europe visit in may-june

The first reaction is that you have 10 days of travel in an 11 day trip- no time to see anything other than airports & train stations. Would you consider cutting out Amsterdam and Zurich? Several days each in Paris & Venice make more sense IMO, especially when factoring in a 3 yo child.

Thanks Bob for your quick reply.
I can skip Amsterdam and add 2 more days if time doesn't permit as suggested by you but zurich is kinda must.

What is your opinion on travel in early/mid/end of May and June?

Is there a special reason you want to go to Zurich, or are you just looking for a few days in Switzerland? Zurich is pleasant, but not a special place. For cities, I think most people would suggest Lucerne, but the consensus is that if you're going to Switzerland your top priority should be to get into the mountains.

Also, Switzerland is very, very expensive. It's one thing to pay those prices for mountains. I wouldn't want to pay them for Zurich.

Fairly crowded by that time- do you have any flex in your time? If so, go in late April to avoid some ( but certainly not most ) of the crowds. Should we assume that Zurich is a must for non scenic reasons? I wouldn't waste a single day of your 10 days there for tourism.

I meant Switzerland only i.e. would like to explore Switzerland for 3 days at least...
Bob, i have a flexibility in terms of i can plan it in early-may. That's where i need your suggestion.

If you want to see mountains in Switzerland, then you should visit Lauterbrunnen instead of Zurich.

Arrive Amsterdam (3N)
Train to Paris (4N)
Train to Lausanne (1N)
Train to Lauterbrunnen (3N)
Train to Luzern (1N)
Depart Zurich

Any suggestions on traveling in May or June ?
Amsterdam vs Milan/Venice ? if i have to skip one, which one should i skip

Amsterdam vs Milan/Venice ? if i have to skip one, which one should i
skip

Skip Italy. Something like this:

Amsterdam - 3 nights
Paris - 4 nights
Lauterbrunnen - 3 nights
Luzern - 2 nights

Luzern has a direct rail link to the Zurich airport that runs every 30 minutes and takes 70 minutes, so you can stay in Luzern your final 2 nights and easily catch your return flight from Zurich.

So it looks like for sure i have to drop one country at least and i agree that has to be Italy(Milan-venice) only.
Thanks for your feedback.
Any inputs on traveling in may or June ?

May/June is a great time. Still some snow on the peaks. Alpine flowers appearing. Take some warm clothes though still.

Regarding your question of whether to travel in May or June, I'd suggest June as the weather may be better and it will likely be a bit warmer in Switzerland.

In terms of which places to visit, my preferences are a bit different than the others....

• Paris
• Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen or Mürren)
• Italy (Venice or Florence)

Good skip Italy , too many places travelling too fast and wotha child .

I have visited in May and June , in fact this past May we arrived on the 12 th and left Europe on June 2 nd . But I have been in June many times .

I personally would suggest late May . It can still be cool in April and wet , plus for the mountains you have a better chance of a clear day later than earlier in spring . Even on June you will need a warm sweater .

The crowds will be smaller in May and increasing as July approaches.

We traveled to Amsterdam last summer with our two year old and it was stressful. The streets are busy and crowded with people, trains, and bikes. My son wanted to walk- hard to do in such a busy place! Bruges, Paris, and Basel were all much more enjoyable with a toddler.

Katherine.. I imagine that would be hard.. I 've been to Amsterdam 4 times now.. and wow.. those streets are so dangerous, those cyclists are fast and hate us clueless pedestrians.. don't wander outside the pedestrian lines painted on ground.. lol.. a small child it would be hard..