2 Month European "Sampler Tour"

I'm giving this a bump as it endured a technical issue. All fixed. Here's hoping you get some good responses.

so glad you got your post back, Crystal

Since you are a novice (and I assume have not been to Europe) I would start with London and the surrounding sites of the Cotswold, Stonehenge, Bath, etc.
The reason is: Traveling to a foreign country is different than traveling in the US. Since English is the spoken language in the UK, you will at least be able to communicate, read the signs, etc. So it's a good country to start with. And believe it or not, they do things differently there, as in all of Europe.
With two months, I would do 5 days in London, and a week in the UK countryside, then back to London

Then take the Chunnel train over to Paris.

Paris for a week with day trips to Versaille, Giverny, Fontainebleau Then a week in the French countryside visiting Normandy, Mont St. Michel. Back to Paris. Possibly visiting some Chateaus in the Loire Valley.
Train up to Amsterdam, (3-4 days) 5-6 days if doing day trips.
Then train or fly to Germany. Start north in Berlin and travel south via Rothenburg, Munich and Bavaria
then train to Austria, then train to Switzerland, then train south to Venice, (3 days) train to Florence, (3 days) then train to Rome.
Spend a 4-5 days in Rome itself, more time if you do day trips outside of Rome, fly to Barcelona, 3-4 days in Barcelona or 5-6 days in Barcelona, if you do day trips to Montserrat, Girona, Figueres, etc.
Then train to Madrid for 4-5 days with day trips to Toledo, day trip to Avila and Segovia.
If you have more time, train south to Cordoba and Seville, before taking the train back to Madrid to fly home (or fly home from Seville)

But my main advice is do the UK and England First to ease in the cultural differences.

I would maybe start with some education and inspiration. I will be the shill that mentions "Rick Steves Europe Through The Back Door". It is one of the few books that covers the how and practicalities of travel, addressing transport, money, planning, cultural differences, and also includes some information on many areas.

Two months sounds like a long time, but when you break it down, you are talking about a week in each of the countries you mentioned, with maybe 2 or 3 stops in each.

As for order, I think what you want is doable, start in Spain, then Rome, move North, head into Austria, then to Southern Germany/Switzerland, moving north in Germany, through the Netherlands and Belgium, onto Paris and Northern France, then onto England. Some legs might be better by plane (Barcelona to Rome for example) but train should get you most everywhere.

Start listing your stops and what you want to see, then try to assign a realistic timeframe to see those things in that city. Rome was not built in a day, and you are not going to see the Vatican Museums, St. Peters, the Colosseum, the Forum, the sights in central Rome, all in a day.

Resist the urge to keep adding things, quickly get to the point that to add Prague (for example) means eliminating another stop, not squeezing it in.

From there, it is just slowly fleshing things out, dealing with details of rooms, what tickets for sights ahead, train tickets, etc.

Have Fun.

Okay, I'm breaking down your list into the following itinerary.

England: London, Cotswold, Stonehenge, Bath (if doable on itinerary)
France: Paris for sure, Versailles, Normandy/Mont St. Michel (if doable on the itinerary);
Spain: Barcelona;
Italy: Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Dolomites;
Switzerland: whichever cities are suggested for Alpine views & one or two-day hikes; spot for paragliding;
Austria: whichever cities that are highly recommended;
Germany: Frankfurt (my old home), Bavaria, Munich, Berlin, Rothenburg;

As was mentioned above, that's approximately one week per country, as you have to include travel time in there. You mentioned using whatever mode of transport is move effective; but really, using trains comes to mind. All of the countries you are visiting have good train systems.

Keep in mind that it's easier to count your nights, rather than days, as that gives you a more accurate perspective of how much time you have. For example, 5 nights in one place will actually give you 4 days (and maybe a little bit extra).

So here are my thoughts:
England: You're from Virginia, so could probably get a non-stop to London, and I would make that my first stop. As noted above, it's a bit easier to break the cultural barrier there, and London is very easy to get around in. You could spend 4-5 nights in London and then take a train to Bath for a few days, which has the wonderful Mad Max tours to the Cotswolds and Stonehenge.

France: After that, just take the Eurostar from London to Paris, spend 6-7 nights in Paris (including a day trip to Versailles by train). I would leave Normandy/Mont St. Michel for another trip, as it would be difficult to get that in, imo. But there are some other wonderful day trips and tours you could take from Paris.

Spain: Next, take the train to Barcelona, and spend 5-6 nights there. Now, if I was going to urge you to drop a place, it would be Barcelona. This city will be incredibly crowded and you will be there in the summer. It's become a difficult and controversial area for travel for a variety of reasons, so unless you have a really compelling wish to visit there, I would leave it off and use that time to spend in your other destinations.

Italy: Either way, after that, I would fly to Italy (probably Rome) from Barcelona (or Paris, if you forego B) and spend at least 5-6 nights in Rome, at least 3 in Florence. Italy is pretty easy to get around using public transportation; at least to the places you want to see. If you're going to visit the Dolomites, then I would skip Switzerland. Or keep Switzerland and forego the Dolomites.

Switzerland: After Italy, Switzerland where you could spend another week (but see notes above).

Austria and Germany: After Switzerland, head for Austria for a week. I would recommend visiting Vienna and Salzburg, but would save Salzburg for the end as it's easy to then take the train from Salzburg to Munich. After you've seen Munich, head to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, then go to Frankfurt and after that, Berlin, for the flight home. OR you could visit Berlin after Rothenburg and then fly home from Frankfurt. Both Berlin and Frankfurt have good airports with frequent US flights. In fact, it might make more sense to see what flights you can get before deciding which cities to fly home from. Regardless, Germany and Austria are both very easy to get around by train.

Obviously all of the above is one option and certainly this is your trip so ultimately that is what counts. These are just my thoughts based on your comments above. Whatever you do, I'm sure it will be an incredible trip.

It is getting very late here in England so I can only pop a couple of thoughts in today.

Since it appears that food is less important than travel and sightseeing (is that right?) as I think what to suggest, are either of you vegan or have particular allergies or dislikes?

Were you and your family in the Frankfurt area courtesy of Uncle Sam? If so, one of our regulars knows all about the various places around Frankfurt previously used by the Army and can tour you around them. She also has YouTubes of some.

I love the Frankfurt area - if you have questions about particular areas, ask away.

Good luck with the planning

I don't see anything about the timing of this trip (did I miss it?), but I'm assuming it's a summer trip since you mention having spent many summers RVing in the US. If my supposition is correct, I would absolutely factor weather into the itinerary, meaning I'd probably start in Rome. I'd leave Alpine destinations and England (plus Belgium and the Netherlands in the unlikely event you have time for them) toward the end of the trip, to the extent I could from the logistical standpoint. Spain is sort of an outlier, but you'll survive the warm months there if you don't go to Andalucia or Madrid.

Although it might be easier not to think about summer temperatures, you may pay a heavy price for ignoring them.

I agree with Paul that starting with "Europe through the back door" is a great idea! The longest trip we've done is 6 weeks after a college graduation. We hit most of the places you are considering with the exception of Spain. I think you should be able to go to most of your desired locations in 2 months!

You might want to consider a rail pass since you'll be doing so much moving around. Don't feel like you need to train everywhere though - it might make sense to fly between some of your outlying destinations or consider night trains. Since you're going to Frankfurt I would say you might want to add a few nights on the Rhine to explore some castles.

There are a few considerations as far as timing goes. It will be hot in the southern countries - Spain and Italy during July and August. If you want to do some real hiking in Switzerland it's best to do that July or later to ensure trails will be open. Mont St. Michel is amazing to see at high tide.

Since it's a "sampler tour" don't feel like you have to see everything in every city./ country. Assume you'll come back!

Have a blast!