Start on the south coast in the east, make your way across Antalya, go up to Urfa, where everything is between 2000 and 17,000 years old. Go to Lake Van and Mount Nimrut, watch out for the heads. Do Capadocia (fairy chimneys) and look out for the old christian hideout caves where it was first preached and used to hide from the romans. Head across to Ankara to see the Ataturk mauseleum then down to Konya. Onwards to Bodrum, up through Ephesus, Troy and get the boat from Bursa to Istanbul. Spend a few days in Istanbul and take the train or bus to Thessaloniki.
From Thessaloniki go to Volos then on to Athens. From Port Piraeus you can go on to Crete after which you can head back to Athens then on to Patra to try some wine. From Patra get a ferry to Ancona in Italy.
From Ancona go on to Rome, then up to Florence. Don't forget the galleries. From there on to Milan and Turin. Here you can go on to Cannes, Monaco (if you fancy but it is expensive) and Nice. From Nice head west to Cerbere to connect on to Barcelona.
After some time in Barcelona, head to Madrid and if you fancy it on to the Douro valley in Portugal, then Lisbon and over towards Cadiz. If you don't fancy Portugal and want to save it for when you're back from Morocco then you can go from Madrid down to Cadiz via Seville. If you time this right you should get there for the Fiesta de Savilla. Go on to Cordoba and do some Flamenco then on to Tarifa to get the ferry to Tangiers.
From Tangiers take the train to Rabat - if you go overnight get a Couchette, then on to Casablanca (although there's not a great deal there). You can go on to Marrakech from there. Try to stay in the Medina if you can, the Riyads aren't that expensive and are worth it. From there you can head to Fez or the Atlas mountains - there's some waterfalls near Marrakech that are also worth a visit. Then you can head up to Tangiers or down towards West Africa. I'd suggest back up to Tangiers, then do Lisbon, Douro and northern Spain. When you get back to France you should be able to go from there up the west coast through the north and either get a Eurostar or Ferry to the UK (at which point drop me an email and I'll buy you a beer) or you can keep going north and east to Belgium, Holland and beyond.
Some spot in the south of Spain, where there's so much to choose. Málaga and surroundings for international community (avoid Marbella if you don't want to burn your money in 2 days), but Cádiz and Granada are probably awesome too. Almeria has some very nice spots (Cabo de Gata) and Sevilla is worth visiting often.
Bonuses:
- North Africa round the corner. Actually there are two Spanish cities in North Africa, so you don't even need another visa to step on the continent.
- You also have Huelva and the Portuguese Algarve somewhat close.
- Very cheap flights to anywhere in Europe (my last Málaga - London Luton was £24) and easy to jump to Madrid or Barcelona for long haul.
Don't go to Switzerland. Flying into Malaga southern Spain there are lovely mountain areas between seville and Granada, Google el chorro for example. Or east of Rome about an hour or two are some wonderful mountain regions-you might find a hotel near sulmona. Or mallorca, sardinia, sicily all have fabulous scenery, history, lifestyle.
This is true, but if you can drive to southern Spain you can get an inexpensive ferry to Morocco. From there you can go as far south as you could want.
1. It's very hot in the summer - you'll be OK inside, but personally I can't spend much time outside during the hottest days of the summer. The altitude helps a bit.
2. You have everything you need, and the sea is not far away (an hour drive away; count two hours if by public transport).
3. You basically need to have a car if you want to move. The public transport is mostly fine, unless it's Sunday and you missed the last bus. The taxis are terribly expensive (the ride to/from the nearest city can easily cost more than the €100 rent mentioned in the article).
4. You need to be prepared to spend money on gas which is used for heating during the winter. It's important to always be prepared and never run out of gas otherwise you'll need to move to your friend's house to avoid freezing.
5. People are very friendly.
6. There are many immigrants from Bangladesh working in the local vineyards. After some initial conflicts things are more or less normal now. I wouldn't say there is some integration (except the kids at schools), but people get along fine.
7. If you plan to come, I'd suggest starting around now and leaving in September. In October you'll already need gas, definitely in November. Winters are beautiful if the snow falls, but the curvy roads get even more dangerous.
8. Local food is delicious. You can get liters of high quality wine and excellent olive oil from local producers extremely cheap. There are also many green vegetables and various ways of cooking them that you'll learn with time.
9. If you have a car, it's worth visiting various small local restaurants, some of them you'll never forget.
10. The air feels very pure and you'll sleep well at night (also during the day if you wish - all windows have shutters).
You can start in Cadiz, Spain for a longer trip than from Lisbon. Actually I don't know the rules for this "longer route" since you could go zig-zagging.
I recommend Madrid as well. I still haven't made it to Barcelona but I did visit the Spanish Riviera also known as the Costa del Sol. I stayed in Torremolinos where a lot of English winter and there were a lot of American sailors in the bars as well. Its a short distance to Malaga which was interesting.
Also went West and caught a boat to Tangiers in Morocco for a day trip. It was my first time experiencing culture shock. Tangiers was so different from either America or Europe. I made friends with two Danish soldiers and the three of us explored the Casbah together. It was also the first (and last!) time that I ate a sheep's eyeball! Little kids everywhere were begging for money. I understood perfectly why they spoke to me in English. But when they found out my friends were from Denmark they switched to speaking perfect Danish! These kids knew a smattering of a dozen languages or more.
All of western Europe has really well developed pilgrim trails. I hiked the coastal one in Portugal a few years ago that leads into the main Spanish ones.
Start on the south coast in the east, make your way across Antalya, go up to Urfa, where everything is between 2000 and 17,000 years old. Go to Lake Van and Mount Nimrut, watch out for the heads. Do Capadocia (fairy chimneys) and look out for the old christian hideout caves where it was first preached and used to hide from the romans. Head across to Ankara to see the Ataturk mauseleum then down to Konya. Onwards to Bodrum, up through Ephesus, Troy and get the boat from Bursa to Istanbul. Spend a few days in Istanbul and take the train or bus to Thessaloniki.
From Thessaloniki go to Volos then on to Athens. From Port Piraeus you can go on to Crete after which you can head back to Athens then on to Patra to try some wine. From Patra get a ferry to Ancona in Italy.
From Ancona go on to Rome, then up to Florence. Don't forget the galleries. From there on to Milan and Turin. Here you can go on to Cannes, Monaco (if you fancy but it is expensive) and Nice. From Nice head west to Cerbere to connect on to Barcelona.
After some time in Barcelona, head to Madrid and if you fancy it on to the Douro valley in Portugal, then Lisbon and over towards Cadiz. If you don't fancy Portugal and want to save it for when you're back from Morocco then you can go from Madrid down to Cadiz via Seville. If you time this right you should get there for the Fiesta de Savilla. Go on to Cordoba and do some Flamenco then on to Tarifa to get the ferry to Tangiers.
From Tangiers take the train to Rabat - if you go overnight get a Couchette, then on to Casablanca (although there's not a great deal there). You can go on to Marrakech from there. Try to stay in the Medina if you can, the Riyads aren't that expensive and are worth it. From there you can head to Fez or the Atlas mountains - there's some waterfalls near Marrakech that are also worth a visit. Then you can head up to Tangiers or down towards West Africa. I'd suggest back up to Tangiers, then do Lisbon, Douro and northern Spain. When you get back to France you should be able to go from there up the west coast through the north and either get a Eurostar or Ferry to the UK (at which point drop me an email and I'll buy you a beer) or you can keep going north and east to Belgium, Holland and beyond.
Hope this helps.
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