Italy OR London ?

[macchupicchu88]

Planning for my 1st trip to Europe end of Oct this year, intent to do a 10 days trip.

Considering the exchange rate, EUR seems more advantageous than GBP now.

I guess will be doing quite a bit of shopping, thus was contemplating between Italy or London.

Any advice?

 

[dilphinus]

Planning for my 1st trip to Europe end of Oct this year, intent to do a 10 days trip.

Considering the exchange rate, EUR seems more advantageous than GBP now.

I guess will be doing quite a bit of shopping, thus was contemplating between Italy or London.

Any advice?

It is very strange/weird to compare a country and a city.

Alright, which part(s) of Italy? Which brands?

Some stocks are gone pretty fast at the touristy areas. And they don't stock a lot of the same item. Sometimes it's not you have money you can buy.

Oh, do note that it's more expensive (airport taxes) to fly out of Heathrow than anywhere else, if that's a consideration.

 

[yokoaudi]

It is very strange/weird to compare a country and a city.

Alright, which part(s) of Italy? Which brands?

Some stocks are gone pretty fast at the touristy areas. And they don't stock a lot of the same item. Sometimes it's not you have money you can buy.

Oh, do note that it's more expensive (airport taxes) to fly out of Heathrow than anywhere else, if that's a consideration.

Ahh… sorry that I did not go into details.
If Italy, plan to go Rome, Florence & Venice.
If UK, plan to go London & Scotland.

As for shopping, no particular brands in mind yet, but definitely plan to visit the outlet malls. So in terms of variety and stock, which is a better place to go?

 

[dilphinus]

Ahh… sorry that I did not go into details.
If Italy, plan to go Rome, Florence & Venice.
If UK, plan to go London & Scotland.

As for shopping, no particular brands in mind yet, but definitely plan to visit the outlet malls. So in terms of variety and stock, which is a better place to go?

I went to Rome, Florence and Pisa, London, Cambridge, Bath, Norwich. I find shopping in the UK much easier and better. I didn't go to the outlets. I also find shopping in Germany easier and better than Italy.

 

[purpleberry]

I went to Rome, Florence and Pisa, London, Cambridge, Bath, Norwich. I find shopping in the UK much easier and better. I didn't go to the outlets. I also find shopping in Germany easier and better than Italy.

I thought Milan has plenty of shops with good bargains, especially for fashion? In what way is Germany/UK shopping better than Italy?

 

[jarvis]

I thought Milan has plenty of shops with good bargains, especially for fashion? In what way is Germany/UK shopping better than Italy?

Milan has the brands, but they are the full price shops so there's no bargains. In fact, Milan feels more expensive than other Italian cities, but that's probably just the perception.

If you're talking about pricing, the Italian brands will tend to be cheaper in Italy than they would be in London, especially at the outlets.

If you're not talking about branded stuff, then you can get plenty of good stuff in UK - like M&S is probably about at least 30% cheaper than SG (and if you go in winter and buy out of season items like shorts, it might be on the discount rack where the discounts are huge) or there's also primark and other places. To be fair, you'd probably find these local type of places in Italy (or anywhere else in Europe) but I don't know of them.

As for the TS question of whether to go to UK or Italy, it really depends on what you want to do and what you want to see. A suggestion is to go read up on both countries and see what interests you more. If you are not confident and this is one of the first time you're travelling, then UK speaks English and it'll probably be easier for your first trip (although I've not had problems in Italy)

 

[macchupicchu88]

Did some homework over the weekend, has more or less decided to go Italy cos it’s really beautiful.
Plan to go Rome, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre and southern part of Tuscany if time allows. Will be a f&e trip, anyone has the itinerary to share?

 

[n2btg]

Try to do Florence, Sienna, Verona and Venice together as they are not very far from one another.

 

[maxrebo]

Did some homework over the weekend, has more or less decided to go Italy cos it’s really beautiful.
Plan to go Rome, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre and southern part of Tuscany if time allows. Will be a f&e trip, anyone has the itinerary to share?

Your train will pass by Pisa on your way to or back from Cinque Terre. You should cover both places within a day.

 

[mlangelo]

Did some homework over the weekend, has more or less decided to go Italy cos it’s really beautiful.
Plan to go Rome, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre and southern part of Tuscany if time allows. Will be a f&e trip, anyone has the itinerary to share?

In Rome - I used the Roma Pass.
Roma Pass
In Florence - i took day trips to Pisa using the local trains.
Also day trip to Siena by booking a tour from the hotel which is a half day trip and includes visit to the vineyards. Ask your hotel for the best offer.

 

[purpleberry]

In Rome - I used the Roma Pass.
Roma Pass
In Florence - i took day trips to Pisa using the local trains.
Also day trip to Siena by booking a tour from the hotel which is a half day trip and includes visit to the vineyards. Ask your hotel for the best offer.

How convenient and far is it travelling to Pisa from Florence?

Is it worth it getting a Roma Pass? It covers most museums but not Vatican which easily takes a day. I presume the valuable aspect is that you can cut queues?

 

[dilphinus]

How convenient and far is it travelling to Pisa from Florence?

Is it worth it getting a Roma Pass? It covers most museums but not Vatican which easily takes a day. I presume the valuable aspect is that you can cut queues?

Pretty convenient and easy. Trains depart every half hour and takes about an hour between Florence and Pisa.

Have to pre-buy the pass/ticket and guide to the Vatican. If not really waste time queuing. But that's not the worst tourist queue I've seen! The worst I've seen is for Anne Frank House

 

[purpleberry]

Pretty convenient and easy. Trains depart every half hour and takes about an hour between Florence and Pisa.

Have to pre-buy the pass/ticket and guide to the Vatican. If not really waste time queuing. But that's not the worst tourist queue I've seen! The worst I've seen is for Anne Frank House

Thanks for the tip! Initially I wanted to go on a local land tour for Cinque Terre but it looks straightforward enough for F&E. Only thing missing is the historical bits that the guides could fill you up with.

 

[sk0065]

Planning for my 1st trip to Europe end of Oct this year, intent to do a 10 days trip.

Considering the exchange rate, EUR seems more advantageous than GBP now.

I guess will be doing quite a bit of shopping, thus was contemplating between Italy or London.

Any advice?

you need to consider FX before shopping....
the same bag can cost after conversion
GBP ---> SGD 2200
EUR ---> SGD 2300

means you will choose GBP over EUR? and go to UK?

what brands are you looking to shop for?

HOWEVER,
if you are referring to flea market shopping, then the FX has marginal impact la.

 

[dilphinus]

you need to consider FX before shopping....
the same bag can cost after conversion
GBP ---> SGD 2200
EUR ---> SGD 2300

means you will choose GBP over EUR? and go to UK?

what brands are you looking to shop for?

HOWEVER,
if you are referring to flea market shopping, then the FX has marginal impact la.

The prices for luxury goods are pretty controlled, meaning that after currency conversion, the price will differ the most by a dollar or two only. So say a wallet cost GBP100 in the UK, it will cost EUR125 in France, Italy, etc. It's usually stock availability. They don't stock many pieces. Usually one piece by store.

 

[mlangelo]

How convenient and far is it travelling to Pisa from Florence?

Is it worth it getting a Roma Pass? It covers most museums but not Vatican which easily takes a day. I presume the valuable aspect is that you can cut queues?

Pisa quite easy to get there. Just google for the info or check tripadvisor. Give yourself half a day.

I love Vatican city. I activated the Roma pass later if I recall correctly. Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica will take at more than half a day. I went to Sistine Chapel half hour before it opened (dec winter period). There were only less than 10 persons in the queue. Really enjoyed my time there, sitting there and just absorbing the atmosphere. No rush, no tour groups - you can people watch. Oh yes download Rick Steves mp3 tour for the various places and you need not rent the audio guides (save a bit) .

 

[maxrebo]

Train to Pisa from Florence I think is only 1 hour. The walk from Pisa Station to the tower is probably only 20 mins but will take you longer than that if you start browsing at the shops along the way

 

[beanstalk6]

Well, you can take another path through the University of Pisa campus. More interesting.

 

[purpleberry]

Train to Pisa from Florence I think is only 1 hour. The walk from Pisa Station to the tower is probably only 20 mins but will take you longer than that if you start browsing at the shops along the way

Is Pisa worth it? My main side trip is actually for Cinque Terre though.

 

[maxrebo]

Is Pisa worth it? My main side trip is actually for Cinque Terre though.

I went to Cinque Terre and Pisa on the same day. Stopped by Pisa on the way back to Florence since it's along the way. Nothing much is Pisa except to see the tower since we've always read and heard about it.

Just drop by lah since your train ticket's already been paid for.