4 Week Europe Trip - Itinerary Advice

Hi,
8 locations in 24 nights, while fast, is quite feasible - although 6-7 would be better, as travelling for extended periods of time is exhausting!

But the issue you have here is that all the locations you are planning to visit are very far apart, with several 5hr+ journeys. 6 countries in 25 nights (wait, 7 if I count the daytrip to Salzburg!), now that's a lot!

I don't really know what your interests are, but:
- 2 nights in Milan will do very little towards your discovery of Italy. It's just one full day. However, lake Como is close to Switzerland, see suggested route below.
- Ditto for Luzern and Switzerland.
- Daytrip to Salzburg is feasible but long.

I would personally cut out London and Nice, this will greatly shorten the total distance travelled. The route becomes
- Amsterdam 3-4n
- Paris 5n
- Berner Oberland (Swiss Alps) 4n
- Luzern 2n
- Lake Como 2-3n
- fly to Munich from Milan, 4-5n (can also split 3 Munich / 2 Salzburg)
- Rothenburg 2n
- Frankfurt 1n

Thank you so much for your advice! London is a place we are both keen to visit so don’t really want to cut that out. We have already been to Italy don’t necessarily need to do Milan/Lake Como just thought it would be a good stop between Nice and Munich? We could cut that part of the trip out together and go straight from Nice to Lucerne?

Our must visits are Amsterdam, London, Paris and Munich, what we do in between is open to suggestion. We are keen to see the French Riverina region but you’re right, it could be too out of the way for this trip!

If London and Nice are both high priority, then maybe drop Switzerland and Italy and fly from Nice to Munich. Lufthansa has a direct flight that only takes an hour and a half, and there are other options with a connection.

I would cut Nice and spend more time in Switzerland. The French Riveria was the least favorite part of our Mediterranean cruise last year. (Of course that’s just my personal opinion, but I have seen others in this board share that view. I have not, however, seen practically ANYONE who wished they had less time in Switzerland.) I’d do those 3 days instead in the Berner Oberland, eg Murren, before or after Lucerne.

Definitely keep London. Such an amazing city!! I would drop Nice.

I enjoy southern France a lot, but 3 nights in Nice when you have to travel from Paris (it's not a short trip) and on to Italy or Switzerland isn't going to get you a great deal. Most people who go to that area want to see both coastal towns and hill towns, and then Nice itself has at last six art museums that may be of interest. Plus it's likely to be quite hot at that time of year, not ideal unless you just plan to lie on a beach. Postpone Nice until a later trip when you'll have more time to appreciate the Riviera and also Provence.

I'd also drop the Milan/Lake Como leg. Get your lake time in Switerland if you can drag yourself away from the mountains.

You need more time in Switzerland to get up high. Weather is highly iffy there. With only two nights you might easily have nothing but rain and fog.

By flying into Amsterdam and then going to London, you are routing yourself across/under the Channel twice. It seems more logical to me to fly into London, but I haven't checked the train schedules or fares. Do keep in mind that the current recommendation for the Eurostar is to arrive at the station at least a full hour before the departure time, which isn't necessary for trains on the continent.

The term FOMO means "fear of missing out". This is a primary motivation for 1st-time travelers.

You are in your early 30s. Will this be your only trip to Europe? If so, hit the whole place, all 12,039,403 locations. Otherwise, I'd focus a bit more.

You have 5 countries. Why not do 2? Germany and England figure strongly in your locations. What about 12 days GB, 12 days Germany, or 10 GP, 14 Germany? Germany has many wonderful locations.

Another approach would be Amsterdam-Netherlands - Paris - Frankfurt. There a lot to do in each location. Do 8 days in each, and minimize traveling. Day trips (Chartres from Paris, Normandy beaches from Paris, Heidelberg from Frankfurt, Rhine river from Frankfurt) can give you lots of variety.

I love London, but I'd make it a different, UK or UK/Ireland specific, trip. Yes five nights in London won't be wasted but travel to get there is fairly expensive and not particularly convenient (though it's better today than a couple decades ago).

Amsterdam, Belgium, Paris flow nicely by train.

From there a plane (Air France, Orly to Nice) is the better - faster and cheaper - option. I recommend staying in Antibes (I stayed in Juan les Pins, a good second choice). Antibes is only about one or two stops by train from the Nice Airport (the train station is right at one mile from the airport).

Train to Milan makes sense. I haven't been to Lake Como, so I can't say whether a car is needed there?

Train to Lucerne then Munich makes sense. For your day trip to Salzburg, check out the local train day pass (Bayern pass or Shoene Wochende pass). It's good to Salzburg without needing any supplement. Deutsch Bahn has changed the passes since I was there but they're likely still a great deal for traveling.

Don't skip Salzburg. I did an exchange with the German Air Force. I planned to just see Germany on that trip. A friend suggested Salzburg. He was right; it's a beautiful and very walkable little city. Spending a couple nights there wouldn't be wasted.

I trained to Rothenburg the first time I went. It drops you fairly close. These are local trains so same advice on local train day pass. One night is plenty. From Rothenburg, it's easy to get back to Frankfurt - again you will be using a local train.

I just want to point out that by moving around so much, you will not sample more things, because you will be spending a lot of time checking in and out of hotels, traveling to and from airports and train stations, sitting on trains, etc. Yes, your feet will touch the sidewalks of a lot of different countries, but that is not the same thing as seeing more.

There are lovely side-trips to be made from Paris; you could do those instead of making a too-short, 2-day visit to Nice. And if you allotted more time to Switzerland you could stay up in the Alps. You are traveling in high summer and could be unlucky enough to run into high heat everywhere, though it's not likely in London and Amsterdam. If it's a really hot summer, you might be very happy to have some days scheduled in the mountains.