1st time trip in July 2012...

Layla You will love your travel to Europe! It is sooo exciting to plan your trip. How many days will you be gone? And then how many days will you be "on the ground". The first and the last days are travel days, so don't count those. It is much better to get "open jaw" flights; in one city and out the other. Doesn't matter if round trip is cheaper. Remember you have to get back to the starting point, costs time and $. Have you purchased RS Europe Through The Back Door? It is excellent for an overview of how to travel in Europe. Sounds like Italy is the key destination for your trip. As you mentioned, you are not going to be able to visit all the places on your list this time. But you will be back! When you are considering which places to drop for this year, look at the outliers in terms of geography, cost to get there and time to get there. It takes at least 1/2 day to change locations, really! Pack, checkout, get to train / airport (2 hrs early), train/air time, time to new hotel, check in, unpack, get oriented, etc. Also think about the number of countries, languages, food, etc that you will encounter. Your brain really does mental gymnastics in each place you visit. IMHO, one night stays are not worthwhile. All you have is a 1/2 or so in the location. 2 days is minimum for many posters here. Good thing you are starting now to plan as flights and hotels will be booking up. Posters here are incredibly knowledgeable and generous in sharing it with others. Keep as in the loop about your itinerary! Bobbie

I don't know if this make it any easier or not, but on your itinerary Nice is a bit of an outlier both logistically and qualitatively. So maybe save it for trip no. 2. Do you plan to spend any time outside of cities?

I know you are excited and want to see a lot, but I suggest you stay in Italy -- see Rome, Florence, Venice, some of the Tuscan countryside or hill towns. More than enough wonderful things to see. But if you really want to see another country, I suggest perhaps flying out of Italy 4 days before the end of your vacation and spending them in Paris.
Whatever you decide, I think you should book soon.

Hi Layla. I agree with the other posters about limiting your trip to one or two countries. Two weeks is a great introduction to Italy. You could also spend a week in London and a week in Paris. Rick Steves' "Europe through the Back Door" is an excellent travel resource. Get some other guidebooks as well, for more in-depth research of things you'd like to see. Once you have a list, you can decide how many days you want to spend in each location. For big cities like London and Paris, I'd recommend at least 5 full days. Amsterdam is smaller so I'd recommend at least 3 full days there. Each time you change locations, you'll lose time and money, so you want to maximize the time you spend in each place.

Layla, As the others have mentioned, it would be a good idea to have a look at Europe Through The Back Door, as it provides a lot of good information including Itinerary planning. The country-specific Guidebooks have lots of details on Hotels, restaurants, sightseeing, transportation, etc. It's important to keep in mind that you'll only have 12 days for actual touring since the first and last days will be used for the flights. You'll arrive in Europe the day after you leave the U.S. and will be jet lagged for a day or two so won't be up to full "touring speed". Is there any way you could get more time? Using open-jaw flights would be the best method. There are lots of different Itinerary possibilities. You could do more of a "blitz" trip just to get a sample of several countries, or spend more time in fewer places. As this is a first trip, starting in London would provide a more "gentle" introduction to Europe, however you could also start in Paris. In planning your time, it's important to allow for adequate travel times between cities. This will generally be at least half a day in each case. Since Italy is somewhat of a "priority", you could consider something along these lines..... > Paris - 4 days (includes flight day) > Switzerland - 3 days (if you want cities, Lucerne is a good choice - if you want mountains and scenery, the Berner Oberland would be great) > Italy - 6 days (two or three cities, perhaps with a few day trips - which places are you most interested in seeing?) > Flight home from Rome or Milan If you're planning to travel via train, be sure to read the "Rail Skills" chapter carefully. Good luck with your planning!

congratulations on your first Europe trip. For July I think you might want to skip London due to the Olympics though it is a fantastic city and great first time to Europe destination. Italy of course is the favorite for many (myself included) but you will need to consider that July will be hot and crowded. Of course it's still doable but you do need to be aware of these things when planning and choosing your destinations.
If you do decide to go with Italy than flying open jaw is a very good idea.

These are some really great tips!! Ken, I really liked your itinerary you suggested for Paris, Switzerland, and Italy. Are three days a good amount of time for Switzerland?
Thank you for all the feedback!! It all helps so much:)

Layla, I agree with Ken's plan too. It's a taste of Switzerland, enough for you to know you will want to return!

Thanks!
What are some good cities to visit in Switzerland since I only have a few days there??

If you are going to Switzerland you want to get into the mountains- Jugfrau area is very scenic, most people will recommend staying in the villages up the mountain rather than in Interlaken the main town nearby. Lucerne is a charming little town worthy of 2 or 3 days.

Hello Layla. Yes, a maximum of three countries. I agree with Ken's plan : go to France, Switzerland, Italy. Fly from California to Paris. Fly from Rome to California.