europe

My recommendation would be to consider your geography and fly open jaw into whichever city makes the most sense for the first part of your trip and out of whichever city makes the most sense for the end of your trip. Perhaps fly into CDG and out of Venice or Milan (or vice versa). You probably wouldn't fly into FRA, MUC, or ZRH since they're sort of in the middle of your route, but I could come up with an itinerary that could work for flying into or out of MUC or ZRH. Also, go to the library and reference a few guidebooks for sightseeing ideas and must-see places.

Well I am no genius, but I would look at Paris, then train to Germany -Switzerland-Italy, then fly back from Rome,, or vice versus. Depending on when you go , I would start south and work north or north and work south, you know how hot Italy gets,, insane!
I would start pricing out flights from both Italy and France. Also how long is trip, and which cities in Italy are you interested in visiting, no point in flying out of Rome if you don't want to go there, although if price for international open jaw flight was very good...

As a former 'Burgher myself, US Airways has good flights out of Philly to lots of European gateways. I saw some pretty good fares to/from Venice, and have used them out of Munich. Price out some open jaw itineraries on their website. Sometimes there is a price difference going in or out one or the other, but not a whole lot. But don't get married to them, you just might find a better deal with someone else. Kayak is a good resource, and ITA Matrix site gets you in the ballpark of ticket prices.