Hello all, I am interested in planning a first trip to Europe for sometime next year. Trip length to be between 2-3 weeks. Ideally I would like to visit 3-4 places. I am mostly interested in seeing Barcelona, Paris, Swiss Alps, and some of Italy if possible. I think it may be too much though. Any suggestions on how to plan a route like this.
Thanks
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Read a bunch of guidebooks to get a sense of what you like. They don't have to be 100% up to date for this purpose; you can hit your public library. Read Europe through the Back Door, especially the section on itinerary planning. Set priorities and familiarize yourself with a map that includes your top destinations and the transportation infrastructure that connects them. Determine the most efficient route between these places For each destination, prioritize sights and activities. Decide roughly how much time you'd need to do your top stuff in each place. Make a rough cut and post it here if you'd like some comments.
Posted by
Washington DC Region, USA
7052 posts
Pick an area/region or cluster of cities that minimize your travel time and cost in getting from point-to-point. Figure out what sort of mix you want first - city vs. rural, coast vs. inland, mountains vs. beach etc by reading up on what you're most interested in. Then mock up a schedule after you've calculated distances and have a route ready. Folks here make good suggestions once you have a sample route in place.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
With the distances between the places you're considering, I'd suggest 3 weeks, not 2. I don't think your list is "too much," unless you want to see a lot of places in Italy. This board is full of people's planned itineraries with only 2 or 3 days in places like Paris or Rome, and many days racing to and fro by train or air. With 3 weeks, you've got a much better pace. The suggestions above are good ones.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15768 posts
Until you've taken the plunge, it's hard to predict what would be best for you. I've done both "whirlwind" trips and "snail-pacers." I've enjoyed them all but I've found that the multi-stop trips work for me if I have stays of 3-4 nights at least once a week and don't have too much travel time. In places like Spain and Italy, the train stations are usually quite close to the tourist areas, so changing locations doesn't eat up a lot of time. Air travel does - long (costly) trips to/from the airport, extra time for check-in and security, waiting for baggage claim on arrival, and suddenly your 1.5 hour flight has used up almost an entire day of sightseeing.