6 Weeks in Europe summer 2025

Finish the guidebook.

Breathe and have conversations with your daughter about what you truly want to see and do.

Accept that as you are traveling in Summer that crowds will be a reality.

Understand that your itinerary is too jammed pack and start culling.

Research, research, research.

ONLY you and your daughter can decide what are the “ must sees.”

It will be a memorable trip; but it sounds like you are trying to see all of Europe in those 6 weeks. I guess the thing to remember is that every time you move to a different location you lose time; 5 days anywhere is 4 nights and you really should plan according to nights. Every check in/out is a half day and you need to also factor in traveling to/from destinations as well. You are planning to travel to many, many different locations, so there is no doubt you will be losing far more than a day or 2 to traveling That's just the reality of changing locations.

If you can find accommodations for $200/night (182 euro) in close proximity to the action with ac during high travel season in the places you plan to travel, then you should write your own travel book! Booking.com is highly suggested on this forum but ONLY as a resource where you can input your parameters, but book directly with your hotel not through booking.com. Winging it with hotel reservations in the middle of summer in Europe during the height of high season is a no. There's almost no low season anymore anyway. Europe is crowded.

The best part is the wonderful time you will have with your daughter no matter where you go! Please include her in the planning in a way that helps her be a part of the process. Not the minutiae, but the going from dreaming of it to making it a reality. I became obsessed with travel planning at her age, and still love it 45 years later.

By the way, your self imposed 5 days in London...why cut yourself short there by squeezing in Liverpool within that same time frame. Add it on after. You've specifically mentioned Liverpool/Beatles as pretty much a must do, so consider it the next location after London; not within your days in London.

I am feeling very overwhelmed with all the decisions & choices I'll
need to make, I don't know where to start.

Start with the bones of this trip. Dates, Countries, Cities, Cruise, etc. that you want to visit. What you see as the must have PLACES for you and your daughter. If you can, travel West-East or East-West as backtracking adds what may be unneeded travel. Know how much time is need to move from one location to the next. Starts with trains, then consider other options. Then, check back with this forum with your bones. See what expereinced travelers have to say. IMO, your current post has way too much infomation to digest and give great feedback.

This is my, and hopefully my daughter's first of many, trip of a
lifetime.

So, don't try to see everyting on this trip.

Weeks 4-6 Greek Isle cruise 7 days (departing from Ravenna, Italy)

Since this is a key segment, ensure it is the trip you want. Specifically, will this be a Disneyish cruise full of teens? Of a boat full of 70+ seniors traveling across the Greek isles?

You have a good basic plan and lots of time to work out the details. Start with choosing the cities and time in each, as you have done, then refine to keep number of stops and hotel changes low, and choose a logical path from one to the next. Consider the travel time by train from one to the next so you don’t have 5-6 hours to travel in a day. Don’t try to figure out activities now; that seems to be causing you some angst just now. Use the guidebook and suggestions here to create a list of “possibles” and “musts” but you don’t need to worry about booking activities until later. Aim to start booking your hotels in December or January. And the Eurostar train from London to Paris will be a lot cheaper if you buy about 6 months in advance.

I like to use the German train site for preliminary planning, as they show trail routes and schedules for all of Europe, including the UK. https://int.bahn.de/en

It will give you the travel time between cities, which is all you need to know at this time. Of course you will buy the tickets from each country’s own train site when the time comes. I would not advise a Eurail pass, but you might want a Swiss pass for travel in that country; your daughter will ride for free everywhere is you have a Swiss Travel Pass and free Family Card.

I will make a couple of suggestions on length of stay and route for the first part of your trip, based on your expressed wishes.

England—-6 nights. Spend 3-4 nights in London, then take the train to Liverpool, 2.5 hours. Spend 1-2 nights there for your Beatles activities, then return to London late in the day and overnight near St. Pancras station for your Eurostar train to Paris the next day. That train journey is 2.2 hours.

France—-Paris 3 nights. Then head south toward Switzerland with a 3-night stop in a smaller city on the way—-Strasbourg or Colmar in Alsace.

Switzerland—-your daughter is likely to love Switzerland (ours certainly did). I suggest a minimum of 5 nights here but 7 would be better. Two locations to visit: From Colmar, it is a journey of 3.5 hours to Lauterbrunnen, where you catch the little train up to Wengen, a charming alpine village. After 3-4 nights here, travel to Luzern and stay 2 nights. Then take the scenic Gotthard Pass route by train or boat + train toward Milan, your gateway for the rest of Italy. But spend the night in Locarno, by the lake, rather than in Milan.

I will let others advise you on Italy, but keep in mind that the famous and popular places like Florence, Venice and Rome are going to be very hot and very crowded.

Require your daughter to watch the relevant videos on this website and make a list of the sights that appeal to her. I personally think that San Clemente Church in Rome is a must-see. Our college-aged daughter loved a food tour in Paris. I am hoping to take a gelato/pizza class in Florence next spring-they probably have those in Rome too. I have been to Spain and Lisbon and personally, I would spend more time in the UK and Italy instead(unless she's studying Spanish in school). I like the cruise idea as a rest.

Weeks 1-3 England 5 days, France 5 days, Switzerland 4 days, Italy 7
days Weeks 4-6 Greek Isle cruise 7 days (departing from Ravenna,
Italy), Spain/Portugal 8 days, France 6 days

That is 4 to 8 days per stop, that’s all very reasonable for an introduction to that part of Europe. Where does the cruise end? If its in Greece, then a few days in Greece are in order.

We want to wrap up our trip in Paris.

You have 6 days in France, and it’s been a long trip, maybe you spend all 6 in Paris and not try and see much more. Relax, unwind.

Must visit cities (besides the usual suspects - London, Paris, Rome,
etc.?

Given the time in England, France and Italy, you might just go to Viator to see what the common day trips are out of London, Paris and Rome, and work one or two into each stay. You dont have to use Viator but they do make for a pretty good list of possibilities. That way you have the time to enjoy London, Paris and Rome. Also you only need one hotel in each country. Less to deal with.

When can/should I look to book our flights from US (NY metro area) to
England (London?)

Lots of arguments about this. But I have always done well 90 to 120 days out.

Is my rough itinerary realistic? Would love to hear any tweaks anyone
might be willing to offer.

Sure it’s reasonable if you stick to the big cities and do a few day trips. I might do the order differently but would need to know where your cruise ends to begin to guess the order. But, for instance, if you want to end in Paris, then do Paris and France at the same time at the end of the trip.

Best way to travel country to country, or even city to city, based on
my itinerary - when should we drive, fly, take train?

Drive? Probably not. Train, only if it’s under 6 hours and some may be depending on the order of travel. Flights, I suspect you will need to do a few Discount airline flights with this list of countries. But that’s not bad. Most everything you list is within less than a 2-hour flight from each other. Throw in pre flight time and transportation to airports and most will be under six hours total.

Hotel reservations - prebook all hotels, wing it, or some combo of
both?

Pre-book. Refundable 48 hours prior. Check Booking.com. It makes these sorts of trips easier with one uniform booking receipt format.

Besides the touristy destinations - Buckingham Palace, Eiffel Tower,
Coliseum, Trezza Fountain, etc.,,which we do want to see, what are the
must sees?

That’s the next step to figure out.

marcserafin01,
What a wonderful summer you two will have! Others above have made good suggestions. My only suggestion is to, perhaps, save Spain and Portugal for another trip and add those days to England (3 days more, to visit Liverpool), Italy (3 days more, so much to see there!) and France (2 days more, and ditto!). Spain and Portugal in 8 days limits you to, realistically, one city each (4 days Spain, 1 travel day to Portugal, 3 days Portugal) to truly enjoy them.
Suggestions for France...the first part (5 days) I would stay in Paris because there is so much there. The second stop in France, post-crui
se, could be on the Riviera (e.g. Nice), then Provence/Luberon area or the Dordogne, before a return to Paris for your last night before going home.
This might mean adjusting your arrival day a bit (to add the extra Italy days before the cruise) and departure days (to add the days on to France). Where do you disembark from your cruise, Ravenna? Where the cruise ends will impact your plans.
Talk over what types of things most interest you to focus on your cities,or countryside, etc. Be sure to change up from time to time so as not to get "museumed-out".
When we have an idea of your general interests, we can, perhaps, make more suggestions. What fun it is to plan a trip like this! Be sure to read up on the countries involved and have some good discussions together.
One more thing...it helps to plan on nights, not days. E.g. two nights somewhere means only one full day there. This becomes more clear when you start more detailed planning, as it allows for travel time between locations,even if those times seem short. Check-out from lodgings, travel to station or airport, actual travel time, getting to new lodgings and checking in can eat up a lot of time. Eurostar, for instance, requires you to be at the station 90 minutes before departure. Just keep this in mind when doing your general planning.
Bonne chance et bon voyage!

I had a long post planned and mentally written - but now I see that you have gotten a lot of great advice in the last few hours! Whatever you decide to do, I think this will be a wonderful trip and a great bonding experience for you and your daughter. I love that you say this will hopefully be the first of many trips. In that spirit - skip Spain and Portugal for now. They are geographic outliers here and, while I've only been to Spain, I've heard tales about how hard it is to actually get between these two neighboring countries. Save them for another trip and add the time to London/England, Paris/France, or anywhere else you fancy.

I really like Lola's initial plan, but will offer a tweak, since you say you want to end in Paris. Instead of taking the Eurostar to Paris, why not visit Amsterdam for a few nights? From there, you can continue down to Alsace and into Switzerland, or head east and explore parts of Germany before taking off on the cruise. I'm also curious as to if the cruise circles back to Ravenna or ends in Greece, as that will also affect the plans for the last weeks. I'm going to throw a real wrench into things and say, if you're heading up to Liverpool, why not check out northern Wales for a few days? But that's my bucket list and not necessarily yours.

I think right now, you can be in the Spaghetti on the Wall phase. Just throw everything up there; encourage your daughter to do so, too. Is there a work of art she's studied in school that she would like to see in person? A book she's read? History or languages she's studied or will study in the upcoming year (I'm assuming first year of high school?)? Is she a Jane Austen fan? Harry Potter? Has she read The Diary of Anne Frank, or at least know about her? Get her involved; she's old enough, and it will make the trip more meaningful for you both.

I hope you'll come back to update us on your plans. What a wonderful adventure for you both!

"Understand that your itinerary is too jammed pack and start culling."

Yes, I think I might have to, & perfectly willing to. Thank you for your reply.

"every time you move to a different location you lose time; 5 days anywhere is 4 nights and you really should plan according to nights. Every check in/out is a half day and you need to also factor in traveling to/from destinations as well"

"there is no doubt you will be losing far more than a day or 2 to traveling"

Thank you for your thoughtful reply - this is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for.

"By the way, your self imposed 5 days in London...why cut yourself short there by squeezing in Liverpool within that same time frame. Add it on after. You've specifically mentioned Liverpool/Beatles as pretty much a must do, so consider it the next location after London; not within your days in London."

Yes, I think I will have to figure a way to make Liverpool happen. Already thinking of countries to jettison, as per some of the other replies.

" If you can, travel West-East or East-West as backtracking adds what may be unneeded travel. Know how much time is need to move from one location to the next. Starts with trains, then consider other options. "

Exactly the type of info I was hoping for. Thank you.

"You have a good basic plan and lots of time to work out the details. Start with choosing the cities and time in each, as you have done, then refine to keep number of stops and hotel changes low, and choose a logical path from one to the next. Consider the travel time by train from one to the next so you don’t have 5-6 hours to travel in a day. Don’t try to figure out activities now; that seems to be causing you some angst just now. Use the guidebook and suggestions here to create a list of “possibles” and “musts” but you don’t need to worry about booking activities until later. Aim to start booking your hotels in December or January. And the Eurostar train from London to Paris will be a lot cheaper if you buy about 6 months in advance.

I like to use the German train site for preliminary planning, as they show trail routes and schedules for all of Europe, including the UK. https://int.bahn.de/en

It will give you the travel time between cities, which is all you need to know at this time. Of course you will buy the tickets from each country’s own train site when the time comes. I would not advise a Eurail pass, but you might want a Swiss pass for travel in that country; your daughter will ride for free everywhere is you have a Swiss Travel Pass and free Family Card.

I will make a couple of suggestions on length of stay and route for the first part of your trip, based on your expressed wishes.

England—-6 nights. Spend 3-4 nights in London, then take the train to Liverpool, 2.5 hours. Spend 1-2 nights there for your Beatles activities, then return to London late in the day and overnight near St. Pancras station for your Eurostar train to Paris the next day. That train journey is 2.2 hours.

France—-Paris 3 nights. Then head south toward Switzerland with a 3-night stop in a smaller city on the way—-Strasbourg or Colmar in Alsace.

Switzerland—-your daughter is likely to love Switzerland (ours certainly did). I suggest a minimum of 5 nights here but 7 would be better. Two locations to visit: From Colmar, it is a journey of 3.5 hours to Lauterbrunnen, where you catch the little train up to Wengen, a charming alpine village. After 3-4 nights here, travel to Luzern and stay 2 nights. Then take the scenic Gotthard Pass route by train or boat + train toward Milan, your gateway for the rest of Italy. But spend the night in Locarno, by the lake, rather than in Milan.

I will let others advise you on Italy, but keep in mind that the famous and popular places like Florence, Venice and Rome are going to be very hot and very crowded."

Great info - thank you!

"Weeks 1-3 England 5 days, France 5 days, Switzerland 4 days, Italy 7
days Weeks 4-6 Greek Isle cruise 7 days (departing from Ravenna,
Italy), Spain/Portugal 8 days, France 6 days

That is 4 to 8 days per stop, that’s all very reasonable for an introduction to that part of Europe. Where does the cruise end? If its in Greece, then a few days in Greece are in order.

We want to wrap up our trip in Paris.

You have 6 days in France, and it’s been a long trip, maybe you spend all 6 in Paris and not try and see much more. Relax, unwind.

Must visit cities (besides the usual suspects - London, Paris, Rome,
etc.?

Given the time in England, France and Italy, you might just go to Viator to see what the common day trips are out of London, Paris and Rome, and work one or two into each stay. You dont have to use Viator but they do make for a pretty good list of possibilities. That way you have the time to enjoy London, Paris and Rome. Also you only need one hotel in each country. Less to deal with.

When can/should I look to book our flights from US (NY metro area) to
England (London?)

Lots of arguments about this. But I have always done well 90 to 120 days out.

Is my rough itinerary realistic? Would love to hear any tweaks anyone
might be willing to offer.

Sure it’s reasonable if you stick to the big cities and do a few day trips. I might do the order differently but would need to know where your cruise ends to begin to guess the order. But, for instance, if you want to end in Paris, then do Paris and France at the same time at the end of the trip.

Best way to travel country to country, or even city to city, based on
my itinerary - when should we drive, fly, take train?

Drive? Probably not. Train, only if it’s under 6 hours and some may be depending on the order of travel. Flights, I suspect you will need to do a few Discount airline flights with this list of countries. But that’s not bad. Most everything you list is within less than a 2-hour flight from each other. Throw in pre flight time and transportation to airports and most will be under six hours total.

Hotel reservations - prebook all hotels, wing it, or some combo of
both?

Pre-book. Refundable 48 hours prior. Check Booking.com. It makes these sorts of trips easier with one uniform booking receipt format.

Besides the touristy destinations - Buckingham Palace, Eiffel Tower,
Coliseum, Trezza Fountain, etc.,,which we do want to see, what are the
must sees?

That’s the next step to figure out."

The cruise ends where it begins - Ravenna, Italy. Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

"My only suggestion is to, perhaps, save Spain and Portugal for another trip and add those days to England (3 days more, to visit Liverpool), Italy (3 days more, so much to see there!) and France (2 days more, and ditto!). Spain and Portugal in 8 days limits you to, realistically, one city each (4 days Spain, 1 travel day to Portugal, 3 days Portugal) to truly enjoy them."

Yes, this is the kind of info I was hoping for - we might have to save Spain & Portugal for the next trip. Thank you for the thoughtful reply!

We want to wrap up our trip in Paris.

If that is the case, I would put ALL your Paris days together at the end.

$200/night (give or take) a realistic expectation

Probably best to expect the overall average to be a bit more, and some locations, like London, will skew the average to the high side.

Hotel reservations - prebook all hotels, wing it, or some combo of both?

For the time of year you plan to go, I strongly suggest pre-book all your lodging.

As for flights, a multi city aka open jaw, is what you want to be looking for. Start tracking prices now and when you see what you like grab it.

marcserafin01,
Re flights, remember, "open jaw" is not the same as two one ways (which would be more expensive).

Air-conditiomed restaurants aren't as common as I would like, either. On my current trip, which has featured hot weather almost every day since the beginning, I've eaten in hotel restaurants ten times or so, because the thought of sweltering through a meal was unbearable.

Variety. I can only see so many cathedrals, art museums, whatever on a trip before I reach overload. I suggest planning some hikes, bike rides, days at the beach, small villages that aren’t too crowded, etc. to break up days in the crowded tourist meccas.

I would add climate variety. So Paris is great, but then heading down to the French and Swiss Alps gives you a different climate as well as a different culture. A few days of light hiking and relaxing with a good book is also key in the middle of a longer trip like this.

One consideration would be major events. For example, the finish of the Tour de France takes place in Paris on July 27th. The route for the whole tour isn't published yet, but that date is set. Will you be in Paris by then? Do you want to be? (I can't speak to the Paris leg, but overall I would say seeing the Tour is fun as heck).

What niche interests and hobbies do you have? If she is into horses, maybe you can visit Saumur and the Cadre Noir. If you are a big fan of dinosaurs, maybe stop at an obscure site like the dinosaur tracks in Loulle, near the French-Swiss border. The possibilities here are endless and it just depends on what you both like, independently and together.

Whatever you decide for the last few days, make it restful. A few chill days at cafes in a quaint but not too boring place (again, light hiking and reading) ends the trip on a restful, positive note rather than a frazzled one. You'll be tired and your brains and hearts will be full. Doing something classically European but low key in terms of sightseeing is a smart choice.

There is no "right" itinerary. You will have fun no matter what, especially if you don't try to do everything. Be gracious with yourself and each other, both in the planning process and in the experiences. Nobody except you will say you did it right / wrong.

Thank you for all the thoughtful & helpful advice! I am re-thinking my itinerary, I think we were trying to see too much in too little time, & didn't fully take travel days into consideration.

So, first thing - we're going to start thinking in terms of nights, not days.

Right now, I think we're going to, as another poster above put it, save Spain & Portugal for the next trip, & spread those 7 allotted nights among England, Switzerland & Italy, & save France for the end of the trip.

So, roughly, 1st 3 weeks would be England, Switzerland & Italy, week 4 will be the Greek Isle cruise, & then after the cruise another 2 weeks in Italy & France, with the breakdown being 2-3 nights in Italy & 11-12 nights in France.

I'm also leaning towards staying in one city per country, & doing day trips to explore other areas of each country. I'm thinking we'll fly into London, & depart from Paris via an open-jaw flight, which, I've never even heard of until someone above mentioned it. Leaning towards staying in London while in England, Rome/Italy, Paris/France, & not sure about where yet in Switzerland.

I'll probably start a new thread soon asking a whole bunch of new questions based on the above but for now - thank you all for the helpful guidance - I'm already feeling much less "daunted", lol.

One last thing - any suggestions for any movies/tv shows (besides Rick's shows) for my daughter & I to watch for some inspiration/ideas? Currently watching Emily in Paris, & will watch Under The Tuscan Sun & The Sound of Music next. Any suggestions (Other than the DaVinci Code)?

Trip will be roughly July 19 - August 30 2025. The Greek Isle cruise departs from and returns to Ravenna, Italy, August 9-16.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend that you both visit the sections of this Rick Steves website mentioned below and discuss what you learn there. In addition to the book, they will help you to learn about the things you don't know that you need to know.

It sounds like this is your first trip to Europe. The Travel Tips (along with the forums under Tips & Trip Reports) are very helpful for planning and for anticipating what you may encounter while there. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips

Explore Europe provides info on your places of interest. https://www.ricksteves.com/europe

You’re smart to be starting the planning now. A major transportation decision will be whether to do a round trip USA London flight or to fly multi-city, arriving in London and flying home from Paris. I see 2 advantages to the latter: only one Eurostar trip from England to France and the ability to spend your last night in Paris. Google Flights can help with making that decision.

As you get deeper into the planning, your priorities will definitely be affected by things like the open days and hours of the places on your list. It's an iterative process and those priorities may change as they compete with each other. They could also adjust because the places you want to go or things you want to do may not be possible when you're planning to be there. That's why it's advisable to not be too tied to a specific itinerary initially.

Like suggested, I've found it's best to plan on the number of nights in a location rather than the number of days. As you check the lodging options on Booking.com, you'll find hotels as well as apartments for the two of you.

At 14, your daughter will be considered an adult. Whatever kind of lodging you decide on, you'll need to be sure that there are 2 separate beds and that bed #2 is a real bed, not a fold out sofa. American style rooms with 2 queen beds are unlikely anywhere you'll be going. More common will be twins that are separated for 2 individuals or pushed together for a couple.

Even as a solo traveler, I frequently rent an apartment rather than stay in a hotel. Over time I've found that for me a hotel or B&B is better for a stay of 3 nights or less and an apartment is better for 4 or more nights. I like apartments because they always have some kind of kitchen and usually have a clothes washer.

You can find laundromats, but it's much more convenient to be able to wash clothes at "home" even if the "dryer" is a rack, not a machine. Laundry is a very important thing, especially if you're packing light, because you'll need to wash clothes frequently. In a hotel, that usually means sink washing and hanging things wherever you can in the room.

Unlike many, my favorite part of any trip is planning the practical aspects and logistics needed to make the rest happen. Visiting the Louvre is a joy. Getting there and back home by public transportation on my own is an accomplishment. ;-)

Have fun with the planning.

Hey there, you've gotten some great advice, and looks like you're adjusting your itinerary to a more realistic pace. What a fun trip! I just want to add that, much as I love Rome, I would consider skipping it in July / August, and Ravenna where your cruise to Greece starts and ends is a ways away from Rome anyway.

You can probably fly to Bologna or Milan from Switzerland, (take a look at Lugano as a city where you can base yourself and consider some day trips from there into the Alps?) and then spend a few nights in Ravenna before your cruise. The other reason is just in case there's travel disruption, you don't want to miss the cruise departure, so arriving at least a day early would be my choice. August is Italian holiday season, and it will be very warm (sorry, but it bears repeating!) as you firm up your trip you could add an Alpine destination to break up the trip.

Now weirdly, about laundry and rest days.... this is a fast paced 6 week trip, so mid trip it would be good to take a breather, a day off to just hang out and maybe do one fun thing like a walking food tour, and get some laundry done. I assume you're packing light with this many destinations? Hope that's helpful, you've come to the right place. Let us know how it develops!

Sounds either like a trip of a lifetime or a lifetime of travel in one trip. I am not sure which.

Rather than offer advice, I will instead ask questions.

1. Have you traveled to Europe before? Sounds like you have not, yet. But hopefully this will be the first of multiple trips for each of you.
2. Have you traveled anywhere for six weeks before?
3. Is this just you and your daughter?
4. Whose idea is the trip?
5. What do you want to experience?
6. What does she want to experience?
7. What have the two of you discussed?
8. What does “through the back door” mean to you? Or your daughter? Rick’s back door concept is great, but his legacy may be that he has transformed back doors to front porches.
9. What if any languages do you speak? Or what does she speak and how well?
10. Are there themes you want to explore? To the extent history is a theme, what history?
11. Might 6 weeks be too long?
12. Have you thought about slowing down? Might that be a good idea or a bad one?
13. Have you considered exploring a country or region as opposed to hitting the highlights of much of southern and Western Europe - with a likely focus on capitals?

We’ve slowed down from three or two or one country in 2-1/2 or 3 weeks and we have progressed to parts of one country in 30 days. Less can be more. My wife has gotten over her “It’s Day 17 and I want to be home, NOW” to the point that 30 days is good.

We’re all different and we all get different things from travel.

Anyway, those are the questions that your post raise for me.

One last thing - any suggestions for any movies/tv shows (besides
Rick's shows) for my daughter & I to watch for some inspiration/ideas?
Currently watching Emily in Paris, & will watch Under The Tuscan Sun &
The Sound of Music next. Any suggestions (Other than the DaVinci
Code)?

ABSOLUTELY agree that movies and reading open up ideas and dreams and enrich travel. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle helped us in 1999. The Agony and the Ecstacy by Irving Stone in 2003.

Last year, a phenomenal TV series that is still on Netflix, Notre Dame le Feu in French with French subtitles (English subtitles are also available). That was a fictional piece “based on real events.” It was a great story with many strands that started months before the fire and has phenomenal special effects as different characters fought the fire, reported on it, or faced other events during the fire.

The novel Pompeii by Robert Harris, Carlo Levi’s Christ Stopped at Ebola as well as The Aeneid were valuable, earlier this year.

Late note Just saw …

Right now, I think we're going to, as another poster above put it,
save Spain & Portugal for the next trip, & spread those 7 allotted
nights among England, Switzerland & Italy, & save France for the end
of the trip.

That’s great. Switzerland is perhaps the most expensive country in Europe, so you may wish to make northern Italy’s Lake Garda, Dolomites, and/or Alps your cooler, mountain interlude as you travel from Ravenna towards France.

Have you traveled to Europe before? Sounds like you have not, yet. But hopefully this will be the first of multiple trips for each of you.

No, never been to Europe

Have you traveled anywhere for six weeks before?

No, but after a lifetime of taking 1 week vacations, been taking 2 week, & sometimes 2 1/2 week vacations last 4-5 years, traveling the US.

Is this just you and your daughter?

Yes, my brother and his lovely lady might join us for a week at some point, but other than that, just the kid & me.

Whose idea is the trip?

My idea, after learning I'm eligible for a sabbatical from my employer. One of the reasons I picked Europe was my daughter's interest in London & Paris

What do you want to experience?

A little hard to answer this - other than, at least for this initial trip, the highlights of the countries/cities we'll be visiting. Would love to see Liverpool, as I'm a huge Beatles fan, the Swiss Alps, Eiffel Tower, Pompeii, Rome

What does she want to experience?

All things London - Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, as well as Paris , the Eiffel Tower, and, very important - she wants to experience French pastry - she loves macaroons

What have the two of you discussed?

Everything I've mentioned above, plus the cruise (she's been on cruises before). We also discussed how we're planning on traveling light

What does “through the back door” mean to you? Or your daughter? Rick’s back door concept is great, but his legacy may be that he has transformed back doors to front porches.

Doesn't really mean all that much, other than it's sort of a guide to get one to think beyond the typical tourist when travelling

What if any languages do you speak? Or what does she speak and how well?

She knows a bit of Spanish, French and Italian, by no means fluent. Same for me, but only Spanish. We plan on boning up on our French via a program such as Rosetta Stone or Duo Lingua.

Are there themes you want to explore? To the extent history is a theme, what history?

she's very interested in English history, Pompeii, and Paris. She wants to take classes in Paris that teach pastry making.

Might 6 weeks be too long?

The cruise during week 4 is meant as a way to catch our breath

Have you thought about slowing down? Might that be a good idea or a bad one?

As you've noted below, I've already acknowledged my initial plan was way too ambitious, it still may be, but right now the plan is to stay in one city per country & take day trips, & also plan on rest/chill days too.

Have you considered exploring a country or region as opposed to hitting the highlights of much of southern and Western Europe - with a likely focus on capitals?

I think my previous reply addresses this.

Thank you for making me think about & answer these questions - I'm looking for any and all feedback.

marcserafin01,
Your plans are really sounding good...well-balanced and thoughtful regarding your movement around Europe. Keep us informed of your plans as they progress. All the best to you and your daughter on this adventure!

Marc,

Sounds like the two of you are having the right conversations. I appreciate your answers though they weren’t necessary. To the extent your answers help the two of you with the planning process - perfect!

Find places with pools or beaches near the Mediterranean. Summer is hot.

Buon viagge.

Just a practical question-
Is your daughter a morning teenager? I ask because at that age, most teens are not. They stay up late on their devices and can't get going in the mornings. It's pretty normal for the age. If so , have you planned for that?
My husband and I are seniors, experienced travelers, and we were in the NL and Belgium this past spring. We had never been in these countries before, and I'd planned many day trips, which were all great, but after our first week, we needed to slow down- we were almost happy to have a rainy day and stay in. When you look at your daily lives at home, you have weekends off from work and school. You have days to sleep in. My point is to be aware of your pace. Many travelers get colds on long trips, sometimes don't sleep as well, need to get laundry done, etc. Just something to consider.
You will have a wonderful trip, will make life-long memories, so enjoy! Safe travels!

“Slow down you move too fast, you got to make the moment last……”
Travel memories are wonderful morsels to recall and also provide the impetus for taking more trips. Strongly counsel to adopt a “be there” instead of a “see there” attitude.
Consider the huge menu of opportunities offered within London and then set aside, just for this moment, going to any of the well known major must visit attractions. You are left with the following memory makers:

1. During low tide take a walk along the “beaches” of the Thames and gain a perspective the vast majority of tourist miss. Tip: do so across from the Tower of London.
2. Purchase the makings of a picnic and eat lunch on the park grounds near Buckingham Palace. During the summer you will be joined by locales seeking to escape their offices.
3. Walking is fabulous and the RS London travel guide offers several detailed walks providing a bit of history, shopping and eating.
4. Shows. Take a deep dive into finding a show or two to attend in the evenings. We highly value purchasing tickets the day of the show and the value is terrific.
5. Keep in mind summer offers longer hours of daylight so plan the day to allow resting your feet at some point. London offers so much green space with places to rest.
6. Shopping, ask your 14 year old to invest in identifying consignment shops. Great souvenirs are those worn back stateside when your shirt, blouse, skirt, scarf or hat reminds you of the experience of the purchase.
7. Have you a favorite hobby? Seek to experience it while on your journey.
8. We prefer to rent apartments for the additional space, benefits from a kitchen and also being in a neighborhood. Many offer a clothes washer which can be a great advantage while on a multi week trip. We do a lot of research seeking local property management companies specializing in short term vacation rentals. Yes, you need to research the quality of what is being offered and it can be more expensive. However we find the overall benefits are much better than hotel stays.