Has Anyone Booked a Holiday Yet?

[VLC86]

21 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Any recommendations for Belgium? 
 

I’ve been to Bruges but that was for the CL game and I essentially stayed in the same spot for about 18 hours as I didn’t have a ticket.

 

Some combination of Bruges, Brussels and one other (Ghent/Antwerp) seems perfectly doable. 

I did Brussels, Bruges and Ghent a few years ago. Easily doable as they are all pretty close, Ghent is a great city and I’d easily recommend it above Brussels which I found a bit boring.

 

Bruges is great as well for a day or two away.

[Itsthejoeker]

Finally ticking Iceland off in April, have ten days in a campervan driving around the ring road. Incredibly excited

[Izzy]

1 minute ago, Itsthejoeker said:

Finally ticking Iceland off in April, have ten days in a campervan driving around the ring road. Incredibly excited

Wonderful place. We went October 23 and absolutely loved it.

 

Start saving now though, everything is three times as expensive as it is here!

[CWC1983]

Scotland are playing Liechtenstein in early  June, so booked a flight to Zurich today and plan to stay there for a few nights and use it as a base for travelling to the game. 

 

No flight booked back yet, I'm toying with heading to Salzberg for 3 days, then Munich for 2 days and flying back from there. 

 

 

 

 

 

[HowardsBulletHeader]

20 minutes ago, Itsthejoeker said:

Finally ticking Iceland off in April, have ten days in a campervan driving around the ring road. Incredibly excited

Bloody great place, went last year. 

 

So many brilliant places, you'll have a great time, loved Gulfoss and the National Park, the black beach, lots of places to see. 

 

 

As something a bit different if you like darts, they have Europe's largest darts bar in central Reykjavik and its worth it just to see it. 

[FoyleFox]

2 hours ago, VLC86 said:

I did Brussels, Bruges and Ghent a few years ago. Easily doable as they are all pretty close, Ghent is a great city and I’d easily recommend it above Brussels which I found a bit boring.

 

Bruges is great as well for a day or two away.

Is there enough to see in Bruges for 2 days? 

I have one day scheduled there next Wednesday but, the French might be on strike (no surprise there) so Thursday in Le Havre may become a second day in Zeebrugge/Bruge. Although, Ghent could be an option. 

[VLC86]

8 hours ago, FoyleFox said:

Is there enough to see in Bruges for 2 days? 

I have one day scheduled there next Wednesday but, the French might be on strike (no surprise there) so Thursday in Le Havre may become a second day in Zeebrugge/Bruge. Although, Ghent could be an option. 

Yeah you could spend 2 days in Bruges but it depends what you like to do. As above Ghent is great as well so if you have the option and aren’t likely to go back you could do both.

[Raj]

11 hours ago, Stadt said:

Any recommendations for Belgium? 
 

I’ve been to Bruges but that was for the CL game and I essentially stayed in the same spot for about 18 hours as I didn’t have a ticket.

 

Some combination of Bruges, Brussels and one other (Ghent/Antwerp) seems perfectly doable. 

Gent is very beautiful and walkable. Lovely city

[STEVIE B]

12 hours ago, VLC86 said:

Nice one, I lived there for about 5 months and try to get back every couple of years. Where are you staying?
 

A week in the city of Bergamo is a lot but it’s a very nice city with plenty to see around it.

 

You’ve basically got the lower, modern part and then a great old town overlooking that. The old town is what you would expect from old Italy, cobbled streets, cathedral, nice restaurants. You can then go a bit higher up with great views of the city. You can walk up to the old town or get the Funicular.

 

Food wise, everywhere is nice it’s Italy but the place we kept going back to was a Japanese place called Miyabi, I’ve not been for about 8 years but if it’s anything like it used to be it’s well worth a visit. There used to be a class Gelato place called Gemma’s Gelateria but i think that had gone when I last went about 18 months ago.

 

You’ll probably see everything in Bergamo itself probably a day and a half so I’d imagine you will be exploring around a bit.

 

Its about a 40 minute drive to the southern part of Lake Como and a town called Lecco, but you are close to Lake Iseo and Lake Garda which are both really nice (Garda significantly more built up).

 

You can drive or get the train to Milan in about 40 mins and Verona is probably about 90 mins the other way. Venice is about another half an hour but I never got there.

 

Edit: it goes without saying but if you are there when Atalanta play at home definitely go.

Thanks, that's fantastic. 

We haven't booked accommodation yet, but will use Airbnb as there's plenty of choice (which area would you reccomend ?)

We will use Bergamo as a base & travel about. We went to Verona last May, so will probably return as it's beautiful & not too chaotic regarding hordes of tourists. 

Thanks again. 

Edited 30 January by STEVIE B

[Unabomber]

11 hours ago, Stadt said:

Any recommendations for Belgium? 
 

I’ve been to Bruges but that was for the CL game and I essentially stayed in the same spot for about 18 hours as I didn’t have a ticket.

 

Some combination of Bruges, Brussels and one other (Ghent/Antwerp) seems perfectly doable. 

Brussels isn’t that good apart from some decent bars.  I would stay in Bruges and then get a train so Ghent for a day as it’s only 30 mins away. There is enough to see and do in Bruges for a couple of days. I can recommend places to eat/drink if you do go.

[bovril]

2 hours ago, STEVIE B said:

Thanks, that's fantastic. 

We haven't booked accommodation yet, but will use Airbnb as there's plenty of choice (which area would you reccomend ?)

We will use Bergamo as a base & travel about. We went to Verona last May, so will probably return as it's beautiful & not too chaotic regarding hordes of tourists. 

Thanks again. 

The area between Bergamo and Trento is very beautiful. Lots of villages, mountain landscapes, cozy inns etc. Easy to drive up there.

 

Brescia isn't a very beautiful town but has some great historic sites and there's a lot of old Lombard places and churches round there that are worth seeing.

[kenny]

12 hours ago, CWC1983 said:

Scotland are playing Liechtenstein in early  June, so booked a flight to Zurich today and plan to stay there for a few nights and use it as a base for travelling to the game. 

 

No flight booked back yet, I'm toying with heading to Salzberg for 3 days, then Munich for 2 days and flying back from there. 

 

 

 

 

 

We go to Frankfurt in Feb with a view to staying at Lake Constance. We won't get to Munich, but will get to see the lake region, Liechtenstein, Zugsplitze and Neuwanschtein Castle.

 

Flights, hotels and cars have been cheap so far bearing in mind its half term.

[Glenny24]

Well that’s it!
After being a working man for the past 50 years it’s my last working day tomorrow.

A week to chill and then it’s adventure time.

Singapore, New Zealand both Islands, Australia and back via Bali.

Can’t wait, bring it on.

[CWC1983]

8 hours ago, kenny said:

We go to Frankfurt in Feb with a view to staying at Lake Constance. We won't get to Munich, but will get to see the lake region, Liechtenstein, Zugsplitze and Neuwanschtein Castle.

 

Flights, hotels and cars have been cheap so far bearing in mind its half term.

That Lake Constance looks brilliant. 

 

I didn't manage to get to Munich during the Euro's, so fancy a few days there and flights are decent back to the UK. 

 

My other option is head south from Zurich and go towards North Italy, but I've never set foot in Austria and for some reason it appeals to me atm. 

[VLC86]

Spent 2 days in Munich for the euros and it’s a class place, really want to go back for Oktoberfest and a game.

[Izzy]

4 hours ago, Glenny24 said:

Well that’s it!
After being a working man for the past 50 years it’s my last working day tomorrow.

A week to chill and then it’s adventure time.

Singapore, New Zealand both Islands, Australia and back via Bali.

Can’t wait, bring it on.

That's exactly the same itinerary we did for our honeymoon 25 years ago! (although Sydney was only a stop over flight change )

 

Have a great time, richly deserved by the sound of it.

[grobyfox1990]

1 hour ago, VLC86 said:

Spent 2 days in Munich for the euros and it’s a class place, really want to go back for Oktoberfest and a game.

Same. Surprisingly really enjoyed it. There’s a lot of skilled jobs there so I bet it’s a decent place to live 

[ajthefox]

6 hours ago, Glenny24 said:

Well that’s it!
After being a working man for the past 50 years it’s my last working day tomorrow.

A week to chill and then it’s adventure time.

Singapore, New Zealand both Islands, Australia and back via Bali.

Can’t wait, bring it on.

Congrats, you've clearly earned it. 

[SecretPro]

Pisa first week of June, will use the Rail network to do Florence and Lucca. Any other recommendations whilst I'm in the area? 

[FoxesDeb]

If you even slightly like wine I'd recommend a winery tour, we stayed near Pisa in September and did one, thoroughly enjoyable.

 

 

[Greg2607]

On 30/01/2025 at 16:19, Glenny24 said:

Well that’s it!
After being a working man for the past 50 years it’s my last working day tomorrow.

A week to chill and then it’s adventure time.

Singapore, New Zealand both Islands, Australia and back via Bali.

Can’t wait, bring it on.

Congratulations!!!! I wish you the happiest retirement!

[bovril]

1 hour ago, SecretPro said:

Pisa first week of June, will use the Rail network to do Florence and Lucca. Any other recommendations whilst I'm in the area? 

Florence - Loads of famous Renaissance art of course but the lesser-known San Marco convent is one of my favourite places in Italy. The Brancacci chapel is also amazing. Trattoria Benvenuto and I Traocchi were two places I always went to eat when I was there. Tarocchi has a nice outside part in a pleasant, quiet part of town the other side of the Arno. The covered market also has good food. They do a tripe sandwich if you want something cheap and filling or want to upset nearby American tourists. Fiesole and Settignano are two lovely villages in the hills above Florence. You get great views there.

 

Only went to Lucca once so can't remember anything specific, but it's very pretty. Siena is also a must see. It's busy but for good reason. I haven't been to the Tuscan coast but it always looks lovely from photos and I know a few people who rave about it. From Pisa you might think also about going to the Ligurian coast which gets very busy but is undeniably beautiful in parts.

 

One part of Italy I've always wanted to explore more are the mountains to the east of La Spezia. Looks like there's a line from Pisa heading north towards Parma. Castelnuovo di Garfagnana and Pontremoli look quite beautiful. 

[Lako42]

2 hours ago, SecretPro said:

Pisa first week of June, will use the Rail network to do Florence and Lucca. Any other recommendations whilst I'm in the area? 

I'd recommend staying in lucca over pisa personally 

[izzymuzzet]

On 29/01/2025 at 19:28, Stadt said:

Any recommendations for Belgium? 
 

I’ve been to Bruges but that was for the CL game and I essentially stayed in the same spot for about 18 hours as I didn’t have a ticket.

 

Some combination of Bruges, Brussels and one other (Ghent/Antwerp) seems perfectly doable. 

As others have said, Ghent is lovely. Bruges is half an hour on the train so you can easily do both. 
 

Antwerp isn’t as pretty but I really enjoyed it. Great food scene and lots of good bars. Really interesting history and just a cool place to walk around and chat with the locals. 

[CosbehFox]

Largely thanks to football, i have the following lined up 

 

March - Edinburgh 

(know it really well but this time staying in south of the city, with a day trip to Dundee) 

 

April - Stockholm 

(any advice appreciated here given cost - Vasa Museum already lined up) 

 

June - Berlin