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Description
3 Week Europe Itinerary with an Interrail / Eurail ticket through France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco with a short trip into the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert.
| Our 3 Week Europe by Train Itinerary |
|---|
| 1. Amsterdam |
| 2. Bretagne |
| 3. Pyrenees train tour (Le Petit Train Jaune) |
| 4. Barcelona |
| 5. Beach near Tarragona |
| 6. Granada |
| 7. Tanger |
| 8. Marrakesh |
| 9. Atlas Mountains |
| 10. Sahara Desert |
| 11. Casablanca |
| 12. Seville |
| 13. Lisbon |
| 14. Madrid |
Gallery
Overall costs
$ 2100
Duration
21 days
Rating
Itinerary:
1. Amsterdam
Amsterdam is famous for its water channels, the thousands of bicycles and some magic herbs. All of that can be seen in the centre. A boat tour through the channels is nice or on bad weather a visit at the Heineken Brewery.
We also went to the beach at Zandvoort for one day.
2. Bretagne
We tooked a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris and a TGV from there to Brest.
After a little walk through the city we went by bus a little bit further west by bus to the coast where we stayed on a campground with views to the islands.
3. Pyrenees train tour (Le Petit Train Jaune)
We drove to Perpignan with a TGV and spend the night there. In the morning we went to Villefranche de Conflent from where a small yellow train starts into the Pyrenees. It’s a very scenic route and the train terminates on the border to Spain from where you can take a local train to Barcelona.
Instead of going to Spain you could also continue along the French Riviera into Italy and Greece or follow the Pyrenees westward to the Bay of Biscay and the Basque Country.
4. Barcelona
Summer in Barcelona is hot and full of tourists so we just stayed for one day to walk around town, see the beaches and main sights such as the Sagrada Familia.
5. Beach near Tarragona
There are some nice beaches close to Tarragona where we spend two days enjoying the sun, sea and food.
6. Granada
We walked through the Alhambra and several parks of the city. Granada has many excellent Tapas Bars to spend the nights.
7. Tanger
We tooked the ferry from Algeciras to Tanger which takes just around one hour.
Tanger is called the White City because of the white coloured houses. You should go into the historic centre and maybe visit the big beach.
We proceeded in the evening with a night train to Marrakesh.
8. Marrakesh
Marrakesh is a beautiful old city with views into the High Atlas Mountains. Go into the Medina and try the evening food market Djemaa el Fna.
They also have lots of rooftop restaurants with nice views.
We booked a 3 days desert tour from Marrakesh which is offered by many agencies.
9. Atlas Mountains
On the way into the Sahara desert you will pass the High Atlas which is a mountain range separating the more temperate parts of Morocco from the desert.
We stopped on some mountain passes, an oasis and several small villages.
10. Sahara Desert
The tour goes to the first bigger sand dunes where you make a Camel Tour to the night camp.
You have enough time to walk around by yourself so we hiked up one of the bigger dunes. They will cook dinner and you spend the night in little huts or under the stars.
In the early morning they wake you up to see the sunrise from the dunes.
After breakfast you drive all the way back to Marrakesh.
11. Casablanca
Casablancas top sight is the Hassan II Mosque on the ocean. They also have nice beaches south of town on the Atlantic Ocean.
We also had the chance to enjoy a local music festival which was a lot of fun.
You can extend your stay in Morocco before heading back to Tanger with a visit in Fez or Meknes.
12. Seville
We went back to Tanger, tooked the ferry to Algeciras and then went to Seville.
Sevillas main attractions are the Alcázar, a royal palace and former residency, the cathedral, the wooden construction Metropol Parasol and the Plaza de España.
13. Lisbon
Lisbon is famous for the small little trams. The best to take is Tram 28 which is a normal tram and not a tourist ride.
There are also some public Funiculars in the city which you should visit. Nice views offers the Castelo de São Jorge which is situated on a small hill. Lisbon is also a great place to go out.
It is possible to add a visit in Porto and the Douro River on the way to Madrid.
14. Madrid
Our final stop was Madrid where we visited the beautiful Retiro Park, the main square, the palace and the tropical garden inside Atocha train station.