hello ;-)
i am after some tips please. we are flying into London on the 3rd December this year - and flying out of Paris 19th January.
places on our to do are
straight to edinburgh - inverness - london - poland - possibly prague - helsinki - amsterdam - italy - france
there are so many suggestions and i am feeling overwhelmed.
the only thing we have booked is fly into london and depart Paris -
is this achievable? any tips would be great its our first trip to europe, we are so excited
It is a nice long time! Good for you and congratulations! But 7 weeks will fly and your list is looonnnggg! "Italy" and "France" are huge and you could easily spend 7 weeks in one or the other, so think about where in Italy and France. Are you focusing on large cities since the weather is not dependable at that time of year for more rural and outdoorsy locations? This is a good strategy since the cities have so much to offer no matter the weather.
If it were me and given the time of year I would do something like this. The dates in parentheses are the nights in each location.
London - spend 7 nights in this great city with plenty to entertain you any time of the year (Dec 3-9).
Eurostar to Amsterdam - 5 nights (Dec 10-14)
Fly to Prague - 4 nights (Dec 15-18).
Fly to Venice - 4 to 7 nights depending on your interests. December is my favorite season in Venice after many many trips there. If you stay 7 nights, that puts you in Venice for Christmas, which is not a bad thing at all. Venice has plenty of service and options to support you for the holiday. (Dec 19-25)
Train to Florence - 4 nights for gorging on museums (Dec 26-29)
Train to Rome - 5 nights (Dec 30-Jan 3) Great city for New Years.
Train to Sorrento - 5 nights (Jan 4-7). Explore the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, possibly Naples. It is off-season so some things will be closed and quiet. You could flip flop with Rome with Sorrento as Sorrento is more lively between Christmas and New Years than it is after New Years.
Fly to Paris from Naples or Rome - 7 nights (Jan 8-14) in Paris.
That leaves 5 nights unplanned. You can add another location or add nights to one of the cities above. I could spend 2 full weeks in London making little day trips and thoroughly exploring the area. Ditto Paris. You can never get enough time in Rome. If you are art lovers, more time in Florence could be nice, adding in an escorted trip to Chianti to see some of the countryside and perhaps day-tripping to Siena.
Plan where you will be for Chrismas carefully. A city is best: Venice or Rome would be my picks.
Note that all of this can (and should) be done by public transportation. There is some flying necessary.
Because it is winter and dark, I would skip Scotland, Poland (Warsaw?), and Helsinki. Unless you are seeking winter experiences, put these locations on your list for a future trip in Spring, Summer, or Fall.
Congrats to you guys.
All the best for your honeymoon.
Of course winter is not the ideal time.
Maybe something like this ...
December
03. Arrive London
07. Edinburgh
10. (Fly to) Amsterdam
13. Berlin
17. Prague
20. Budapest
24. (Fly to) Rome ((for Xmas)
28. Florence
31. Venice (for New Year)
January
03. Milan
05. Nice (Cote d'Azur)
09. Arles (Provence)
13. Paris
19. Depart Paris
I think helsinki, inverness and poland are perhaps not the best destinations in the depths of winter.
