Practical tips for traveling in Europe

As for the advice on tourist sites, http://ask.metafilter.com/209901/Oh-the-places-well-go#3027425 that are basically, I think it's shortsighted to completely avoid all "tourist sites." There's a difference between tourist sites and tourist traps, in my opinion, and the former (like the Louvre in Paris, for instance) are tourist sites for a reason, because they're worth seeing! Yes, it's true that locals don't go to tourist sites all the time, but locals are also commuting to work at rush hour and running annoying errands and stuff, and I don't know about you, but when I'm on vacation I'm there to relax, not to 100% replicate mundane daily life. But YMMV. I do agree that you shouldn't eat near tourist sites. In particular, if you happen upon a restaurant that happens to have multiple languages, like on the order of 5+ languages on the menu, that is a particularly bad sign and do not eat there.

Europe isn't as foreign as it used to be. All your mentioned cities are not only extremely safe but you'll find all the amenities you expect in any American city. This is especially true of the three cities you've chosen (as others have said, advice might change for, say, certain Italian cities) I'm an American living in the UK, currently on a short trip to San Francisco. I'm using Whatsapp right now to keep in touch with my wife in the UK and with my mother-in-law in Portugal. So, yeah, that all works fine. A couple points of my own: --You are being paranoid about the driving trips. You'll not only be fine, you'll maybe make new friends. --I haven't seen travelers checks in .. forever. Use your bank card and ATMs. Keep in mind that in Europe we tend to use chip-and-pin cards for payment. This means we put our card in a machine and type in our pin (like an ATM) American cards don't work this way and you'll have to swipe and sign most likely. Most places can handle this - especially in touristy areas - but its just a tip in case you encounter some shop that is confused by your card. --You're a tourist. Go to the touristy areas! In Paris, this is the Eiffel tower (amazing up close), Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Latin quarter, the Marais. Last time we were in Munich we ate right next to the FrauenKirche. We sat next to and ate with and chatted with some locals whose families had been in Munich for generations. --Safety tips. Paris is a big city and, just like NYC, it can be a bit chaotic at times. So do be aware of your surroundings. There are also beggars that might approach you and start talking to you. Just wave them off and keep going. They're not dangerous - just part of the urban background. --If you do go on a driving trip in only one city, I agree to make it Munich. Surrounding Bavaria is amazing and would make an entire trip by itself. We're planning a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle ourselves. --Yes, get the travel insurance.

Can you easily afford $10k or more in medical costs, rebooked flights, rebooked hotels and emergency calls home if one of you, say, slips and breaks a wrist while on a romantic bike ride in Prague? If the answer is, "hell no," get travel insurance.

I've lived in Europe and travel to Europe almost ten times a year. - Capitol One does not have foriegn transaction fees - T-Mobile Offers Free Data and Text. It is absolutely gamechanging. Okay, now for the real stuff. - Forget the tourist stuff when it comes to food. Don't eat near tourist attractions -- like any American city, if you eat near any major tourist attraction (say... time square) you get overpriced bullshit. Instead go out to the semi-outskirts of major cities for the really good stuff. - Many European cities use the honor system for public transport. Meaning, you have to have a ticket on you to travel, but there is no gate. Let me be very clear, they absolutely do have patrols that check for your ticket. BUY A TICKET. This has screwed me over many times. - Uber works in many European cities, it is awesome. - Forget the subways, while they are amazing, walking is really how to get to see the areas of the city that tourists skip. - Just like any US city, locals don't visit the tourist attractions, in fact they avoid them like the plague. So should you. - Don't forget that some of the best local experiences happen in the grocery store. Most European grocery stories contain AMAZING products like wines, cheeses, fresh bread, and meat... all subsided (I'm looking at you, France) so that they become incredible affordable. Some of the best meals I had have in Europe have been on park benches and consisting entirely from food bought at grocery stores. - And now for the big one: Frankly, if countries are ice cream, Europe is really only a different flavor of the same thing as the US. People are still nice, helpful, kind, sometimes assholes. Restaurants still have good waiters and horrible ones. People are still frustrated at tourists on the metro after a long day of work. Etc. etc. Have fun!

Hi experienced European traveller here. I really hate to say it but buying sim cards and local numbers is really a silly way to go. Even though I am 100% apple user, I use skype on my phone, laptop and tablet with a 10 dollar credit and a USA phone number (12 bucks for 3 months) that forwards incoming calls from stateside or elsewhere to my mobile phone without additional fees. Every city you are visiting has extremely good wifi coverage - in most places free at public places like trains, train stations, airports etc. as well as pretty much anywhere else you will be. It won´t be hard to make a call when you need one - and the best part is the rates to ring around Europe are next to nothing. For example, I have been to 8 citie in the past 3 months - still have 4 bucks left on my Skype credit and thats with heavy international and local use at each stop. So out of my initial investment of of 25 dollars I still have enough for a few more cities. Check it out it is really the best way to go. Local SIM cards are a pain in the arse with credit, Sim cards etc.

Definitely do use the subway. It's an excellent way to extend the range of your exploring: you can get way outside the city center, beyond what you can walk , or you can take the subway out and walk back in, or you can walk as far as you want and not worry about the way back (because you'll be riding the subway). None of these cities are scarier or unsafer than your average American city. Just, as always in big cities, be very aware of the possibility that there are pickpockets around. If you are carrying a messenger type bag, keep it under your arm when walking in a crowd. And travel insurance is always worth it.

http://ask.metafilter.com/277853/Practical-tips-for-traveling-in-Europe#4029488: Condiments can be weird. Bring a few of your own. Please don't be that kind of tourist. You travel to eat foreign food, not to ruin a goulash with ketchup. Doing this in anything posher than a döner kebap restaurant will usually earn you the stinkeye from the wait staff, but it's a hanging offence in France. (not really, but seriously, why would you?)

Always get travel insurance. Always. And tell us where you're going. I wouldn't get in a car in Greece (drive like lunatics) but would have no hesitation in France. In some capitals I'd be more wary of pick pockets but in others, I'd feel as safe and carefree as I do at home. Don't keep valuables in your messenger. My friend lost her camera (and therefore all her photos) when someone slashed her bag on a crowded train. I just bought money through Travelex online. It was the best rate & you can either pick up cash or a card to use in ATMs. People seem to hate them if they're changing at their kiosks (eg at the airport) but love them when using their online service. Happy travels.

Congratulations with your marriage! Other people know more about the phone situation. My brother who lives in the US has a pre-paid simcard for when he is here in Europe. Many places have complimentary WIFI, so you can get a long way with that. A good idea is to check out local (expat or just English language) blogs in advance, for tips on food and other activities. Avoid sites like trip advisor. I was fairly recently in Munich with friends who know everything, and they showed me the area just south of Viktualienmarkt which was really nice with a slightly indie vibe and great shops, galleries and restaurants and cafés. People there were extremely friendly. Your chosen destinations are very safe and friendly places, safer than many of the big cities in the US. You can stroll around the city centres and enjoy the atmosphere at all hours. Outside the historical centres, I might be a tiny bit more careful at night in Paris and Prague, but I can't see why you would want to go there. There is so much to see and experience in the older parts. However, you may rethink your approach to safety. When I was a young person traveling about Europe, I noticed that most places I went, even notoriously dangerous places, locals were walking about as if all was normal. Ladies in Rome went about with their purses open, men in Barcelona had their wallets in the back pockets, just like at home. I couldn't understand it, because the different friends I travelled had their pockets picked, and were even robbed - all the time. Europe wasn't as safe then as it is now. By observing the locals, I picked out the differences. Unless it's very hot, continental Europeans don't wear leisure-clothing in cities like many Brits and Scandinavians do - as well as Americans. Particularly not in Munich and Paris. Wearing "comfortable" clothes makes you visible as a tourist. It doesn't need to be business-wear, just proper. Jeans are OK, shorts are rarely OK, dresses are very good, sundresses not so good. Sweatpants are fine if you are a hip-hop billionaire or Madonna, otherwise not. The scarf advise is good. It's a big joke among my international students that European women always wear scarves - even quite a few men do it too. Obviously, locals don't carry tourist paraphernalia openly. I often bring a camera to work, because I need it. But I put it in my normal tote, not a "touristy" messenger bag. A smart designer messenger bag is something else though.. If I need to use a map at home, I'll look at it while sitting in a café or even just on a bench, or I'll plan from home. Never walk about with my nose in the phone. By applying the same habits while traveling, I found myself much less pushed and shoved, and in risk of pick-pockets. I learnt that laundry and dry cleaning are quite cheap in most continental countries, and that wearing clean and pressed clothes at all times possible was a protective measure. It made me look like I had a purpose while walking about, that I was not a dusty, tired tourist. I learnt to avoid the expensive snackbars and food carts near most monuments and realized that often a fancy looking restaurant will serve me a cheaper and better lunch than that food cart, while also providing a space where I can relax and not think about my purse or my camera. (Streetfood the locals eat is something completely different - the markets are amazing in Paris and Munich). When I pay for stuff, I take my normal wallet with credit and debit cards in it out of my normal purse, just like at home, rather than attract attention from robbers by carrying large amounts of cash in under-the-shirt wallets. I use the safe in my hotel for valuables and passport and carry my drivers license for ID. I knew I had cracked the code when I was once walking with a group of good friends who were mocking me for my "formal" attire and "snobby" attitude, and three of them got their wallets stolen by people who crowded them while I was left completely alone, even though I was smaller than them and my purse easier to get at than their travel wallets. But I am always insured.