bbeedu

Hi all,
I am looking at doing a 2 week backpacking trip flying out of
Frankfurt. I am debating between ending my trip at Nice in France and
travelling over to Frankfurt vs heading on to Milan, spending a day and
then heading over to Frankfurt. Looks like train is the only option if
I want to travel from Nice to Frankfurt directly, while I can fly from
Milan to Frankfurt. Would you have any suggestions regarding which
route to take? Is it worth travelling to Milan to spend a day? Or
should I trade that for a train ride through Switzerland?

Please advice..
Thanks,
Bharath

oneofcold

"Is it worth travelling to Milan to spend a day? Or should I trade that
for a train ride through Switzerland?"

For most travellers I would recommend the train ride through
Switzerland, but Milan is a world leading center of fashion and design,
and if you are interested in either of those things you might find it
worthwhile. Even if you aren't interested in those, Milan does have
Leonardo DaVinci's "Last Supper" painting, a unique cathedral, and a
famous opera house, and you could easily spend one or two days there.

"Would you have any suggestions regarding which
route to take?"

Where are you planning on going for the rest of your trip?

Deep Foiled Malls

On 12 Apr 2005 17:03:22 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

    >Hi all,
    >I am looking at doing a 2 week backpacking trip flying out of
    >Frankfurt. I am debating between ending my trip at Nice in France and
    >travelling over to Frankfurt vs heading on to Milan, spending a day and
    >then heading over to Frankfurt. Looks like train is the only option if
    >I want to travel from Nice to Frankfurt directly, while I can fly from
    >Milan to Frankfurt. Would you have any suggestions regarding which
    >route to take? Is it worth travelling to Milan to spend a day?

Don't bother with Milan. I live here, and it's shite by Italian
standards. Expensive, noisy, polluted, mostly ugly, and the food is
below par for Italy. Unless there is something specific you want here,
give it a miss.

    >Or
    >should I trade that for a train ride through Switzerland?

Yes, do that instead. Stop off in a couple of towns along the way if
you can. Switzerland is expensive, but has some jaw-dropping scenery
and really nice little towns.
--
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DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
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Nitram

On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 13:42:31 GMT, Deep Foiled Malls
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:


    >Don't bother with Milan. I live here, and it's shite by Italian
    >standards. Expensive, noisy, polluted, mostly ugly, and the food is
    >below par for Italy. Unless there is something specific you want here,
    >give it a miss.

That was my conclusion after working there on and off for 25 years.

I can't understand why anybody should go there with their own money
and in their own time.

bbeedumailforward

I have 13 full days. I will be flying in and out of Frankfurt. Plan to
spend half of the day I land in Frankfurt, and then take an overnight
train to Paris where I will meeting up with 2 more buddies. Plan to
spend 4 days there, and take an overnight train to Barcelona. Spend 3-4
days there, and then move on to Nice to explore countryside France.
Spend a day there. My buddies are going to split off to Rome from
there, while I start heading back to Frankfurt.

I have 2 more days left after that, and I was debating if I should
travell to Milan and then on to Frankfurt, or if I should spend the 2
days going to Frankfurt from Nice spending sometime in Switzerland. The
third alternative I was considering is spending some time exploring
country side Italy closer to the France/Italy border. Any suggestions
regarding that?

I like nature more than fashion :) So would love to hear suggestions
regarding things en-route to Frankfurt through Switzerland.

Thanks a ton! Really appreciate the feedback.

oneofcold

"Spend 3-4 days there, and then move on to Nice to explore countryside
France. Spend a day there. My buddies are going to split off to Rome
from
there, while I start heading back to Frankfurt."

If you want to see the French countryside, you'll have to go north of
Nice. What Nice does have to offer is a pleasant coastal resort area
with a beach made of smooth rocks, some great seafood restaurants, an
attractive old town, and a harbor full of yachts.

"I have 2 more days left after that, and I was debating if I should
travell to Milan and then on to Frankfurt, or if I should spend the 2
days going to Frankfurt from Nice spending sometime in Switzerland."

    >From the information you gave, you would almost certainly enjoy
Switzerland more. Since you only have 2 days, I'd recommend either
Interlaken (which offers a huge choice of outdoors activities) or
Lucerne (the most picturesque Swiss city).

Another option would be to visit a small French city on your way back
to Frankfurt, like Aix-en-Provence or Avignon.