Looking for BEST Mediterranean pre-cruise destination that's NOT accessible by ship

[MalibuCA]

We are taking a Mediterranean cruise on the Voyager next October that begins in Monte Carlo and ends in Athens. We are looking for a FABULOUS city to visit pre-cruise, and from there, we will fly to Monte Carlo to embark the ship. Of course, Paris and London come to mind immediately, but we are really looking for a city that we would not visit by cruise ship and a city that we have never visited previously. Primarily, we are looking for a city that will give us a big WOW that we would not otherwise visit because most of our travels are by ship. My initial thought was of Vienna. I've also heard wonderful things about Prague, but I know that it's a port city, and I imagine that it's a stop on the cruise itineraries. Please advise -- Tell me your favorite non-port cities and why we should go there pre-cruise.

Thanks,
Shelley:)

[gdlamberth]

Places we've actually been and enjoyed:

Munich, ( it may be Oktoberfest so book early) with excursions to Garmisch (2 hr drive) and/or Rothenburg and Romantische Strasse (a Day Trip) and/or Dachau (30 Minute drive or SBahn) and/or Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau (Disney Castle for real) (2 hr drive); then easy flight to Nice:D.

[Michael@ssrp]

Although we stopped there on a cruise, don't let that be a disqualifier!! We LOVED Bilbao, in Northern Spain. Very cosmopolitan, yet friendly and welcoming. Superb food, great architecture, and the Guggenheim museum make this a surprisingly obscure but wonderful choice. I suspect access to there and on to Monte Carlo would not be too difficult. Another thought, if you were looking to do it really easy, we often use Nice as our base and travel out from there. You will probably fly in there pre-cruise, there is a lot to see and do, Old Nice is a must. Enjoy, I'm sure you'll get lots of feedback...

[RachelG]

Vienna can be visited by river cruise--it is on our itinerary for our Prague to Budapest Danube cruise next summer.
The Loire Valley in France is amazing--a chateau at every turn, wonderful food, lots of stuff to see. I would take the train to Tours, then either rent a car as we did once, or go on a bike tour as we did the second time. Then you could take the train easily to Monte Carlo.
Brussels is also nice for a few days. Lots of museums. But not as wow as the Loire.
Also like Tuscany a lot. Really best seen on a land tour though you can see bits and pieces on a cruise. We hike from Florence to Siena over 5 days. Not for the faint of heart, but absolutely amazing

[JPR]

I second the Loire Valley. How about Berlin? We were there in August and it was incredibly vibrant. Fascinating tour of the old "East Berlin." The Reichstag glass dome tour was a must (closed at the moment due to Al-Qaeda threats). We ate in a nearly 400-year old restaurant, Instanz, that served Napoleon and Beethoven, as well as an ultra-modern restaurant with cuisine influence by Ferran Adria (at the Mandala Hotel in Postsdamerplatz).
Nefertiti's Bust and the other great art are also musts.

[Paulchili]

A little more of the beaten path....
For something very different (and spectacular), check out Meteora if your cruise starts in Athens. If you start in Venice spend a few days in the wonderful country of Slovenia (Ljubljana, Lake Bled, Postojna caves, etc).

[cruiseluv]

What are you into? If you are interested in art, food, and nightlife I highly recommend Madrid.

[grapejuice]

Wonderful, wonderful Rome. Even though it is on most Med cruise itineraries, Civitavecchia (its port) into Rome and back is still quite a bus trip to take if you only have one day to visit Rome. I feel you need at least 4 days to experience this beautiful city.(and that is conservative).
I see Malibu that you will be visiting Rome on your Voyager cruise next year. Just think if you spent a week there pre-cruise you would not have to rush around madly on the day it is in port and you can sit back and relax and have the Voyager all to yourself (your cruise looks very port intensive - you might appreciate a rest)
Otherwise if you have been to Rome, - Vienna/ Salzberg is WOW

[ptiprof]

I'd enthusiastically vote for Prague. It's a Danube river port, but not one you will visit on an ocean cruise. It's a magical city of spires, majestic public squares, lovely old streets to explore, and an exciting night life. And although it has now been "discovered," it retains enough Eastern European charm to make it more exotic than some of the other places mentioned. I place it along with Paris and Venice as one of my favorite major cities.

[mrlevin]

Don't let anyone confuse you that Prague is on Danube River.

Having lived in Europe last two years, I would strongly recommend Paris with some side trips to Loire Valley and Normandy/Brittany. Yes you can get to Normandy and Brittany on a cruise; you just don't have the time.

Prague is wonderful, four days are enough; Vienna is fantastic, four days are also enough. Kracow is another wonderful city to spend a few days although the major site, Auschwitz, is a little heavy. Berlin is also fantastic for a four day trip.

Me, I would go to Paris and then take train to Monte Carlo.

Marc

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I was going to suggest Rome too, but didn't since it's a common cruise embarkation point. But yes, a week in Rome would be to die for, and very nice at that time of year I would imagine. You could always spend a couple of days in Florence as well.

[petlover]

1st choice would be Rome. 2nd choice is Prague. Both are fabulous ! 4 days in either would be perfect.

[Longhorn1]

Munich for Octoberfest is wonderful and Prague is great as well.

[Hambagahle]

what about Bern, Switzerland? The nation's capital. A true gem of a place. beautiful architecture, charming, small town that you can get to know well in a day or two. Combine that with Geneva... a totally different place, international city (not very "Swiss") but with loads on offer. AND you can easily fly into Geneva, and visit Bern by train, then back to Geneva and rent a car on the French side of the airport to leave in Monte Carlo (driving time about 5 hours) with very little drop charges.

For more about both cities see these links to Trip Advisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g188052-c127052/Bern:Switzerland:A.Walking.Tour.Of.Bern.html

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g188057-c127289/Geneva:Switzerland:Sightseeing.In.Geneva.html

Any questions about Switzerland and I would be more than happy to help you via Trip Advisors Swiss Forums...

[petlover]

That's another good idea. Switzerland is our very favorite country!! If you haven't been there, it's beautiful ! Expensive $$$ though.

[doc47]

Would echo Berlin, Munich, Vienna, and Salzberg. Anywhere in Switzerland, but Zurich and Lucerne are my favorites.

You still can't go wrong with London or Paris for that "wow" factor, especially if you've never been there.

[MalibuCA]

So many incredible suggestions! I wish I could go to everyone of these amazing destinations! Thank you for all of your help.

It was requested by one of the posters that I tell you what we like to do so that it may help in making your suggestions. To begin, we prefer sightseeing on our own or with a private guide over larger ship excursions. We love to walk and wander -- not hikers or bicyclists, but explore, explore, explore. We love large metropolitan cities such as Paris, London, NYC, Rome, Barcelona, but at the same time, we adore small quaint towns with their winding cobblestone roads. That is why I loved Quebec during our recent Fall Foliage cruise this past October as well as Montreal, Boston and NYC. We adore sampling the food and wines of different locales, and that is why I designed my own Foodie walking tour in Montreal during our recent cruise. We love places with great history and fabulous museums as well as abundant charm and beautiful scenery. We truly enjoy getting to know the culture of the place and to capture the "flavor" of their people. That is why, in addition to the cities listed above, we were completely taken with Venice, St. Petersburg, and Santorini and Rhodes in Greece. As a result, this is the reason why I was considering Vienna/Salzburg, Prague and Provence, which are places I have always wanted to visit. I visited Vienna and Salzburg as a child, and from what I recall, I know it is worth revisiting. So, with all of this in mind, please continue to make suggestions of places that I should consider.

Some of you mentioned that Vienna, Prague and Budapest can be seen and enjoyed from a river boat cruise. Have any of you done this? Can you recommend a river boat line that is comparable in comfort and luxury to Regent? How did your experiences compare? Perhaps I should save these cities for a future cruise on a river boat, but if not, then I definitely want to consider them now as a land portion pre-cruise. Please give me your thoughts.

Thanks again for all of the advice!

Shelley;)

[ptiprof]

In my earlier post when I said that Prague was a Danube river port, I should have said that it is visited on Danube river cruises. Sorry about the confusion. We actually did visit Prague on an Avalon Waterways Cruise from Budapest to Prague and stayed an extra three days at the end of the cruise. Prague has all the charm of Quebec, one of my very favorite places as well. From your description of your travel style, I think you'd love Prague.

In answer to your river cruise question, we also visited Vienna, Bratislava (Slovakia) and several German and Austrian towns. We had a wonderful time, but I wouldn't say that Avalon would be comparable to Regent. Although I haven't sailed them yet, I am considering Tauck and Scenic when I do another river cruise in the future (hopefully from Budapest to the Black Sea). They are more expensive than the other companies, but are said to be much more upscale with new, lovely ships. Even so, there are many differences between a river and an ocean cruise. Check out the River Cruise section of CC for lots of information. Happy travels.

[mrlevin]

Malibu, you really can't go wrong; there are so many wonderful cities to explore in Europe. Just remember the limintations on luggage on intra-European flights; many people are in for a rude surprise when they pay hundreds in excess baggage charges. That is why the recommendation to drive from Geneva is a good idea.

Last February we did a train trip that went Zurich, Zermatt, St Moritz, Salzburg, Vienna. I would not do those trains with a lot of luggage. French high speed trains are much easier with lots of bags. Still you can go to Vienna and take train to Salzburg for an overnight leaving bulk of luggage in Vienna. Vienna has a great train to airport. I really liked Hilton which was convenient to St Vincents, shopping, U-bahn, and train to airport. If you are into opera, I recommend Berlin where there are three opera houses. You have a choice of at least two operas almost every night.

Have fun,

[AWED23]

Get a car and spend time in Arles, St. Remy and Avignon.....Great towns and a city. See what drew Van Gogh and others to the area. Be sure to sample some Tavel rose and Chateau nef De Pape.....Or.....Fly into Schipol airport between Amsterdam & The Hague and again get a car and have a really fabulous week touring. Fabulous roads and motorways. Great "Restaurant-Hotels"....

[Contarini]

We are taking a Mediterranean cruise on the Voyager next October that begins in Monte Carlo and ends in Athens. We are looking for a FABULOUS city to visit pre-cruise, and from there, we will fly to Monte Carlo to embark the ship. Of course, Paris and London come to mind immediately, but we are really looking for a city that we would not visit by cruise ship and a city that we have never visited previously. Primarily, we are looking for a city that will give us a big WOW that we would not otherwise visit because most of our travels are by ship. My initial thought was of Vienna. I've also heard wonderful things about Prague, but I know that it's a port city, and I imagine that it's a stop on the cruise itineraries. Please advise -- Tell me your favorite non-port cities and why we should go there pre-cruise.

Thanks,
Shelley:)

Just to let you know that we are booked on the same cruise for next October. Hoping to meet you there and talk about our shared experience.

[MalibuCA]

So happy to hear that you're on the same cruise with us! Do you plan to do any pre-cruise sightseeing? Please share any plans that you make.

I would love to stay longer at the end in Athens, too, but my husband needs to get back to the office rather quickly after the cruise. All that we can do is one night post-cruise in Athens, but at least we will get a flavor for what we want to go back and visit the next time.

Looking forward to meeting you on board!

Shelley:)

[Contarini]

This time we will be arriving at Nice two days before and our departure will be Athens. But the Loire River has been one of our favorite destination for many years, the ''Châteaux'', the wine, the sceneries and the food, oh là là......

[RachelG]

Just realized that we will be getting off the ship as you are boarding. No matter where you pre-cruise, you must spend a night in Nice and dine at Luc Salsedo--absolutely our favorite restaurant in France.

[NJBelle]

Someone else nominated Madrid and I second that. My family and I just returned from a week there (spent Thanksgiving) and we loved it. You definitely cannot get there by boat!

If you want museums - there are fabulous museums. If you want to roam around, the streets are very interesting. The history is extensive and there is lots to learn about in that regard. The food and wine are absolutely wonderful - AND the prices are great there now. We rented an apartment for the week, but hotels are much cheaper than in Paris and London and other big EU cities. And for a side trip with beauty, history, more good food and wine and cobblestones, nothing beats Toledo.

[elmwood]

What about Florence? It is ideal for people who like to walk and explore on their own. It's cobble stoned centre is packed with history, beautiful buildings, museums, churches. It's our favourite European destination.

[MalibuCA]

I've thought about Madrid, and it's definitely a possibility. We love Barcelona!

I agree with the recommendation for Florence, too. However, we are already going to Florence as one of our ports on the ship, and we have been there on a previous cruise. It's a beautiful city, and I look forward to returning, but for our pre-cruise destination, I'm looking for something new.

Thanks for the help.

Shelley

[Emdee]

Aix/Avignon/Provence is a lovely area.
Como and Bellagio is gorgeous as well.
I too love the Loire but havent been to Bordeaux