What lenses to take to Europe and what cities to visit

I have never been to Europe and fascinated by the old architecture, bridges, beautiful cities with rivers flowing through them etc.

I am planning to take a trip to Europe in spring for 3 weeks, mainly visiting cities. Will probably be going to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Zurich, Rome & Pisa. May consider skipping Zurich & Vienna for Barcelona instead as I've heard a lot of good things about the architecture there, especially Sagrada Família. Mainly interested in landscapes/cityscapes and architecture.

I have the following lenses and they are all small since that's the way I roll.

• Olympus 9-18mm F4-5.6
• Panasonic 12-32mm F3.5-5.6
• Panasonic 25mm F1.7
• Panasonic 35-100mm F4-5.6
• Olympus 9mm F8 body cap lens

I am wondering if i should take them all or maybe leave the telephoto zoom at home?

Body I will be taking is the Panasonic GX85.

Thinking of traveling light and only going with the 9-18, 25 and 35-100 to cover most focal lengths. Leaving 12-32 at home, although its laughably small.

Also, can someone recommend a small tripod or monopod as i love long exposures. Currently I have a Pedco Ultrapod II which is a table top tripod with a strap to attach it to stuff. It works well if I have a platform to set it down on or something to attach it to but there might be instances where I can't do that?

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Flickr: https://flic.kr/ps/316qWV

lahsrah said:

I have never been to Europe and fascinated by the old architecture, bridges, beautiful cities with rivers flowing through them etc.

I am planning to take a trip to Europe in spring for 3 weeks, mainly visiting cities. Will probably be going to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Zurich, Rome & Pisa. May consider skipping Zurich & Vienna for Barcelona instead as I've heard a lot of good things about the architecture there, especially Sagrada Família. Mainly interested in landscapes/cityscapes and architecture.

I have the following lenses and they are all small since that's the way I roll.

• Olympus 9-18mm F4-5.6
• Panasonic 12-32mm F3.5-5.6
• Panasonic 25mm F1.7
• Panasonic 35-100mm F4-5.6
• Olympus 9mm F8 body cap lens

I am wondering if i should take them all or maybe leave the telephoto zoom at home?

Body I will be taking is the Panasonic GX85.

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Considering how small all those lenses are I would say take them all. They are all unique and might be useful. I normally wouldn't suggest that many if one or more were among the larger m4/3 lenses, but your set is a small bundle.

By the way, Salzburg in Austria is quite good. Bern in Switzerland is, IMO, more interesting than Zurich, but Zurich might be easier to go to depending on what route you take.

If you're heading to the low countries, also consider Bruges. Here's a quote from Lonely Planet:

"If you set out to design a fairy-tale medieval town, it would be hard to improve on central Bruges (Brugge in Dutch). Picturesque cobbled lanes and dreamy canals link photogenic market squares lined with soaring towers, historic churches and old whitewashed almshouses."

Dave

You will definitely also use the long lens, and you will probably use the 12-32 the most so definitely take that. The least used lens would be the 25mm if I were to take this collection.

As for destinations, there are too many to recommend some over others and all are interesting from a photographic point of view...

Given your interests the most obvoius omission from your itinerary is Venice.

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lahsrah said:

Mainly interested in landscapes/cityscapes and architecture.

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Oxford and Cambridge are both within day-trip distance of London, and the college buildings there are an encylopedia of architecture from the early Middle Ages to the present day!

I agree with the other poster, since these lenses are so small, why not take them all? You say you could leave the 12-32mm at home, but for me that would be the most used one.

As to which places to visit, I don't want to put you off but do bear in mind that several european cities have become completely overrun with tourists in the past decade. Barcelona, Venice and Amsterdam (see for instance https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/nov/01/amsterdam-tourists-worst) come to mind but there are more. Of course you can still visit them and admire old architecture, but some careful planning of when and what to see is needed otherwise you'll end up with pictures of selfie-taking crowds.

Don't listen to those telling you to take the 12-32. You need a wide angle lens to photograph the lovely buildings and interiors and streets, and the wide end of the 12-32 is covered by your 9-18. Your 25 may also come in handy occasionally because it's a nice focal length, sharp and fast. Telephoto lenses are not at all useful wandering around Europe, and you won't want to waste time changing lenses often. Keep it simple.

Not really my field of expertise but as I have been to most of the cities I thought I'd contribute. I do cities with just my 14-140 but I do sometimes wish I had a WA so I'd definitely take your 9-18. I'd use 12-32 as my walk around and take the 35-100 to cover all bases.

London, don't underestimate how much there is to see, a photographe's dream

Paris, I've always thought it a bit overrated, can get very crowded. Nevertheless, lovely especially if you get nice weather

Amsterdam, a lovely strolling city

Vienna and Zurich I haven't done but Vienna is on my list

Rome, just so much to see

Pisa, OK very touristy, just down the road however is Florence one of the most beautiful cities in Europe

Barcelona has a bit of everything

BagCarryingDad said:

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BagCarryingDad said:

Mainly interested in landscapes/cityscapes and architecture.

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Oxford and Cambridge are both within day-trip distance of London, and the college buildings there are an encylopedia of architecture from the early Middle Ages to the present day!

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Yes, you certainly need to get out of Greater London. Places like Hampton Court are within the ring road, so quick to get to and not far from the Heathrow and Gatwick airports. There's just so much to see and so little time.

Best advice is to do plenty of research on each place.

Lenses? 12-32 and 14-140 would be my personal choice. I'd take spare batteries an a charger plus a spare camera. Lucky I did so on a cruise because I took the wrong charger for my main camera's batteries. Luckily the GX85 can be charged by USB.

So for the OP, the 12-32 and the 35-100. I would actually take the bodycap 9mm rather than the Olympus Professional, purely because of the size and weight. Unless you are into churches and cathedrals and smaller interior dark places. Must confess that once seen a church, I consider them nearly all seen. Some spectacular exteriors in narrow streets in Italy though.

lahsrah said:

I have never been to Europe and fascinated by the old architecture, bridges, beautiful cities with rivers flowing through them etc.

I am planning to take a trip to Europe in spring for 3 weeks, mainly visiting cities. Will probably be going to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Zurich, Rome & Pisa. May consider skipping Zurich & Vienna for Barcelona instead as I've heard a lot of good things about the architecture there, especially Sagrada Família. Mainly interested in landscapes/cityscapes and architecture.

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The problem you have is that you could spend a lifetime visiting cities of Europe and still have more left to see.

The 2 oddities in your list seem to be Zurich and Pisa. Switzerland is far more famous for its mountains than its cities, but if you do want bridges, then the Chapel Bridge in Lucerne might be a better choice, or maybe Bern which is quite beautiful.

As for Pisa, there is the leaning tower, but nearby Florence has far more to see and of course the Ponte Vecchio.

Beyond these, then both Lisbon and Porto in Portugal spring to mind, as does Budapest - further down the Danube from Vienna (which you should visit), and as has already been suggested Venice.

Barcelona would be a good choice as you say, Bucharest in Romania, Dubrovnich (and Split) in Croatia and Istanbul in Turkey would also be high on most lists.

I think I had better stop here, or I will need to go on holiday again.

Birdingbilly said:

Given your interests the most obvoius omission from your itinerary is Venice.

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Yes agreed, Venice is a great place to visit. Take a packed lunch though if you want to save money then you’ll be able to afford a coffee!

lahsrah said:

May consider skipping Zurich & Vienna for Barcelona instead as I've heard a lot of good things about the architecture there, especially Sagrada Família. Mainly interested in landscapes/cityscapes and architecture.

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If you intend to visit Barcelona then I advise you to take a good look at the cost and time restrictions for the Gaudi expositions. For each you need to buy an entrance ticket well in advance that gives you a particular time slot for you to enter. I did a rough calculation a few months ago and I estimate that the cost of visiting all of them can be something like €200 per person. What also has be considered is the time needed to travel from one place to the next. The other hindering factor is that you will never be alone but surrounded by many other tourists. But if you do decide to visit Barcelona it is definitely worth visit the Sagrada Familía but do not waste your money on going up the towers to take photos from the city.

lahsrah said:

I have never been to Europe and fascinated by the old architecture, bridges, beautiful cities with rivers flowing through them etc.

I am planning to take a trip to Europe in spring for 3 weeks, mainly visiting cities. Will probably be going to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Zurich, Rome & Pisa. May consider skipping Zurich & Vienna for Barcelona instead as I've heard a lot of good things about the architecture there, especially Sagrada Família. Mainly interested in landscapes/cityscapes and architecture.

I have the following lenses and they are all small since that's the way I roll.

• Olympus 9-18mm F4-5.6
• Panasonic 12-32mm F3.5-5.6
• Panasonic 25mm F1.7
• Panasonic 35-100mm F4-5.6
• Olympus 9mm F8 body cap lens

I am wondering if i should take them all or maybe leave the telephoto zoom at home?

Body I will be taking is the Panasonic GX85.

Thinking of traveling light and only going with the 9-18, 25 and 35-100 to cover most focal lengths. Leaving 12-32 at home, although its laughably small.

Also, can someone recommend a small tripod or monopod as i love long exposures. Currently I have a Pedco Ultrapod II which is a table top tripod with a strap to attach it to stuff. It works well if I have a platform to set it down on or something to attach it to but there might be instances where I can't do that?

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I'd stick with the table top tripod, all your destinations are tourist traps so a tripod will make you very impopular or get you trampled. A monopod is useless for long exposures anyway.

lahsrah said:

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Flickr: https://flic.kr/ps/316qWV

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Three weeks? Pick one location an enjoy/shoot it properly, would be my advice.

Back in the 1970s, I drove coaches between London and Athens. I can remember while staying in Athens on one occasion, an American couple who at breakfast would tick off what they had done the day before. They ticked of so much stuff, they couln't have had time to do more than go there, take a picture, and move on. I remember thinking what was the point. Perhaps they thought the same thing when they got home.

The problem here is we can all keep adding our favourite cities, and you need to think of the balance between travel time and "in city" time. There's also the question of the extent to which you might want museums and /or galleries.

My thoughts would be:

London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome - yes - architecture, museums, galleries

Vienna - I might be inclined to skip. Good galleries and museums, architecture less insiring. It's biggest point is the very uniformity of the buildings round the ring.

Pisa - I agree with those who say Florence instead.

Zurich - comment made elsewhere that Switzerland is about mountains, not buildings. I agree.

Venice has been suggested. Incredibly photogenic, and incredibly crowded. There's an article in a UK newspaper today reporting proposals to introduce a traffic light system to manage the tourist flow into St Mark's Square. Some years since I was there. Staying on the central islands expensive, but invaluable as you can get round town early and late, avoiding the hordes.

Not on your list, but I was impressed with both Budapest and Prague. Prague though again gets very busy.

And on lenses, all I'll say is that a wide angle is absolutely essential.

hampshirejohn said:

Venice has been suggested. Incredibly photogenic, and incredibly crowded. There's an article in a UK newspaper today reporting proposals to introduce a traffic light system to manage the tourist flow into St Mark's Square. Some years since I was there. Staying on the central islands expensive, but invaluable as you can get round town early and late, avoiding the hordes.

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We went in February (week after Carneval) and it was not crowded. Yes, there were other tourists, especially at the hot spots, but quite manageable numbers. Also, there's an incredible amount to see other than the "top" attractions and no-one (approximately ) goes to them. We also had fabulous weather, which unfortunately is not guaranteed at that time.

We also stayed centrally (less than 5 minutes to Piazza San Marco), and inexpensively (it was a package so I don't have the separate accommodation price, but the whole lot was not much).

To the OP, replace Europe by "USA" in your question and maybe you'll see why it's difficult to give _the_ list of cities to visit. Europe is vast, you can't "do" Europe in three weeks any more than you can "do" the USA. As others have said, better to pick fewer places that match your particular interests and spend longer there.

I fully get where you are coming from but I literally live on the other side of the world and currently work full time here (Melbourne, Australia), so I cannot keep coming back. If i lived in Europe or even a direct flight to Europe < 8 hours things would be different and I would plan a few shorter trips and spend more time in the country side.

Further down in life I will definitely come back and spend more time there.

I also enjoy activities like hiking and mountain climbing, and there is a lot of that in Europe but I will have come back for that another time.

lahsrah said:

I have never been to Europe and fascinated by the old architecture, bridges, beautiful cities with rivers flowing through them etc.

I am planning to take a trip to Europe in spring for 3 weeks, mainly visiting cities. Will probably be going to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Zurich, Rome & Pisa. May consider skipping Zurich & Vienna for Barcelona instead as I've heard a lot of good things about the architecture there, especially Sagrada Família. Mainly interested in landscapes/cityscapes and architecture.

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See my Flickr Albums for images from several places on your list. My lens set for these is 7-14/12-60/14-140, might add Samyang 7.5mm FE depending on location. Two bodies, one of which might be a Compact Panasonic LX/TZ/FZ.

Florence and Venice for sure. Pisa is a half day detour enroute from Rome to Florence.

Not been to Zurich but seems an odd choice unless you have friends/ relatives to see there.

Barcelona is fantastic but very, very busy and, perhaps, now oversubscribed. Many, many other unique places: Segovia, Córdoba, Granada.

London could easily take a week on its own. Outside of London, I’d suggest Oxford but there are many others.

lahsrah said:

I have the following lenses and they are all small since that's the way I roll.

• Olympus 9-18mm F4-5.6

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9-18 essential: 9 is just about wide enough and the 18 end gives you some reach - of your list this is likely to be your most used lens or second most used lens

lahsrah said:

• Panasonic 12-32mm F3.5-5.6

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does give you a bit more reach over the 9-18 for walking about

lahsrah said:

• Panasonic 25mm F1.7

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although a good lens, I have it, probably little used as long as you have a mini tripod. I have the basic Manfrotto Pixie, which very good but would recommend the slightly more expensive version with adjustable length legs for more flexibility. Here https://www.parkcameras.com/p/9370055R/mini-tripods/manfrotto/pixi-evo-2-section-mini-tripod-red

lahsrah said:

• Panasonic 35-100mm F4-5.6

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you’ll need this for detail on some buildings, because the scale internally can be massive

lahsrah said:

• Olympus 9mm F8 body cap lens

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can’t remember if this is a fisheye, think it is, if so then could be useful

lahsrah said:

I am wondering if i should take them all or maybe leave the telephoto zoom at home?

Click to expand...

I’d not go on such a grand and expensive tour with one body. An inexpensive second body would be a GF7, tiny but with flexible tilt screen, sits very well on a mini tripod for low / floor shots with UWA. Better still would be another Panasonic body that uses the same battery as your GX85.

lahsrah said:

Body I will be taking is the Panasonic GX85.

Thinking of traveling light and only going with the 9-18, 25 and 35-100 to cover most focal lengths. Leaving 12-32 at home, although its laughably small.

Also, can someone recommend a small tripod or monopod as i love long exposures. Currently I have a Pedco Ultrapod II which is a table top tripod with a strap to attach it to stuff. It works well if I have a platform to set it down on or something to attach it to but there might be instances where I can't do that?

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Any thoughts on Berlin or any other German city? When I google Cologne, it does look very impressive of a city too.