Opinions on my itinerary please!

Sounds like a fun trip with a reasonable itinerary. Although you'll surely hear a lot of "Go hear, don't go there", ultimately, its your money, so see what you want to see.

I've also heard people describe Naples as a "dump"... which given their current trash problem, is a bit ironic.

For the big cities here is my opinion

London - need only 3 days in the city
Paris - 2 1/2-3 days in the city
Rome - I only needed 2 days - I preferred the smaller Italian towns more

Florence - 2 days is more than enough in the city; if you have time do another side trip to Pisa or Assisi with your home base as Florence

I wasn't impressed by Naples - Go to Sorrento (1 hour train ride south?) and maybe a boat ride to Capri for a day

Catlin- I would skip Stonehenge. It is not worth it. At least I did not think it was anything great. There is a fence around it now, so you cannot get up close to it. Spend more time in London itself. The British museum is great. Sounds like a great trip you have planned. -Kim

I agree about Stonehenge. Its one of those places that is only worth seeing because people will ask "Have you seen Stonehenge"?

You are smart enough to take enough tome. There are some people that try to do that much in 2 weeks total.

Remember, you will be back!

I think that sounds great. Two things:

(1) I have heard people say that Naples is not worth visiting. Haven't been there myself so don't know for sure. You might search this site to see what others think. If you decide it's not worth the bother, you might delete the two days in Naples and spend one additional day in Venice, and one somewhere else.

(2) There was a big discussion about whether or not Stonehenge is worth seeing on this board not long ago -- should be easy to find, just scroll down a bit. I haven't been, so I don't have an informed opinion to offer. One of my colleagues was just there and she's really glad she saw it.

If budget is a true consideration that I would cut my days in England down,, the pound is 2x as much as the dollar where as euro is 1.5x as much.
And frankly, eight days in London when you are only giving Rome and Paris four or five days,????
I also suggest Stonehenge is an expensive side trip just for one thing, I would choose Bath easily over it. At Bath there are serveral things worth seeing, the Baths themselves and very interesting exhibits there( you did realize it is built on Roman ruins , which are partially ecavated to show you heating system, the Roman Empire really owned half the world at one time) . Also in Bath is the Costume Musuem which I enjoyed. Also the church near the Baths is very interesting, I spent like an hour in there almost reading the grave memorials on the wall.

I would go to Pompei,sounds great, but, I would totally skip Naples as it wallows in its garbage strike... Naples does not sound very clean,, do a search on it. LOL

I really liked seeing Stonehenge. Even though it's true that you can't walk in and among the stones, it's a unique place in the world to see.

I would be more likely to skip Naples. I would really like to see Pompeii/Herculaneum, but the thought of Naples keeps me from it. I visit Ostia Antica outside Rome for ancient ruins instead.

Florence is the place to get advance reservations for your sightseeing, especially in June. Lodging in Florence isn't cheap or nice.

When you visit St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice make sure it's a time when they have the lights on inside.

Bath is really nice, it's worth a visit. I also liked Salisbury Cathedral in that direction.

Have fun.

I'm going to chime in on what other people have said about Naples. I've lost count of how many times I've been to Europe - - 8 to Italy alone, with #9 coming up in April. The only place I've truly hated was Naples. Dirty then and must be abominable now with the garbage strike. Gypsies and other beggars all over the place. Total disorganization. E.g., there is excellent public transport, but there are no maps. No one seems to know where to catch the buses or trams; or they mention a piazza that's 2 blocks long in each direction with stops for various lines scattered all around. Or, they tell you the name of a piazza whose official name is different from the one used by locals; so you can't find it. The only important sight is the Archaelogical Museum, which houses most of the artifacts found at Pompei. You can stay in Pompei and ride the train in for the day, if you want to see the museum.

I think your trip sounds great, and 8 nights in London isn't to many. There is so much to see there that you won't see it all in that lenght of time. Stonehenge is interesting, I'm glad I saw it but I wouldn't go back. Windsor is a great day trip, while in Windsor be sure to see Windsor Great Park and Eton both worth while. The Horse & Groom Pub righ outside of Windsor Castle is a great place to eat and not expensive. Bath is nice, Bath Abbey beautiful. Another place you might want to consider would be Canterbury.

Thanks very much everyone for your input. I might change my mind regarding Naples. I do really want to see Pompeii, and the Archeological Museum, but maybe I will look into staying somewhere else - Sorrento maybe? Thanks again!

Stay in Sorrento instead of Naples--much more relaxing and by that you'll want someplace calm.

Instead of Stonehenge, think about a day trip to York. While Bath is Roman, York is Viking. Fascinating place. Easily accessable by high speed train for the day.

While in London, look into "London Walks." They are guided tours throughout the city and since I too travel alone, meet others in the same boat. Sometimes I hook up with someone for the day or meet later for drinks.

On your return through London, check out Yo hotels. They are located at both Gatwick and Heathrow. Mini-rooms but not very expensive and you save on the train in and out of the city.

Instead of four days in Marseille, why not two there and two closer to Nice. The Cinque Terre is different than the French Riviera and places like Monaco and Eze should be seen.

Just some ideas......

Bath is nice but I agree that York is better. The Shambles, castle wall & especially the York Minster are my favorites. York Minster is incredible! Easily accesible by train from London. You can do brass rubbings in york too.

I would skip Naples. Go to Positano and take ferries to Amalfi, Sorrento, Capri, bus to Ravello from Amalfi. You can definitely get to Pompeo from this area.

I would agree with everyone about Stonehenge. I would recommend Bath, Salisbury, Canterbury, the Cotswolds and/or Stratford-Upon-Avon (very near there is Warkwick Castle, too).

While think you could spend months in London and not see everything you want to, I would be very careful about being on a budget in London. Like someone mentioned, it's currently $2 to 1 pound, which stinks. Take advantage of the great, free museums. I can't remember if it's free, but I would recommend the Imperial War musuem. I'm not a huge history buff, but I ended up there twice during my study abroad time in London. It was fascinating!

Also, I personally think four nights in Florence is too much. Florence is the one European city I just really didn't like. Unless you're taking side trips, I'd consider two nights adequate.

On your trip to Florence I would also do a side trip to Pisa.We covered Sienna and Pisa in one day and had a blast. Lots of good inexpensive shopping in Florence. I bought stuff in Paris first and when I got to Florence I found the same scarfs and gloves alot less than what I paid in Paris. Beware of the shops on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. A shop owner told my Italian friend(whom she thought was our tourguide)to leave us so she can sell her overpriced jewelry!My Italian friend told her she was not a tour guide and she rushed us out! Don't forget to reserve your tickets to the Uffizi Gallery. The lines are quite long if you don't. While in Marseilles, you might also want to do a side trip to Arles. The coliseum is amazing. From Arles, we also covered Gordes and other quaint Provence towns. The drive was easy and just lovely. Happy travels! Nice itinerary.