The location of Ibis across the Central Station in Brussels is optimal. A few feet from most attractions. Great crepes and sandwiches across the street. Look for the yellow sign. The Eurostar arrives at the South station but that is hardly a problem. There is a special train that connects the airport to the rail stations. June is a fabulous month in Europe. Lots of threads about Paris on CC.
Thanks all. I use trip advisor a ton and will do that. Just looking for parents (or young people) who have been to these cities and wanted to share with first-hand experience. This hostel - or that - be near to that - and remember to do this. Like the seats on the train - who knew you had to ask for that! ?
So thanks - keep it coming … none of these kids have gone abroad before except my son - with us on family trips. So just trying to give them some ideas. Keep them coming!
I stayed in a cheap hostel in madrid that was in the middle of everything, I’m going to see if I can find the name
Edit: The hostel was called La Posada de Huertas. All of the Madrid sights were within easy walking distance, and the hostel was basic but clean and affordable
All those places are pretty easy to navigate. I did a similar trip several times but without hostels. You might want to add the details of travel once in Europe. How will they go from MADRID to PARIS? To BRUSSELS?
Trains are convenient but require a bit of understanding of how to get tickets and where to take them. Do not expect tons of information at the station as everyone knows what to do!
There are lots of posts regarding details about cell phones and credit cards. For instance, in Madrid, the first stop should be to buy two SIM cards at the Corte Ingles on Puerta del Sol. Two because you want your group to have two when splitting. It will be very convenient to have two dedicated phones that communicate …locally. The cost is low and they could repeat the SIM purchases in each country to avoid roaming charges. All should come with some bandwidth. Puerta del Sol should still have free WiFi. Food should be affordable as long as one stays with sandwiches. El Rey del Jamin might still have their 1 Euro ham sandwiches!
In Paris, a baguette goes a long way, and fruit will be inexpensive in June. BRUSSELS is a great destination for affordable street food as it is part of the culture. Waffles, fries, and all kinds of deli sandwiches are all over the tourist centers. Add beer and the best chocolates in the world, and they should be set. There are few reasons to venture more than a few miles from the center. A trip to Ghent, Bruges, and even Knokke on the seaside is pleasant, but not be high on the list of young tourists.
In Paris and Brussels, have them buy Danette au chocolat at the supermarket (pack of 4 should be like 3 euros) - they’ll never want to eat chocolate pudding again in the US. Also good: semoule au caramel et raisins, flanbi, mousse au chocolat, and yoghurts of all kinds including in drinks (liquid yoghurt with milk = yop, liquid yoghurt with fruit juice = danao. Teenagers seem to gulp a whole bottle of the stuff.)
Making a cheap sandwich:
1 baguette/2 people, 2 slices of ham, one fifth of a boursin ail et fines herbes round box.
They should try the “baguette” that bears the shop’s name, or the slight upgrade on the basic one (it’s like 20 cents in difference and the qualitative difference is great.) Fill that with Boursin ail et fines herbes (in the cheese aisle) spread like butter + jambon - there are SO MANY types that they can pick different ones for a couple days… the two basics are “de pays” or “cru” (“country” or “cured” ham) which you can get in Serrano, d’Aoste, d’auvergne, de Bayonne, Prisuttu. Then there is the typical one, called jambon blanc (which means white, but is actually pink o_O) à l’os and à l’ancienne are like cut into the pork meat (no process), jambon cuit supérieur or label rouge are the next category, and within it you can choose smoked (fume), au torchon, braisé (I don’t know what these last two mean but those three are my favorites). You can also have rillettes de canard or rillettes de poulet, rillettes de thon, rillettes de saumon - poulry or fish spreads, usually quite good. Quiches, brioches, friands are available for cheap.
Add fresh fruit, fresh tomatoes, one of the many desserts , and you had
They should carry a bottle with them and fill it whenever they can (no drinking fountains). They should go to the bathroom whenever they have an opportunity, otherwise there are spaceship looking things they can use for a small fee.
They should try and eat in a crêperie and will likely understand why kebabs (sliced roast meat inside a big round bread, often with white sauce, spices, and fries) are more popular than hamburgers with young Europeans. For a cheap sit down restaurant, look for Flunch.
To skip lines at the Louvre, use the entrance BELOW the pyramid.
It starts next to the Ibis hotel and Novotel in Brussels. The Waffle place has amazing baguettes, and within 100 feet, you have a Quick, an Exki, and a Panos. FYI, across the Panos are the Galeries St Hubert, which are the first covered mall in the world (before the Milano ones) and just past the Panos is the street to the Grand Place.
In London, my kids like to hang out in Camden Town - during the day there are a couple of markets with cheap-ish clothes, crafts, souvenirs, etc. At night, there are plenty of clubs/bars. Also, the Angel/Islington area (Upper St) has lots of restaurants/clubs/bars. Also, visit Borough Market (in Southwark) on the weekends - so many food stalls!
Also they need a chip and pin debit/credit card and, if possible, a contactless debit/credit card. They can use a contactless debit/credit card on all the buses (they don’t take cash) and tubes. Alternatively, they can get an Oyster card, which is reloadable. Both cards (Oyster and contactless) are the same rate on the tube and bus. They are the only way to travel on buses and the cheapest way to travel on the tube.
The OP mentioned they would fly from Madrid to Paris, so may already know this. For $30, give or take, they can fly one way. No need to buy round trip nor take a train. Assuming they are going the AirBnB or hostel route, accommodation cost shouldn’t be extravagant enough to warrant the hassle of overnight train travel.
Great time to travel with improved exchange rate right now.
The train that is recommended is from PARIS to BRUSSELS. I mentioned the night train from Madrid to Paris and wrote it would be more expensive. Some might like the experience between Madrid and Paris.
I almost always fly, but I did take that train to Paris once. Have you?
I know I haven’t! I think they are going to fly from Madrid to Paris. then train to Brussels. Then train to London. I’ve read conflicting statements - book train early to get better prices versus book 24 hours out to get best prices? thoughts on that?
Inasmuch as there might be some specials “excursion” or “weekend” fares available, it probably is best to reserve if the travel dates are known. The online reservation at SCNF or Belgian Rail work very well. Second class is great on the Thalys train. In the past I used an online reservation but made a change at the station and there was no fee charged. The kiosk is right at the entrance and in front of the trains. One only needs to be there a few minutes before departure to Brussels. The passport check in on the train.
Fwiw, the ticket includes all destinations in Brussels. The train will depart Gare du Nord in Paris and arrive at Brussels Midi. Your ticket will allow the students to jump on the next train for a 5-6 minutes ride to Central (most trains stop at Central) and it is easy to do. The Central station is within footsteps of most of the tourist area such as the Grand Place.
The train to London departs from the same Midi station, but again they can board a train at Central and switch to the Eurostar to London.