BootsnAll Travel Community

I am going to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Barcelona and Rome this summer. I have been to all of these cities before and have done the typical tourist stuff. I am looking for suggestions for things to do in these cities beyond the tourist stuff.

Any suggestions for things to do, restaurants, places to go out, shopping, etc. would be great!

Thanks!
Katie

Well, it does sound like you ARE going on a typical (American) tourist tour of Europe, so I think you should have planned it differently and perhaps:

* Gone to Newcastle instead of London, and either hiked in the Lake District, walked across England along the Hadrian Wall, seen the Durham Cathedral and visited Holy Island/Lindisfarne.

* Gone to one of the wine districts in France instead of Paris.

* Discovered hidden corners of Bruges, Belgium instead of modern-day Amsterdam.

* Enjoyed one or more of the spas in Karlovy Vary instead of Prague.

* Contemplated life for a few days in Ronda, Andalucia instead of Barcelona.

* Walk along the Amalfi coast near Naples instead of Rome. It's the kind of landscape that will make you want to burst into spontaneous applause, according to reliable sources.

Some of these things are totally possible to do based on the cities you're going to, thanks to a neat invention we have in Europe called express trains.

Apart from that, the short answer is to get a guidebook covering the major cities of Europe, and you're likely to find something to satisfy you. Next time, try harder from the beginning. #8D)

Happy (crowded) trails!

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/

Depends on what you find interesting, really. Do you like tombs or catacombs? There are some great places in Rome to see bones/places of ritual.

Rome:

Capuchin Crypt

Basilica San Clemente- I like the idea of Mithraism. This place has one of the best Mithraeums in all of Rome.

Catacombs of Domitilla

If I had a good amount of time, I would do a relic tour through Rome. I like looking at sacred bones in well-lit boxes:

Sant'Agnese in Agone - See the relic skull of St. Agnes, who, according to legend, when faced with the impending loss of her modesty, grew gobs of hair to cover her body. This church is at the Piazza Navona.

Santa Maria della Vittoria - While I visited this church to see the epic sculpture of St. Theresa in Ecstasy, I was even more impressed to see a relic skull toward the back of the church. I don't remember the name of the saint, as it seemed to be more of an afterthought than anything else. Also fun was the gift shop in the back where one can buy candies made by monks. Mmm, monk made candy.

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme - One can see the finger of St. Thomas, along with the other religious relics.

Also interesting is the use of skeletons in art in the churches of Rome. Particularly great are those found in S. Maria del Popolo and S. Maria dell'Orazione e Morte.

While there are some decent representations of skeletons in San Pietro in Vincoli, the main reasons to visit this church are Michaelangelo's sculpture of Moses (with horns!) and the relic of the chains.

For Prague I recommend a visit to the following memorial: http://www.pragueexperience.com/places.asp?PlaceID=1228

Toward the end of WW2 Czech resistance assasinated the Nazi leader Reynard Heydrich. The bullet-riddled church crypt is where those same assasins made their last stand...

I have a question similar to this, I am going around Europe this summer, and of course we always do a compulsory stop in London for a few days to take in some Shows (Musicals, Theater, etc) But since I've been a couple of times before, are there any suggestions on what to see outside of the touristy things?