Europe Itinerary - Take 1

[Siren]

So after lurking for many months I have finally decided to post something.

I am planning my first trip to Europe. Right now it's looking like it'll be 8-10 weeks long going from mid-May until late-July. I've got an idea of the places I want to go but I don't know how long I should stay in each city. So here's what I'm thinking:

Paris
Madrid
Seville
Granada
Barcelona
Nice
Milan
Florence
Rome
Venice
Munich
Vienna
Prague
Berlin
Amsterdam
Brussels
London

Odds are I will be validating my Eurail pass when I leave Paris and it should expire when I get to Brussels. So that's 60 days. How long should I spend in each place? Is there anywhere I should add? Any help you guys could give me would be super awesome. Thanks.

[joe7f]

First, welcome to Tpunk! Second, you itinerary is awesome.

The only thing I would change would be to put Venice after Milan, and then go straight from Rome to Munich via night train (I did this and for some reason they only list Munich in Italian which is "Monaco" the same as the micronation).

With 17 destinations you are looking at 4 days on average which is almost perfect. With 2, two day type cities (Venice and Granada would be good picks for this)

I'll be in Italy in May (if you are around shoot me a PM).

--Joey

[Siren]

I was thinking 4 days in most places would be good. I know there is so much to do in so many places. However I am sure that some places could be done in less and some could be good with more. I'm just so unsure as to which ones those would be. How many days would you guys spend in those cities?

[pinknic38]

you may want to divide it differently, esp for the bigger cities, you may want to spend more time in say, paris, rome, and madrid and maybe only do a day or 2 in nice or whatever, you know what I mean? also if you're running low on cash you may wanna stay in somewhere less expensive...like if you spent too much in one country you may wanna hang back in the next one. that's awesome though, your trip sounds like a lot of fun!

[marc873]

Hello and welcome! So we have been to a lot of the places you are going. Feel free to ask as many questions as you want. I like the flow of the trip so far though!!!

[Elizabeth]

hey welcome to travelpunk!

the amount of time you want to spend in each city is really up to you. what do you want to see in each city? how much does each city have to see? (ie nice doesnt really have alot vs berlin you could easily spend 5 or 6 days seeing stuff) figure that out and you can come up with a reasonable timeframe. then of course when you get there you may want to stay longer based on the vibe/people/culture/whathaveyou of the city.

[mbo108]

Just a little piece of advice from me...if you are doing Brussels, definitely definitely definitely get out to Brugge. its like another 40 min train ride from Brussels and its awesome. 4 days there might be a lot, i've been there twice, both times for 2 days and that was plenty. You can probably split the time with Brussels and get to see another great city without changing your plans too much

[joe7f]

^In fact, I would say maybe Brussels should just be a daytrip from Brugge

--Joey

[Maineartist]

Hello Siren,
Welcome to T-punk.

I was thinking a nice stop in your itinerary would be Trieste. Simply because it would be a break and shares history with Vienna. Maybe a transition from Italy to Austria?
The route you have looks good.
Florence and Venice didn't warrant as much time as I thought. I did day trips from Rome and Verona.

[Siren]

So I'm thinking maybe this:

5 - Paris
5 - Madrid
2 - Seville
2 - Granada
4 - Barcelona
4 - Nice
3 - Cinque Terre
3 - Florence
5 - Rome
3 - Venice
3 - Munich
3 - Vienna
4 - Prague
4 - Berlin
3 - Amsterdam
2 - Brugge
2 - Brussels
5 - London

I took out Milan. Mainly because I know I'd spend way too much money there. Maybe a side trip there so I can see it and leave before the urge comes over me to spend copious amounts of money. Either way, it still leaves me with 10 days extra. I wanted to hit up Greece but I'm not sure where to fit it in. I don't want to be there when it is super hot & crowded in July. Maybe I can find a cheap flight there. I tried to find a short one from Rome to Athens but those seem to be nonexistant. Maybe I'm just not looking deep enough. Or maybe Portugal. My friend and his wife just came back from their honeymoon there and they have nothing but good things to say about it. I wish I could be one of those people who can just wing it and go wherever the feeling takes them.

[joe7f]

Originally Posted by Siren

So I'm thinking maybe this:

5 - Madrid

Either way, it still leaves me with 10 days extra. I wanted to hit up Greece but I'm not sure where to fit it in. I don't want to be there when it is super hot & crowded in July. Maybe I can find a cheap flight there.
[...]
I wish I could be one of those people who can just wing it and go wherever the feeling takes them.

5 days in just Madrid is a lot unless you are an art fiend. That said, some of the best day/24 hour trips can be planned from there so...

Greece sounds cool but a few Tpunks have had better things to say about the islands than Athens (just to keep in mind). I would try a ferry rather than a flight.

If you want to be one of those people that just wings it go for it! The only trouble is you will get yourself into slightly stressful situations (like not having a place to stay), possibly spending more money than you otherwise would, at times seeing less (or seeing different) things and the like. It is a helluva lot more fun though

--Joey

[Siren]

LOL I actually am a total art fiend. But I was thinking 5 days based out of Madrid. Maybe 3 in the city and a couple day trips as well. At the same time I figure its early enough that if I did decide to not spend as much time there, it might balance out because I might want to be somewhere else a little longer. Who knows?

As for just winging it, I couldn't do it if I tried. It's taking everything in me not to plan this whole trip out with a time specific itinerary. :eek: