We are doing a 10 day guided tour in Italy in October and flying back via Munich where we have the option to stay and extend our trip. we would need to get back to Munich at a later date to continue to the US.
As we are retired we are not limited in time and this will be the bucket vacation of our lifetime. Can anyone suggest a route and length of time to take to see the best of Europe etc. without completely taking us out of commission. Appreciate any other tips as well. Thx
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Lennore, most of us will have our own "best of europe" ideas, mine would be to visit Paris , take eurostar to London, then fly back to munich ( look at Easyjet)
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Lennore, where does your 10-day tour end? Will you still be in Italy? With lots of time Switzerland and/or France can offer great visits if we know a bit more about your trip.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8142 posts
If I was getting off an Italian road tour, I'd like to move East and do the Budapest, Vienna and Prague tripflying on Czech Airlines back into Munich.
I just like the idea of visiting old, imperial Europe.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
First, you are limited to 90 days in the Schengen Zone, which includes Italy, so you only have 80 days to see other Schengen countries (here's a link to the list): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area. Note that this is not the same as EU: The UK and Ireland are EU, but not Schengen, while Switzerland and Norway are not EU, but are Schengen. You can extend your time by going to non-Schengen countries, including non-EU ones like Turkey. Second, in October the days are getting shorter, colder, and/or wetter in Europe. You can focus on cities (where there's always something to do no matter what the weather) or places with Christmas markets (if you stay until December) or go where it's likely to be warmer (Spain, or more time in Italy), or just bundle up. But you may not want to go to some places where it will be off season and things will be closed. Third, even with those parameters, your question is unanswerable. If someone said "I'm coming to the US and spending 10 days in California, but have 80 more days to play with, so where should I go", everyone would give a different answer. So, start by reading guidebooks and watching videos (Rick Steves's videos are on Hulu and YouTube). If you haven't traveled in Europe before, you should also read Rick Steves Europe Through The Back Door, to learn about the "nuts and bolts" of European travel - itinerary planning, transit, food, lodging, etc. Once you figure out what places are calling to you, then we can help you further.
Posted by
OP
St. Paul, Mn, Us
2 posts
The tour ends in Italy - I believe we would not necessarily have to go with the group to the layover in Munich but would have to get back to Munich to get our flight back to the US. We would like to take another week to ten days to see more of EU. Suggestions?
Posted by
Grand Falls-Windsor, NL, Canada
307 posts
Hmmmm, my best of Europe?..after finishing your tour, perhaps head to Switzerland (the Berner Oberland, stay in Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, or Murren...also Luzerne is beautiful, take the Golden Round Trip to the top of Mt Pilatus while there )...both Paris and London should be high on anyone's best of Europe trip...two awesome cities that should not be missed...if you want to head east, visit Prague, another beautiful city...
If you want to stay 'relatively' handy to Munich, I think I would focus on Switzerland and Austria