First Time to Europe - One month itinerary

Are you counting travel time, because when I see 2 nights,, it means one full day of actual touring. I am also confused because you leave Paris, then return to Paris, then leave Paris. Also, with Airtransat you could fly into Amsterdam, and work your way to Rome as last stop and fly out of Rome. Use the multi destination search, prices are not much more then return. And finally, just my opinion, but places like Paris and Rome really need at least 3 full days( so 4 nights) ,, not including daytrips out.

First trips are notoriously fast paced, and that's a good thing, usually. But for a whole month you will need to vary the pace. I don't care how nimble you are (and on your first trip you will not be moving at top speed, there's a lot to learn): if you see everything at the same breakneck pace, it will all blur together and you will not have anything like the best month you COULD have. I could nibble away at the edges of this - for instance, there is no night train to Interlaken, your Paris day trips are too ambitious, and unless you have lots of experience managing jet lag you probably won't be seeing a lot on your first day. But instead I have a less-modest suggestion. You've got a WHOLE MONTH, which is awesome. Pick an anchor for your trip where you will plan to stay for 5-7 whole days, getting to know the place a little and taking the time to smell the cappuccino. A week in Provence, 5 days in Tuscany, someplace where there is lots to see and do but also some countryside and small towns. Schedule this sometime in the middle of your trip, then plan the rest of your trip with that in mind. So, a week or two of athletic sightseeing, then hunker down, recharge, and see things a little more close up. Then spring into action once more. This is an experience that would not be possible on a short trip, but, you lucky dogs, you have a MONTH. Seize the opportunity. This means leaving a few things on your list until next time. It's worth it, believe me.

Courtney, Have you already bought your airfare? You could fly into Paris and do a more one way tour Paris - Brugge - Amsterdam - Berlin - Rothenburg - Rhine - Fussen - Lauterbrunnen Valley and then fly home from Zurich. It would save you a lot of Travel time. Assuming you've already bought your airfare - I have done similar trips, and usually don't care to linger too long in big cities (except for London - never too long there). The only comments I have for you are I agree with Adam that your day trips out of Paris are a little ambitious. You might consider renting a car outside of Paris and spending 2 nights. 1 in Normandy - maybe Bayeau, and then 1 night in the Loire Valley, then return your car and head to Switzerland by train - no need to stop in Paris again! The other thing that really strikes me is going so far out of the way for Rome. I would take that time and add possibly a 2nd night to Rothenburg, one to Berlin and one to the Rhine. Save Italy for another trip.

Jill. Thanks for the idea. We are just about to buy our flights so we still have a chance to do what you've suggested.

Courtney, My first impression is that even for a month, this is very "ambitious" and the order is not the most efficient. If you prefer "blitz" travel, it should be possible but you may need a holiday when you get home. What month "this summer" were you planning to take this trip? A few thoughts.... > You'll probably still be suffering jet lag on Day 1, so may not get as much "touring" done as planned. > What are you planning to see in Normandy? The D-Day sites cover a front of about 50 miles and extend some distance inland. You won't be able to see much with a few hours in a day trip. You could easily pass by significant sites and have no idea of their place in history. > The day trip to the Loire may be a bit much. There's LOTS to see in Paris! > Using a night train from Paris to Interlaken is not the best idea. While there are trains available, most have 3 or 4 changes, some in the "wee hours" of the morning. You won't get much sleep and will arrive tired and cranky. Rather than spend 10-12 hours in a night train, 5.5 hours by day makes more sense. > Are you planning to stay in Interlaken, or in the Lauterbrunnen Valley? > The trip from Interlaken to Rome will take the better part of 7 hours. That will leave about 2+ days for Rome, which isn't much. > How are you planning to get from Rome to Salzburg? > To visit the Castles, I'd suggest using Munich as a "home base" and visiting by train. You can either take a tour or make the Castle reservations on your own. > Were you planning to stop in Rothenburg for 1 day? > You might consider visiting St. Goar and the Rhine prior to Rothenburg, on the way to Berlin. The trip from Berlin to Amsterdam is easy. > Are you going to pre-book accommodations? Good luck and happy travels!

Ken. Thanks for the tips.
We are defi inept going to prearrange accommodations just to ease the stress of looking for things on the fly during what is most likely the busy season. Rome is probably going to get cut based on suggestions here and it's not really one of my must sees but I felt I should see it. But I suppose I could go back some other time and do Italy/Greece. I like your order of places. Thanks for that. That was the main thing I wanted help with here. There was a lot of confusion over the Germany locations. Thanks for the help.

Oops. Typo on the iPhone. I meant definitely going to prearrange.

Since there are almost infinite number of ways to do a trip like this, I'll just stick to the 3 big things that stick out to me on your itinerary. 1) The two day trips outside of Paris (If I understand this correctly) involve two separate brief car rentals? That seems very odd. While you can, in theory, get that far from Paris and back in one day, it is a long day and you'll burn another hour just getting and returning the car. It just seems like a rather desperate attempt to see a bit of France outside Paris without actually spending much time on it. 2) Rome is amazing. But you can't see every amazing place in Europe on this trip. Italy deserves it's own trip in which Rome serves as the centerpiece. Save yourself the time and transport headaches and omit Rome, allowing your route to get quite a bit more manageable. 3) While there's certainly nothing wrong with spending parts of four days in/around Mürren, the basics can be seen in one (it's a small area). I would spend at least two, giving you a chance to hike if one day is rainy. But more time will only be useful if you REALLY like to hike, or if you just plan to "Take a vacation from your vacation" as the saying goes. I always assumed I would be back in Europe in a reasonable number of years, and therefore it seemed to make more sense to really go in depth in one smaller area and then do the same in another area, and so on. Your plan (like many people's ) is rather scattershot. A person could spend a busy month just in France or Germany or Italy, etc. and see very diffrent things within just that one country. I know it's hard to go that way, and I'm not at all suggesting your general plan is poor. You could have a great time. It's just something to consider.

I would break your trip down with approx 1 week in each region: Week 1 France: -You could do 4 nights in Paris, 2-3 nights lets say in the Loire region Week 2 Switzerland -I have never been here so I can't give too much info, but maybe add Salzburg onto the end Week 3 Germany: -Instead of staying in Fussen, I would base out of Munich and day trip to the castles; there are plenty of tours that will take you there. 3 nights in Munich, 2 in Rothenburg, 2 on the Rhine Week 4 Netherlands, Blegium
-I would do belgium first, 2 nights in Bruges, 2 nights in Ghent, and then 3 nights in Amsterdam I would end this flying out of Amsterdam, if possible. Good luck

I mapped your itinerary because it was so confusing. The day trips out of Paris are way too much IMO. I did 2 nights in St. Malo out of Paris and that still felt like too short a time for the distance of getting there. There are a lot of outliers on this trip. Rome is one, glad you're cutting it. Cut anything you're seeing because you "feel like you should". Focus on the stuff that you really WANT to see and rework your itinerary from there. I agree with the post above mine that it would be much more pleasant to spend a week in a country, centered around one or two at the most locations. IF you had a week in Paris, you could make one of your "day trips" an overnight trip, at least. I wouldn't do both. 4 days in Paris, 1 day at Versailles, and 2 days in Normandy or Loire makes sense. In terms of day trips that do make sense - Salzburg is one you can do from Munich if you base out of there to see the castles. If you leave early and return late you can see much of what Salzburg has to offer. Or you could do an overnight there from Munich. I don't think it needs 2 nights, that night is better spent elsewhere. I would split your time in Germany between Munich to see the sights there/convenient to there, and one other region, either Rothenburg/Frankfurt/Rhine OR Berlin, not both.