Circle tour

At first blush you don't have time to get off of any path. Two nights in each city means an afternoon and the next day, max. Except for maybe Geneva, you're short-changing them all by a mile.

You've a similar problem with the day trips. Except for Bratislava, you don't have time to see anything once you subtract the travel time out and back.

The rail pass may have been a mistake, but you've already bought it.

Can we assume this is your first European trip as a FIT?

You need to do some very serious rethinking.

Sorry to bust your bubble, but I'm tactless.

Hopefully others will have a different perspective.

Harvey, so two nights in each town? Vienna to Munich by train is pretty much a full day. So you get some evening hours in Munich. Then you get the next day in Munich and another evening before boarding the train again? Okay, if that floats your boat. You can certainly do Budapest as a day trip from Vienna. Get up at 5:30am and catch an early train and you can be in Budapest by 10am (3 hour trip). I can give you an idea of what to do between a 10am arrival and a 9pm departure (getting you back to Vienna by midnight). A little much for me (UN F.I.T) but I think @Fred has done this. Give me a date and I can tell you what is going on in Budapest. But I suggest arriving on a morning train, spending the night so you can see some of the night life or concerts or food and lights, etc; then taking a morning train back to Vienna. But remain flexible because you might love it and want to spend two or three nights. If its really, really, really cold and snowy; head for a bathhouse and sit outside in 100F water. Great fun. Or ice skating at the lake or ...... Give me a date.

Off the beaten track in November and December would pretty much be anyplace in Central Europe. But you might look towards Slovakia by taking the train first to a stop in the High Tatras and then on to Kosice, and then to Budapest but that would be a several day trip. The Archabbey at Pannonhalma is always interesting and its on the way from Vienna to Budapest but would take half a day to begin to appreciate. Then there is Sopron also not far from Vienna and where a lot of the Austrians go to get better prices (Sopron is in Hungary). If you are there after about the third week in November the Christmas Markets would be open.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/eastern-europe-which-country-city-will-be-best-during-Christmas
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/holiday-season-in-budapest

I think Bratislava is OK as a day trip from Vienna (1 hour each way). Vienna to Salzburg is 2.5 hours each way by train, making it not a great day trip, but Salzburg is a natural stop on the way to Munich, to start your loop. Why have you selected Geneva? If you're not set on it, then consider Luzern. Two nights is fine for Milan, but if you travel 2 hours more, Florence can be a more interesting city. Or, to stay on the direct route between Milan and Venice, you could make a stop at Verona or Padova.

How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.

I have to agree with Ed. We are also F.I.Ts, and as such we usually spend 3 or more nights in each town we visit so that we can get to know and get the feeling of where we are. We sometimes visit other sights as day trips from towns where we sleep and if we want to see many sights we might stay 4, 5 or even 7 nights in one town. Two weeks does not seem to be enough time to be 'free flowing'. You have at most 1.5 days in each in Munich, Geneva, Milan, and Venice and you have the issue of getting from the train station to your hotel and checking in when you arrive and then 1.5 days later checking out and getting to the station to move on. You seem to be doing a lot of rushing around and will be on a pretty tight schedule.

My suggestion would be to limit your first week to 2 cities of your choice, explore each city and do one day trip if you want from each. Three nights in Venice would give you 2.5 days, just enough to explore Venice and visit Burano and Murano islands. Can't give you suggestions for the other cities as we have not been there.

If you really want to just 'see' each of your listed cities, you have a couple of responses that are helpful.

@Carol, I guess I wasn't sarcastic enough to get my point across. Possible? Sure, but only that.

Sorry - was trying to show Ed he's not tactless, while being tactful.

'Don't ask for an opinion if you don't want it.' Mom, 1950.