Europe: 8 Week Summer 2025 Itinerary Help

I did a similar tour with an Art Major College Group. I would 1st consider what the kids might be interested in visiting. At the end of the
tour I didn't want to see another Gothic Church. Save time for non-tourist activities away from the lines and the crowds. I might trim back and concentrate on a couple of regions to have a more immersive experience. I know it is tempting to want to see everything; the "Whitman Sampler" tour. Maybe it will work for you this time, so you can go back to where you want to linger longer next time. Bon Voyage!

With 17 nights in Italy - and just 10 nights in the 3 countries with Alps, it seems you may be shortchanging the latter countries and maximizing the time you spend in hot-weather places.

We could maybe provide some good suggestions for adding time to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, perhaps also the Italian Alps, places where you might do some typical outdoor family activities in addition to the museums and other typical touristy sightseeing stuff. Rick Steves doesn't focus much on typical kid stuff. You haven't been to Austria or Switzerland previously, correct? What are your kids into? Where did you spend time previously in Germany? And are you attempting to return to places you went to before, or are you targeting new places in these countries?

Wow. That is quite the Grand Tour. I might suggest going from CT to Rome. Then to Florence, to avoid back tracking. See Pisa and Siena as separate day trips from Florence.

I know you have Eurail passes, but you can get cheap flights from Venice to Munich to avoid a long day on the train. Then you could train to Salzburg and Garmisch. If you base in Garmisch for a few days you can day trip with a rental car to Fussen (castles), Innsbruck (?), and of course the Zugspitze. Getting to the Berner Oberland from there would be another long day on the train.

I don't see many rest days. As young and energetic as your family may be, there will be a point where 1 or more are going to hit a wall. And with only backpacks, you are going to need days where you have to do laundry, as mundane and boring as that sounds. Using Florence and perhaps Garmisch as a base for day tripping might allow for this?

I believe France railways and Eurostar(Paris to London) have quotas for eurail passes on their trains. So you would want to book reservations on those well in advance.

What's your planned arrival day in Europe?

I'm a weather-focused traveler, so I like the idea of starting in the south and ending in the UK. The places you are targeting are accessible to international tourists, so I don't see a need to start in the UK.

I wonder about having just 3 nights in Nice. You guys will have a very long overnight trip to get there. One or more of you may be crushed by sleep-deprivation and jetlag, limiting what you can do on your arrival day and even slowing you down on your first full day in the city. Most people who go Nice want to see a number of places along the coast and up in the hills. Three nights isn't going to allow a lot of time for exploration outside Nice. Most trains from Nice to Monterosso in the Cinque Terre take over six hours, so that too-short-for-me stop in Nice is costing you a lot of transportation time. I'd seriously consider dropping Nice if you can't beef up the time there in order to allow a better look at that part of France.

Given the natural desire to expose the children to a wide variety of locations and experiences, I understand the breadth of the sketched-out itinerary. The pace in Italy isn't bad at all. But it's important to recognize the degree to which so much moving around will cut into your sightseeing time. This is a long trip; you definitely have to get some downtown one way or another; sitting on a train is one way to accomplish that. However, you don't want to shortchange yourselves in terms of the time you have at the actual destinations. I'd suggest making a list of stops in rough priority order. Figure out how much time you want at each location (discounting time spent getting there, which is usually at least half a day), beginning at the top of the list. My bet is that you'll run out of days before you hit the bottom of the list. That is an experience probably everyone on this forum has had. It happens to me on every trip, and I'm retired, so my trips are very long. It's not the end of the world if you need to set some places aside for the next trip.

Stonehenge--and Salisbury, from which it is often visited--is a lot closer to Bath than to London. I haven't dug into the transportation schedules, and I know closer isn't the same as faster, but I think there might be a better plan than the long out-and-back trip from London, especially given that you also want to go to Bath.

Thanks so much for the initial responses.

@Kathleen: Very good points about architecture/church burnout. Also gives us some food for thought on trimming the itinerary to create more home bases/longer stays and more immersive experiences in each location.

@Russ: We are currently Italy heavy in our itinerary and some of that is visiting places my wife and I previously explored (Venice), but swapping a few days or bundling Siena/Pisa as trips from Florence may help us balance and get some more time in the cooler temperature of the Alps. Our daughter (14) is very into the arts (draws, paints, plays piano, and dances) so she will enjoy a bit of that scene more than our son (11) who will surely gravitate toward alpine hiking and outdoor activities. I did notice RS materials had some logistics while traveling with kids, but obviously doesn’t focus on Disneyland Paris type attractions. I think avoiding large lines/crowds and gravitating toward activities they enjoy or have a hand in planning will go a long way in their enjoyment of the trip.

@CJean: Thanks for the ideas around connecting to/from Rome. I thought I saw some RS info about a night train connecting Venice and Munich, but I didn’t initially find any current info on an admittedly shallow online search. Taking a strategic intra-Europe flight that adds efficiency is certainly on the table, and Venizia to München might be the way to go. Yes, I like your idea of having some rest days (no formal sightseeing planned) for trips to the pharmacy, laundry, or leisurely shopping is also much appreciated.

We’ll start to refine given the feedback and welcome more ideas, thanks!

@acraven: Thanks so much for the thoughtful response and ideas. The great aspect of this season in our family life is the “schedule” flexibility. I’ve added 2 nights to the Nice leg (edited post above to show 5 from original 3). This now has us landing in France on June 16th. And you’re right, Nice has given this self-appointed travel planning nerd many logistical puzzles to try and solve. But factoring in jetlag and proper time for exploration is necessary. Good point on downtime and affording enough time at the destination, while also accounting for the duration to get there. We usually have a mindset of “this is our first time” when we travel, and expect to be back to most places/areas. I’m hearing this needs to be more concretely reflected in our itinerary. Good point on visiting Stonehenge via Bath rather than London, I’ve updated that note on the initial post too.

Germany's Zugspitze pales a bit if your plans for Lauterbrunnen include the Schilthorn. But assuming you will be staying in the general vicinity of the Zugspitze, here are some ideas that might interest your family.

Highline 179, near Reutte.
Adorable Mittenwald (not that far from Innsbruck, btw) and Geigenbaumuseum
Bavarian Evening at the Fraundorfer Inn (Garmisch-Partenkirchen)

You can download a schematic of the train lines which connect Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Mittenwald, Innsbruck, Reutte and Munich by scrolling down and clicking on the download button at this page.

And you mentioned Salzburg... In tiny Werfen, Austria, a short distance from Salzburg:

Hohenwerfen Fortress and falconry exhibition Where Eagles Dare (all-star cast) was filmed here.
Sound of Music Trail - hike to the Do-re-mi meadow, a short walk from townI
The Eisriesenwelt ice cave adventure

The usual route between the Berner Oberland and Paris takes you via BASEL, which puts you rather close to the Black Forest and Strasbourg - you would probably enjoy a stopover for a couple of nights:

Black Forest "Open-air" Museum in Gutach provides a terrific look at local culture. This is a train stop on the Black Forest Railway, one of Germany's most scenic train trips; the stop is directly in front of the museum.

Black Forest Railway map (Gutach stop not shown, but it's near Hausach.)

Right near the museum is this fun summer bobsled run. Other nice old-world towns on this railway include handsome Gengenbach, Haslach, Villingen and Triberg. Gengenbach is an especially handsome town and not far from Strasbourg France - and is popular with several of this forum's members as a base town.

Strasbourg is a fine city to visit and from there, Paris is less than 2 hours away by high-speed train.