Travel Tips – Eat and Drink Like A European

“When is the best time to travel in Europe?” Great question! I think the answer is “whenever you can!”

I am often asked about the merits of travelling in Europe during the so-called “shoulder” season as opposed to “high” season. Shoulder season is often defined loosely as spring and autumn, and high season as summer. The obvious benefit of summer travel is the likelihood of good weather. The apparent benefit of shoulder season is the likelihood of smaller crowds. However, over the last decade, so many people have heeded the recommendation for shoulder season travel that the crowds have pretty much evened out, meaning that there isn’t really a “high” season anymore. I don’t mean to say that you’re going to see the same amount of people in St. Mark’s Square in January as you will see in July – but really, from March to October you are never going to find yourself alone riding the elevator up the Eiffel Tower, viewing the crown jewels in the Tower of London, or wandering through the Sistine Chapel. I still read this recommendation in travel articles and wonder if the author has ever been to Venice in March or Vienna in October!

Early morning in St. Mark’s Square – crowd free!

So unless you want to brave the probability of poor weather in the winter for the sake of more elbow room at the Louvre, you are going to be travelling in Europe with lots of other people. But if you plan well, you can avoid the pitfalls of the tourist season. For example, it is good to know that many of the big box tour operators bring their huge busloads of tourists to the Palace of Versailles about an hour after it opens. Arrive early and get in first (with a reservation of course) and you’ll have the first hour or so to enjoy the uncrowded rooms of Louis’ XIV’s pleasure palace with just a few other smart travelers. Most of these big tour groups are gone by mid to late afternoon, so arrive later and you get the same experience. Another crowd-beating tip is to understand that Venice is inundated with day-trippers from about 10 AM to 4 PM, most of whom are either coming in from mainland hotels that the big box tour companies use or from cruise ships in port for the day. The key is to stay in Venice proper, and take advantage of the early morning / late afternoon and evening for visiting the most popular places that the day trippers will have on their checklists (St. Mark’s Basilica and Square, the Doge’s Palace, the Rialto), and take in some of the lesser visited gems midday (the sublime artistic masterpiece that is the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the palace frozen in a long past golden age Ca’ Rezzonico, and many others).

The Palace of Versailles, virtually empty in the late afternoon.

Travel in Europe when you want to, even mid-summer (which, after 10 years of guiding tours, is still my favourite time to be in Europe!) With some research and planning, you won’t need to worry about lineups and crowds.

Have you got a travel tip of your own? Feel free to share it in the comments section below.

OneLife Tours is dedicated to the absolute best in European travel experiences. In addition to providing outstanding escorted tours for small groups, we also offer travel planning assistance for independent travelers wishing to have one-on-one expert advice. Contact our chief tour director Craig Bresett for more information.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506116251454697472/4blfsXiS.jpeg[/author_image] [author_info]This blog happily shared with you by Craig Bresett (without a crowd in sight) – owner and chief tour director at OneLife Tours. Contact Craig anytime: craig@onelifetours.ca[/author_info] [/author]

Paris is one the world’s great cities, but it can also be overwhelming for a first-time visitor. Here are five good tips on what to expect from travel blogger Christine Gilbert:

How does one write about Paris? Do they talk about the beauty of the city or the vibrant people or the delicious food or falling in love? If they are a travel writer, then most likely yes. It’s impossible to capture the essence of a place in a few sweeping observations, so we invoke images we are familiar with, even if we’ve never been.

This is the exact problem I had when arriving. I had black and white photos of Paris in my mind, romanticized close-ups from some French film in college, where a couple in trench coats embrace in front of Notre Dame and others smoke skinny cigarettes in some café. What film and photos failed to capture is the experience.

I took over 1,000 pictures in four days, and I couldn’t find it. That single picture that would somehow convey the gestalt of Paris: the feeling of walking around for an hour and not making it out the gardens of the Louvre, the way every building for miles around adheres to a certain aesthetic, the awe of standing beneath the massive Notre Dame Cathedral and understanding why it would take 200 years to complete.

So what to expect? Well get the whole quaint little city image out of your head and get ready for a bursting metropolis.

1. The entire city is the attraction. Yes there is the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, but really Paris itself is a beautiful city. They have very strict zoning laws for buildings, which becomes immediately apparent as city block after city block conforms to the same color palettes and facade styles. There are no brand new sky scrapers crammed in between historic buildings. The entire city feels like it was plucked from the 1800′s and preserved perfectly.

2. You will need to take the Metro (subway). As much as Paris is a city for walking, you simply can’t get everywhere by foot. The Metro is exhaustively well connected, which can make reading the metro maps a little daunting, but once you orient yourself it’s relatively easy to zip around the city. Want to look Parisian? Read a book as you ride.

3. There will be tourists everywhere you go. The German guy next to you had the same idea, “I’ll go to Paris!” You’re just as likely to hear someone speaking English, Russian, German, Spanish, or Arabic as you are to hear French. Even when I was 30 minutes north of the city, I still ran into tourists.

4. Soda will cost as much as your Sandwich. I’m not sure how the math on this works out, but for 3.50 Euros I can get a ham sandwich on an entire baguette. For 3.50 more I can get a mildly chilled Coke. If you’re traveling on a budget (like I was), then opt for a coffee (une cafe about 2 euros) instead.

5. However long you stay, isn’t long enough. I already have regrets about the things I didn’t see. I had enough time to hit a few large attractions, wander the city and get to know the place a little. If I had realized how small a dent I would be making in Paris, I might have planned my itnerary more carefully. Then again, some of my accidential finds where well worth it– like the statue of Moliere I ran into while slightly lost.

Do you have any travel tips for a first-time (or hundredth-time) visitor to Paris?

High season in Europe? What high season?

5 Things to Expect in Paris

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