Post: #1

Going on a trip. Can someone please recommend good places to stay and eat. All site seeing solo on the back end of trip.

Istanbul Sunday April 27 to Tuesday 29th

Rome Tue 29th night to Fri May 2nd morning

Barcelona Fri May afternoon to Sunday morning May 4th
May 4th morning flying to to states


1) Is Istanbul even worth it ? If so is it ok if I just stay near airport? I really only have all day Monday so I can just take the metro, sign up for a bus tour and get all the site seeing in one day. Nice dinner at night and cross it off

2) Rome: Any suggestions on where to stay and eat? 2 1/2 days should be plenty I am hoping. Or am I really wrong and need more? Just major sites

3) Barcelona is still a maybe. I cant find much siteseeing but than again need a filler for 1 1/2 day until flight sunday morning so I hope thats good enough. Again Id like to stay near the airport since I only get one full day to site see.

Suggestions are welcome. Havnt booked anything yet.

Post: #2

All three are worth visiting but you need a little more time I think. Cut one city maybe ... say Rome.

Post: #3

Is Istanbul worth it? Hell yes. Incredible city with an almost unmatched history. One night though...there is no way you can do it justice. Just hit the highlights...Hagia Sofia, etc. Get a Turkish massage if you can...it's awesome.

Honestly, I would say none of your stays are really enough, even for tourist stuff. When you rush through things hitting the sights you don't really experience the city...it's just another checkbox...you're there physically but not really mentally.

You can't find sightseeing in Barcelona, one of the most architecturally beautiful cities in the entire world??

If I were you I'd cut one of those cities out, if possible, and focus on two...or hell even one.

Post: #4

All three are absolutely worth it but you're doing yourself a disservice by allotting so little time. Even if you spend all your time running from must-see sight to must-see sight you'll still only scratch the surface at best. Rome and Istanbul are two of the true epicenters of European history, the sheer mass of historical interest in each one is enormous.

Istanbul: if you only have 1 day, the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque are all in the same area so concentrate on that part of the city to maximize your time. However, the Hagia Sophia is closed to visitors on Mondays so it'd be a real shame if that was the only day you could be there (believe me, the interior is 100x more impressive than the exterior). Istanbul is worth 3 full days at least, though, so with just 1 you're going to miss out on a lot.

Rome: 2 1/2 days is not plenty, not even close. You can feasibly see the big sights (Coliseum, Forum Romanum, Pantheon, Vatican City) if you plan it right but there's tons more to see after that. 2 1/2 days is better than nothing of course but it's barely the appetizer of what the city has to offer. Also, the airport doesn't have particularly speedy connections to the city so don't plan on zipping back and forth with ease...Italian public transportation earns its reputation for tardiness.

Barcelona is also short-changed by 1 1/2 days...it doesn't have the history of Rome or Istanbul but it does have a unique early 20th century architecture and famous nightlife. Like others have said, I'd choose one or two of these cities to focus your time on, you'll have more time to enjoy your trip and take it all in rather than dashing from plane to train to bus and back again. Ask yourself what interests you most and then go with it, they're all fantastic and fun cities so you can't really go wrong.

Post: #5

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I am now leaning towards just cutting Barcelona and doing Istanbul and Rome 3 days each.

Post: #6

OP - What are your goals for this overall trip?

If you're looking for a history trip, you're going to need a hell of a lot more time. Istanbul is one of the most epic cities on the planet. Truly mind blowing history.

Rome is another beast. Heart of historical western civilization. So much to see.

If game is your focus, Barcelona is the best (not for the locals - they're not easy - but there's so many chicks there from all over any time of year). That might even be my favorite all-around city in the world. It has just about everything. Not the history of Istanbul or Rome but still very strong history, art, and culture.

Then you have near-perfect weather, beaches, and cuisine.

The nightlife is raging nearly every night.

Those are all great cities, but clearly not enough time. You could use all that time for any one of those cities.

Post: #7

Hi,

if you are going on the 1st of may to Rome you are in for a big surprise (if you were not already aware of it). There is a big concert/festival in town: concerto del primo maggio

https://www.google.sk/search?q=concerto+...66&bih=651

this thing attracts tens of thousand of people from all over Italy so you will have a very hard time in finding a nice and cheap accomodation... on the other side you are going to have a city of drunk people (and girls) in party-mode if you like this kind of stuff.
My advice if you are up for it, is to book a place to stay ASAP. Lots of decent bed and breakfast near the train station, they are relatively cheap compared to other areas (still it depends on the period of the year, you are going in high season) and they are perfectly located transportation-wise. Anyway, if you are not a lazy guy, the real Rome experience is walking around the place. Most of the stuff you may want to see is maximum a 30-40 minutes walk away from the main station.

Rome (and Italy in general) is not such a good place to pick-up girls and stuff... anyway if you are looking for some nightlife probably you may want to check out the "parco testaccio" area, is a park with lots of small-medium pubs and music bars, or also campo dei fiori, a square downtown filled with nice bars and pubs. Be careful because Rome is not exactly one of the safest place in the world and if you travel alone as a foreigner and you are drunk at night somebody (mainly gipsies and similar) might try to scam or pickpocket you, just keep your eyes opened.

Other than that a lot of epic historical stuff to see, great weather and unbelievably good food! Rome is definitely worth seeing.

Enjoy your trip!

Post: #8

Thanks Player G, had no idea. That definitely changes things. When does the crowd arrive for that? I am now thinking

Rome April 27-Wed 30th
Istanbul Wed night-Saturday night
flight out Sunday morning back to states from Istanbul

Post: #9

Not so sure how that event works... anyway if you fly out on the 30th I think you should be out of the "turbolent area"