First travel to Europe 1 month. (London/France/Italy/Spain)

Hello,
Let's amend your opening statement to "........and this is going to be the first time, BUT NOT THE LAST, in europe."
Some thoughts..........
When have you spent 24/7 wiith your fiance for 30 days? This is a significant issue which my wife and I learned the hard way during our first trip to Europe three decades ago when we made a 30 day trip. Discuss this issue and lay out sime ground rules for being "ok" with recognizing each of you should have time to tske for yourselves.
You mention a month, but I am only counting 25 days.
Please create a daily counter and start by plotting out the travel time between destinations. Do ysthis activity by coutning the total time estimated to leave your hotel, travel to the airport/train station, clear security and wait for departure, actual travel time and then add the time to arrive at your next hotel. First time travelers tend to only count the time point to point travel time and forget the total travel time impact (which is significant, especially for a long journey).
It is a more effective method of planning a trip by counting the number of nights you will be spending within each destination.
The more destinations = increased travel stress = greater propbability for travel "glitches" = sadness
Count the total number of hours you will be traveling from hotel to hotel and then add up the total and divide by 24 to consider how many days you will spend getting from place to place. Then deduct these days from the total days you are planning to spend in europe, consider how opportunity for "sadness" you are willing to risk to your trip and ask this question:
"Are you creating an itinerary which will generate memories of travel woes or are you going to create an itinerary which will create the opportunity to experience wonderful memories of what you do at each destination?"
You reference only traveling by air, but trains are often the more efficient and effective way to travel (eg: rome to naples)
The irony of "traveling" is how to experience the destinations,
You have several places listed as being only one day which means you eseentially only have half a day planned (Venice comes to mind).
You need to do A GREAT JOB of planning the trip and then purchasing tickets on line in order to avoid spending large quantities of frustrating time waiting in line to buy tickets and then wait in line to enter a site.
Short headline: you are being way too ambitious for this journey.
Slow down, you are moving too fast, you got to learn how to make the moment last.

Let's say you have two weeks for London, France, and Spain. That leaves about two weeks for Italy. You could fly to Venice from Barcelona or Nice. Thinking of nights rather than days, spend 3 nights each in Venice, Florence, and Rome. You won't have much time for side trips, but plan to return. That leaves 5 or 6 nights for Sorrento with side trips to Pompeiil, Capri, and Naples. If you plan to fly home from Rome, take trains from Florence to Sorrento then return to Rome for a few nights at the end of your trip.

Personally, I would save Spain for a later trip. A month sounds like a lot of time, but the time flies by quickly.

Here's my plan for you: London 4 nights, Then take the Eurostar to Paris. Paris 4-5 nights. Fly or take train to Nice and stay there 4-5 nights exploring the area. Fly from Nice to Venice and stay 3 nights. From there take trains to Florence 3 nights (possible side trips to Pisa, CT), and on to Sorrento for about 5 nights with several possibilities for side trips. Take trains from Sorrento to Rome and finish your trip there with whatever time you have left. If you have extra time, add it to Florence for side trips to hill towns or Lucca. If Barcelona is a "must see," subtract some time from London and France, fly from Paris or Nice to Barcelona for a few nights, then fly to Venice.

If it all starts to look too expensive or unwieldy, fly to Paris, work your way down to Nice, fly to Venice and do the Italian part of your plan. Prepare for hot weather.

Expect to have a great time!

Start with a map and a calendar. Count nights, not days. Look at rome2rio.com for estimates of how long it will take you to go from place to place by different modes of transportation. Add at least three hours to flight times.

Get a good guidebook (Lonely Planet might be good for you) and figure out what you want to see in each city. Note their suggested itineraries.

Come back to post with specific questions.

Plan to have a great time, even when one or two plans must be altered as you go.

Agree with the advice to count nights, not days. Four nights in London means three full days - your first day will be taken up by jet lag, and the day you leave will be mostly taken up by travel. Then five nights in Paris, meaning four full days, and so on.

Is there a reason you're set on flying between cities rather than taking the train? Trains in Europe are faster, more frequent, and more reliable than trains in the US; they go from city center to city center (whereas airports are typically located far outside of town); and with few exceptions (like the Eurostar from London to Paris) you don't have to wait in line for security screening. The majority of your intercity trips, I think, will be much, much faster by train.

Some more thoughts, now that I've read your other posts:

You are planning an extremely ambitious trip, and - no offense intended - you have a lot to learn about European travel. I recommend seriously considering one of two options. Either:

• Take a guided tour that matches your interests, so you can let someone else handle the logistics of planning the itinerary, getting you from place to place, and showing you around each city when you get there

OR

• Cut back drastically on what you plan to see. Go for two or three weeks, not four, and focus on seeing England and France, or France and Spain, or just Italy. This is your first trip to Europe, but not your last. The cities you want to see have been around for thousands of years, and they are not going anywhere any time soon. Don't feel bad about postponing your visit to some of them by another year or two.

I wouldn't recommend cutting back on the length of the vacation. Odds are that summerset1991 is an American, and vacation time is a rare commodity for us. I agree that the trip will end up being more memorable (in a good way), if the geographic territory covered is cut back a bit. I'd suggest holding off on Spain or Naples/Pompeii/Capri this time just so there's more time to absorb the remaining destinations. That would free up some days to visit smaller towns around the remaining cities.

OK, that is a fair point. If Summer's specific circumstances mean that a month-long trip is possible now but it won't be in the future (e.g., she's a student and gets long summer breaks, but she's about to start a job where she gets only 10 days vacation a year), then by all means, go for the full month. But if you've never traveled for that long at a stretch before, be prepared to learn things about yourself that you didn't previously know (e.g., that your fiance drives you crazy when you're around him 24/7, or that you get easily worn out by long days of sightseeing and need a break every so often) and adjust your plans accordingly on the fly.

FWIW, I'm also an American, I'm lucky enough to get 20 days vacation each year, and I still prefer shorter trips to longer ones. There are all different travel styles out there.

Summer,

As I mentioned in one of your other Threads, it would help to have a bit of further information on your circumstances. For example, where are you travelling from, and do you have any flights or other arrangements booked yet?

It would be easier to provide more specific suggestions with more information.

I think a month is fabulous! Hubby and I have a blast traveling that long together without any issues. If you've never been to Europe then it is hard to imagine the time and effort it takes in moving from place to place. As you can see, we are all telling you to slow down. You have a good amount of days set aside for London, Paris and Barcelona, so those are perfect. It is just the 2 days and 1 day and the " Florence for 2 days with day trips to Pisa and CT". Are you suggesting two nights in Florence with a day trip to CT? You will only have 1 1/2 day in all of Florence with no time to day trip....do you see? You must give minimum of 1/2 day travel between locations or longer.

You can work out a great trip, just give minimum of 3 nights per location, and more for the cities, like you have planned.

Cuenca, Spain would be a great day trip via the fast train from Madrid.
You can get to Cuenca from Barcelona as well.

Thank you guys for all your helpful and precious information and advices! I'm working on my itinerary and I'll come back for a better one and with more specific questions with it!! :))))) Thanksssssss!!!!! I appreciate for all of your helps!!

I think Mont St Michel is too far from Paris to be a worthwhile day trip.

London (4 nights)
Eurostar to Paris (4 nights)
Fly to Naples with easyjet
Sorrento - Amalfi Coast (3 nights) including a day trip to Pompeii & a day trip to Capri
Train to Rome (3 nights)
Train to Florence - Tuscany (4 nights) including a day trip to Pisa & a day trip to Cinque Terre
Train to Venice (3 nights)
Train to Milan (1 night)
Train to Nice - Cote d'Azur (2 nights)
Train to Avignon - Provence (3 nights)
Train to Barcelona (4 nights)

Definitely agree with some but not all here. Even though you are on vacation you will get stressed with each other at times.

I think it is awesome you have a month - not too long at all.

4 nights in London is barely enough time to see the highlights of London - no side trips or add days.

Paris - wait until you get there and then decide if a whole day to Mont St-Michel is worth it.

Don't forget to pause in each place and really take in the local flavor - you can spend so much time running from one attraction to the next you miss the big picture. We stop early and often for coffee, wine, beer - OK mostly wine & beer and lots of people watching!

Venice - our 1 night became two - we were enchanted! Just a lovely place to wander. and eat.

Florence - with both days as day trips elsewhere when will you see Florence? Save the CT for a trip when you can actually spend a few days exploring all the towns.

Definitely compare air to train - you will find most trips are easier by train. for flying you need to add the time getting to, through and from them - plus the hassle of security points and all the waiting. Trains are much easier - it has to be a really long train ride before I'll consider flying. What is better than riding along enjoying the countryside have some lunch and a couple of your favorite beverages. We will either pack a picnic (I travel with supplies) or just buy on the train.

Also 2 days in Naples but both day trips - add a day if you can

summerset1991 -
I have a couple of questions for you: If you are in Florence for two days and do two day trips, and are in Naples for two days and do two day trips, when will you see Florence and Naples? Also, you cannot really see London in four days, so forget the day trips. I have been going to London for over 30 years (probably 25 trips or more for work and pleasure) and I still have not seen all of the great sites in this wonderful city. My advice is to slow down and see more of where you are instead of trying to see all of Europe in only 30 days - I believe you will enjoy it (and remember it) more.

In my opinion, you are spreading yourself too thin. All these places are great, but I suggest leaving off Spain at a minimum. Four days in London is good, but consider coming back just for a British Isles trip. One day in Venice is a crime and Florence in two days is not enough. Instead of Pisa and Cinque Terre, Siena is better heading on to Rome. The Naples area for two days is OK, but going to see Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri is a bit much for two days. Not sure why you are flying?

By the way, a side trip to Mont St. Michel is a long trip from Paris. Normandy and Brittany are great, but with only 5 days in Paris, consider Versailles as an option. In Florence, you must see the Academia Museum and David. Rome, the Sistine Chapel is the most amazing work of art in the World, as well as Ancient Roman stuff. I have spent two weeks in Rome and still did not see everything.

Marbleskies is right, and not so right.

Don't slow down. Just understand what kind of glitches you're expected to experience and know that frustrations will come. Be prepared. That's all it takes. (Speaking from experience)
Know exactly when, where, what, and why. That way when a situation arises a solution is easy to come by.

I don't think your trip is too ambitious, I think it's appropriately sectioned, but be mindful if the more time you spend traveling the less you're spending to take a moment and relax in your destination. (I'm sure you've thought of this already) but it is still a big factor for me when traveling. :) I want to experience as much as I can, so I move around from site to site less and just go for walks and relax.

I'm taking pretty well this exact trip myself coming up here, and I hope you both enjoy your time together!