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Earthbound_Misfit's avatar

Do you have any suggestions for places I should see while in France, Germany, Hong Kong?

Asked by Earthbound_Misfit (13177points) April 16th, 2015

I’m going to visit France and Germany and then Hong Kong in the middle of this year. It won’t be a long visit. We’ll only have a couple of weeks so I want to make the most of the time I have.

At this point, I’ll go to Paris for a few days, then I’m going to go to visit areas relating to the Western Front. We will then travel to Germany and I’ll fly out of Munich. I would definitely like to spend a few days in Berlin but beyond that I’m not sure. We’re going to finish with a few days in Hong Kong.

Where would your tips be for ‘must see’ things and places in Paris, along the Western Front, Berlin, Munich and other places in Germany? And if you’ve visited Hong Kong, what would you suggest we should see there?

We will mostly like drive once we leave Paris, but we may opt for some train travel. The details are very much up in the air.

Looking forward to reading your ideas and incorporating some of them into our itinerary. Your ideas can be museums, art galleries, cafes or places you’ve been or towns or cities you think we should definitely try to visit.

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5 Answers

johnpowell's avatar

I did a month in Europe and covered 11 countries. If you are in Berlin spend a few days to hit up Dresden and then take the train to Prague. Prague is by far my favorite city in Europe. And if you hop on the train at night you can wake up there.

janbb's avatar

When you say the Western Front, you mean Normandy and Brittany? I’ll write you some suggestions for there and Paris when I’m less tired.

Pied_Pfeffer's avatar

I’ve spent a week each in Paris, Munich and Berlin. Based upon the tight schedule, my recommendation is to book a tour in each city that provides an overview. Tours (and the guides) provide a layout of the land and fascinating information that isn’t always available in a tour book.

If time allows, choose what holds the most interest and go to those sights. Without more information on the people involved, I’ll throw out a few recommendations.

Paris
– The Eiffel Tower is a must-see, but it isn’t worth spending the time and money to go to the top.
– The Lovre is the same as above, unless everyone involved is into art. It is room after room of art packed with other people, especially around the attractions. I preferred the Musee d’Orsay, but that is a personal opinion.
– Notre Dame Cathedral is another that is a must-see, but can be ticked off the list by checking it out without going in.
– The Arc de Triomphe. (See above)
– Sacred Heart Basilica of Montmartre, a.k.a. Sacre-Coeur. (See above)
– Pere-Lachaise Cemetery. This is one of my favorites, but it is because I like visiting cemeteries.
– Versailles is worth the visit if time, money and interest permits.

Berlin This is an absolutely fascinating city. It was the starting point for one of the worst crimes in human history and has risen above it like no other.
– “Must sees” are: the Reichstag Building, Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor), The Holocaust Memorial, and Museum Island.

Munich has been the least favorite places of all that I’ve visited. What I enjoyed more while there were the side trips to:
– Nuremberg
– Dachau concentration camp
– Bavaria Neuschwanstein Castle

Personally, I recommend skipping Munich and either spending more time in the other cities or fitting Athens, Greece into the itinerary.

Earthbound_Misfit's avatar

Thank you everyone.

I’d like to see Dresden @johnpowell. It’s possible since we’ve not really planned our trip to Germany yet.

@janbb, thank you. I’ll look forward to your suggestions. I’ve been looking at Western Front tours and I’m thinking of visiting sites around Ypres (actually in Belgium), Amiens, Arras and then through to Reims/Verdun.

@Pied_Pfeffer, this is really helpful. I tend to agree on the ‘monument’ type points of interest. I’ll keep that in mind and yes, I like to do tours when we arrive in a city to get our bearings. I am looking forward to seeing Berlin. I’d like to see some of Bavaria. We’re really going to be short on time so I think where we end up will depend on how well we can map our route. Munich is only included because that’s where we’re going to fly out from.

Thanks everyone.

David_Achilles's avatar

I have only one suggestion which is for Munich. I was there once, briefly, on the way to Vienna. I had the misfortune of suffering from a horrible stomach virus. I was absolutely miserable! But even so, the one thing I wanted to see in Munich was Neue Pinakothek
This museum has a large collection of Gustav Klimt paintings.
Unfortunately it was closed on the day we arrived in Munich and since we were just passing through we didn’t have the chance to see it.

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