First time to Europe! Where to go??

Without knowing anything about you, I can only give basic generic advice. Here are three options to choose from:

• London, Paris, and Amsterdam are easily connected by high-speed rail. They are among the world's greatest cities and are very easy for tourists, and they have more than enough to keep you engaged for 2 weeks. You could do just two of them as well.

• Rome, Florence, and Venice. Also easily connected by rail. If you prefer to keep your experience to one country, Italy has so much to offer in a relatively compact area.

• Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. These wouldn't be my top picks for a first visit to Europe, but they are very beautiful cities and also easy to connect by rail.

It really depends on what kind of trip you're looking for. There's no one right answer. But perhaps one of these options will make your heart beat faster.

Best of luck narrowing it down!

You must mean October 2018? Surely you cannot be weeks away having not purchased flights, organized an itenary, made hotel reservations? You don't even state what it is you like to do. I think you need to buy some guidebooks and start planning your 2018 trip.

Your question is sooooooo broad it is hard to answer. I am sure lots of people will try though. My advice: Post a little bit more about yourself and your expectations. Do you expect to travel more in the future? What do you like (museums, food, "aHa" moments, etc.) Do you mind crowds? Are you more interested in cities or a laid back lifestyle (or something in between like small cities?) In a "broad" sense, I often think people are best served by starting somewhere which is slightly familiar like England, Ireland, Scotland etc. Most of Western Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Greece etc.) are also good. So start with something to get your feet wet and move on to something slightly more exciting (perhaps London, Paris, Seville? as a crazy example.) Two weeks isn't a lot of time, so (IMHO) expect to see (at most) 4 cities or so. Enjoy and welcome to the "traveling the world" club.

London, great experience for all. Great museums terrific views and history. Of,course no language barrier. Train out to a university towns of Oxford or Cambridge And also to Windsor for a,great castle visit.

October is a great month for travel in Italy. That country might satisfy your adventurous spirits better than the other choices. Fly into Venice, then take a train to Florence. From Florence to Rome would be quick by train, also. Fly home from Rome (use "multi-city" when making flight reservations).

If you've never been to Europe, and you're just starting to think up an itinerary for a trip less than 2 months away, I think you'd better stick to just a couple of larger cities that are close together and won't be too much of a culture shock. London, Paris and Amsterdam would fit that bill.

Do you even have passports yet?

Since you'll only have 2 weeks, look into booking multicity flights. Into London and out of Amsterdam. Use trains to move from city to city. Good luck.

Oh, and go to a book store first thing in the morning and get some guidebooks. And READ them. Rick Steves books have been our pick for years.

London Paris Rome

I'm not sure why most people on here make out that you need atleast 6+ months to book any trip to Europe!

If you're not travelling in peak period, I would think 2 months is more than enough time, even 1 month prior would be fine. Once you've decided on which cities to visit, booking some flights and a few hotels can be done in an afternoon. (if that's your style). Disclaimer: I'm heading to Europe in December and started planning 6 months ago! Though I know plenty if people who decide last minute and still manage fine.

As to the original question, would need a bit more info from the OP before any recommendations can be made.

Hi,

My first trip to Europe I got the passport two months prior to departure, chose to focus on three capitals...London, (west) Berlin, Vienna because I knew what I wanted to see (historically) either by tour or solo in each of the three cities. But I had 12 weeks.

For your trip of two weeks I would suggest normally London, Paris, Amsterdam, depending on the depth of your interest somewhere else. Since you're "very adventurous," go to London, Berlin and Vienna.

London, Paris, and Rome would be a good choice, or pick one of England, France, Italy. Doing only big cities could get exhausting, but I am guessing you are young so you can probably handle it. You could also do very well with England and France alone and try and mix in some smaller cities. London, Paris, Rome are each worth five nights, four full days minimum, and of course you could spend much more time in each. Lots of great places are easily reachable on the train in Italy, and trains are fairly cheap. Italy is most conducive to a single country train trip as most of the best places are close to the Venice-Florence-Rome route. Siena, Orvieto, are two smaller cities easy to reach by train. In France you could have a good trip with Paris plus Provence and maybe the Riveira, all well connected by train. I don't think you are too late at all, but start planning fast and maybe aim for the second half of October. We always travel shoulder season and I typically book hotels two months in advance, sometimes less.

You must mean October 2018? Surely you cannot be weeks away having not purchased flights, organized an itenrary, made hotel reservations?

Well, she/he did say they were very adventurous... ;)

Saving grace here is it's October. Agree with the consensus that if it's your first trip, stick to the biggies: London, Paris, Amsterdam (with some minor day-trips out).

My advice would be to drop everything else you don't need to survive right now, and focus all your efforts on quickly nailing down your flights first. Fly in to London, train to Paris, then Amsterdam. Fly home from Amsterdam (this will probably save you some money). Then, start working on how you will divide your time, how many days in each city. Then start booking accommodations.

If you light a fire right now, you can pull this off. But you are very, very late to the planning game. With each passing day, your options diminish and become more expensive, less attractive. The best, most sought-after hotels get snapped up by good planners almost a year ahead. The fact that you're going in October will save you from getting badly skunked.

Drop everything else in your life right now and get cracking. Time's a-waisting.

I would do London,Paris,Italy.You could do London,Paris in 5 or 6 days then head to Italy...You only need 2 days each for each for Venice ,Florence,Rome.In fact,you probably can get away with just 1 night in Venice.I wouldn't spend more than 2 nights there.

I don't think you should miss Paris.Get it out of the way whether you love it or not.Air travel in Europe is very cheap so you travel great distances for cheap-$50-aslong as you're not checking in baggage.Travel is so cheap by train within Italy and Florence and Rome have the best museums.Venice is interesting also and romantic.

I would do London,Paris,Italy.

Respectfully disagree. London + Paris + Amsterdam work well together - they're easily and quickly connected. No need to fly anywhere - flying kills a whole day (getting to/from airports, security, etc.). Linking the 3 aforementioned cities by train is more efficient. London + Paris + Amsterdam fit together nicely and are perfect for a first trip to Europe.

Save Italy for a separate trip when you can do it justice - trying to do it combined with London & Paris is too much of a stretch for a short first trip. Italy deserves more time.

For a first trip, keep it simple, particularly if it is October 2017. Have a week in both London and Paris with day trips from each. Less travel to organise this way and you won't waste too much time in transit.

Fly into London, take the Eurostar to Paris, where you would fly home from to avoid back tracking. Have a night in York if you want a trip within a trip.

If your trip is this October, buy any train tickets and flights asap as prices will only head in one direction. The last two weeks of October are school holidays in various parts of Europe, so places will be busier.

Woah, people really think you need more than 2 months to plan a simply (2 -3 cities over 2 weeks) Eurpoean trip?

Man, I'm planning a trip for my grandmother and aunt in November and aside from airfare to/from Europe, I haven't done a single bit of planning yet. How will we survive? lol.

OP: You're fine. Now is the right time to start planning. Planning well in advance is only necessary if you have a hugely complicated trip or are on a really tight budget.

I do think the London-Amsterdam-Paris trio is a good overview for a first time European trip. If you want to stick to just one country, Germany is quite easy for foreigners to navigate and has a lot of quintessentially "European" sights. If you wanted to hit more than just one country, a trip that involved Munich/Bavaria/Salzburg, Austria - Prague - Berlin would be really diverse, affordable, and fun.

Woah, people really think you need more than 2 months to plan a simply (2 -3 cities over 2 weeks) Eurpoean trip?

I'm not sure experienced travelers would require 2 months to plan a 2 week trip to Europe, but the OP mentioned it was the first time for both she and her husband. Of course, they may have traveled extensively elsewhere, although I kind of doubt they would be posting here if they were familiar with Asia, Africa, S. America etc. (maybe though.) When I think back to my first trip (which I planned and executed myself) it took a LONG time and boy, in retrospect, did I make mistakes. Also, I would think a snap decision (wow, we've never traveled anywhere, let's go to Europe in 2 months) is unlikely for most people--at least most people I know.

Bah. It doesn't take a year to plan a trip. I never book more than 6-8 weeks out. They're not trekking to Antarctica, they're going to modern, cosmopolitan cities. It's not that complicated.

Depends what your historical and cultural interests are. Amsterdam is pure fun with lots to do, both serious and fun. Berlin is very cool. Vienna is great. Stockholm is cool and a little off the beaten path. I've never been to Spain or Italy but I'd like to go. You could literally pick any three cities and have a great time. Allow 4-5 days to get a good handle on a city and not feel too rushed.

All I need is three days to plan and go. I'm sure I could do it in less, but I don't want to be too crazy that last day. ;) Six weeks to plan is a luxury, but maybe not as exhilerating. However, now that I'm of mature years and am more mellow, I like to have a trip in the plan at all times for the fun side of planning, so I also look 6 months ahead...maybe that is why people think they need so much time? It's fun adding quickly planned trips in between those that have been on the books a while.

That being said...you do need to buy a guide book so you can decide what you want to see. What is on your bucket list? Only you can decide that. Certainly, during your life so far you've thought...'I want to see Paris' or 'I want to see Berlin' and such. That's how you pick your destination not from strangers throwing out names. Do your research and come back with specific questions. That's when this forum is extremely helpful or come back just for fun.

Hi,

This is the opportunity to put the "very adventurous" travel disposition into practice. Depending on where you decide to fly into and out of, ie, a open jaw flight, you could fly into London or Frankfurt as hubs and then connect to Berlin or Vienna, or Prague. Deciding is the key, since so much choice is out there, and prioritizing is the key. You would be taking your first trip in central Europe instead of west Europe....depends on your level of interest and curiosity..

I have a good and dear friend of mine, in his late 60s also a first timer to Europe when he gets around to it, (money is the main issue) has settled on cities in three countries....Austria, Poland, and Germany, with obviously, Vienna, Warsaw, and Berlin. as the focus points. I tell him to go in the summer since he will have a month to put this trip into operation.

Love the fact that you are just going to go for it!! I would say for warmer weather to pick Spain or Portugal. If warmth is not an issue, England would be an easy trip because of the language. I loved England! I loved Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Turkey, etc! No matter where you go, pick the place you want to see most and know that you will return again.

Nothing wrong with spur of the moment. Go for it.

London, Paris, and Rome are the big three.

But then these high profile cities may already seem familiar to you through tv, film, advertising etc. Perhaps you are looking at being surprised by something new and unfamiliar. My advice would be for you and your husband to individually list ten cities you've always dreamt of seeing. Compare your lists, then choose 3 cities where logistics work. October is great pretty much everywhere.

Some ideas though, with easy logistics ...
London Paris Amsterdam
Berlin Prague Vienna
Barcelona Madrid Seville
Rome Florence Venice

(Woohoo @ Post # 6000)

I think the points made by others are very good. I admire that you begin where others do not - with a modest number of cities. In 2 weeks, I would consider up to 4 cities, but 3 is better. Every great city in Europe (or the US or Asia) has many days of touring. This year, we spent 4 days in Chartres, and found things to do in each one. Spending more time encourages the traveler to visit the lesser known, but also interesting, locations. I am partial to Mitteleuropa - Wien (Vienna), Bratislava, Budapest, Zagreb, Bucharesti, Ljubljana, Salzburg. This year, we visited Liepzig, and wished we had planned more days. Smaller German cities have much to offer. You don't really say what your interests are. If you like music, Budapest is good, since the opera house is less expensive than some. Are you interested in heritage (family history) touring? This might suggest a country of your ancestral heritage.

Hi,

There is a good argument that can be made for choosing the basic three: London, Paris, and Rome but keep in mind the expense and that those cities will be swamped with tourists at the most popular sites, ie much more of a great chance for crowds. Choosing the capitals in Central Europe ..Berlin, Wien, and Prague will be less expensive, and while crowded, Wien and Berlin are not teeming with tourists.

My husband and I are travelling to London and Paris for two weeks 12 days (6 in each) this September. We are traveling between the two via Eurostar. I am happy with our itinerary and feel like we are hitting the highlights in each city. I used the website inspirock.com to plan and found it very user friendly, plus you can search itineraries on the site (like mine!). If we were going to visit one additional city it would be Amsterdam for maybe 2-3 nights but this is my first trip to Europe and I didn't want to be overwhelmed and trying to cram too much in. Good luck!

I love your spontaneity! If you want to get a nice taste of train travel and visit three countries without long travel days, consider the following:
Amsterdam-4 nights
Bruges -2 nights
Brussels-2 nights
Paris-5 nights (or however many are left)

With two weeks you could also visit London and Edinburgh and maybe do a few days in the Highlands.