Honeymoon Europe 2016!

amanda, from what you mention, if you are thinking of going to Salzburg area, ( good idea BTW) there is so much to see around the Berchtesgaden area. do a search on this forum ( search bar at the top) for previous posts about this area. we loved touring around this area.
given that you are not going near any other alpine areas it would be a nice change . if you are a SOM fan then don't miss a visit to the abbey in salzburg. we just walked up and enjoyed visiting and noticed how it doesn't look at all changed since the movie. eg: the gate and area outside the abbey gate etc ( if you know the movie well)
sounds like you are really getting around?

Have you been to London before? It is well worth a week or more. Not sure I'd even bother with the expense of travel to-and-from to spend only 2 nights. Can you shift more nights to London, or reallocate those 2 nights to another stop?

4 nights in Salzburg would be very nice.

And just to make sure you realize, neither Julie Andrews nor Christopher Plummer is on the SOM tour itinerary.

I agree with Laurel. It's using up too much time for only 2 nights in London. I also think 4 night in Germany/Austria is very little, unless you are planning 4 nights in one place (Salzburg is a good idea). Remember that you're going to use a 1/2 day (possibly more) each time you change hotels, whether you are going by train or plane.

How are you planning to go from Amsterday to Salzburg and from Salzburg to Florence? Those are long journeys. Is Salzburg a huge priority? If so, well, go for it. But if you want a taste of Germany, think about Berlin, Frankfurt or Munich, which have good rail/budget airline connections from Amsterdam to Florence/Rome.

From the CT to Nice? A long train ride with train changes (depending on where you stay in the CT). If you go to the CT between Florence and Rome, you can fly from either to Nice.

Although London is one of the "biggies", to me it would not be worth the time and expense to go there from Paris for just two nights. That really means you would, depending on arrival and departure times, have only one full day and parts of two others. One can easily spend a week there and not do nor see it all. My thought would be to either add more time or drop London. Just food for thought.

Hi,

For Germany/Austria:

Base in St. Gilgen (located on the scenic Wolfgangsee) and visit Salzburg from here. We love Salzburg, but there's so much to see and do in the area:
Salzburg
St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang, Strobl (take the scenic lake ship on the Wolfgangsee to visit all these).
You'll find Cable Car Trips and Cog Wheel Train trips along the lake.
Hallstatt
Hohenwerfen Fortress
Werfen Ice Caves
Hallein, Austria Salt Mine
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden Salt Mine
Eagle's Nest
Konigssee
Jennerbahn cable car

Plenty more options.

Paul

Can London! Add those 2 nights to Munich/Salzburg.

An itinerary with better connections might be...

Paris-Amsterdam.

Fly. Amsterdam-Munich. 4H23m. Then train- Salzburg.
1H39m. Visit Salzburg then back to Milan.

EDIT:

Salzburg back to Munich.

Oktoberfest runs sept. 17-October 3rd.

Fly Munich-Nice 4H25m.

Fly Nice-Rome. 4H07m.

Train. Rome-CT. 3H30m.

Train. CT-Florence. 2H31m.

Train. Florence-Milan. 1H41m.

For a good idea of transportation between cities
Look at.

http://www.rome2rio.com

Sounds like a great trip.

I would try and chase the end of the warm weather by heading south to Nice and then in to Italy straight after your initial week in Paris. You could then fly from Rome to Munich, allowing time for Bavaria, Salzburg and the Alps before flying out of Milan.

European weather is unpredictable. And even Venice can be darned hot in mid-October. So I don't understand David's suggestion to chase the warm weather. And I'd be more concerned that the northern destinations would be turning cold in October, but their weather is even more unpredictable.

Forget the weather, plan based on transportation options.

I was just comparing ...
Amsterdam Sep averages 11-18C
Munich Sep averages 9-19C
with ...
Nice Sep averages 18-25C
Rome Sep averages 16-27C

Thinking that most honeymooners would seek warmer weather, but perhaps not.

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful suggestions! Chasing warm weather is kinda whatever to us. We're less concerned about beaches and balmy weather and more concerned with seeing things! (Also, we're Canadians who both prefer the Sept/Oct and spring months over HOT weather.)

Also....dangit no Plummer or Andrews on the tour?! That sucks! lol

We're still trying to figure out London. We both really want to go to London, but we also don't want to break the bank on London.(because damn its expensive!) We plan to go back in a couple years and do the UK properly and JUST the UK.

Which is why I've never thought that average temperatures (especially for an entire month) mean anything. Maybe average highs and average lows for a place that has fairly consistent weather for a particular month. It still won't tell you that last year, between Sept 15-Oct 15, the highest high in Rome was 34 (whew) and the lowest was 18 while in Munich, the highs ranged from 30 down to 6 (brrr).

The Von Trapp family home is now a B&B - Villa Trapp. While not as grand as the movie portrays it is a beautiful history filled home. The home is filled with family photos and the woman who runs it is very knowledgeable about the family & the home. While it is not right in the center it is a 5 minute walk from the train station 4 stops away from the Hbf.

So after a long bout of thinking....we've nixed London for this trip. We will add a day to Amsterdam, and the other two days will go likely into germany/austria or italy.

Now here's the other question......Cinque Terre. Worth it?

We've got 4 nights in florence.....and even there I'm getting a bit overwhelmed. Do we stay within the city or in a beautiful villa B&B outside the city and train in a few days and discover the countryside? Anyone do either of these things? Last time I was in Florence was on a school tour...so i've seen plenty of it, but haven't necessarily explored it.....and we spent the bulk of our time in a little city called Pacentro, near Sulmona and Pescara. I absolutely adored it and think doing something similar would be a wonderful experience for both of us.

Perhaps something like this ... ??

Sep 14 Arrive Paris - 7 nts
Sep 21 Eurostar to London - 2 nts
Sep 23 Fly to Nice - 4 nts
Sep 27 Train to Cinque Terre - 2 nts
Sep 29 Train to Florence - 3 nts
Oct 2 Train to Rome - 3 nts
Oct 5 Fly to Munich - 3 nts
Oct 8 Train to Salzburg - 2 nts
Oct 10 Train to Luzern - 2 nts
Oct 12 Train to Milan - 1 nt
Oct 13 Depart Milan

Now here's the other question......Cinque Terre. Worth it? That question has been discussed ad infinitum on the forum. I'm in the "no" group, so my view (like everyone's) is biased. . . it seems to me that those who recommend going add "buts" like "I love going back, but I know how to avoid the hordes of daytrippers. . . avoid the popular trails. Maybe it's easy when you know the place, but as first-timers . . . Do a search and read some of the discussions in the last 2 years, since it's become a very popular place, especially for cruises. You must consider the transportation. Where would you arrive from and depart to? How long will it take (depends somewhat on where in the CT you want to stay), i.e. how much time will I use up traveling there.

We've got 4 nights in florence.....and even there I'm getting a bit overwhelmed. Do we stay within the city or in a beautiful villa B&B outside the city and train in a few days and discover the countryside? Anyone do either of these things? Last time I was in Florence was on a school tour...so i've seen plenty of it, but haven't necessarily explored it.....and we spent the bulk of our time in a little city called Pacentro, near Sulmona and Pescara. I absolutely adored it and think doing something similar would be a wonderful experience for both of us. I love Renaissance art, so I love being in the city and going to the museums, churches, etc. I'm not clear on the alternative you suggest - stay outside the city (where???), but spend your days in the city? Or use some of the time to tootle around the Tuscan hills with a car? If you just want a quiet place for early am and late pm, how long will it take you to get to Florence and back? One of the drawbacks is that you won't be able to pop into your room for a short midday rest or to drop day packs (and maybe change) before dinner.