SO YOU PREPARE FOR A CITY TRIP

When this piece goes online, I will be high in the air between Budapest and Amsterdam. I am visiting the Sziget festival there and also the city of course. So that calls for some homework. While doing so, I realize that it can actually be quite a task, so here’s some light in the darkness. First of all,.

Step 1

your suitcase, . A city trip is often a long weekend, so I would always recommend traveling with just hand luggage. That saves precious time at the baggage claim, but you also ensure that your suitcase has actually made it with you. If you’re hanging out at the beach for three weeks, you can survive the first two days without your own. suitcase for sure, but on a city trip of 3 or 4 days, that’s a lot more annoying. That’s your hotel. Or Airbnb. Or whatever. In any case,.

Step 2

the place where you sleep., Choose a hotel right in the middle of the city and don’t go for something on the outskirts. Again, you don’t have much time, and you don’t want to spend that time in dark subways or stinky buses. How nice is it to stumble from your hotel over the lovely restaurants and nice cafes, without first having to walk through a grim neighborhood before you finally reach the nice part? And yes, you might pay a bit more for the location, but I have learned through trial and error that the idea of “I’m only sleeping there anyway” doesn’t hold up. A stupid hotel in a stupid location ruins all the fun. Homework. Lots of homework. Yes, you have to let things come to you and the adventure begins where the plan ends. But if you have three days to see as much as possible, you’d better know in advance where you need to go. Choose some cultural highlights, make a selection of restaurants you’d like to visit, and think about which lunch spots are must-sees. Also fun; check out sites where they share parties and such to see if there’s a really cool club somewhere with an amazing DJ spinning.

Step 3

For the real planners among us, use apps that help you create a route. I recently found a site called.

Step 4

citytripplanner.com where you can create your own routes in great detail. It’s a bit fiddly but very nice, because all the cultural highlights come by, and since everything is on a map, you can immediately create a nice overview. For those making a city trip longer than three days, it can be fun to see if there are things outside the city that are worth visiting. Paris and London, for example, have.

Step 5

a lovely outlet where you can buy Céline, Dior, and Prada at many percent off. Florence is also full of outlets. And if you’re going to Paris, you can easily drive north for a day to visit Champagne. When this piece goes online, I will be high in the air between Budapest and Amsterdam. I am visiting the Sziget festival there and also the city of course..