A Travel Guide

Through Europe

The Handbook

1
Index

1. Istanbul-------------------------------------------------------- 04
2. Rome---------------------------------------------------------- 07
3. Florence-------------------------------------------------------12
4. Pisa
5. Milan/Como
6. Interlaken
7. Lucenre
8. Zurich
9. Paris
10. Brussels
11. Amsterdam
12. Munich
13. Zugspitze
14. Fussen
15.
https://thetrustedtraveller.com/first-timers-one-
month-europe-itinerary/

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 T R A V E L
S E A S O N
S
Peak Season: July & August, Mid December- Mid January.
High Price, Scarcity of Hotels, Full of Crowd, Good Weather.

Shoulder Season: April to Mid-June, September – October

Low Hotel and Flight Price, Less Crowd, Good Weather, some
of the attractions may be closed like Museums, resorts.

Off Season: November- Early December, Mid-January to

February
Very Low Price, No Tourist, Easy to Mix with Locals, most of
the things are closed or reduced open hours.

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 ISTANBUL
1. The Istanbul Pass:
2 day pass 95€
3 day pass 115 €
7 day pass 145 €

The Pass Includes:

 Hagia Sophia,
 Topkapi Palace,
 Basilica Cistern,
 Maiden’s Tower,
 Madame Tussaud’s,
 Sea Lite Aquarium,
 Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum,
 Dolmabahçe Palace,
 Bursa Day Trip
 Bosporus Dinner Cruise,
 BigBus Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour (24 hours),
 Istanbul Airport Shuttle ,
 Sapphire Observation Deck ,
 Legoland Discovery Centre Istanbul,
 Grand Bazaar (Guided Tour) ,
 Unlimited Mobile Internet.

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2. Best way to travel from airport to city center is
HAVATAS airport bus. Issue an Istanbul Kart and Top Up
some money. Try to Stay in a hotel near Sultanahmet.
3. Sultanahmet Sq:

 Hagia Sophia
 Blue Mosque
 Little Hagia Sophia
 Tevfik Bey Fountain
 Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
 Basilica Cistern
 Hagia Irene
 Topkapi Palace
 Obelisk of Theodosius
 Hafiz Mustafa
4. Beyazir Sq

 Grand bazar
 Beyazit Mosque
 Beyazit Kulesi
 Spice Bazar
5. Eminonu

 Istanbul Railway Museum

 New Mosque
 Galata Bridge
6. Karakoy

 Galata Tower
 Karakoy Palace

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  Kamondo Stairs
 Gullluoglu Baklava
 Old Galata Walls
 Kilic Ali Pasa
 Armoury Sq Fountain
7. Bosporus

 Boat Cruise
 Fish Sandwich
 Salep
 Dolmabahce palace
 Kiz Kulesi
 Fatin Sultan Mehmet Bridge
 Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge
8. Istiklal Ave

 Istanbul Red Tram Ride

 Dondurma Ice Cream
 Simit, Mado Ice Cream, Cheese Kedayif.
 Cicek Pasaji
 Hafiz Mustafa
 Madame Tussaud’s
9. Ciragon palace Dinner will cost 310-350 TL at the Tugra
Restaurent. Ride the Maska Teleferik fro 2.5 TL.

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 ROME
1. Flight from Istanbul to Rome can be found as cheap as
70$. Pegasus Airlines is a good cheap airline for this route.
2. The main airport in Rome is Rome–Fiumicino or
Leonardo da Vinci is an international airport. Its about 30 away
from the city center. Trains and Bus can be found from the
airport to the city center. With a cost of 8-10€. Try to catch the
Train or Bus for Rome Termini via Giavanni Giolitti as it is the
closest station to city center.
3. Attractions in Rome:
a. The Vatican:

Vatican City
St Peter’s Sq
St Peter’s Basilica
Vatican Museum

b. Piazzas and Fountains:

Piazza Novana (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi,
Fontana Del Moro, Fontana del Nettuno)
Piazza de Spagna (Spanish Stairs)
Campo De Fiori (Main sq in Rome)
Piazza del Campidoglio
Piazza Barberini (Fontana del Tritone)
Piazza della Repubblica (Fontana delle Naiadi)

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 Piazza Colonna (Marco Aurelio Column)

c. Monuments:
Colosseum
Roman Forum
Trevi Fountain
Pantheon
Trastevere (Piazza di Santa Maria)
The Arc of Constantine
Mouth of Truth
Castel Sant’Angelo
Altare della Patria

4. Passes/Transportation:
a. Day pass (BIG)
The BIG ticket allows unlimited public transportation
from the moment the ticket is validated until midnight of
the same day. The BIG day travel card costs 6€.
b. 3 Day Tourist Pass (BTI)
The three-day tourist pass (BTI) gives visitors unlimited
use of the public transportation from the moment it is
first validated and for the following two days. The BTI
has a price of 16,50 €.  

c. Public transportation tickets can be bought in

vending machines in any metro station, convenience

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 stores or newsagents. The Rome Pass can be bought
in tourist information offices and in all of the
participating museums and monuments. If you would
rather not wait to arrive at the center, you can find
information centers in Fiumicino Airport.

d. Roma Pass 72 hours: 28 €

I. Free entrance to the first two museums or

monuments included in the card.
II. Reduced entrance-price to all other museums
and/or archaeological sites.
III. Unlimited use of public transportation inside
Rome (buses, metro, trams and suburban
trains). This does not include transportation to
and from the airport.
IV. Skip the line at the Colosseum and Castel
Sant’Angelo.

5. Money Saving Tips:

a. There are certain days in which the entrance is
free for all the public, such as Christmas Day. On the
last Sunday of each month, the entrance to the Vatican
Museums and to the Sistine Chapel is free.
b. The city center is easily accessible by foot
so, unless you are staying far from the heart of Rome,
there is no need to use the public transport or taxis to
get around.

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6. Food:
a. Roman Cuisine:

 Carpaccio: Thinly sliced raw meat or fish sprinkled with

olive oil and lemon.
 Insalata caprese: Mozzarella cheese with tomato.
 Frutti di mare: Shellfish.
 Bresaola: Salted beef which has been air-dried.
 Prosciutto: Cured Italian ham.
 Risotto: Rice cooked in a broth with a variety of
ingredients.
 Gnocchi: Soft dumplings made out of potato.
 Saltimbocca: Traditional dish of veal with prosciutto,
sage or basil on top.
 Tiramisú: Coffee-flavoured dessert with mascarpone,
eggs, sugar and cocoa.
 Zabaione: Dessert or drink made with egg yolk, sugar
and sweet wine.
 Panna cotta: Dessert made of gelatine, sweetened
cream and fresh berries.
 Babà: Also called Rum baba is a cake traditionally from
Naples soaked in rum.
 Limoncello: A very common liquor from the south of
Italy obtained by soaking lemons in alcohol.
 Sambuca: A anise-flavoured liquer.
 Grappa: Grape-based pomace (discarded grape seeds)
brandy.
 Campari: Liqueur used as an apéritif made from herbs
and fruit.

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 b. Lunch is usually served from 1 pm to 3 pm and dinner
from 8 pm to 11 pm. Although all areas of the city are full
of restaurants and take aways, some of the best places to
eat out in Rome are the streets surrounding the Trastevere,
which is packed with traditional Italian restaurants, or
Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, or the Pantheon.

7. Hotels and BnB’s:

The Club Navona 68€

900 Liberty Guest House 45€
Relais Giulia 60€
House Campo de Fiori 60€
Relais Le Clarisse a Trastevere 55€

8. Rome to Florence.
Rome (Rome Termini) to Florence (Santa Maria Novella) as
little as 1h32.  Rome to Florence starts at €19.90 in 2nd class
or €29.90 in 1st class. Prices are dynamic like air fares, so
book early for the cheapest rates. Buy Trenitalia tickets at
either Raileurope.co.uk, www.italiarail.com or Italian Railways'
own site www.trenitalia.com, all linking to Trenitalia's ticketing
system so all essentially the same price.

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 FLORENCE

1. Everyone comes to visit or backpack Florence. It’s one of the

most famous cities in Italy and a hotspot on the tourist trail here.
Few people miss it, especially if they are visiting Italy for the first
time.

2. Attractions In Florence:
Loggia dei Lanzi
Palazzo Pitti
Piazzale Michelangelo
Galleria dell’ Accademia
Palazzo Vecchio
Pizza della Signoria
Uffizi Gallery
Ponte Vecchio
Santa Maria dil Fiore

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3. Transportation:

a. Arriving by Train: The Train Station is in the

center of the city, near S. Maria Novella. In this place
there are many bus stops operated by the ATAF bus
Line. A lot of them cross the center in all directions, and
many ATAF bus lines stop around the station.

b. Visitors will find that the buses A, B, C and D

are the most useful. These routes are carried out by
mini electric buses that run through Florence’s city
center. These buses run from 8 am to 8 pm.

c. ATAF (www.ataf.net) tickets can be purchased ahead

in most Tabacchi shops or at newsstands. or simply purchase
them on board for 2,50€ (you must have exact change)

d. Each ticket is valid for 90 minutes. You must validate

your ticket on entering the vehicle.

4. Hotels and Bnb’s: It’s best to stay between the Santa

maria Station and San Niccolo.

5. Food:

a. Tuscany’s traditional cuisine is prepared with

seasonal, regional produce: olive oil, vegetables, cold
cuts, cheese and pasta are some of the fundamental
ingredients. The flavors are very natural and the food
normally never comes accompanied by any type of
sauce or heavy garnishes.

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 b. Some of the traditional dishes are: Bistecca alla
fiorentina (a T-bone steak grilled rare), Pollo al
mattone (grilled chicken with a brick on top to flatten it).

c. On the most tourist streets, a scoop of ice cream

(Gelato) will cost you minimum €2.

d. Pizzerias and Pizza al Taglio: Pizzerias are

normally cheap restaurants that specialise in pizza. Like
in Rome, Florence is also packed with restaurants
called Pizza al Taglio or Pizza al Trancio, where
customers buy rectangular pizzas by weight. Foe a
good pizza, it is recommend going to a pizzeria instead
of a Piazza al Taglio.
e. Before ordering we recommend looking at the
menu to see how much service tax and extra charges
the restaurant charges. Normally, the price of the
service tax is €1.50 per person and the extra charges
vary between 10 and 16%.
f. In neighborhoods like Santa Croce (on the
eastern end of the historical center) you will find
numerous pizzerias and other ristorantes that hardly
ever charge service taxes or any other kind of extra
charges. If the weather is good you can even buy a
takeout pizza for as little as €4.50 and sit on one of the
piazza’s benches and eat while watching the people go
by.

6. Florence to Pisa (Pisa Centrale) Train will cost around

9€ and takes about and hour to reach.

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 PISA
1. Pisa is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling
the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital
city of the Province of Pisa.

2. Day Trip Attractions:

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Pizaa del Doumo
Cattedrale di Pisa
Camposanto
San Giovanni Baptistery
Knights' Square

3. From Pisa (Pisa Centrale) to Milan (Milan Centrale)

Train can be found from 15-20€. Travel time is 4 Hrs.

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 MILAN
1. Milan is the second largest city in Italy after Rome. Main city
tours if can be finished by day time, its best to stay in hotels near
Lake Como.

2. Attractions:
Milan Cathedral
Lake Como

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

3. Transportation: It’s a 40 min Train Ride from Milan

Centrale to Como S. Giovanni. Cost 5€.
4.

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