3 weeks to travel Europe

Is this a first trip to Europe? A first trip to Europe during winter?
What are you defining as Spain?
Keep in mind daylight hours are short so finding evening opportunities to explore is important.

First vacation with my family- yes. (I have only been to London and Paris a while ago). I know it's odd traveling in winter but it is the only time my husband and I have vacation together plus next year it's our 10 year anniversary.
Spain- probably Barcelona and Madrid.

Just to confirm--you are going to Europe next month? Mid-month, Christmas, after Christmas?

Sorry, yes Dec 12-jan5.

I have friends in Madrid and Barcelona I can stay with, also I have a 1 week time share I could use in Rome, netherlands, Luxemburg. If I need to change countries.

Since you're looking for answers instead of more questions, my answer would be yes, Rome-Paris-Barcelona-Madrid would be feasible in three weeks. Sounds like a great trip even in December. You could fly or take fast trains. You could even drive, opening up more places to see, but the car would be a nuisance in the big cities and dropping it off in a different country would incur a big charge.

If your "best roundtrip ticket" is to London, you could fly to and from there, but you'd have to get yourselves to one of the other four cities, and back from another, to take advantage of that London connection. Are you sure it wouldn't cost less, either in time or money, to fly open-jaw to one of your target cities and home from another? There must be nonstops between California and some of these.

A trip next month will cost more because it's so soon, and it may be hard to get transportation and rooms right around Christmas. I hope you'll firm up your plans quickly so you can take advantage of this opportunity.

Thank you Dick! I am open to any questions, suggestions, better itineraries, really anything!! We just know that Paris is a must city to visit.

It's pretty short notice and a popular time of year for tourism. Before booking tickets, I'd look for hotels. Some of your destinations are far apart, so you are looking at either very long train rides or flights. For instance, Rome-Paris is at best 11 hours and one train change. I tried one train on the Italian site (trenitalia.com) and got a train leaving at 9.00 am and arriving in Paris at 8.49 pm with 2 train changes. The lowest available price for this journey on Dec. 12 is €249 for one adult.

Do not look for one-way flights. Look for the multiple-destination option. Often these "open-jaw" flights are about the same price as round-trip tickets.

Hi- we visited Rome at about the same time 2 years ago, and northern Spain last November (1 year ago). You may already be anticipating this, but with winter approaching, it can be cool and sometimes rainy, but not exactly cold for us from Colorado. We wore jackets but not heavy winter coats. You may or may not want an extra layer or two for warmth. You may also want to pack compact travel umbrellas, or consider picking up umbrellas when you get Over There.

Thank you Cyn!!

See www.skyscanner.com for flights to connect each different country which will be faster than train, and probably cheaper (even if holiday rates are not as low as other seasons or booking further ahead).

Just a quick look at booking.com for Dec 12-17 shows Paris 71% booked -- so you might want to lock in some lodging in all cities on your preferred dates (look for cancellation without penalty)

Thank you!

for one way flights, check the round trip price. sometimes its less expensive.

The RS rep on the forum should be posting this, but; https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/budget-flights

Thank you James!