've narrowed my choices to two options;

a) Fly into Nice in Southern France, spend a couple of days in Monaco,
before spending 3-4 days driving down the west coast of Italy through
Genova/ Pisa and the rest of the Italian xxx coast before arriving in
Rome.
b) Fly into Prague, spend two-three days there before another flight
into Rome where we could spend a bit more time seeing the sites of
Roma, if not anywhere else in Italy.

We've already done the UK and France, so really want to experience a
different side of Europe. Would love to hear thoughts from any
seasoned travellers.


Thanks to all (especially Giovanni for his detailed hitlist!) for the
excellent responses to such a general question.

Much appreciated...




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