10 Days in Mainland Europe - Best Places to Shoot?

[AnnieP]

Hi everyone,

I am off to the UK and will spend some time in mainland Europe too - where are some MUST SHOOT places to go to?

Thanks Ann

[paulheath]

WOW ... now thats a never ending list..ok. lets start with UK, hate to say it but London is a must, the usual monopoly board i suppose. if you love the country side try the Cotswold area, beautiful old thatched roof cottages true English country gardens . moving north Birmingham ( my home town) has more canals than Venice!! also some great old buildings as Birmingham was the industrial leader back in the day.
Little further up north, York.. great place for cobbled stone walk ways and of course york castle, old trains, Yorkshire dales for some stunning scenery. onwards and upwards, the lake district for without doubt some of the best landscapes in the world. too your left wales...... running streams through green glens with magnificent waterfalls at ever turn.
Scotland, spoiled for photography opportunities , castles, lakes, street , mountain has a variety of great photo ops.

Europe.... well ill wait for you to say exactly where you are going as iv worked/traveled through all European countries and the photo opportunities are mind boggling.
hope this is of some help.

[jev]

Welcome to Europe :D

Much depends on your personal preference. Cities? Paris, Barcelona, Vienna, Amsterdam, Brugge, Ghent, lots of beautiful and photographically interesting places.

Nature? The English countryside is ok, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, France, the Alps, you name it.

People? Everywhere :D

So, what part of Europe, what type of photography, when?s

[phild]

We visited the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Germany, the biggest problem anywhere is crowds, photography was difficult in the cities, particularly London. I would have liked to spend more time in Scotland. We spent the bulk of our time in and around the coast and islands of Denmark, which coincidentally happened to offer the best photo opportunities.

[Warbler]

You won't be seeing a lot in 10 days. Perhaps you could narrow it down for us by telling us where you're going?

[Analog6]

Tuscany, some of the wild coastlines (Portugal, Spain, France etc), alps - some scenes I've seen from the mountain pass roads are amazing 9and scary), Venice, France's southern regions, Scandinavian regions, an aurora if there's one while you're there. But 10 days is not much time. You'll have to whittle it down to great things in the regions you are visiting.. It's so hard to advise someone else - for me it would be landscapes and historic old buildings.

[Lance B]

It all depends on what you like to shoot and the time you have to get to those places.

You may want to shoot castles and cathedrals and old buildings which means most of the older cities will do, even have a look at the old Eastern Bloc countires. In this case, it may be better to narrow it down to whether you want to shoot particular landmark castles/cathedrals/old buildings.

A place I haven't been to but would love to go is to Plitvice Lakes in Coratia:
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=lakes+in+croatia&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=fhjgVI3VH4iA8QXdxYAw&ved=0CD4QsAQ&biw=2560&bih=1279

These are some of the places I have visited and absolutely loved.

If you go to Paris, one of my favourite cities, you have the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Louvre, Sacré-Cœur just to name a few. Paris really does have a romantic feel about the place.

You may want to visit the region of Bavaria in southern Germany and visit Neuschwanstein Castle to see the castle which Walt Disney modelled the fairy castle on for Disneyland, but there are so many beautiful places to visit around there. Maybe take the "Romantic Route" through southern Germany visiting Heidelberg, over to the Rothenburg ob der Tauber a medieval walled city from the 1400's (brilliant place!), down to Munich, then across to Neushwanstein Castle near the border with the Swiss Alps. We did this trip and absolutely loved it. Look these places up on Google and Wikepedia etc. Berlin is also a favourite city of mine. You maybe could start there and drive from there, like we did.

You could then nip up to Switzerland if you like scenery and go to Thun, or Interlaken which are on lakes in Switzerland. Stunning scenery. Again, look them up on Google.

On another trip, we just drove from Paris down through Auxerre, then to Dijon and did day trips around Dijon to many of the old towns and attractions that were there. So many old cathedrals and beautiful countryside. We then went to Switzerland to Thun/Interlaken, such stunning scenery.

Another trip we went from Munich to Strasbourg, then Reims, Bruges (stunning city!) and then Brussels (not my cup of tea) then to the UK for 3 weeks.

I have galleries of these places on my site of you're interested in taking a look.

Paris, Germany trip 2006
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/europe_2006

Europe 2010 trip:
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/europe_2010

Europe, UK 2013:
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/europe_2010

My best advice is not to try to see too much because you end up seeing a lot but nothing, if you get my drift. This is why Paris is a good idea as you stay in one place for say 4 or 5 days and you can see so many landmarks and get to get a feel for the place. As I said, we went to Dijon for 3 nights and then just did day trip from there which meant we had a bit of time to see and absorb.

[AnnieP]

Wow thank you so much.
Ok so to expand a little.... I am British... Now living in Qld, so I am going to the uk for a wedding. Then as I am travelling all that way decided I would head to Mainland Europe to spend some time photographing beautiful landscapes.

I am going with a friend who is also a keen photographer. Since I posted this post we met and came up with a loose itinery.

We are spending two days in Amsterdam, as she has family there. Then we have decided to spend 5 days in Croatia and Slovenia ... So ideas on locations there will be great. Then we will head into Italy.... Rome, and South, before flying back to the UK and I am back on Jo e ground. We will cover York, Lake District, Yorkshire Moors. Then my family live in the south west so we will spend time there... Before returning to Aus.

[J.davis]

Take a wide angle lens and shoot everything you see, cull when you get home (back to OZ). when I have
been to Europe, everything is new to the eye, so capture as much as possible.
Even look into your pics to reveal other pics. So take careful aim. :)

[Warbler]

Consider Geo-tagging too. You can do your own travel albums and on-line galleries using JAlbum with built-in mapping. After visiting 30 countries, I have thousands of images and I find it difficult to remember where I took them. Here's another tip that my mate forgot. Your GPS tracker must be switched ON to record your track. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Glenda]

We are currently in the planning stages of a trip to Croatia, and perhaps will include Slovenia. From my research so far, places I will definitely be spending time in will be Plitvice and Krka National Parks in Croatia and Lake Bled in Slovenia. The scenery in photographs I have seen is breathtaking.

[Warbler]

Seriously, who carries a GPS tracker with them on their motorbike from London to New York via Siberia and Oregon, them From Alaska to Santiago, and then either leaves it switched off, or back in the parking garage on their BMW? Bit hard to match photo EXIF to GPS tracks. Sorry, I'm off on a tangent, but for travel stuff I reckon Geo-tagging is a must do.

[jev]

Bit hard to match photo EXIF to GPS tracks.
Not hard at all, provided your camera has the right (UTC) time.

[Warbler]

Not hard at all, provided your camera has the right (UTC) time.

It is when you have no GPS tracks....


then either leaves it switched off, or back in the parking garage on their BMW?

[AnnieP]

We are currently in the planning stages of a trip to Croatia, and perhaps will include Slovenia. From my research so far, places I will definitely be spending time in will be Plitvice and Krka National Parks in Croatia and Lake Bled in Slovenia. The scenery in photographs I have seen is breathtaking.

Wow L plates.... My travel buddy and I sat down on Sunday and planned our route, and we are planning to spend 5 days in Croatia and Slovinia too. lake Bled looks amazing. When are you going? Perhaps we can share research? I can PM you my email.

We will then head via Lake Garda (as friend has family there) then fly down to Sorento and Postiano in Italy, then drive to Rome! Very excited.

Geo tagging sounds great too.

Lance thank you for such a comprehensive post, I'll take a look at your links.

[ameerat42]

Generally as ^: my sentiments exactly. What a Q!

[Glenda]

Planning for June Annie. Living in Central Qld, I don't think I could cope with the really cold weather. I usually use Tripadvisor a lot when travelling overseas, you just have to be careful to sort the chaff from the wheat although the Croatia forum seems pretty good. The locals have said one day is enough in Plitvice and Krka - they obviously aren't into photography :), we're planning a couple of days in each of those.

[Ionica]

Driving from the Amalfi to Rome, the coastal route via Gaeta is scenic, then via Terracina to Rome ( choice of routes ). Depending on your interests and time available there are several points of interest - the Solfatara in
Pozzuoli ( a thermal area ) and the archeological site of Cuma, dating back to 8th C. bc, and imo well worth seeing. At Terracina there is the ancient temple of Jupiter Anxur.

http://www.pintostorey.it/cuma_archaeological_ruins___phlegraean_fields___naples_13en767en.htm


https://www.google.com.au/search?q=cumae+archaeological+park&rlz=1C1CHKB_en-GBAU424AU424&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=947&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=ucjjVPrTE4TMmwWpy4HoCA&ved=0CEQQsAQ&dpr=1

[ameerat42]

Annie. Really! Do you have any particular places you intend to go to/gravitate towards/something a bit more definite than so far stated?

So far, the foregoing makes for "interesting ideas" but a rather haphazard itinerary.

Am.

[AnnieP]

Annie. Really! Do you have any particular places you intend to go to/gravitate towards/something a bit more definite than so far stated?

So far, the foregoing makes for "interesting ideas" but a rather haphazard itinerary.

Am.

OK AM - we are going to visit - Slovenia and Italy..... so fire away with suggestions! :)

[Glenda]

Italy - Cinque Terre. A friend of ours did Croatia, Slovenia and Italy last year so I've been picking her brains re the first two. She said the National Parks in Slovenia are spectacular and they based themselves in the capital and did day trips. Apparently Lake Bled is only a 30 min drive. The Julian Alps are worth seeing as is Vintgar Gorge.

[swifty]

I second LPlate's Cinque Terre suggestion.
By far my favourite location in Italy and somewhere I'd revisit and spend at least a night or 2 in one of the towns rather than just a day trip.