August 15, 2016, by International students

A student’s guide to travelling around Paris, Berlin, Florence, Barcelona and Prague

Following on from our recent Europe travel blog, our student bloggers were asked to provide their tips on the best ways to travel to, and around, each featured city. Recent Nottingham graduate Sotiris from Greece shares his tips for travelling to a few of Europe’s most beautiful cities. All views presented here are Sotiris’ own.   

Paris

• Eurostar from St Pancras which is just under 2 hours away by train from Nottingham. The journey to Paris is approximately 2 hrs 30 mins and is hassle free in that you avoid the airport procedures (just a basic security control.)
  • Tickets do get expensive at some periods so watch out for offers on their website (subscribe to their email)
• No direct flights from East Midlands airport
• Alternatively cheap flight tickets are available from the following airports:
  • Luton Airport (1hr 25mins journey from Nottingham Train Station to Luton Airport Parkway from which you get another shuttle bus to take you directly to the airport Terminal) with Transavia direct to Paris Orly Airport
  • Gatwick Airport with Vueling – Iberia and British Airways direct to Charles de Gaulle Airport – 1h 15 mins only
  • London City Airport with Flybe and direct to Charles de Gaulle Airport – 1h 30 mins only
  • Manchester Airport (2hrs 20mins journey from Nottingham Train Station with 1 change) with Flybe and direct to Charles de Gaulle Airport – 1h 30 mins only
• For moving about in Paris
  • Unless you stay far from the centre I suggest you don’t use any transport as it’s better to enjoy Paris on foot – and I think one can do it quite easily and it’s beautiful to just walk through the streets of Paris (especially Montmartre!). Just get a map and explore!
  • There are ways to move about with public transport though if one really needs to (I think they’re quite expensive though) – unlimited travelcards are available depending on the zones you select to travel to. Check this website for more information. 
    • If you end up wanting to buy a travelcard at one of the stations make sure you learn some basic French as people don’t very much speak English and are quite reluctant to speak to you (I know, not very student friendly – don’t get demotivated though!)

Berlin

• No direct flights from East Midlands airport
• Best way I suggest is fly from Luton which is only 1hr 25mins journey from Nottingham Train Station to Luton Airport Parkway from which you get another shuttle bus to take you directly to the airport Terminal
• For moving about in Berlin
  • Check this website – explains the different means of transport very well, as Berlin is quite big in size! 
  • Also download the Berlin Subway BVG Map and Route Planner
    • Apple
    • Android

Florence (I haven’t personally been)

• No direct flights from East Midlands airport
• Only way to fly direct is from London (Birmingham, Manchester all with stops)
  • Flights are generally quite pricey for Florence
• For moving about in Florence
  • Check this website which gives you a good insight on the routes, costs and ways to move around with public transport

Barcelona

• Easiest and most convenient way is to fly from East Midlands airport (just 30’ from Nottingham with Skylink Express –  £5 journey) with Ryanair direct to Barcelona Airport  – 2h 15 mins (usually one flight per day so quite often)
• For moving about in Barcelona
  • Public Transport (metro & buses) is quite good so if you decide to use that and you’ll be there for some days you could buy a travelcard for as many days as you want and exploit them without worrying of buying a ticket for every journey. (Check this website for pricing and information and a 10% discount if you book them online)
    • This includes metro, Montjuïc funicular and bus (TMB), local train (FGC), tram (TRAM) and regional train in Barcelona (Rodalies de Catalunya).
  • You can also rent bikes from any place and exercise also (but make sure you take a map with you so you don’t get lost – or use Google Maps if you have mobile data)
    • Go down to Barcelonetta beach and cycle along the coast – a MUST, especially if the weather is good!
  • Walking is an alternative for some of the moving about around especially if you’re staying at the city centre but for greater distances go with one of the above

Prague

• Fly direct flights from East Midlands airport with Jet2 to Václav Havel Airport Prague – main airport (2h 10mins journey)
• Fly direct flights from London Gatwick (with easyJet), London Stansted (with Ryanair) or London Luton (with Wizzair) to Václav Havel Airport Prague – main airport (just under 2 hours)
• For moving about in Prague
  • Check this website which gives you a good insight on the routes, costs and ways to move around with public transport

Bon voyage!

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