As the title says, I need help planning my first trip to Europe. I will be there from June 5th - July 6th. Base camp will be in Heidelberg, Germany (where my sister lives). So far, the only plan I have is to help my sister run a youth camp near Pisa June 15th-21st.
I'd enjoy seeing as much as possible during this period. I'm planning on spending time in both Barcelona and Paris (hopefully many other cities as well). What's a good amount of time to spend in each city? Have any insight on either city? Is there a big difference between 1st and 2nd class rail passes? Where should I stay? hostels? Do I need to book them in advance?
What are the things I MUST do while I'm in Europe? What should I avoid? I'd like to see and learn as much as possible. Enjoying the night life and cultures out there sounds fun as well.
Let me know what you think I should do while in Europe. Any insight is appreciated.
As you will be in Germany anyway: The Fifa world cup starts at June 9th an ends July 9th. So you will find a lot of partying going on throghout Germany.
If you manage to go to Stuttgart (it's very close to Heidelberg) you can visit the new Mercedes-Benz-Museum by UN Studio, architecture is worth a visit
From Heidelberg try to get to Weil am Rhein and the Vitra-headquarter, see Hadid, Siza, Ando, etc. there, it's also close to Heidelberg.
If you want to go to Paris and Barcelona, that's a good plan, but I would sugggest a minimum of 4-5 days for a these cities. So if you haave one month total that would be half of your time already...
If you go to Pisa, try to see some of the buildings by Carlo Scarpa in Verona or Venice, there is a beautifull cemetery by Scarpa in the Venetian countryside, try to find the place. Or simply drive around the North Italian Cities and relax from your time in Paris or Barcelona...
I was going to say the same thing about Paris; doing it in less than 5 days will only leave you frustrated. Barcelona, maybe 4. That's kind of bare minimum for those cities. If you went to head outside of Paris (for example: the Villa Savoye at 1 hour outside city) that would take more days.
If you are interested in the architecture aspect of things, you should go to the Netherlands, specifically Rotterdam. I believe the words I used when I stepped off the train there were "architectural wonderland".
Also it looks as if Heidelberg is just a short train ride away from Prague. I'd suggest kicking yourself in the shins if you don't go to Prague for at least a couple of days.
if you're at all interested in swiss architecture, basel is a two hour trainride from heidelberg. in one or two days in basel, you can see an exceptional number of amazing projects in a small city. many early HdeM projects, miller maranta and many others. i can also recommend a fantastic hostel in basel if you're interested.
i agree with the paris/barcelona comments - you need at least five days in each city...pick a few places in your month and go a bit deeper...in larger cities, you definitely need to book a hostel in advance, since it'll be high season.
you might consider berlin as well, it's not too far from heidelberg, much less than a day on the high speed train, and you can see a great deal of the city in a slightly shorter span of time.
i agree w/ the 4 day minimum for Paris and Barcelona. Also, as WonderK said, Rotterdam is an "architectural wonderland." In my opinion, the whole of Holland is pretty wonder-ful. You could spend a week there and visit Utrecht, Rotterdam and Den Haag...might as well see Amsterdam too...train ride between each city ranges from 20 minutes to an hour. For this reason, a day trip from one place to another would be reasonable.
I would have to say that Berlin is a can't miss. Especially in that it is such a short distance from where you are staying. You can see a lot in a day there, you can pretty much ride the subway here for free, there are no booths to walk through to check your ticket, you can basically just hop on the train. IMO I wouldnt spend more than 2-3 days in Paris. Myself and the people that I traveled with were not impressed with Paris at all. You can see some nice things in a few days there, but the people there are assholes. Barcelona is a great idea though, IMO it was the second best city that we went to next to Berlin. You must see La Sagrada Familia by Gaudi, and pay the money to walk up the spires. It is unbelivable. I would say 4-5 days would be great for Barcelona. For the culutre and night life hang out by La Rambla, tons of people, and tons of mullets. I would stay away from Amsterdam personally, we stopped there, but wasnt too impressed there neither, I agree that Rotterdam would be awesome, though I didnt get a chance to go there. Good luck staying sane for those days that you are in Pisa, there is nothing in Pisa except the tower and a baptistry. Going to Venice would be a good idea and checking out the Scarpa stuff would be good as well, good luck finding that cemetary, a lot of people from my school have made the trip up there to it, most of which never could find it, and when you do there is a chance that it could be closed, so good luck with that. Because of the World Cup you might want to book some hostels in advance, we went to 6 cities in a month and never booked one in advance. Also take into consideration that it is going to take you basically a full day to get from where you are to either of Paris or Barcelona, and then another full day to get from either of those places to the other. I would also suggest that if you are taking a night train for any of the destinations that are going to take over a few hours to get to to get a bed, even if it is the cheap one where there are 6 beds in a room, do it. You will ride much better that way, and wont waste a day of feeling hung over from no sleep on the train.
I have heard very similar things about the Netherlands. And the language is too crazy to miss! I cannot wait to get there and see the arch. and the canals.
Basel is also not far from Ronchamps and makes a good stopping point between Germany and France. It is... maybe 3 hours from Paris? Someone correct me, it's been a few years.
aww french, why not? you're perectly positioned to pontificate on the presumptuous predetermined prejudices on the part of our pal and fellow patriot dtowntitan.
though i've spent a great dealof time in the city of lights, i would love to visit berlin.
and fyi - the TGV can make it to amsterdam from paris in about 3 1/2 hrs. a lovely ride through brussels and the dutch countryside.
the dom-awesome!...like a black alien spaceship has landed in the middle of city.
ludwig museum-lobby renovated to become a continuation of the dom's plaza (by rem)...has views of the rhein,train station and the dom
train station-next to the dom...factory look...has a glass canopy that i'm convinced was studied by massimiliano fuksas for his milan trade center project.
Kolumba-should be open by now...zumthor saved old walls and continued new walls.
Hohenzollern-hohenstauffen ring for the typical bar/nightlife scene.
old city streets converted to city blocks of shopping...
stay at the hotel kupferkessel (garni)...they serve a great breakfast with meats, diff. breads, fresh juice, fruits and other good stuff...your eyes will drool..trust me..old wooden spiral staircase, newly renovated rooms with salmon colored blankets, pillowcases(w/ prints of a farm scene), and drapes...
cross the rhein...
if you listen to kraftwerk...take a train to dusseldorf
Mightylittle- if you would have read my post, it says plain as day that I was there this past summer, actually stayed in Paris for 3 days, I wasnt really impressed, and as I stated the people that I interacted with were not friendly. Almost everybody that we came in contact with including police were very rude. Although the food was wonderful in Paris, and the sites were nice, the people that we came into contact with damped the mood of the city. Granted this may have just been a select group of people that we had the bad luck of running into. Sorry if you were offended French, but those were just my personal observations.
But as I stated before I was in europe for 3 months over the summer 1 of which was traveling throughout western europe. London, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Nice, and I stayed in Italy for 2 months going to school and traveling throughout the country. As somebody mentioned before about Prague, those in my classes that went said it was one of the best cities that they went to, so I would also suggest going there, and it is very easy on the wallet.
also Earendil hit it head on, Berlin is really a cant miss, the places that he mentioned are great, and there is a lot more to see in the city. I was fortunate enough to be in Berlin during the Carnival of Cultures which was unbelievable. If at all possible Berlin is a must see.
dtown i know you said in your post you were there. it's just hard to believe that someone who was there could have been so blase (pardon my french) about one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
not to take anything away from any of the other cities mentioned in this thread, but paris not impressive? it'd be like comparing new york city to boston. sure, i love boston. it's an amazing town with gorgeous architecture and a thrilling history...but if you were european, had never been to the states before, and had only a couple of days in the northeastern usa, would you pick boston or new york?
i lived in paris for six months working in restaurants, riding the metro, being the poor starving artist type, loving every minute of it.
i wish i had had more money while i was there to travel around more, though i did get all around france and up through belgium and holland.
someone said way up in the thread that when time is short (and a month is short for an entire continent) pick fewer cities and try and dig in a bit more.
it's about soaking in the warm glow of a foreign land, not just taking pictures of pretty, old buildings.
dtown, what did you see in your three days in paris? anything out of the way, or just the notables?
dessau: to see the bauhaus, the instructors' housing, and how what they did fits into the town.
dresden: to see the rebirth of the city over the last decade or so. you can walk around and still see damage from the fire-bombings, the soviet-era reconstructions (like a hilbersheimer drawing), and - now - the more historic reconstruction. honestly, if the mid-century stuff weren't there i'd say the new reconstructions are being too literal, but the mixing of new old stuff with older modern stuff is fascinating.
hellerau: outside dresden, to see the work of heinrich tessenow in this early version of the company town/garden city. especially the school for rhythmic dance which has been restored (after decades as a soviet military facility). corb visited this place as a young architect and found it an inspiration.
matildenhohe: outside frankfort, the artist colony with amazing work by jm olbrich (brought there after his influence in the vienna secession) and peter behrens first architectural project - his own house.
also outside frankfort: peter behrens farbenwerk building(s) at hoechst.
hagen: work by behrens (sensing a theme?) and by earlier nouveau inspired architects. some work by lauweriks and van de velde.
'course behrens' work in berlin is great as well: the twin buildings at the alexanderplatz, the turbine hall....
other berlin work to see is all of the projects built in the mid-late-80s for the ima (intl bau-austellung). not the best of these architects, but a great collection nonetheless of work by rossi, eisenman, hedjuk, portzamparc, ungers, koolhaas, ...
i didn't explain: part of the fascination with behrens, besides my love for his work in its own right, is his influence. at various times, sometimes overlapping, mies, gropius, and corb all worked in behrens' studio. he was the starchitect of his time in a lot of ways.
Thank you Steven for mentioning the Weissenhofsiedlung - how could I forget it and only mention van Berkels new museum... in Stuttgart
They just opened the house built by Corb as a museum, complete with the original furniture. weissenhof
And there are two other museums in Stuttgart, you should consider:
the Staatsgalerie - a perfect example of postmodern architecture by the late British architect James Stirling.
the kunstmuseum by hascher jehle finished last year.
If you're in Livorno or Pisa, it's just a 30 minute drive to Florence, which is a beautiful city in so many different ways. And since you're starting from Heidelberg, you can stop in Zurich, Basel and Vienna along the way down to Italy.
head east to prague, train south to vienna, then further south to croatia's dalmatian coast,ferry accross to italy from dubrovnik. I did this route in reverse last summer, amazing!
I can't say enough good about Croatia, you gotta get there. Prague and Vienna speak for themselves...
Regarding the Paris friendly vs. unfriendly issue, I really think it has to do with the season. I went to Paris twice on my 3 month whirlwind Euro tour, and the first time was in September, near the end of tourist season. While people weren't necessarily unfriendly, no one was terribly helpful. I went there again in November and they treated me like an old friend. I got the impression that they get really exasperated by the constant stream of tourists in the summer months.
Essentially what I'm trying to say is that if you are going to Paris in the summer, take your pocket French dictionary, for sure. But don't miss it. It's unbelievably beautiful!
Common guys, I'm not offended. Wer are rude and we act like dickheads with tourists on purpose. That's why I'm French here, to let you know that I'm aware of the fact that we are the most pretentious nation in the world. We really believe we are better than every one else. Even the Tchernobyl cloud didn't fly over France but the rest of Europe because he knew we are so good. That's how great we are.
I'm from the south of France, and there are places in this country where people are not like that. Unfortunately, most of you travellers from overseas only have time for Paris when you go to France, sometimes the south east (you know, the riviera and stuff like that...). Too bad you don't get to know the rest. People there are completely different. But that would like asking a French to travel to Birmingham Al or something like that. Oh wait! I've actually been there!
Actually as you mention it French, the few days that I stayed in Nice, on my way to Italy from Barcelona, the people there were extremely friendly. And I actually did enjoy myself much more there than when in Paris. So as you have stated I have to agree that the people in the south were much different than those in Paris.
Go to Berlin - pick up a 1984 map of Berlin which shows 'the wall' in Situ. Then walk Berlin and you can see it all in around 2-3 days. Use the S-Bahn and U-Bahn (trains) to get around and you cannot go wrong in this city. If it is modern architecture you are after then go to Brandenburg gate and take in the whole square including the Kunsthaus and Gehry's DZ bank. Walk 2 minutes around the corner to the Jewish Memorial by Eisenmann then stroll 5 minutes up the road to Potsdamer Platz a whole new complex which capitalises on the vois left by the wall. Rogers, Piano, Moneo amongst others have all contributed with some great modern works. Other things to look out for are the abundant Opera houses and do not miss out on seeing some of the foreign embassies. Get a 25 euro travel card and you can use the buses and trains to navigate the city easier. A little tip though is to make sure when you buy your ticket that you get it validated by the small red machines - or else you could be in for a nasty fine.
As for Paris do what AP says and avoid the generalisations.....head round to Pompidou Centre (piano & rogers) but hang onto your wallet and don't let the locals talk you into anything because they just want to distract you while they steal your wallet. Try Parc Villette and Parc Citroen as these are pretty cool places to take a break from the city.
Switzerland and Austria are both great examples of modern yet sustainable architecture but I think it is relatively hard to get around if you do not have a car...(I maybe wrong)... Be sure to try going to Zumthor's Baths at Vals. It is a fantastic experience especially when snowing.
As an Englishman of course I have to promote England but you would not miss much if you don't go outside London.
if you go to switzerland you can get around quite suitably by train and "postal bus"...the swiss post (die post/la posta/la poste) transports mail by motorcoaches which also serve as intercity bus transit. surely this is The Single Greatest Idea Ever.
i think you can get to vals from chur this way.
but geez, europe's so big and wonderful. my advice (worth its price) is to just stay in italy, there's way more than enough there for a lifetime of months in europe. if you do, i would recommend como (which i don't think has been mentioned) with yes, a quick trip into switzerland.
never mind the ideology, casa di fascio is alone worth the trip. lay down on the ground in the atrium and look up at the ceiling until the italian customs policeman comes over and asks what the hell you are doing.
paris...paris is incredible but very much out of your way; so is barcelona
but zurich isn't, and zurich is incredible in and of itself. just don't take pictures of junkies, one tried to get violent with me but i brandished my umbrella and he went and slammed his head through a plate-glass window (this was in calatrava's train station)
one last remark: maybe i was just a dumb texan playing up my southern charm, but i never experienced any kind of rudeness in all of 3.5 months in europe except the aforementioned junkie and the other junkie in lisbon who was an american druggie who tried to knife me. people in paris were great.
why oh why y'all might ask was i treated with such courtesy? simple.
i learned "hi", "please", "thank you" and "do you speak english?" in every country where i went. including finland ("puhettekko englantia?" "do you speak english?") and russia ("gavaritsii po-ingliskii?" same question). it would be right pretentious for, say, a japanese person to come to the US and go around demanding people speak japanese to him. but many americans do this simply by forgetting they are somewhere else and by not bothering to learn those four simple phrases.
let's go europe has them at the beginning of every country section. it wasn't like i did a whole lot of research or anything.
May 8, 06 11:21 pm ·
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month in europe
As the title says, I need help planning my first trip to Europe. I will be there from June 5th - July 6th. Base camp will be in Heidelberg, Germany (where my sister lives). So far, the only plan I have is to help my sister run a youth camp near Pisa June 15th-21st.
I'd enjoy seeing as much as possible during this period. I'm planning on spending time in both Barcelona and Paris (hopefully many other cities as well). What's a good amount of time to spend in each city? Have any insight on either city? Is there a big difference between 1st and 2nd class rail passes? Where should I stay? hostels? Do I need to book them in advance?
What are the things I MUST do while I'm in Europe? What should I avoid? I'd like to see and learn as much as possible. Enjoying the night life and cultures out there sounds fun as well.
Let me know what you think I should do while in Europe. Any insight is appreciated.
As you will be in Germany anyway: The Fifa world cup starts at June 9th an ends July 9th. So you will find a lot of partying going on throghout Germany.
If you manage to go to Stuttgart (it's very close to Heidelberg) you can visit the new Mercedes-Benz-Museum by UN Studio, architecture is worth a visit
From Heidelberg try to get to Weil am Rhein and the Vitra-headquarter, see Hadid, Siza, Ando, etc. there, it's also close to Heidelberg.
If you want to go to Paris and Barcelona, that's a good plan, but I would sugggest a minimum of 4-5 days for a these cities. So if you haave one month total that would be half of your time already...
If you go to Pisa, try to see some of the buildings by Carlo Scarpa in Verona or Venice, there is a beautifull cemetery by Scarpa in the Venetian countryside, try to find the place. Or simply drive around the North Italian Cities and relax from your time in Paris or Barcelona...
Have fun
I was going to say the same thing about Paris; doing it in less than 5 days will only leave you frustrated. Barcelona, maybe 4. That's kind of bare minimum for those cities. If you went to head outside of Paris (for example: the Villa Savoye at 1 hour outside city) that would take more days.
If you are interested in the architecture aspect of things, you should go to the Netherlands, specifically Rotterdam. I believe the words I used when I stepped off the train there were "architectural wonderland".
Also it looks as if Heidelberg is just a short train ride away from Prague. I'd suggest kicking yourself in the shins if you don't go to Prague for at least a couple of days.
Prague is awesome. And with 30p beers, who could knock the place?
Make sure you get up to the cathedral. A little trip on the river is worth braving the company of loud italians and americans.
And go see a marionette show. Don Giouvanni is the classic one.
Have fun.
PS other awesoem countries: Slovenia and Croatia. Super cheap, super beautiful, great food.
if you're at all interested in swiss architecture, basel is a two hour trainride from heidelberg. in one or two days in basel, you can see an exceptional number of amazing projects in a small city. many early HdeM projects, miller maranta and many others. i can also recommend a fantastic hostel in basel if you're interested.
i agree with the paris/barcelona comments - you need at least five days in each city...pick a few places in your month and go a bit deeper...in larger cities, you definitely need to book a hostel in advance, since it'll be high season.
you might consider berlin as well, it's not too far from heidelberg, much less than a day on the high speed train, and you can see a great deal of the city in a slightly shorter span of time.
first class train tickets would be a waste.
email me if you want more info.
i agree w/ the 4 day minimum for Paris and Barcelona. Also, as WonderK said, Rotterdam is an "architectural wonderland." In my opinion, the whole of Holland is pretty wonder-ful. You could spend a week there and visit Utrecht, Rotterdam and Den Haag...might as well see Amsterdam too...train ride between each city ranges from 20 minutes to an hour. For this reason, a day trip from one place to another would be reasonable.
I would have to say that Berlin is a can't miss. Especially in that it is such a short distance from where you are staying. You can see a lot in a day there, you can pretty much ride the subway here for free, there are no booths to walk through to check your ticket, you can basically just hop on the train. IMO I wouldnt spend more than 2-3 days in Paris. Myself and the people that I traveled with were not impressed with Paris at all. You can see some nice things in a few days there, but the people there are assholes. Barcelona is a great idea though, IMO it was the second best city that we went to next to Berlin. You must see La Sagrada Familia by Gaudi, and pay the money to walk up the spires. It is unbelivable. I would say 4-5 days would be great for Barcelona. For the culutre and night life hang out by La Rambla, tons of people, and tons of mullets. I would stay away from Amsterdam personally, we stopped there, but wasnt too impressed there neither, I agree that Rotterdam would be awesome, though I didnt get a chance to go there. Good luck staying sane for those days that you are in Pisa, there is nothing in Pisa except the tower and a baptistry. Going to Venice would be a good idea and checking out the Scarpa stuff would be good as well, good luck finding that cemetary, a lot of people from my school have made the trip up there to it, most of which never could find it, and when you do there is a chance that it could be closed, so good luck with that. Because of the World Cup you might want to book some hostels in advance, we went to 6 cities in a month and never booked one in advance. Also take into consideration that it is going to take you basically a full day to get from where you are to either of Paris or Barcelona, and then another full day to get from either of those places to the other. I would also suggest that if you are taking a night train for any of the destinations that are going to take over a few hours to get to to get a bed, even if it is the cheap one where there are 6 beds in a room, do it. You will ride much better that way, and wont waste a day of feeling hung over from no sleep on the train.
Go to Paris. Ignore Generalizations.
I <3 AP. And remember all big cities contain curt citizens.
I have heard very similar things about the Netherlands. And the language is too crazy to miss! I cannot wait to get there and see the arch. and the canals.
Basel is also not far from Ronchamps and makes a good stopping point between Germany and France. It is... maybe 3 hours from Paris? Someone correct me, it's been a few years.
"You can see some nice things in a few days there, but the people there are assholes."
what? have you actually been to paris? you can see some nice things?
I'm not going to make any comment on dtowntitan 's post.
aww french, why not? you're perectly positioned to pontificate on the presumptuous predetermined prejudices on the part of our pal and fellow patriot dtowntitan.
though i've spent a great dealof time in the city of lights, i would love to visit berlin.
and fyi - the TGV can make it to amsterdam from paris in about 3 1/2 hrs. a lovely ride through brussels and the dutch countryside.
look into Koln...
the dom-awesome!...like a black alien spaceship has landed in the middle of city.
ludwig museum-lobby renovated to become a continuation of the dom's plaza (by rem)...has views of the rhein,train station and the dom
train station-next to the dom...factory look...has a glass canopy that i'm convinced was studied by massimiliano fuksas for his milan trade center project.
Kolumba-should be open by now...zumthor saved old walls and continued new walls.
Hohenzollern-hohenstauffen ring for the typical bar/nightlife scene.
old city streets converted to city blocks of shopping...
stay at the hotel kupferkessel (garni)...they serve a great breakfast with meats, diff. breads, fresh juice, fruits and other good stuff...your eyes will drool..trust me..old wooden spiral staircase, newly renovated rooms with salmon colored blankets, pillowcases(w/ prints of a farm scene), and drapes...
cross the rhein...
if you listen to kraftwerk...take a train to dusseldorf
go to germany definitely: potzdammer plaz, jewish museum, gsw building..
Mightylittle- if you would have read my post, it says plain as day that I was there this past summer, actually stayed in Paris for 3 days, I wasnt really impressed, and as I stated the people that I interacted with were not friendly. Almost everybody that we came in contact with including police were very rude. Although the food was wonderful in Paris, and the sites were nice, the people that we came into contact with damped the mood of the city. Granted this may have just been a select group of people that we had the bad luck of running into. Sorry if you were offended French, but those were just my personal observations.
But as I stated before I was in europe for 3 months over the summer 1 of which was traveling throughout western europe. London, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Nice, and I stayed in Italy for 2 months going to school and traveling throughout the country. As somebody mentioned before about Prague, those in my classes that went said it was one of the best cities that they went to, so I would also suggest going there, and it is very easy on the wallet.
also Earendil hit it head on, Berlin is really a cant miss, the places that he mentioned are great, and there is a lot more to see in the city. I was fortunate enough to be in Berlin during the Carnival of Cultures which was unbelievable. If at all possible Berlin is a must see.
sacre cour wins over villa savoy any day.
the paris metro is fun just to ride around on
and why not go to rome and get lost
dtown i know you said in your post you were there. it's just hard to believe that someone who was there could have been so blase (pardon my french) about one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
not to take anything away from any of the other cities mentioned in this thread, but paris not impressive? it'd be like comparing new york city to boston. sure, i love boston. it's an amazing town with gorgeous architecture and a thrilling history...but if you were european, had never been to the states before, and had only a couple of days in the northeastern usa, would you pick boston or new york?
i lived in paris for six months working in restaurants, riding the metro, being the poor starving artist type, loving every minute of it.
i wish i had had more money while i was there to travel around more, though i did get all around france and up through belgium and holland.
someone said way up in the thread that when time is short (and a month is short for an entire continent) pick fewer cities and try and dig in a bit more.
it's about soaking in the warm glow of a foreign land, not just taking pictures of pretty, old buildings.
dtown, what did you see in your three days in paris? anything out of the way, or just the notables?
Very insightful information everyone. Just what I was looking for. Thanks to everyone who has posted so far. Keep it coming.
not mentioned so far:
dessau: to see the bauhaus, the instructors' housing, and how what they did fits into the town.
dresden: to see the rebirth of the city over the last decade or so. you can walk around and still see damage from the fire-bombings, the soviet-era reconstructions (like a hilbersheimer drawing), and - now - the more historic reconstruction. honestly, if the mid-century stuff weren't there i'd say the new reconstructions are being too literal, but the mixing of new old stuff with older modern stuff is fascinating.
hellerau: outside dresden, to see the work of heinrich tessenow in this early version of the company town/garden city. especially the school for rhythmic dance which has been restored (after decades as a soviet military facility). corb visited this place as a young architect and found it an inspiration.
matildenhohe: outside frankfort, the artist colony with amazing work by jm olbrich (brought there after his influence in the vienna secession) and peter behrens first architectural project - his own house.
also outside frankfort: peter behrens farbenwerk building(s) at hoechst.
hagen: work by behrens (sensing a theme?) and by earlier nouveau inspired architects. some work by lauweriks and van de velde.
'course behrens' work in berlin is great as well: the twin buildings at the alexanderplatz, the turbine hall....
other berlin work to see is all of the projects built in the mid-late-80s for the ima (intl bau-austellung). not the best of these architects, but a great collection nonetheless of work by rossi, eisenman, hedjuk, portzamparc, ungers, koolhaas, ...
i didn't explain: part of the fascination with behrens, besides my love for his work in its own right, is his influence. at various times, sometimes overlapping, mies, gropius, and corb all worked in behrens' studio. he was the starchitect of his time in a lot of ways.
more:
stuttgart: both for stuttgart itself but also for the weissenhofsiedlung: housing by mies, corb, behrens (!), scharoun...
Thank you Steven for mentioning the Weissenhofsiedlung - how could I forget it and only mention van Berkels new museum... in Stuttgart
They just opened the house built by Corb as a museum, complete with the original furniture. weissenhof
And there are two other museums in Stuttgart, you should consider:
the Staatsgalerie - a perfect example of postmodern architecture by the late British architect James Stirling.
the kunstmuseum by hascher jehle finished last year.
If you're in Livorno or Pisa, it's just a 30 minute drive to Florence, which is a beautiful city in so many different ways. And since you're starting from Heidelberg, you can stop in Zurich, Basel and Vienna along the way down to Italy.
head east to prague, train south to vienna, then further south to croatia's dalmatian coast,ferry accross to italy from dubrovnik. I did this route in reverse last summer, amazing!
I can't say enough good about Croatia, you gotta get there. Prague and Vienna speak for themselves...
Regarding the Paris friendly vs. unfriendly issue, I really think it has to do with the season. I went to Paris twice on my 3 month whirlwind Euro tour, and the first time was in September, near the end of tourist season. While people weren't necessarily unfriendly, no one was terribly helpful. I went there again in November and they treated me like an old friend. I got the impression that they get really exasperated by the constant stream of tourists in the summer months.
Essentially what I'm trying to say is that if you are going to Paris in the summer, take your pocket French dictionary, for sure. But don't miss it. It's unbelievably beautiful!
Common guys, I'm not offended. Wer are rude and we act like dickheads with tourists on purpose. That's why I'm French here, to let you know that I'm aware of the fact that we are the most pretentious nation in the world. We really believe we are better than every one else. Even the Tchernobyl cloud didn't fly over France but the rest of Europe because he knew we are so good. That's how great we are.
I'm from the south of France, and there are places in this country where people are not like that. Unfortunately, most of you travellers from overseas only have time for Paris when you go to France, sometimes the south east (you know, the riviera and stuff like that...). Too bad you don't get to know the rest. People there are completely different. But that would like asking a French to travel to Birmingham Al or something like that. Oh wait! I've actually been there!
Actually as you mention it French, the few days that I stayed in Nice, on my way to Italy from Barcelona, the people there were extremely friendly. And I actually did enjoy myself much more there than when in Paris. So as you have stated I have to agree that the people in the south were much different than those in Paris.
Go to Berlin - pick up a 1984 map of Berlin which shows 'the wall' in Situ. Then walk Berlin and you can see it all in around 2-3 days. Use the S-Bahn and U-Bahn (trains) to get around and you cannot go wrong in this city. If it is modern architecture you are after then go to Brandenburg gate and take in the whole square including the Kunsthaus and Gehry's DZ bank. Walk 2 minutes around the corner to the Jewish Memorial by Eisenmann then stroll 5 minutes up the road to Potsdamer Platz a whole new complex which capitalises on the vois left by the wall. Rogers, Piano, Moneo amongst others have all contributed with some great modern works. Other things to look out for are the abundant Opera houses and do not miss out on seeing some of the foreign embassies. Get a 25 euro travel card and you can use the buses and trains to navigate the city easier. A little tip though is to make sure when you buy your ticket that you get it validated by the small red machines - or else you could be in for a nasty fine.
As for Paris do what AP says and avoid the generalisations.....head round to Pompidou Centre (piano & rogers) but hang onto your wallet and don't let the locals talk you into anything because they just want to distract you while they steal your wallet. Try Parc Villette and Parc Citroen as these are pretty cool places to take a break from the city.
Switzerland and Austria are both great examples of modern yet sustainable architecture but I think it is relatively hard to get around if you do not have a car...(I maybe wrong)... Be sure to try going to Zumthor's Baths at Vals. It is a fantastic experience especially when snowing.
As an Englishman of course I have to promote England but you would not miss much if you don't go outside London.
Hope it helps!
if you go to switzerland you can get around quite suitably by train and "postal bus"...the swiss post (die post/la posta/la poste) transports mail by motorcoaches which also serve as intercity bus transit. surely this is The Single Greatest Idea Ever.
i think you can get to vals from chur this way.
but geez, europe's so big and wonderful. my advice (worth its price) is to just stay in italy, there's way more than enough there for a lifetime of months in europe. if you do, i would recommend como (which i don't think has been mentioned) with yes, a quick trip into switzerland.
never mind the ideology, casa di fascio is alone worth the trip. lay down on the ground in the atrium and look up at the ceiling until the italian customs policeman comes over and asks what the hell you are doing.
it's worth it.
oh, ok--going from heidelberg to pisa and back
absolutely do switzerland then
paris...paris is incredible but very much out of your way; so is barcelona
but zurich isn't, and zurich is incredible in and of itself. just don't take pictures of junkies, one tried to get violent with me but i brandished my umbrella and he went and slammed his head through a plate-glass window (this was in calatrava's train station)
one last remark: maybe i was just a dumb texan playing up my southern charm, but i never experienced any kind of rudeness in all of 3.5 months in europe except the aforementioned junkie and the other junkie in lisbon who was an american druggie who tried to knife me. people in paris were great.
why oh why y'all might ask was i treated with such courtesy? simple.
i learned "hi", "please", "thank you" and "do you speak english?" in every country where i went. including finland ("puhettekko englantia?" "do you speak english?") and russia ("gavaritsii po-ingliskii?" same question). it would be right pretentious for, say, a japanese person to come to the US and go around demanding people speak japanese to him. but many americans do this simply by forgetting they are somewhere else and by not bothering to learn those four simple phrases.
let's go europe has them at the beginning of every country section. it wasn't like i did a whole lot of research or anything.
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