Friends! Need Your Expert Feedback On My Travel Itinerary!

Surprise! I’m back on the blog for a minute to get your tips and recommendations for my grand European adventure.

Green Card renewal now firmly in hand, I am once again FREE to travel. My goal is to absorb the vibe of each city, immerse myself in the day-to-day, meet locals, explore “it” neighborhoods, and most especially check out the art, culture and restaurant scenes in each city.

  • My travels start in May in LONDON (8 days), then on to PARIS (12 days), ROME (10 days), ISTANBUL (8 days), and BERLIN (10 days). The specific itineraries for each day are ambitious but they aren’t set in stone. They do, however, provide a framework and lots of options. I’ll be staying in Soho Houses in each city.
  • From Berlin, I head to Oslo to catch the Bergensbanen train to Bergen which is where the fantastic journey to the Faroe Islands begins. But I must say I am almost as excited about the 7-hour train trip as I am about the Faroes. The train is Northern Europe’s highest railway and includes some of the most beautiful landscapes in Norway. And it goes through 180 tunnels!
  • SO HERE’S WHAT I WOULD LOVE YOUR HELP WITH: Please review my itinerary for the cities you are familiar with and let me know if I’ve included anything that is a total dud or if there’s anything I’ve overlooked and simply must add. Also, would appreciate specific recommendations on public transportation in each city and any insights on how cashless each city is these days. And finally, if you have any friends in those cities who you think might enjoy being treated to dinner or cocktails by a stranger from New York in exchange for some insidery tips about their city, please let them/me know.

Scroll down for my draft itinerary. If you just zero in on the cities you’ve been to lately it shouldn’t take but a few mins. Appreciate your help in advance!

LONDON: Arrive Sun 5/14; Depart via train to Paris Sun 5/21

DAY 1 (ARR: Sunday 5/14)
  • HYDE PARK (45 min walk from hotel)
  • Serpentine Gallery (10 am-6 pm)
  • Serpentine Pavilion
  • Connaught hotel/ bar
  • Chinatown
DAY 2:
  • THAMES RIVER CRUISE/ Westminster to Greenwich
  • Churchill War rooms (9:30 am – 6 pm)
  • Market Halls Victoria/food court (11 am – 10 pm/ every day)
  • Seven Dials Market: Kerb pick and cheese bar, Club Mexicana
  • Battersea power station neighborhood
  • Nine Elms Area
 DAY 3:
  • Courtauld Gallery (Peter Doig show)
  • Sky Garden (8 AM – Midnite/ MUST pre-book)
  • OR: The Garden at 120 Fenchurch Street
  • Tate Modern: 10 am-6 pm (Magdalena Abakanowicz’s revelatory exhibition of sculptures; Hilma af Klint)
  • Southbank Centre
  • Borough Market (10 am – 5 pm)
  • Padella pasta restaurant (lunch?? dinner 5-10 pm)
  • White Cube Gallery
DAY 4:
  • The Design Museum: Ai Weiwei,
  • V&A: Donatello sculpture (“the art event of the year”); TARTAN exhibition
  • Saatchi Galleries (closed Sunday/Monday)
  • Kiln Thai restaurant
  • Ronnie Scott’s jazz club (first show at 6:30 pm)
 DAY 5:
  • Waterside Cafe in London’s Little Venice area (9 am-5 pm)
  • DINNER: Noble Rot Soho (lunch/dinner)
DAY 6:
  • Painted Hall Greenwich
  • The Queen’s House: full of paintings, tiled floors, and the tulip staircase, the first self-supporting geometric staircase built in Britain!
  • National Maritime Museum (The Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition)
  • Hawksmoor Wood Wharf (lunch/dinner)
 DAY 7: SATURDAY
  • Victoria Miro gallery (10 am-6 pm)
  • Brick Lane/street art and curry houses
  • Allen Gardens/street art
  • Grafitti galleries
  • Shoreditch House
  • Wilton’s Music Hall guided history tour (only avail. Saturdays at 5 pm)
  • DINNER: Cavita Restaurant (near Soho House) 
DAY 8:  SUNDAY MAY 21
MISC. RESTAURANTS
  • Maresco (Spanish Seafood) Open Lunch/Dinner

PARIS: Arrive Sun 5/21 at Gare du Nord; Depart Fri, June 2 for Rome

DAY 1: ARR Sunday May 21
  • Paris river cruise BATEAUX MOUCHES (based on weather sunset??? daytime??)
  • NOTE: Fear not, my friends, I am not doing the dining option! Major sights only.
DAY 2:
  • Louis Vuitton Foundation (9 am-8 pm)
  • Promenade Pereire (8am-9:30pm)
  • 17e – Parc Monceau
  • Batignolles district (hip area close to Soho House)
DAY 3:
  • Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (11AM – 6PM; CLOSED MONDAYS)
  • Galleries: Perrotin/ Ropac/ Suzanne Tarasieve
  • Musée National Picasso-Paris: new exhibit, Picasso Celebration: The Collection In A New Light
  • Les Enfants du Marche (lunch 10am-7pm)
  • Enfants Rouges COVERED MARKET (8:30am-8:30pm)
  • MERCI store
DAY 4:
  • PLACE DE LA BASTILLE
  • Staircase to Paris Highline
  • Coule Verte Rene Dumont (Highline of Paris/ inspiration for NYC Highline!!)
  • Rue Cremieux
  • Jardin des Plantes: Botanical Garden (Closes at 5:30pm)
  • Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air: Open-air art museum by the Seine with a collection of dramatic contemporary sculptures.
DAY 5:
  • Montmartre Area
  • Sacre-Coeur Basilica
  • Place de Clichy
  • Le Bon Georges restaurant (lunch/dinner)
DAY 6:
  • Musée d’Orsay (9:30 am-6 pm/CLOSED MONDAY)
  • Saint-Germain-des-Prés district
DAY 7:
  • Bourse de Commerce (11 am-7 pm/CLOSED TUESDAYS)
  • Rue Montorgueil neighborhood (lots of cafes)
  • Rue Rambuteau (Haut-Marais)
  • Le Marais District
  • Sentier district (popular with internet startups?); Paris’s historic garment district, a neighborhood that has been neglected but is finally enjoying its share of the limelight.
  • Musée de la Franc-maçonnerie: Museum on the history of freemasonry, with portraits, pottery & regalia including Voltaire’s apron. (Check hours; Closed Mondays)
DAY 8: (MAY 28)
DAY 9:
  • Canal Saint-Martin Area (stretches for almost 3 miles through one of the most vibrant revitalized neighborhoods)
  • Chez Prune restaurant (in one of the hippest areas)
DAY 10:
  • Oberkampf district – a buzzing enclave of drinking spots and modern, chef-driven bistros, especially around Rue Oberkampf
  • Gothic Saint-Ambroise church
  • Lago restaurant (lunch/dinner)
DAY 11:
  • 20th Arrondissement/ dynamic arts scene, thriving open market, Asian markets and eateries, edgy charm?
  • Rue Dénoyez for street art
  • Parc de Belleville is one of the best parks in the city and is set on a steep slope, providing fantastic views over the Eiffel Tower, as well as the iconic Haussmann rooftops synonymous with the city.
  • Church of Saint-Germain de Charonne
  • La Campagne à Paris (a little village comprised of four cobbled lanes and raised on a hill above the rest of the area.
  • Pere Lachaise cemetery
DAY 12: Fri, June 2
  • Fly to Rome

ROME: Arrive Fri, June 2; Depart Sun, June 11 for Istanbul

[Round-trip ticket on the Leonardo Express, a direct train from Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, roughly every 15 minutes. Drops passengers off at the Termini station, a centrally located transportation hub in the heart of Rome. It’s budget-friendly, about $30 for a round-trip ticket, and the trip only takes 30 minutes.]

DAY 1: 
  • CENTRO STORICO
  • Spanish Steps
  • Piazza di Spagna
  • Trevi Fountain
  • Piazza Navona
  • Church of San Luigi Dei Francesi, around the corner from the Piazza Navona. Here, in the far corner, framed by fabulous baroque architecture, is a divine triptych by the painter Caravaggio.
DAY 2: SATURDAY MORNING (June 3)
  • GALLERIA COLONNA MUSEO (Friday and Saturday morning/ MUST MAKE RESERVATIONS/ GET A GUIDE???) 
  • Palazzo Colonna may be the most well-managed and jaw-dropping palace of them all. Rooms drip with art, and the private apartments of Princess Isabelle are packed with treasures. Polyglot staff members will tell you about the room Michelangelo hung out in; the bored princess who took the (visitable) secret passageway when she escaped dressed as a man; the rare ancient marbles; and the 18th-century insomnia clock. The Colonna family still lives here.
  • Piazza della Pilotta
  • Borghese Museum
  • MAXXI National Museum (designed by Zaha Hadid)
  • Via del Pellegrino for boutiques, sidewalk trattorias, and bars.
DAY 3: SUNDAY JUNE 4
  • TRASTEVERE (local, artsy/foodie neighborhood)
  • Porta Portese LARGEST FLEA MARKET – SUNDAY ONLY
  • Piazza di San Calista
  • Piazza Santa Maria
 DAY 4:
  • COLISEUM (PRE-book GUIDED tour????)
  • Pantheon
  • Monti neighborhood (hipster, arts and culture feel)
  • Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore
  • Rocco Ristorante (lunch/dinner) 
Day 5:
  • DOMUS AUREA (order tickets online in English) Can’t tell if this is authentic or one of those immersive faux arts things? (“beautiful villa built by Emperor Nero that was also the most extravagant construction in the history of Rome. It’s so under the radar that you need to wear a hard hat to visit”)
  • Palazzo Merulana Museum
  • Breakfast/Lunch: Casa Dante (opens at 8 am)
DAY 6:
  • TESTACCIO
  • Great walk along the Tiber/ LUNGOTEVERRE
  • Testaccio market  – glass-roofed market on a Roman archeological site (7:30 am – 2:30 pm)
  • Monte Testaccio (check if it is actually open for walking/viewing/ arrange a tour???): During ancient times, olive oil was transported around the Roman Empire in terracotta containers known as amphorae. Due to their porous nature, they couldn’t be reused, so an estimated 53 million of them were dumped at this site creating a giant, artificial hill.
  • Centrale Montemartini Museum (9 am-7 pm) is arguably Rome’s most under-visited, under-appreciated gem.
  • Felice a Testaccio Restaurant (cacio e pepe) Open lunch/dinner. CLOSED SUNDAYS
 DAY 7:
  • VATICAN
  • St. Peter’s basilica
  • Mercato Trionfale (Rome’s biggest and busiest local food market) 8 AM – 1:30 PM
  • La Pergola Restaurant
 DAY 8:  
  • Palazzo Doria Pamphilj – the residence of members of the esteemed Doria di Oneglia family—relatives of famed Genoese admiral and collector Andrea Doria. Today, the family’s incredible art collection is on view to the public in the halls of the home itself.
 DAY 9:
  • Nomentano Bridge: The oldest (and most beautiful) bridge In Rome (take city buses 60, 66, 82, or 90).
 DAY 10: SUNDAY JUNE 11
  • Fly to Istanbul

ISTANBUL: Arrive Sun, June 11; Depart Sun, June 18 for Berlin

DAY 1:
  • GALATA MEVLEVIHANESI (closed Mondays)
  • Check out the dervish community or Mevlevis at the Galata Mevlevi Lodge. The historic lodge was built in 1491 and was the first Mevlevi house in Istanbul. Today, it is a museum that houses traditional costumes, musical instruments, and other artifacts that the Mevlevis use in their ceremonies.
  • Istiklal Cd – notable bustling street with galleries, shops, restaurants, etc. (ALSO where a bomb killed 6 people in November!)
  • Dürümzade (sandwich shop/ spicy)
 
DAY 2:
  • Full Bosphorus Tour: Going on a scenic all-day cruise of the Bosphorus is one of Istanbul’s greatest pleasures.
  • Şehir Hatları is Istanbul’s official ferry company offering a cruise from Eminönü all the way to the Black Sea, and back. Each way takes about two hours. En route, you’ll pass splendid 19th-century timber merchant houses, as well as mansions and mosques. You must get off the ferry at around 12:30 in Anadolu Kavağı, the last harbor before the Black Sea. This two-hour break gives you the opportunity to grab lunch in one of the town’s fish restaurants located on the shore and/or visit the fortress.
  • The ferry does one complete tour a day in summer (April 1st until October 31st). You can board the ferry in Eminönü (10:35) or Beşiktaş (10:50) on the European side, and Üsküdar (11:05) on the Asian side. Check the official schedule with the latest timetables.
DAY 3:
  • Sultanahmet (aka Hippodrome of Constantinople)
  • Contains the majority of the city’s most-visited sights within walking distance of each other.
  • Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque is a must-see. This Unesco World Heritage Site is an architectural masterpiece, and one of the most important cultural and religious sites in the world. bring along a scarf large enough to cover your head; take off your shoes just before entering the mosque.
  • Topkapi Palace Museum
  • Basilica Cistern – Huge underground Roman water source held up with 336 marble columns covering 9,800 sq. meters.
  • Blue Mosque – Well-known site, built in 1616 & containing its founder’s tomb. 
DAY 4:
  • Taksim Square (busy nightlife, shopping, and dining area). Vintage trams shuttle along Istiklal Caddesi, the city’s main pedestrian boulevard, lined with 19th-century buildings.
  • Istanbul 74 Gallery (world-class exhibitions by Tracey Emin, Angel Otero)
  • Dolmabahce Palace/ the biggest palace in Turkey. (CLOSED MONDAYS?)
  • Dolapdere: the city’s fast-emerging creative neighborhood. Two major galleries are Dirimart and Pilevneli (may be closed??), both showcase lively exhibitions and large-scale installations and sculptures by international and Turkish artists.
  • Trendy Bomonti neighborhood (?? check if safe)
  • DINNER: Turk Fatih Tutak (opens 6:30 pm/ Closed Sun/Mon) NOTE: Holds the highest Michelin rating in Istanbul. BOOK EARLY!!!
DAY 5:
  • Müze Gazhane (a power plant in Kadıköy district converted into an arts complex)
  • Brekkie CroisSanteria shop (opens 7:30am)
  • MODA PIER on the shores of the Marmara Sea in Kadıköy, one of the most vibrant districts. Moda owes its charm to its peaceful, nostalgic streets and great places to eat and drink. Moda is home to both hip young types and families who’ve lived here for generations.
DAY 6:
  • Karaköy district – one of Istanbul’s oldest neighborhoods, has gone from being a bustling port of warehouses to the city’s coolest area of hipster bars, cafes, boutiques, and galleries.
  • Istanbul Modern straddles the border of Karaköy and Tophane. Starting life as a waterfront customs warehouse before being converted into a vast public space in 2005, this was Instanbul’s first contemporary art gallery. It is set to reopen at its original location in Karaköy, in stunning new digs designed by Renzo Piano. Opening date TBA.
  • Galataport district (Dubai-like glittery), a complex that’s a mix of museums, shops, and restaurants, set along the scenic shores of the funky Karaköy district. “Salt Bae” has a burger joint here. Also, the world’s first underground cruise ship terminal recently opened in the area with views of the Bosphorus
  • SALT Galata Museum (in the former headquarters of the Ottoman Bank). Closed Mondays
  • Pera Museum
  • Karaköy Gallery Building on Mumhane Caddesi, the home of Istanbul’s contemporary art scene with four different galleries; Pi Artworks, Galeri Nev, Mixer, and ArtSümer.
DAY 7:
  • TBD

DAY 8: SUNDAY, June 18
  • Fly to Berlin

BERLIN: Arrive Sun, June 18; Depart Tues, June 27 for Oslo


DAY 1: 
  • CRUISE BERLIN BY BOAT – Winding through the center of Berlin, the River Spree offers a different perspective on this once-divided city.
DAY 2:
  • Alexander Platz
  • La La Berlin flagship store
  • Berlin Wall Memorial
  • Hackesche Hofe (mall) is Germany’s biggest historic courtyard complex, set right in the heart of the Mitte district. eight interlinked courtyards framed by Art Nouveau buildings and packed with boutiques, restaurants, and bars.
  • Murals along Hackesche Höfe’s famous graffiti alley, Haus Schwarzenberg.
  • Here you’ll also find all sorts of oddities like the Monsterkabinett, an underground gallery filled with creepy mechanical creatures, and the cult bar Eschschloraque, an alternative, artsy space where little has changed since its founding more than 25 years ago.
DAY 3:
  • BOROS FOUNDATION: BOOK ONLINE EARLY!
  • See contemporary art inside World War II-era bunkers/ features top-notch contemporary art across five floors and 80+ rooms in a hulking, concrete bunker in Mitte. The 90-minute guided tour — which is required to visit the museum, books up months in advance.
  • Reichstag
  • The Holocaust Memorial
  • Brandensburg Gate
  • Tiergarten – sprawls across 520 acres in the center of the city.
DAY 4:
  • URBAN NATION MUSEUM (street art)
  • Schoneberg: check the surrounding street art where you’ll find everything from large-scale murals by Shepard Fairey to tiny stencils by the British artist known as JPS.
  • Berlinische Gallerie
  • Konig Gallery
 DAY 5:
  • TEMPELHOF/TEMPELHOFER FELD: BOOK GUIDED TOUR
  • The only way to go inside the airport buildings is with a guided tour highlighting some of the most fascinating architectural and historical aspects of this massive landmark. 
  • The adjacent airfield, Tempelhofer Feld, has been transformed into a 1,000-acre urban park with former runways now used by cyclists, skaters, and joggers.
  • Isla coffee house
  • KINDL MUSEUM
  • Azzam restaurant (lunch? dinner?)
 DAY 6:
  • Neukölln (little Istanbul)
  • Pflugerstrasse
  • Often associated with busy roads where Lebanese grocers, Turkish restaurants, and new-wave coffee shops spill into the pavement.
  • Also known for city-wide protests.
 DAY 7:
  • Oberschöneweide (Too far out of the way?)
  • Massive brick factory buildings loom as impressive reminders of East Germany’s once-booming energy industry. The unique architecture and ample space have inspired artists, including Olafur Eliasson, to set up private studios in the historic industrial halls.
  • Check if Eliasson still has a restaurant in Berlin.
 DAY 8:
  • SANSSOUCI (day trip)
  • Frederick the Great’s summer grounds make for an unforgettable day out in Potsdam, the state capital of Brandenburg, just an S-Bahn ride southwest from central Berlin. As well as touring the palace itself, guests can spend hours getting lost in its gardens and the ornate Bildergalerie and Neue Kammern (‘new chambers’). A trip to the lush grounds is welcome after a few days of pavement-pounding in urban Berlin.
 DAY 9:
 DAY 10: Tues, June 27
  • Fly from Berlin to Oslo

OSLO: Arrive Tues, June 27, Depart for Bergen Thurs. June 29

  • Hotel: Amerikalinjen (near train station)
  • Oslo National Museum
JUNE 29: DEPART FOR BERGEN
  • 8:25AM express train to Bergen
  • Hotel: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Bergen
JUNE 30:
  • Lunch with Lindblad group at hotel
  • Embark on Lindblad/Nat Geo Expedition to Shetlands and Faroe Islands

LINDBLAD EXPEDITION: Fri June 30 – Wed July 12

AND THAT’S A WRAP my friends. AGAIN, grateful for ANY RECOS.

Blog, by the way, is still on hiatus. I will pop up in your email intermittently over the next few months when I have something I absolutely must share but otherwise, I am enjoying my break!! 😊😊😊


 

 

 


 

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