DON'T STAND IN LINE!

Standing. In. Line.

It's inevitable when visiting popular European destinations. Or is it? Most people don't realize that those long lines you see outside the major museums and attractions are not to get into the sights, but to buy the entrance tickets. With some careful research and planning, you can avoid wasting time standing in line to buy your ticket and spend that time more wisely actually visiting the sight. You have precious little vacation time as it is, and you're about to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars getting to your destination. Spend a few minutes planning and researching in order to spend your time wisely!

PRE-PURCHASE THOSE TICKETS!

The simplest way to avoid standing in line to buy a ticket at your favorite sight is to pre-purchase your tickets online. Major European attractions, including the major Paris museums, the major Florence museums, the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Vatican Museum and Colosseum in Rome allow you to pre-purchase and print out your tickets online. There may be a nominal convenience fee charged, but that is nothing compared to the convenience you will experience by not having to stand in line, especially at the Vatican Museum. Having that ticket in hand will allow you to jump to the front of the line or enter through a separate entrance.

TIP!

Ask your hotel if they sell tickets to the major sites in their city.

On my recent trip to Amsterdam, we arrived from Brussels via train on a Sunday morning. Our first planned visit was to the Rijksmuseum. The tram ride from Centraal Station to our hotel took us past the Rijksmuseum. Since it was Sunday, the line to purchase tickets to the museum was out the door, down the street and around the corner...easily an hour's wait--in the rain! I simply would not stand in that line. We pre-purchased our tickets from our hotel which allowed us to enter the museum through a different line. When we arrived at the museum, there were about 10 people in that line. We waited perhaps 10 minutes to enter the museum.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE MUSEUM PASSES!

Another option in most major European cities is a museum/transportation pass.

IN PARIS:

The best one is the Paris Museum Pass. This pass will save you money if you plan to visit several Paris sights. If you purchased individual tickets (even online) for the Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie, Rodin and Pompidou museums plus St. Chapelle, you will spend at least €49.00. A 2-day Paris Museum Pass will cost you €32.00; the 4-day pass will cost you €48.00. However the most important feature of the Paris Museum Pass is it will allow you to skip the line.

FOR EXAMPLE...

One of the highlights of my trip to Paris in 2006 was visiting the Musée de l'Orangerie which had just reopened that week after being under renovation for years! We were thrilled to be able to see Monet's famous Waterlilies paintings.

Since we were visiting Paris for six days, we purchased a Paris Museum Pass.

When we arrived at the Musée de l'Orangerie, the line to get in measured from the museum entrance into the Jardin des Tuileries. Did we have to wait in that line?

Absolutely not! Because we had our Museum Passes, we were able to walk past dozens of people directly to the entrance doors. The Museum Pass also saved us from standing in the queues at St. Chapelle and the Louvre.

Le Bassin aux Nympheas, Soleil Couchant by Monet in the Musée de l'Orangerie.

MUSEUMKAART BEATS THE I AMSTERDAM CARD!

When visiting Amsterdam, there are two major museum pass options: I amsterdam Card and the Museumkaart. I recommend the Museumkaart which costs €39.95, is valid for one year and can be used in museums and churches all over the Netherlands, not just in Amsterdam. Use it to visit the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem or the fantastic Mauritshuis in The Hague, home of Vermeer's Girl With A Pearl Earring in addition to those sights in Amsterdam. The main advantage of the Museumkaart over the I amsterdam Card is that wonderful ability to skip the queue!

TIP: Neither pass includes the Anne Frank House. Pre-purchase your tickets online and you will be able to enter through a different entrance skipping the long lines.

NOTE: The Rijksmuseum only allows you to skip the line if you have actual tickets, so I suggest you pre-purchase these tickets, then buy your Museumkaart in the Rijksmuseum. If you feel this is spending too much, just remember if you buy individual tickets for the other major sights such as the Nieuwekerk (€5) and Oudekerk (€5), Van Gogh Museum (€14), Amsterdam Historical Museum (€10), Our Lord in the Attic (€7), Frans Hals Museum (€7.50) and the Mauritshuis (€12), you would end up spending over €60.00 and you've have to stand. in. line.

OTHER EUROPEAN CITY PASSES:

Many other European cities have some type of visitor combo/museum/transportation ticket designed to save you valuable Euros and allow you to skip those queues. Berlin has the 3-day Schaulust MuseenBerlin for €19 which includes the museums located on Museum Island; Munich has a day pass or 5-visit pass to their Pinakothek Museums; London has the London Pass which has the option to add transportation for an additional cost (NOTE: This pass is more cost-effective if you purchase a multi-day version--the one day pass is £40.00--YIKES!); Bruges has its 3-day €15.00 Combo-Ticket; Rome has its 3-day Roma Pass (€25), a transportation/discounted museum/archeological site pass; and starting in September of this year, Florence should have its 3-day €50.00 Florence Museum Card which will include reservations and a bus pass. The current museum pass is the Friends of the Uffizi Museum Pass (€60/individual or €100/family of 4). This annual pass allows you to not only skip the queue and avoid having to make those necessary reservations for the Uffizi and Accademia Museums, but will allow you to visit the museums as many times as you want. Logically, this is the perfect pass for those long-term travelers to Florence.

You've worked hard to save for that trip to Europe. You have a limited amount of time, but a list of sights to see as long as your arm. A few minutes of research will save you time and money allowing you more time to enjoy your visit.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

All photos were taken by me.

SEARCHING FOR THAT PERFECT PLACE TO STAY

I've traveled to and stayed several days in Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and Bruges. In each city, I stayed in a terrific hotel or Bed and Breakfast.  The main resource I use to choose a hotel or Bed and Breakfast is Tripadvisor. 

I prefer to use Tripadvisor for searching for my accommodations. After logging onto the Tripadvisor website, just type in the name of the city that you plan to visit in the Search and scroll down the list of the top rated hotels or bed and breakfasts.  Click on either the tab for marked "Hotel" or "B&B" and for every major European city you will be able to find many reasonably priced, highly-recommended places to stay. Even better, on the left side of the screen, refine your search to change your price range and traveler rating.

Think it's hard to find a good, inexpensive hotel in Paris? Not at all. By refining my search on Tripadvisor so that my price range is no more than $250 and no less than a 4.5 out of 5 star review, I can see that the 6th, 7th, 9th 18th, 19th, 22nd, 27th, 32nd and 33rd-ranked hotels will fit into this category. Currently there are 1,844 hotels listed on Tripadvisor, so if you book a room in a hotel ranked 33 out of 1,844, THAT'S IN THE TOP 2% RANKED HOTELS proving that you don’t have to spend a lot of Euros to get a good hotel room in Paris.

On the left-hand side of the blog I have listed the links to all the hotels and Bed and Breakfasts I have stayed in during my travels to Europe.  I highly recommend each one of them! 

Hotel Aberdeen, Roma

Hotel Muguet, Paris

Absoluut Verhulst, Brugge

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photos were taken by me.
 

CHOOSING YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS

The first thing I do when I begin to plan a trip is choose where I will be staying.  I need an idea of where we will be staying in the city we are visiting.  This is crucial in planning each day's general itinerary, plus by knowing where our hotel or B&B is located in the city we are visiting, I can become familiar with the nearby tram/bus/Métro lines.  I can also map out what general area of the city we will visit each day. By dividing a large city into sections, it's easier to plan your itinerary for each day.

When choosing a place to stay, I prefer either a small family-run hotel with breakfast included or a Bed and Breakfast. There are many reasons for this:

The first is obvious...you are provided breakfast. That's one meal you won't have to worry about spending money on and you can begin your day of sightseeing with a full stomach.

The second reason I like staying in a B&B is that you get to connect with a local family in the city you are visiting and meet and talk with other fellow travelers. It's so rewarding to meet other travelers, especially if they are from another country other than the U.S. Isn't one of the reasons you travel to a foreign country to meet and interact with persons from cultures other than your own? When you are one of hundreds or even thousands of guests in a large chain hotel, it's really hard to interact with others.

Frieda and Benno with my sister at the Absoluut Verhulst B&B in Bruges.  An absoluutly fabulous place to stay!

The third reason I prefer to stay in a B&B is the price. Most Bed and Breakfast establishments charge far less than the large chain hotels, and you're getting the breakfast included in your room rate. In a B&B or even a smaller hotel, you are not being charged for the thrills and frills associated with the larger chain hotels. (Now if you prefer the thrills and frills, then by all means, continue booking a room at these hotels.)

Now the biggest complaint that I see on travel review websites is "It was a great hotel, but my room was too small." This really amazes me when I see this. When you are planning a trip to Europe, how much time are you expecting to stay in your room? When I visit Europe, I plan on spending the least amount of time in my room as possible. I'm not saving up thousands of dollars to spend extra time in my room. I'm out visiting the museums, churches and restaurants. I want a room to take a shower and get a good night's sleep. Also, anyone who plans to visit Europe should realize that hotel rooms are smaller there. Many hotels and B&Bs are located in renovated canal houses or centuries-old homes that have been converted. And finally, isn't having a smaller room just part of the charm of traveling and staying in those family-run smaller hotels or B&Bs? If you need a larger room, don't book a hotel that's located in a converted canal house in Amsterdam. Stick to those generic name-brand chain hotels.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner

All photos were taken by me.