Hey everyone! Me and a friend are doing a Europe trip for about 3 1/2 weeks in May, and who better to ask for things to do and places to stay, than this group!
We're going to the cities / areas of:
London
France/ Paris
Milan
Switzerland
Belgium
Netherlands
Germany [this is pretty well planned but still open to advice and suggestions!]
If you have any information, anything helps! Thanks everyone!

Sarah Taylor
Save all your itinerary for me, Im hoping to taking Liam when he's a bit older and will have an understanding! My dream trip! Have a blast!!!

Will do!!

London: download Citymapper to get around. You can walk a lot of the major things to see. Do Borough Market, Churchill War Musuem, Buckingham Palace etc etc.

Thank you!

Citymapper works for a lot of major cities. Use it. Saved us a ton on the tube!!!

If you head to the South of France we did a tour that took us to Monoco, Cannes and other places-it was excellent!

That's awesome! Do you have the name of the company you went through?

In the Netherlands most people stay in Amsterdam....why not go out to Edam.....you can tour a cheese factory, go for a bike ride along the coast...see the quaint little dutch town. Short bus ride from amsterdam out there.
For Belgium.....Brugges is amazing....Ghent is funky and Ieper is humbling with the WW1 museum and memorials.
Paris.....need I say more.....but spend a day walking around the city....tiring but so worth it.
If you are in Milan....consider Venice.....what Milan has in bustle, pollution, and noise....Venice has in Peace, tranquility and silence.
And most of all....enjoy!

If you are into great art, the National Gallery in London is free and has paintings from every famous painter going. If you like impressionists, the Courtald Gallery is great. Tower of London is great. The hop on hop off bus is great for getting the lay of the land and location of major sites. Then the tube is easy to get from here to there. Great walks along the Thames. St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey are interesting. Lots of theatre. Check out the plays when you will be there. We did a day trip out to Windsor and toured the castle. Amazing look into the Queen's opulent lifestyle.

You can walk the key historical spots of London. I recommend the Tower of London - this will easily day you several hours and long if you want to see the Crown Jewels. If you are going to go on the London Eye, I recommend doing it first thing in the morning otherwise you will waste a good portion of your day waiting in line.

Paris is amazing but Southern France is also worth a visit.
I would recommend staying in Nice (beautiful beachside city) and the trains are super easy (and cheap) to catch to Monaco, Cannes, etc.
Monaco is a must for a day trip. Most amazing views from the "Prince's Palace," and the famous Monte Carlo casino.

There is free walking tours available in most cities.. They run off tips.. I highly recommend this! Your hostel/hotels would have info on them

Germany: Heidelberg, Munich and the Neuschwanstein Canstle (not sure the correct spelling)

The English Bus in London is by far the best tour company around. They are in London.

Tower of London was one of my favourite spots to visit!
Stonehenge if you get out to the countryside of London is fascinating!

Rent a car. It is MUCH cheaper then the train. And gives you more control for unscheduled finds

Arles, France. The coliseum still does shows starting in April. And it is amazing. Been twice and will go again! And anywhere in Italy... San Marino, Pompeii, Ostia, Rome.
And get any travel book from Rick Steves.. he gives you walks ( any audio tours) through the towns, and monuments, that highlight it all

The hostels in Europe are so amazing.

Belgium: Ghent and Bruge are very beautiful

Agreed!
Brugges is way way better than Brussels.

London do the hop on hop off bus tour
Amsterdam: Ann franks house

Do not do the hop on hop off in London. The tube is way faster. You will sit for ever in London traffic.

Fiona did you buy a rail pass?

In the end we didn't do Ann Franks House, it's very busy, crammed n such a sad story, you'll be bummed for sometime
. Something to consider. We loved the canal tour, Van Gogh Museum, Heineken Experience... few others I posted earlier. If you type in Amsterdam or any the cities you're asking about in the Search bar here, you'll see great recommendations from fellow travelers. Have a wonderful trip

Heather no we have been to London a few times Only certain things we wanted to do again

Sorry, back to Austria: The Sound of Music Bus Tour was very good, and the Salt mines sounded interesting (but was unable to make it on my last trip). Would go back for the food in a heartbeat - so good!!

What theatre do you recommend?

Oh, it totally depends on what plays are on at the time. I'd choose by the play you are interested in. There are a couple of prominent theatres near Victoria Station (one is the Victoria, where we saw Billy Elliot, and next door Wicked was playing). The main theatre district is iin the West End, all in central London. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is worth checking out.

Austria is pretty fantastic!

See further in this feed for my suggestions.