<p>If DD will be in London for a short term study abroad and will have a 4 day break, is that enough time to travel to Germany? Better to stay in the UK? Ideas or suggestions for a 4 day trek from London for a couple of girls?</p>
<p>The kids I know (including my D) who have done a semester in the UK made Barcelona their number one choice for a long-weekend destination (the trip is very manageable) - there’s SUNSHINE there, along with everything else. If your D and her friend have a specific place in Germany they want to see, it’s certainly feasible.</p>
<p>Sure - they could easily go to Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, etc. in 4 days. There are some inexpensive airlines in Europe now and everything’s close compared to what we’re used to here, especially in the west.</p>
<p>If they don’t want to fly they could take the Eurostar train from London to Brussels of Paris but it might be more expensive than a flight. The advantage is they could travel from within the city to within the city as opposed to an outlying airport.</p>
<p>They could also head elsewhere in the UK, especially if so far they’re basically stuck in London. They could head to Scotland, Wales, Ireland, elsewhere in England, etc. </p>
<p>I do think it’s a good idea to get out of London if they have 4 days whether it be to the continent or elsewhere in the UK. Check out the prices on Ryanair and others.</p>
<p>My son lived in Provence for a school year abroad. It cost $60 more or less for a round trip flight to London in February 2008. The study abroad kids certainly have the time to travel a bit around Europe on a 4 day break and it should not be terribly expensive.</p>
<p>If she’s never been to Paris, I would take a train ride to Paris. Barcelona has more of a night life, but for me Paris has more of a wow factor. UK would be the last place I would want to stay.</p>
<p>Just as a different perspective, I’d much rather see some other parts of the UK and most of the rest of Europe including France than Paris which I view as just another big city but I’m probably in the minority in this. It’s fine if they want to museum crawl but if they want to see more of the actual countries, it’s best to get out of the huge cities.</p>
<p>As much as I love Paris, I would second a trip around the UK. What about Edinburgh? Or a short trip to Ireland? There is Oxford, the lake country, the Dorset and Devon coasts.And so much more. Plenty to see on a four day trip!</p>
<p>One girl is a student in Scotland and one is doing a 4-6 week study abroad stint in London. The London girl has a 4 day break in the middle and is taking 5-6 days before returning to the US; one of those two will be in Scotland and such, the other will be for an adventure farther afield.</p>
<p>I guess it really depends on what type of person you are. I have been outside of London at various countryside, for work and for leisure. I have been to Oxford, Bath, and I would have been just as happy to see those places on video. But when I go to Paris, Venice, or Barcelona, I really come alive. To sit at an outdoor cafe sipping wine at night in Paris to see the light of Eiffel tower is just indescribable. Of course, going in and out of some of those boutiques, even if you are not buying (or couldn’t afford it), shopping in NYC just wouldn’t be the same again. My whole family loves watching people and city architecture.</p>
<p>When DS did his study abroad in London, he was there for the full semester. He did a LOT of traveling around the UK on long weekends. During fall break (10 days) he took a trip to Munich, Amsterdam and Vienna. At the end of his term, he and a bunch of friends took a trip to Almeria Spain for 4 days. It was CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP…and was a nice vacation. It’s called the “Spanish Riviera” and they were able to go to the beach and walk around. I don’t think the whole trip including airfare (Ryanair was having some special where you paid the taxes only) was $200 including all their meals. </p>
<p>I would agree that going to Paris would be very doable for four days…but VERY expensive.</p>
<p>
That’s true and you and I are apparently opposites (I’m bored to death sitting at a cafe sipping some drink), which is fine. The key though is that the 4 days is enough for the OP’s D to head out and see some another country, other cities, countryside, go skiing in Switzerland if she wants depending on the timeframe (something I did over there once on a free couple of days), or anything else within reason. The airfares are usually affordable and the train, even taking it to Paris, is convenient since it goes from city central to city central rather than outlying airports.</p>
<p>Where exactly to go and what to do will just depend on what she’s interested in and how much cost and hassle she’s willing to deal with. I’m sure it’ll be a good experience whatever she decides.</p>
<p>While I love all of the sugestions given (have lived in several of the places mentioned)–I’m going to put in a plug for Berlin, as the OP specifically mentioned Germany. Berlin is great, and 4 days would be a perfect amount of time to see a good part of the city. DD is currently living there for the 3d time, so I guess she agrees. It’s also an exciting time to be there–though the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall was on 11/9, there are year-long activities marking it.</p>
<p>Definitely PARIS!</p>
<p>My son studied in London and did short trips to Berlin, Ireland, Poland and Amsterdam as well as different parts of England. All were quite feasible to do in short periods of time. His longer trips were to Spain and Italy.</p>
<p>Another vote for Berlin. DS was in England last year and Berlin was one of his favorite places. He also loved Prague. If you’re young, you can cram a lot into a 4 day visit.</p>
<p>When D1 was studying outside London for 5 weeks they had classes Monday through Thursday and traveled every weekend. She had trips to Scotland, Ireland, Paris, and one weekend was several day trips outside the London area. It sounded like most of the common destinations in Western Europe were sought out by students in her program. She loved Ireland.</p>
<p>My daughter studied abroad in Paris a couple of summers ago. She and another girl flew over a 3 day weekend to London and the flight was very inexpensive and doable.</p>
<p>One of her favorite weekend trips was taking the train to Rome and Vatican City; it was an overnight train car which was an experience in itself for her. She still talks about the cute little elderly Italian man named “Poppi” who spoke no English but was determined to communicate with them on the train. I think this trip took them a full four days because of the length of the train ride.</p>
<p>Another weekend she really enjoyed was the French riviera; they stayed in Nice and parasailed over the Mediterranean. The pictures were stunning.</p>
<p>I have to agree with everyone that said Paris. It is an easy trip from London and in 4 days you will get a good taste of the city. It is my favorite city ever!</p>
<p>I’d say if you want to stay in the UK, definitely go to Scotland. Edinburgh is my favorite city in all of Europe that I’ve seen so far, the castle is incredible and everything around it seems like it comes straight from the 1600s. Glasgow was okay, but I didn’t get to see any of the rest. I would have loved to go into the Scottish highlands and see Loch Ness and a lot of the countryside. </p>
<p>If you want to leave the UK, it entirely depends on your preferences on where to go. If you like museums and a big city, definitely go to Paris. Barcelona is a good seaside city with one of the largest churches in the world being constructed. My personal favorite place was the Balaeric Islands off the coast of Spain. Palma de Mallorca is such a cool city and the beaches there are stunning. I haven’t been to Germany yet, but it would certainly be a feasible 4 day trip.</p>
<p>If she’s interested in Paris, try out [Eurostar</a> : Tickets, Bookings, Timetables, fares and offers](<a href=“http://www.eurostar.com%5DEurostar”>http://www.eurostar.com). As youths buying the tickets in advance, the cost is less than you might think–especially if you are willing to take one of the very early am departure or other less desired time. </p>
<p>I also think Prague is a good choice. I’m not crazy about Prague, but my kid and her friends love it, in part because it’s more reasonable than a lot of cities cost-wise. </p>
<p>Amsterdam is another possibility. It’s a great city.</p>