travelling to europe for new years

travelbee

How is new years in Paris? How cold will it be? How does a typical Parisian celebrate New Years? Where to watch fire works from?

I'm also looking for any place with resonably mild winter in eastern and southern europe... Can anyone recommend?

machadinha

Hi there, nice idea. Can't tell you about Paris; winter in these parts (I'm in the Netherlands) varies greatly but temperatures may fall well below zero; or they may not. Winters of -20C are getting rare but it's not impossible, this tends to be more towards February though. Count on 0C'ish or mild to heavy frost (-5 to 10), possibly above in the daytime. So pack accordingly, against the rain too (which you may or may not get).

For reasonably mild I'd pick anywhere along the Mediterranean. Eastern Europe can get absolutely freezing in winter, nice experience if that's your kind of thing but not what you seem to be looking for. Then again you get the southern parts there too so...

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

machadinha

nb http://www.weatherunderground.com/ is a good weather site that does yearly averages for many places, including Paris.

Shiver me Timbers

The further east you go, the colder it will get.

cyberhippie

Only one place for New Year, Edinburgh Scotland and yes that WILL be cold!!

travelbee

Appreciate all your replies. Seveille might be the only place which might have mild weather from the places in our itinerary. We are packing some warm clothes, gloves, coat, winter cap and all that good stuff.

This is the plan.

Hyderabad to barcelona on 26th.
2 days in barcelona.
fly to paris.
new years in paris. total 4 nights here.
fly to rome.
3 nights in rome.
catch a train to venice.
3 nights in venice.
train back to rome.
spend another night here.
take a flight to seville.
4 nights in seville.
will try to go to gibraltor and beaches down south for a day.
fly back to barecelona.
spend a night in barcelona.
fly back to Hyderabad.

Please give any recommendations at the destinations...
Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Venice, Seville.

muchos gracias.

-Prash

machadinha

Nice trip, lots of flying and traveling and a little roundabout however. If you were less fixed on spending New Year's in Paris you could work it out a little more straight-going. Might leave you a little less breathless. Or why not fly straight there. Are your flights booked yet? You're covering a lot of ground here & doing it almost twice it seems.

Without such considerations I'd say e.g. Paris - Venice - Rome - Barcelona - Sevilla - Gibraltar - home (from Malaga or Sevilla or whatever works out best) would make a lot more sense to me. You could shuffle around the Spain and Italy parts at will.

Too bad no one answered your Paris queries. I assume there'll be fireworks around the Eiffel tower? Anyone? Along the Seine?

The highlights in all these places are well-advertized enough to merit little further comment. In Sevilla, the what's-it-called old Muslim-cum-Christian palace downtown is well worth spending half a day or two in I'd say, absolutely stunning. Try to catch some flamenco there, there's some so-so clubs in the old Jewish quarter where you just have to get lucky, or the tourist office may be surprisingly helpful in finding the "real deal" (quite helpful in most of Spain anyway).

And as you've realized, temperatures and rain may range from acceptable to miserable, it's really hard to say.

travelbee

Yeah, could not avoid the round about because of New Years in Paris. Prices and avialbility of flights also played some role. All flights are booked. I got hotels reserved through venere.com. Will let you know how things work out.....

I'll make sure to visit the palace in Seville.

1066

The Alhambra - from what I know you now have to book your entrance tickets in advance - on line, cos they set quotas on the numbers.

SteamBuff

The Alhambra is in Granada, this would take a full day including your travel ... well worth a visit though.

You either get am or pm tickets, you can only enter the main parts during the validity of your ticket. (am is before 2pm and pm after 2pm)

Is is essential to get tickets in advance ... otherwise you will spend a long time in a queue and may not get in. (They only allow a certain number of people in)

Dave

machadinha

No that's in Granada. I had wanted to say the thing in Sevilla beat that to me any day but that's highly subjective. There's no problem getting into the Sevilla thing, which is called the Alcázar (meaning Muslim fortress, it's just a generic name) and then some, figured I'd look it up. Well there's a whole lotta tourists just like yourself but you can pretend they're not there. It's a speedy Europe trip right, looks good enough to me. For that same reason I wouldn't recommend including Granada while you're at it, looks busy enough. Frikking long way from any of the other destinations too, meaning yet another flight or long trainride.

btw This quota thing at the Alhambra is overrated, you'll get in alright. Showing up early is a good idea. Would depend on the season too no doubt. It also has no Christian alterations that I'm aware of. Horribly crowded that's for sure. Spain is full of places like it that hardly anyone ever visits.

And nb in Sevilla visiting Triana across the river (also good for flamenco but you need to get lucky again) or Macarena a little north of the center is nice for a look at daily non-touristy life there. I guess most guidebooks will tell you the same.

Zeppy

New Year's in Paris will no doubt be a big deal with fireworks, balls, people milling in the streets and in the metro, and so on. Lots will be going on. It will certainly be fun! I haven't paid attention to specifics, because I will be in India. Fireworks are usually at the Tour Eiffel. You can watch them from one of a variety of places close to the Tour--like Trocadero; or from high ground--like at Montmartre or up in the 20th arrondissement; or from some high building or restaurant. If you join the crowds, and there will be crowds at any outdoor viewing point, watch out for pickpockets. This goes especially for Montmartre. Also for the metro, which is sure to be packed with people. Just don't carry a lot of stuff you don't want to lose--no fat wallet with credit cards and so on. A lot of places offer very expensive all-evening dinners and entertainments for New Year's Eve. Just look online. But not everybody is so wealthy, and you can enjoy yourself just wandering around. Have fun!

By the way this has been the warmest autumn in Paris for many years. (Global warming.) Expect maybe around the freezing point at coldest. However, it could theoretically be colder. It rains a lot here; take an umbrella.

GracefulTravel

It's been a while since I've been in Paris, but, lots of fond memories. Paris will be festive for New Year's Eve, and holiday decorations will still be up. Yes, bring a coat, gloves, umbrella, etc., it's no fun walking around cold and wet, and Paris is a lovely city to walk through. If you want to do classic celebrating, with fireworks, I suppose it would be the Champs Elysee. It will be crowded and probably boisterous (drinking!); do watch out for overly friendly strangers who are hoping to pick your wallet; but just use common sense there.
A lot of the smaller restaurants will be closed for that night, larger ones probably require reservations, but the streets will be filled at the usual scenic/guide book spots; ask at your hotel what's going on that Eve. Check the Metro hours; it's a great way to get around, but it's not quite 24 hrs, and you may not want too long of a walk back to your hotel in the early hours of the morning. Cabs are expensive, and you have to call for one, or use a cab stand. The food truly is fabulous, sidewalk cafes, markets, stalls, bakeries, are wonderful, and plentiful. You don't have to spend a lot of money for great food in Paris.

See the classic spots if it's your first trip to Paris, they're all worth going to at least once, and then just find which section of Paris appeals to you ... and hang out there and people watch.
I never found Parisians to be unfriendly, although that's the stereotype (at least towards Americans). Even though I was only going to go to Paris for a few days on my first trip, I picked up a little phrase book and learned a few common phrases; that I made an effort seemed to help. By the way, my first trip that was only supposed to be for a few days, lasted for over a year.
Enjoy!

wonderwomanusa

It sounds like a wonderful trip! Be very aware of pickpockets, not only in Paris -- Spain is also full of them, and they are very skilled.

Have a wonderful time!

Here are good restaurants in Venice, or they were good in 2000 when I was last there...

**Trattoria alla Madonna, Calle della Madonna, San Polo 594
this is about 4 blocks from the fishmarket. Great menu. Formal (not quite grumpy) waiters remind me of the ones in Greenwich Village. Moderate prices.

** Chinese restaurant is in that same area... from the produce
market, it's a couple blocks past Calle della Madonna. Big
neon sign says "Chinese Food" -- that's the one! (Can't find
the business card). It wasn't too busy.

Zeppy

I agree with the last two posts. Yes, this is a beautiful city, indeed the #1 tourist destination in the world. It is famous for its beautiful lighting ("city of light") and will be especially attractively lit on New Year's Eve.

Yes, the metro pauses at night, around 1am, and some stops near the Eiffel Tower will probably be blocked entirely on New Year's Eve. All this will be easy to find out on arrival. Not to worry, though: Paris is geographically small. On New Year's Eve 2000 I couldn't get home--the metro near Trocadero was too full and taxi lines were too long--so I wound up slowly walking home, home being on the opposite end of town. Merrymaking crowds on the streets all the way there--and I arrived well before 4 am.

To illustrate the cleverness of the local pickpockets: a friend of mine, a native Parisian, got a bill lifted from his front pants pocket in the metro. You can't really keep your distance in a big crowd, so, I reiterate, just carry a minimum on your person. You don't want to waste the evening making a declaration to the police!