Europe

Day 1 Start your day with a walking tour of the old town. Afterward, check out the wave surfing at the English Garden. At night, visit Hofbräuhaus. They do have non-alcoholic beer for 5.7 Euros as well. ...

Getting from Zurich to Interlaken is expensive; a one-way train ticket costs 73 CHF. I would recommend doing a multi-day trip or getting a Swiss Travel Pass for longer stays. Interlaken is indeed a beautiful town, nestled between two stunning lakes, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. Interlaken reminded me of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. Interlaken is, of course, more luxurious and really expensive, though. Day 1 I would recommend hiking along the tram line towards Harder Kulm, a viewpoint overlooking the town. The hike is about 5 miles, takes 3 hours, and is moderately difficult. ...

Zurich, along with Oslo, Norway is one of the few unassuming expensive European cities that I would not recommend visiting. The joke goes that Zurich whose German pronunciation is tsü-rich/त्सुरिच is “too rich”. The city is entirely unremarkable in terms of tourist attractions. A day is more than sufficient to see the city. I would recommend starting with a walking tour, it will give you basic idea of the city. ...

Singapore is hot, humid, and opulent. Luxembourg is cold, windy, and opulent. By some measures, Luxembourg is the richest country in the world. It is also one of the safest. It is the only duchy, that is, a country ruled by a duke (a level below a king), in the world. It is also one of the smallest countries in Europe. The best way to see is to get in early via a direct train from Brussels to Luxembourg 5:30 AM -> 9 AM for about 26 Euro. ...

Antwerp is easily accessible from Brussels in about ~1 hour by train or ~40 minutes by bus. Compared to Brussels, Antwerp is small and charming. I would recommend starting the day with Legends of Antwerp tour. One great thing about this tour is that you get to see both a church and a museum for a short time for free. Both of these have entry tickets otherwise. This statue of a man throwing the hand of a giant (who used to demand tribute and punish sailors if they didn’t pay) into the sea gave the name to Antwerp. “Hand werpen” means “to throw a hand” in Dutch. ...

Brussels is a charming European-style city with cobblestone streets, historic architecture, and a rich cultural heritage. Brussels . I would recommend doing a day-trip to Brussels if you are visiting Paris or Amsterdam. Every street/area in Brussels has two names - one in French and one in Dutch. Sometimes, they are not even similar. The Grand Palace (Grote Markt) is the central square of Brussels and a UNESCO World Heritage site. ...

Paris is huge. Paris is spread out. Unlike Eastern European cities, Paris does not have a beautiful old town. In fact, the city is so overhyped that there is a Paris Effect named after it, where tourists expect to see a beautiful city but are disappointed when they arrive. Now, of course, if you travel to Europe, you have to visit Paris because everyone else does. Here’s my recommended plan for Paris. ...

After an overnight bus journey from Vilnius, Lithuania, I reached Warsaw, Poland. Warsaw isn’t a typical eastern european capital. It is huge. Compared to Budapest or Tallinn, it is a huge metropolitan city. However, they have spent decades recreating the old town which was completely destroyed in the World War II. I would recommend staying in the old town and starting your trip with a walking tour. You will visit the town square ...

Continuing from Riga, Lativa, in a 4-hour bus ride, I ended up at Vilnius, Lithuania. The town feels quiet and small. There isn’t a lot to do here. Day 1 Start your day with a walking tour which gives you a nice overview of this city. Medeina/Medeine is a famous forest goddess of the baltics before conversion to Christianity. Afterward, visit the Money Museum of the bank of Lithuania. Just like the Bank of England Museum, you can hold a gold bar here. And there’s no entry fee. ...

Compared to Tallinn or Budapest, Riga is unassuming. Most people end up in Riga while doing an Eastern Europe tour. The bus ride from Tallinn to Riga is only 4 hours and ~ €20 one-way. I would highly recommend the comfortable buses of Lux Express for this journey. Day 1 I started my day with a walking tour. If, like me, you are coming from Tallinn, then don’t have high hopes, as there isn’t a lot to see in the walking tour. ...