Visiting 11 Countries in Europe in 2 Weeks
Each spring, Caleb Sprong and I plan a big international trip. Iceland in 2016, Patagonia in 2017, New Zealand in 2018 and now Europe in 2019. We decided to go to Europe this year since Caleb had never been and we could see so many beautiful places in his 2 weeks of vacation time. We didn’t have a particular destination in mind but ended up finding some cheap flights to Barcelona for $520.46 roundtrip from Seattle. Once we had our flights in and out of Europe, we planned a hectic route through as many countries as we could fit into a 2 week timeframe and then set off on our journey.
Day 1 - London to Barcelona
Day 2 - Barcelona
Day 3 - Barcelona and day trip to Andorra
Day 4 - Barcelona to Nice and Monaco
Day 5 - Nice to Milan to Torbole, Italy.
Day 6 - Torbole to Ortisei Sankt Ulrich, Italy.
Day 7 - Ortisei Sankt Ulrich to Villabassa Niederdorf, Italy.
Day 8 - Villabassa Niederdorf to Slovenia to Gosau, Austria.
Day 9 - Gosau to Salzburg, Austria.
Day 10 - Salzburg to Munich to Ehrwald, Austria
Day 11 - Ehrwald to Liechtenstein to Appenzell, Switzerland.
Day 12 - Appenzell to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.
Day 13 - Lauterbrunnen to Locarno, Switzerland.
Day 14 - Locarno, Switzerland to Milan to Barcelona.
Countries Visited:
England, Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland.
Details of Our Time in Each Country
England.
Thursday May 30th.
The first stop on our trip was London. We had specifically picked a flight that had a 9 hour layover in London so we could go out and explore the city.
We landed at around 7am in London, put our bags in luggage storage (25 pounds for 2 bags) and then took the Piccadilly line to Green Park Station and proceeded to walk through Green Park to Buckingham Palace. From there we walked to Westminster Abbey, stopping at Pret A Manger for breakfast on the way. After a quick walk around the Abbey, we then walked to Big Ben, which was unfortunately under construction at the time. The views looking back on the Palace of Westminster from across the river were still cool though. We then walked back across Westminster Bridge and took the Circle Line from Westminster Station to Tower Hill. This station is just a short walk to Tower Bridge, which is probably the most interesting of all the bridges in London. There is also this fun little fountain on the north east side of the bridge where you can get a good view looking back on the bridge with the fountain in the foreground.
By this time, we had worked up quite an appetite from walking around so we made our way from the Tower Bridge to Borough Market, a spot with lots of food venders. The hardest part was deciding which food to try! We each ended up with several dishes and very full bellies.
Now that we had refueled, we continued our walk through London by going across the London Bridge and taking the Circle Line from Monument Station to Embankment Station. From there we walked up to Trafalgar Square and then on to Piccadilly Circus Station, where we took the Piccadilly Line back to the airport.
It was definitely a whirlwind stop in London, but we felt like we saw plenty to make our layover in London worthwhile.
Spain.
From London we flew direct to Barcelona, where we spent the next 3 nights. It was the only spot on our entire trip where we stayed in the same place more than one night.
Once we arrived at the airport in Barcelona, we picked up our rental car and drove into the city. While Barcelona has wonderful public transportation, we decided to rent a car because we planned to venture outside of the city (see Andorra below). It was a bit of a challenge to get to our hotel, as we were running on very little sleep, and the streets of Barcelona could be described as chaotic. Nonetheless, we made it to the parking garage (Parking Ciutat Vella) and then checked into our hotel. It was 9pm by the time we got there so we just went out for a quick meal at Gran Viana before passing out in our hotel room.
Friday May 31st.
We had the full day to explore the city of Barcelona. Our hotel was located in the Gothic Quarter, so after sleeping in a bit and breakfast at the hotel we explored the nearby area. The narrow streets and old buildings in this part of town give it quite a bit of character. From the Gothic Quarter we walked to Parc de la Ciutadella to see the famous fountain there, but unfortunately it was empty and under construction. Construction at landmarks seemed to be a theme on this trip. Oh well! There was more to see in Barcelona, so we walked over to the beach (Platja de la Barceloneta). It is pretty cool that Barcelona has such a large stretch of beaches right in the city! It was a hot day so we decided to take a minute and sit at one of the little cafes by the beach (Pantea) and have a drink.
After our refreshing drink, we walked south on the beach to Teleferico del Puerto. This cable car takes you up across the harbor to the edge of Parc de Montjuic. It was 11 euros and about a 40 minute wait but the views over the city were pretty good and it saved us a long hot walk so we felt it was worth it.
Where the cable car dropped us off had a pretty good view of the city as well. From this spot we walked back towards the Gothic Quarter stopping at Mercat de la Boqueria for lunch. This was a similar market to the one in London, also with lots of food options.
Our hotel was close by so after lunch we went back there to rest a bit before heading out into the city again.
Our afternoon stops were Casa Batllo, La Sagrada Familia, and the steps of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. To get to each of these spots we walked and took the metro lines, which are very easy to navigate in Barcelona. Casa Batllo was quite busy with people taking selfies shoulder to shoulder in front of the small building, and La Sagrada was under construction which was a little disappointing. But the steps of the museum and the whole plaza that leads up to it was really cool. Unfortunately all the beautiful fountains in the plaza were off and empty, which would have been really cool to see.
With an early morning the next day we opted to grab something quick for dinner (Wok To Walk) on the way back and called it a day.
Saturday June 1st.
We utilized our rental car this day and left our hotel around 5am. Barcelona is such a late night city; we saw lots of people still out walking around the streets as we left that morning.
We were heading to the tiny country of Andorra but had a sunrise spot picked out on the way, Montserrat. This unique Monastery up in the rocks was quite a sight to see and well worth the early morning start.
Andorra.
The country of Andorra is a small landlocked country on the border between Spain and France. Since Barcelona is only about a 2.5 hour drive away, we figured we might as well take a road trip up to Andorra. Our first stop in the country was the capital city, Andorra la Vella. Fun fact: Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 meters (3,356 feet). We walked around the streets of downtown and ended up stopping at a Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. It was hardly the most adventurous or cultural meal but for some reason it just looked really good when we walked by... and it was. No regrets. After lunch, we drove up to the northwest corner of the country. This area is very popular for skiing in the winter, or hiking in the summer. I went for a quick run/hike up to a ridge that marks the border between Andorra and France. It was a sweaty excursion in the hot sun that day but the views overlooking the mountains and lakes below were amazing. This was our last stop in Andorra, except for a quick roadside view of Andorra la Vella on the drive back to Barcelona.
France.
Sunday June 2nd.
Our flight from Barcelona to Nice, France was supposed to be at 7am on Vueling Airlines, but a week before the trip we received an email that the flight had been moved to 7pm instead. This didn't work for our itinerary and plans so we were able to get that flight cancelled, but had to book a last minute ticket on Easy Jet which was $257.92 each! Quite pricey for such a short flight but with everything else already booked, it was our best option. Still not happy with Vueling Airlines about that one.
After that short flight, we picked up a rental car at the airport in Nice and drove to our hotel. Parking is free on Sundays in Nice which was nice as we checked into our hotel and then went to lunch at La Planxa. After lunch, we headed to Old Town Nice where we walked through the narrow streets, along the waterfront, and up to a viewpoint over the city. Something I learned on this walk: the beaches in Nice are not sandy. I'm not sure how I never realized that in all the photos I had seen of this place. Overall the town of Nice was super cute though and had some really cool architecture.
Monaco.
One of the reasons we rented a car in Nice was to be able to make the drive to Monaco, which is only about 25 minutes away. Our first stop in Monaco was the Casino Monte-Carlo. We just walked around the outside of it, but for Caleb, who is really into cars, it was definitely a highlight. There were so many nice cars there! After looking at all the lambos and such we hoped back into our tiny rental car and drove to the next spot in Monaco: Old Town and the Prince's Palace. Wandering the small streets of this area was quite a contrast to the modern buildings of the other parts of Monaco!
We technically left Monaco after this but I'll include it here because we went to a viewpoint overlooking Monaco, The Dog Head Viewpoint. Before that, we stopped in the town of La Turbie for some dinner at La Cave Turbiasque. After a beautiful sunset overlooking Monaco we headed back to Nice and got a good night's sleep.
Italy.
Monday, June 3rd.
From Nice we took an 8:01am train to Milan for $28 each. We picked up a rental car in Milan and headed for Lago di Garda, a beautiful lake in northern Italy with small towns tucked along its rugged coastline. Our hotel that night was in the town of Torbole on the north side of the lake so we made stops at Madonna Della Corona (a beautiful church build into the side of a cliff), and the town of Malcesine on the east shore of the lake. After checking into our hotel, we drove up to a viewpoint just east of there that overlooked Torbole and the lake. Now that we were in Italy, I couldn't resist getting pizza and gelato; so after sunset, we went to Pizza & Burger and then Gelateria Liberty. Highly recommend both.
Tuesday, June 4th.
We started the day with a delicious breakfast at the hotel, probably the best hotel breakfast of the trip actually. After breakfast, we checked out and began our drive up to the Dolomites in Northern Italy. We stopped at a couple of lakes (Lago di Toblino and Lago di Carezza) before arriving at our hotel in Ortisei, Italy. For sunset that night we made our way to that famous church in the Dolomites, Chiesetta di San Giovanni, and then had dinner at Viel Nois nearby. The whole valley there is incredibly beautiful. You can also drive up some smaller roads from San Pietro which gives you a nice view looking over the valley.
Wednesday, June 5th.
We had an early start to the day as we drove about 30 minutes from our hotel to make it to Passo Gardena for sunrise. It initially looked good for sunrise but then some low clouds rolled into the valley and completely blocked us in. So we decided to try to hike above them, and after about 30 minutes of hiking, found ourselves looking over a sea of clouds. After that magical sunrise, we headed back to the hotel for some breakfast, packed up, and began our drive to the next spot in the Dolomites. Driving in the Dolomites is such an amazing experience, with roadside views basically the entire drive.
On our drive that day we stopped at Passo Falzarego and decided to take the Lagazuoi Cable Car up to the top of a mountain. It was 16 euros for the roundtrip ticket but the top provided some stunning views of the surrounding mountains. After descending the mountain, we made our where to the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, where we walked around for a bit and then had lunch. After lunch we drove to our hotel for the night in Villabassa Niederdorf. We had planned to hike around Tre Cime for sunset that evening but when we got to the road leading up to the main area, we discovered that the road was closed due to snow. There was a public shuttle that ran a few times a day, but only in the middle of the day. So instead of shooting sunset at Tre Cime that night we shot at Lago Antorno and then had dinner by Lago di Misurina before heading back to the hotel earlier than expected. The earlier bedtime wasn't too big of a disappointment though as we had an early morning the next day and were already pretty tired at this point in the trip.
Thursday, June 6th.
The morning started with an early drive to Lago di Braies for sunrise. This is probably the most beautiful lake in the Dolomites and well worth visiting first thing in the morning. There were about 8 other people there at sunrise but I can't imagine how busy it must get later in the day.
After sunrise, we went back to the hotel, had breakfast, and then headed towards Hallstatt, Austria, with a stop planned in Slovenia.
Slovenia.
Were were driving from Northern Italy to Halstatt, Austria the route put us only about an hour from Slovenia so we figured we might as well pop in and see a few things in Slovenia before continuing on our drive. Our first stop was Slap Pericnik, a beautiful waterfall not too far north of Bled, which was our next stop. Lake Bled is best viewed from one of the hikes on the west side of the lake. There are three main viewpoints on the trails there; I went to all three and decided I probably liked the closest one the best. Atleast I got some extra exercise though! After taking in the views from up above the lake, we walked along the shore of the lake and then had lunch at Ostarija Peglez'n. After lunch, we of course had to get the famous Lake Bled Cream cake for dessert. We got ours from the little stand outside Park Restaurant and Cafe and it was delicious! Slovenia impressed me again, and I can't wait to return to this beautiful country someday.
Austria.
After our short stop in Slovenia, we continued north to Austria and up to our hotel in Gosau, near Hallstatt. It was pretty rainy so we didn't see much of the surrounding mountains until the next morning, but we still went to Hallstatt that evening and walked around the city. The moody weather actually fit the look of the town really well and made for some great photos.
Friday, June 7th.
We had stayed the night in Gosau to be close to Hallstatt but also because it was close to Vorderer Gosausee and Hinterer Gosausee, two beautiful lakes tucked into mountain valleys. You park right by the shore of Vorderer Gosausee and then it is about a 3.2 miles hike to Hinterer Gosausee with about 900 feet of elevation gain. Unfortunately, the first lake was completely covered in clouds so we began the hike up to the second lake immediately, but it was also completely covered in clouds. At this point we debated waiting awhile to see if it cleared but with a long day ahead of us, we decided to just head back to the first lake. By the time we got back to that first lake it had cleared up a bit, so we took some pictures there before heading back to the hotel for breakfast.
After breakfast, we drove up to Salzburg but made a stop in Germany on the way to see Konigssee and take the boat to Obersee. The boat was 19 euros and was a beautiful ride across the lake. It was a clear, sunny day so it wasn't the best for photos, and there were lots of people there as well. I would love to go back on a less sunny, less busy day.
From these lakes it was a short drive up to Salzburg where we would spend the night.
Trip fatigue was really setting in at this point so we relaxed for a bit in our hotel room before going into the heart of Salzburg and walking around downtown until sunset. For sunset, I had a spot picked out that overlooked the downtown area near Museum der Moderne Salzburg. There is a trail along the cliff that goes north from there; I would definitely recommend it for sunset or sunrise. After sunset, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
Germany.
Saturday, June 8th.
We began the morning in Salzburg with breakfast at The Heart of Joy Cafe. It was the perfect start to the day, as we had a bit of a drive ahead of us going to Munich. We didn’t spend much time in Munich, only visiting the BMW museum and then the main downtown area (Marienplatz, and the big outdoor market near there). We were able to park at the BMW museum and just take the subway to downtown which simplified things and worked really well for us. While downtown, we ate some classic German food before heading back to the car and driving south to Ehrwald, Austria, a small town right across the border from Germany. After checking in to the Mellow Mountain Hostel, we drove over to Fussen, Germany and walked around the small town, enjoying its small streets and german architecture. We found one of our favorite meals of the trip here, at Beim Olivenbauer. After dinner, we headed to Neuschwanstein Castle, parked, and walked up to it. The best view was from a bridge that went over a canyon near the castle. I did go quite a big higher up on the trail, scouting locations as the sun set, but I ended up liking that first/easy spot best. Once the sun went down, we grabbed some final shots of the castle and then headed back to the car and our hotel in Austria.
Saturday, June 9th.
The main point of staying in Ehrwald was to be close to a few spots in southern Germany. We headed to the first spot at sunrise. It was just a viewpoint over some fields near the town of Gerold. The spot was busy with about 6 other photographers that morning but it was still a beautiful and peaceful location. After sunrise, we quickly made our way to probably the most famous lake in southern Germany, Eibsee. This picturesque lake has incredibly clear water and the trail around the lake made for a wonderful morning walk. Although it would have been nice to be there at sunrise, the mid morning light still made for some good photos. After Eibsee, we made the short drive back to Mellow Mountain Hostel, and then headed for Switzerland, via Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein.
This small country was mostly just on the way to Switzerland for us. We didn’t spend much time there so I actually didn’t even take any photos. We just parked downtown, and walked on the main street, having lunch there before heading on to Switzerland.
Switzerland.
Sunday, June 10th.
Our first stop in Switzerland was Appenzell. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit rainy but I still went to a lake just outside of town to hike. Falensee is only a short 10 minute drive away from Appenzell so I figured I should at least hike to that. It was such a beautiful lake, I just wish I could have seen more of the mountains surrounding it. Once back at town, we walked through the downtown area of Appenzell. It was oddly quiet and deserted feeling. There were a few restaurants open but not a lot of people. I guess it was still offseason for that area. With the expensive prices in Switzerland, we decided to try to save some money and opted to eat at a little Falafel place (Alpenkebab Altun) instead of one of the pricer Swiss restaurants. As soon as we sat down, a bunch of teenage boys walked in so we knew we had found the best cheap spot where you could get a lot of food. It ended up being just that, as well as delicious, and was the perfect way to end day one in Switzerland.
Monday, June 11th.
We started the next day in Switzerland with breakfast at the hotel before driving to catch the first lift of the day up Säntis - Schwebebahn. The roundtrip lift ticket was quite expensive at around $54. We were nervous spending that much when it was raining and completely cloudy when we arrived. Our worries quickly left as we boarded the lift and it ascended through the cloud layer, eventually stopping at the top, above a sea of clouds. We spent a few hours at the top, exploring all over the area as we watched the clouds roll through the valleys below us. It was definitely one of my favorite mornings of the trip.
From Santis we made the long drive south in Switzerland to the town of Lauterbrunnen. I had seen plenty of photos of Lauterbrunnen but none of them could have prepared me for just how beautiful it was. It was raining as we drove through the valley and into town but this just added to the countless massive waterfalls we saw, as well as the beautiful fog moving through the valley. It was such moody weather but it was perfect. We checked into our hotel and immediately went for a walk through town and then up above the town to get some photos of the town and valley. For dinner we found a cute little spot right in town, and enjoyed some traditional Swiss food before retiring for the night.
Tuesday, June 12th.
We had planned to explore the valley more but because it was again rainy and cloudy we ended up only taking the train up to Wengen. The ride up and view from Wengen was absolutely beautiful though. Overall Lauterbrunnen really impressed me and is definitely a place I will return to. I was sad to leave, but we had to keep moving as we made the long drive down south to Locarno, Switzerland. It was really interesting to see the change going from the central part of Switzerland to the very southern part. This southern part is the Italian part of Switzerland and really felt more like Italy to me than Switzerland. We didn’t have much planned in Locarno but we did venture to a nice viewpoint overlooking Santuario della Madonna del Sasso at sunset.
Wednesday, June 12th.
Our last morning in Switzerland. We let ourselves sleep in a bit and then drove up to the small town of Lavertezzo, Switzerland. It is a beautiful little town right on the river with some amazing swimming holes. We didn’t swim, but instead just walked around and enjoyed the peaceful morning by the river, before a few tour buses showed up and we quickly left.
Heading home via Como and Barcelona.
From Lavertezzo we drove south, towards Milan to catch our flight to Barcelona. But on the way, we made a very quick stop in Como, Italy. I wasn’t about to drive through Italy without stopping for pizza and gelato! With our flight time quickly approaching we only had about an hour in Como, but it ended up being just enough time to take in a view of the lake, get pizza at Don Lisander, and then gelato at Gelateria Lariana. After successfully stuffing ourselves, we headed to the airport and caught our flight from Milan to Barcelona. Our roundtrip tickets to Europe were in and out of Barcelona so we needed to make our way back there to fly home the next day.
We felt we had seen enough of Barcelona at the beginning of our trip, and were honestly pretty exhausted at this point in our trip so we opted to just grab some dinner and go to bed, and slept in the next morning rather than exploring more of the city.
Thursday, June 13th.
After some much needed sleep, we took the subway to the airport and caught our flight home. The whirlwind trip had come to an end. Including the 2 travel days, it was 11 countries in 16 days… what a trip!
Lake Como
Where we stayed each night on the trip:
May 29 – On the plane to London.
May 30 – Moderno in Barcelona, Spain. ($144.06)
May 31 – Hostal Fina in Barcelona, Spain. ($98.92)
June 1 – Hostal Fina in Barcelona, Spain. ($98.92)
June 2 – Hotel Lepante in Nice, France. ($84.10)
June 3 – Caravel Bike Hotel in Alto Garda, Italy. ($75.10)
June 4 – Hotel Pontives in Ortisei, Italy. ($122.80)
June 5 – Emma Historic Hotel in Villabassa, Italy. ($102.00)
June 6 – COOEE Alpin Hotel in Gosau, Austria. ($85.45)
June 7 – Hotel Via Roma in Salzburg, Austria. ($94.72)
June 8 – Mellow Mountain Hostel in Ehrwald, Austria. ($79.28)
June 9 – Restaurant Hotel Stossplatz in Appenzell, Switzerland. ($135.00)
June 10 – Base Cafe in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. ($84.00)
June 11 – Garni Nessi in Locarno, Switzerland. ($93.00)
June 12 – Hostal Balmes Centro in Barcelona, Spain. ($69.14)
The total price of lodging for this trip was $1,367.49 for the 2 of us.
A few other expenses we had:
Car Rentals:
Barcelona - $44.19
Nice - $171.99
Milan -$ 693.23
Gas Total for the trip: $357.89
Travel Insurance with World Nomads: $79.82 per person.
A note/warning about vignettes.
Another expense we had was a fine for not having a vignette in Slovenia. Vignettes are little stickers that you buy in certain countries in Europe to be able to drive on the highways. We knew about the ones in Austria and Switzerland but somehow had missed that we needed one in Slovenia too (each country that requires one has its own). We were only in Slovenia for the one afternoon so the border guard gave us a 150 Euro fine instead of the usual 300 Euro fine. Here is a website to read more about what countries use vignettes: https://www.tolls.eu/europe
Google Map for Spots in Europe.
I create google maps anytime I go on a trip, pinpointing all the spots I plan to visit. My google map for this trip can be found HERE.
Thanks for reading!
I would love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions in the comments below.