First timers Travel to Europe....ADVICE needed!!. 22nd POST

You are covering a lot of geography. .....Day 10: Venice-overnight to Florence ...... A little tough to do since it is only a 3 hr or so train ride to Florence. Also make sure there are overnight for when you think you are going to use overnight. Not sure about the route from Zurich to Venice. You would have to change trains in Milan and changing trains in the middle of the night defeats the purpose of overnight trains.

A couple of thoughts. . . I think this one has you doing too much backtracking (returning to Paris). Also, there is no need for a night train between Florence and Venice (it is only 2 hours), and it is difficult to do Luzern to Venice by night train. Here is what I would suggest, just in terms of order of travel: London to Paris by Eurostar (2.5 hours, I think) Paris to Luzern by train, 4.5 hours Luzern to Florence by train, 5.5 hours via Milan. Doing this in the daytime allows you to see the Alps, as well as the scenery in Italy. You will travel over/through the Alps by the Gotthard route which is quite scenic, and you can get discount tickets in advance from the Swiss rail website, saving about 60 CHF per person. Finally, Florence to Venice by train, 2 hours. Fly home from Venice. I am suggesting flying home from Venice instead of Florence based on my son's experience when he lived in Florence for a year. He said the fllights out of the Florence airport was not good. Besides, flying out of Venice (which we have done) is really cool-the view of the island in the lagoon is amazing.

My thoughts have not changed from when you asked about this itinerary towards the end of your your previous question thread. Best of luck planning your trip.

Amanda, One point that you'll need to have another look at is the trip from Venice to Florence. That trip is only about 2-hours, so an overnight train is definitely NOT the best option. AFAIK, the last train departs Venezia SL at 19:27, and the next train isn't until 05:15 or so. I'll have a closer look at the rest of your Itinerary a bit later.

Topping so people don't add to the other thread, since the itinerary has been revised.

I would take one of those Lucerne days and do a daytrip to Bern. Go to www.flickr.com and take a look at photos of the different cities you are interested in.

same advise and before, scale it down! 6 travel days in a 16 day window is too much spend a week in London and a week in Paris or spend 2 weeks in Italy or a week in northern Italy and a week in Switzerland
Venice to Florence is 2 hours...

I have not been to Switzerland or Florence so I cannot comments on their merits. But I have been to London, Paris, and Venice (as well as Rome, which I think you mentioned in the original post). A few quick comments. I would suggest going from London to Paris by train and then travelling to your other destinations. I would consider four rather than five destinations. And four is pushing it because there is so much to see in London and Paris. Finally, of the places you have listed, I would definitely include London and Paris, both of which I like much more than Rome. And my other favorites are Venice and, for what it is worth, Salzburg. For me, a great visit trip would be London, Paris, Salzburg (or Switzerland), and Venice, which still involves much travel. Good luck.

The route I suggested has four travel days and no overnight trains. Sure, one could spend a whole week each in London and Paris, or a month in Paris for that matter. But that is a different kind of trip. For a nice sampling of highlights of Western Europe, I do not think the five cities she ed ( London, Paris, Luzern, Florence, Venice) are too much, as long as they put them in the right order and eliminate backtracking.

Basically, 14 nights in Europe. Certainly, one could do at a minimum 3 nights in London and Paris, and 2 nights in Lucerne, Venice and Florence. That's 12, with 2 nights and days left over, such as 4 nights in Paris and 3 nights in Lucerne.

Random comments based on previous posts... A night train with a travel time of over 8 hours is well worth a look. Though expensive, you save lodging costs and wake up in a new city. While sleep may be interrupted once or twice, some people sleep well on trains. For me, it's worth booking a sleeper compartment or 1st-class compartment (less crowding, etc.). Though fees went up, you can still get some cheap 1-way air fares in Europe, but you'll have to search different airline sites (such as Ryan, EasyJet, Jet2) and multiple dates to get the best fares. Don't overlook BMI and other more-standard carriers; I just booked UK to Germany flights through BMI/Lufthansa that were much less expensive than the low-cost airlines. You can have a great first trip even though you're visiting five major cities. You might also consider trading one of the big destinations for a small town. I'm not a big fan of Venice, though it has its attractions. And I, personnally, would skip Lucerne and spend more time in the other destinations or in other parts of Italy, smaller northern towns or Rome.

Amanda, How is the planning coming along? Hopefully everything is coming together nicely.

Amanda, have you already booked your flights? Are you locked into flying into London, out of Paris? What airline are you using? This info may help planning your route.

Hi Amanda, Well, I can't argue with London, Paris, Venice, Florence. All great cities. Do you have family ties or ancestry in Lucerne area? If not, I don't think Lucerne has the impact or attraction of the other destinations on your trip. Check the Rick Steves 'tours' area for the itineraries for the Paris-London, Europe in 14 days, and Venice-Florence-Rome tours to get some more ideas, Hope your trip is grand!

Luzern, if it still in the plan, is a break in the long trip from Paris to Florence. Mountain, lake time, a pretty little town, and a place to relax a bit from big city sightseeing.