Advice - European destination for a group?

McGilla

Hi all,

I'm planning a city break for Paddy's weekend to a random European city for around 6-10 friends, mostly coupes all very early 30's.

I'm looking destination recommendations based on:

• Cheap Flights
• Value for spending money
• Nice Pubs & Restaurants
• Activities to do during the day

All suggestions and recommendations welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Ryan Mac Sweeney

Hi there
I have read your post. I heard that ye are planning to go on a European City Break for Patricks weekend. I read that ye wanted to go somewhere thats value for money has good nightlife and there is lots to see and do during the day. The best place for that is Amsterdam as you can directly with Aer Lingus from Cork or Dublin and it is great value for money and it has an excellent nightlife. During the day there is the Vincent Van Gough Museum Anne Franks House The Dungeouns of Amsterdam Maddame Tussads The Rijkksmuseum the Heineken Experience and Dam Square which is right in the heart of the city. There are fabolus hotels to stay in my recommendations would be the Museum Quarter or the Poet or the Park Plaza is also another option. When you arrive at Schiptol Airport you can get a train straight from the airport into Amsterdam Central Station and then you walk from there to your hotel. It is much cheaper than a taxi and you get there much quicker. It is the perfect place for a group as there is lots to see and do there. For food and drink there is lots to choose from. There is the Hard Rock Cafe bit pricey but nice food there is also an Irish Bar right next to the Hard Rock Cafe if ye fancy a few drinks.

fits

Madrid. Loads to do. I am not a real museum person but the museums there are incredible. Lots of very cool shops, bars and restaurants. Lots of flights. And its fairly cheap.

Parchment

Poland - Warsaw or Krakow. Gdansk would also be an option but its more of a summer city.

Parchment

Ryan Mac Sweeney wrote: »

Hi there
I have read your post. I heard that ye are planning to go on a European City Break for Patricks weekend. I read that ye wanted to go somewhere thats value for money has good nightlife and there is lots to see and do during the day. The best place for that is Amsterdam as you can directly with Aer Lingus from Cork or Dublin and it is great value for money and it has an excellent nightlife. During the day there is the Vincent Van Gough Museum Anne Franks House The Dungeouns of Amsterdam Maddame Tussads The Rijkksmuseum the Heineken Experience and Dam Square which is right in the heart of the city. There are fabolus hotels to stay in my recommendations would be the Museum Quarter or the Poet or the Park Plaza is also another option. When you arrive at Schiptol Airport you can get a train straight from the airport into Amsterdam Central Station and then you walk from there to your hotel. It is much cheaper than a taxi and you get there much quicker. It is the perfect place for a group as there is lots to see and do there. For food and drink there is lots to choose from. There is the Hard Rock Cafe bit pricey but nice food there is also an Irish Bar right next to the Hard Rock Cafe if ye fancy a few drinks.

Amsterdam is not good value for money in my opinion. Its quite pricey and there are far more interesting places that offer better value fro money.

munchkin_utd

Parchment wrote: »

Amsterdam is not good value for money in my opinion. Its quite pricey and there are far more interesting places that offer better value fro money.

indeed, and accommodation is always an awful price to start off with unless you stay out of town like at the airport, but then with a group that will be very messy

NIMAN

A second here for Madrid, great city, great galleries and museums, great eateries, bars open til 6am if you're that way inclined.

littlevillage

OP, I do not envy your job.

You are never going to completely please 10 people. So its going to be a compromise. (in other words, go somewhere YOU want to go)

Would consider myself a fairly seasoned traveller around European Cities. There's actually lots of stuff to do in most large European cities (do thorough research) all that differs is the price of things and the language spoken.


Just a few things that you might not have thought of.

1). The expensive European cites are in the West and North, the farther East/South you go, the cheaper they get ... but flights to Eastern/Southern Europe are longer (obviously) and maybe less frequent.

2). The weather in Eastern/Northern Europe on St. Patricks Weekend is a bit chillier than you get in Ireland. But the weather in Spain/Italy for example will be lovely in mid March.

3). Flights out of Ireland are pretty cheap on St. Patricks weekend as lots of people come to Ireland.

4). Why not select a city based on some cultural festival or concert etc. that might be on there. That way you have the activities sorted straight away.

Places that I found enjoyable. Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Munich, Prague, Riga, Krakow, Malaga. (Note : You will have St. Patricks day parades in Scotland and England, not sure if you are intentionally avoiding that)

But my choice if I were booking a holiday today for 10 friends on St. Patricks weekend... Barcelona. (I have never been .. but have heard soo many wonderful things about it)

If you have already 'done' Barcelona ... then apparently Lisbon is the new Barcelona

EndaHonesty

McGilla wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm planning a city break for Paddy's weekend to a random European city for around 6-10 friends, mostly coupes all very early 30's.

I'm looking destination recommendations based on:

• Cheap Flights
• Value for spending money
• Nice Pubs & Restaurants
• Activities to do during the day

All suggestions and recommendations welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Going by flight prices on Skyscanner;

All UK destinations are cheap as chips at the moment - from Birmingham €20 to Aberdeen €156

Oslo is only €92

Paris is very cheap at €95

Copenhagen around €120

Stockholm around €145

Madrid is around €170

Faro around €180

Personally I'd be heading to Faro for a bit of heat, 17° at the moment.

munchkin_utd

missed the thing about couples
Maybe then think about Brussels as an arrival destination which is 60return for the 17th and back on the Sunday, and that with good times to Brussels, and not the Charleroi one over an hour away.

I amn't the biggest fan of Brussels itsself, but Bruges is good (abeit quiet), Ghent I hear is like Bruges but more lively and Leuven (Louvaine) is only 15min from Brussels airport and is a student town so cheap grub a plenty and REALLY lively nightlife.
All are linked to each other with direct and frequent trains so you could even hop between them if you wanted.
Security is something someone will mention given the antics in Paris and some of the lads being from Brussels, but I was in Leuven there a couple of times since the paris attacks and everything is as per normal. Its also a dutch speaking town (as is Bruges and Ghent) so it is not the natural habitat of french speaking crazy north african terrorists.

and anyhow, who is to say where the terrorists would strike. Sure the last other big attacks were Madrid and London, and then a few on resorts in north africa so it could as easily be a soft target like a busy bar at a resort as any major city.

JCX BXC

Cologne or Düsseldorf are lovely destinations, lots to see and do around the Rhein region. Lots of English spoken.

Disgruntled Badger

Germany is good craic for that age profile. restaurants nightlife lots to see and do...and it's good value for money, as opposed to cheap. I'd say Berlin or Munich. Lots of nice towns you can visit in France direct from Dublin these days. It's low season in March so the hotels will be reasonable enough.

Strumms

littlevillage wrote: »

OP, I do not envy your job.


But my choice if I were booking a holiday today for 10 friends on St. Patricks weekend... Barcelona. (I have never been .. but have heard soo many wonderful things about it)

If you have already 'done' Barcelona ... then apparently Lisbon is the new Barcelona

If you are looking at Barcelona the advice I usually give is to skip it and go to Madrid instead. There are more flights from Dublin therefore I find it's usually cheaper to get there first off. Madrid is a far nicer safer city also. Never found myself looking over my shoulder or hassled by scumbags in Madrid which in certain parts of Barcelona is inevitable. Also I find Madrid much cleaner. Madrid nightlife is more fun and varied and the quality of food and restaurants is superior. Much more to do during the day in terms of museums and attractions and a much nicer city to walk around It's also pretty much as cheap as Barcelona. Just my opinion but based on spending a lot of time in each city that's how I see it.

I love Lisbon, again dirt cheap and easy to get around. Great day trips to the likes of Cascais and Estoril just up the coast. Been there when the nightlife has been off the scale and quite dead also but I'd like to go back.

Can't really go wrong with Amsterdam. For the reasons other posters have said so I won't elaborate too buy but it's fun and cheap.

desertcircus

I'd second Barcelona. It's a lovely city to spend time in. The Olympic park up in Montjuic is interesting and the Joan Miro gallery is superb, the Gothic Quarter is a fantastic place to spend an evening wandering around, Parc Guell and the Sagrada Familia are both easily reachable from the centre of the city, and the weather should be cracking with any luck.

Mr rebel

Lisbon.
It's still like Europe's hidden gem in many ways so best to go there now before it inevitably becomes completely over-saturated with tourists and loses some of its charm.
As of now, it has a lovely old world charm to it for a European capital and is really cheap (80 cent beers if you venture outside the main tourist hotspots).
And the weather there in March will be lovely and sunny.

theflipdave

Budapest is cheap and amazing

stargazer 68

Strumms wrote: »

If you are looking at Barcelona the advice I usually give is to skip it and go to Madrid instead. There are more flights from Dublin therefore I find it's usually cheaper to get there first off. Madrid is a far nicer safer city also. Never found myself looking over my shoulder or hassled by scumbags in Madrid which in certain parts of Barcelona is inevitable. Also I find Madrid much cleaner. Madrid nightlife is more fun and varied and the quality of food and restaurants is superior.

.

Just booked madrid for a group of 10! Any suggestions on where to stay - areas etc?

Strumms

Dovies wrote: »

Just booked madrid for a group of 10! Any suggestions on where to stay - areas etc?

sure..

I generally stay in the area around Anton Martin / Atocha. It is perfect for ease of access to and from the airport and is in walking distance to Sol and many other places you will probably want to visit including the museum distract yet it has great metro links on your doorstep. Also loads of great little side streets with bars and restaurants and not too touristy or loud. My hotel of choice is the Radisson Blu on Calle de Moratín. Really depends on what your budget is but I've been lucky with favorable rates there several times although on occasion it's also been out of budget too. Also in that area have a look at Hotel Paseo Del Arte. There is another very good hotel which the name of escapes me but I'll see if I still have the email from that trip.... Feel free to pm if you want any tips on the city in general and what to do..