3 week itinerary around western/northern europe

This is a lot of flying, and of course every day you don't spend flying is a day your could spend doing something great.

I also think you'd be better off taking the train from Rome to Milan--it's what, 3-1/2 hours center to center?

As for what to see and do, you provide no idea of what you like. So I recommend whatever activities and sights prompted you to select these destinations in the first place.

Twenty-four days is about a week short of a month. About one week of the trip is going to be spent hanging around airports. Train from Rome to Milan might help, but not much.

Maybe pick a couple of things and do them well instead of the shotgun approach?

Do you have a partner in crime in this adventure or are you trying to come up with a plan and see if anybody else will tag along?

Hi. Thanks for the suggestions. The reason I'm flying rather than taking the train is that I looked at the tgv-europe website and the trains are significantly more expensive than some of the budget airlines. I'll be traveling with my boyfriend, so we're trying to visit places that we both want to see.

Are there any other websites that I can find cheaper train tickets? I'd love to see some of the countryside, but if it's too expensive, I'll have to fly.

Most of our flights are under 60 euros for both of us.

Ed's point was not that you should take trains instead of flying, in order to see the countryside from a train window.

His point was that you are spending almost a third of your trip in airports and on planes.

Most travellers prefer to allocate less time to travelling and more time to enjoying the destinations. In other words, fewer destinations equals better a vacation.