Okay, after listening to you wonderful people here i have decided my 30th will be celebrated in one of the above 3 places.
I have been in all of them few times, so in order from the best > to worse
Friendly ppl: 1st is definitely Vienna, then St. Ptrbg or Athens - depends of your luck
Clean: Vienna again. St. Ptrbg and Athens both clean in tourist areas, can be vary at side-streets n suburbs
Safety Vienna, Athens, St Ptrsburg
Sports.... in November? Don't know excacly what u mean. if it's abt you doing bicycle - then Vienna is extremelly comfy and developed, not sure abt Athens and St Pt. If it was abt going to football game or other sport events - then check up local sites for info.
Architecture - Vienna and St P. - both are great, but very different. hard to compare. Athens - it's Acropolis, but not anything else (abt architecture).
Prices for food n accomodation: Vienna - medium European Prices, cheaper then Italy, but much more expensive then Romania. Athens - a bit cheaper then Vienna, prices are about of level of Germany. St. P. - last time i was there - many years ago, hard to know how prices were changed. Just check it up online (at least accomodation) - then u could compare. I know that Moscow are terribly expensive, at level of Tokyo. Can guess that St.P. is not cheaper.
Weather: Athens supposed be kind of nice, then Vienna, then St Ptrsburg which built on swamps (personally I dont believe there will b snow in Nov, but freezing cold and wind almost promised).
cheers,
v.
On the whole, St. Petersburg is the most interesting of the three. It's safe, clean, beautiful, cheap; on the down side, the food sucks big time, people in tourist areas tend to be incredibly rude and accommodation is not as easy to get as in Vienna or Athens. Don't know about live sports, but both Vienna and Athens aren't spectacular in that respect either.
Vienna's good if you like opera and museums; it's expensive though, food options are limited and the people aren't particularly nice either.
Athens is dirty, cheap and on the whole rather disappointing. Food is okay, though.
Oh - there's gonna be so much difference of opinion here.
I've done all three as well.
For me, no.1 by a country mile is.... St. Petersburg. Just such an incredible city. Shame you're not there in the summer when it's midnight sunshine.
No. 2 is Athens - although it's an incredibly busy city and the traffic never stops. So much history though and the view from up by the Parthenon is so unforgettable. Nice and warm in the winter too.
I'm putting Vienna as an 'Also ran' here. I really don't like it very much. I've been there several times, both for work and play - and find it quite a dirty city. If it wasn't for a few majestic buildings which St. Petersburg has so many more of, for me - Vienna would be a place I'd just pass through without even taking a second look.
No fighting now - it's only my own personal view, from the experiences I've had of the three places. No offence to the locals whatsoever.
Incidentally #2.. Moscow is not the 'terribly expensive' place you speak of. Sure it can be, but with a little homework before your departure - it's possible to do it (and Tokyo) on very small budgets.
There are some incredibly inexpensive hotels in St. Petersburg, as well as some excellent eateries that are as cheap as in Sofia. You just need to know where they are.
Thanks for all your advice and opinions everyone, much appreciated.
I'm almost set on St Petersberg although shame it wont be snowing.
Flying Bob, can you offer any advice on eateries and hotels? I have found one decent price, nicely reviewed hotel, 5nights £332 for the room with own shower and toilet, £228 with shared.
When i speak of sports i mean football and what not.
I know football wise, Zenit being the St Petersberg team. Wondered about other sports, heard about a ice hockey team in Vienna i think and basketball and baseball teams in Athens.
Anyone know if Zenit tickets are easy to get as a singular trip, i've found in the past trying to buy foriegn footie tickets results in having to buy a package deal including meals and drinks and booking fee's.
I can't help you with the sports questions, as it's not my thing I'm afraid.
I'll message you some excellent priced hotels in St. Petersburg, including two I've stayed at - much cheaper than the prices you mention here.
Thanks for all your advice and opinions everyone, much appreciated.
When i speak of sports i mean football and what not.
I know football wise, Zenit being the St Petersberg team. Wondered about other sports, heard about a ice hockey team in Vienna i think and basketball and baseball teams in Athens.
Anyone know if Zenit tickets are easy to get as a singular trip, i've found in the past trying to buy foriegn footie tickets results in having to buy a package deal including meals and drinks and booking fee's.
Vienna has a few football teams, including SK Rapid Wien and FK Austria Wien. They've also got teams for baseball, ice hockey, volleyball and American football.
As for Athens, football-wise they've got Olympiakos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens. Their basketball teams are also pretty good in the Euroleague.
For Zenit tickets, I was going to suggest you get in touch via the Zenit website, but it's all in Russian. However, I found this - sells official merchandise, but maybe you might want to email and ask about tickets.
Once again top notch work guys, i do believe im set on St Petersberg, can't wait.
Summer, thanks for that, unfort the email bounced back as undeliverable, will have to try other routes or find someone who speaks/reads Russian.
[quote=deadmanmoz]
i do believe im set on St Petersberg, can't wait.
My choice too - no contest, out of the three.. Enjoy.
0 Response to "St Petersburg vs Vienna vs Athens"
Post a Comment