I have 4 weeks in europe, what cities should I hit, and for how long?

one week in Rome and 3 weeks in Venice

Have you researched any cities?

What are your interests?

What is you budget?

What are tour travel dates; time of year?

You traveling from the US?

BTW Bern is in Switzerland. Naples is in Italy. Have you looked at Google maps?

Neither Bern nor Naples would be a waste of time.
How often do you want to move on? After a full week? And are you only interested in visiting cities? We like a mix of city and countryside.

1 week in Barcelona
1 week in Krakow
1 week in Lyon
1 week in Oslo

These are the essentials of Europe

Fly into (or out of if you can get a late morning flight home) Venice for three nights. You do not want to catch an early morning flight from Venice because you’ll have to rely on a very expensive water taxi to get to the airport. If you leave later in the morning, you can take a bus from the lagoon to the airport but most flights out of Venice to the US depart early.
From Venice take a direct train to Florence SM Novella station (2h 15m) and sleep in Florence for four nights and include a day trip to Siena by direct bus (1h 15m). From Florence take a direct train to Rome’s Termini station (1h 45m) and sleep in Rome for a week. Naples is an easy day trip by direct train (1h 15m) and you can also include a day trip to Orvieto by direct train (1h 15m) and then you’ll have to ride the funicular to the top.
From Rome take a nonstop flight to Paris and stay there a minimum of six nights (add more if day-tripping) before taking the Eurostar to London (2h 30m) and fly home from there.
Skip Bern!
The further out you buy your train tickets and airfare on a low-cost carrier the cheaper it is. There really is no good time to buy airfare on a flagship carrier (i.e., Delta, ITA or British Airways).

4 week, huh. What cities? Does Bern and Naples make the list? Well according to my math Naples makes it but Bern just misses it. Of course, yeah, my list is kinda nutty.

4 weeks?

Paris 3 day
London 2 - 5 (2 days, then running total of days which is 5)
Madrid 2 - 7
Barcelona 2 -9
Seville 2 -11
Rome 2 -13
Florence 2 -15
Venice 2 -17
Vienna 1- 18
Munich 1- 19
Berlin 1 -20
Budapest 1 -21
Krakow 1 -22
Athens 1 -23
Istanbul 1 -24
Naples 1- 25
Edinburgh 1 - 26
Bergen 1 -27
Lucerne 1 -28
========= 4 weeks!!!
Dublin 1 -29
Bern 1- 30 - So if you have 4 weeks + 2 days, then bern makes my list! And Bern is nice so extend your trip!

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!
I am envious! 4 week trip. So much to see! Hard to choose. Good luck.

P.S. I recall Rick Steves did an exercise like this and said if 1 week, then this. If 2, add this-- it's in one of his books. Maybe somebody can quote it.

OP, just to be safe, David's list wasn't serious since there was no allowance for time required to get between each place. Plus none of those estimates allowed sufficient time to see much of anything once you got there.

You've really given us nothing to go on, besides a 4 week time limit. More info from you will yield something that may come close to being useful. Where are you coming from? Have you visited Europe before? What types of things interest you? When is your visit? Do you want large cities, countryside areas, or a mix? Do you want a fast paced "if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" trip, or more laid back and relaxed? Do you want to jet across the continent hitting several far flung places or more thoroughly explore only 1 or 2 regions?

Welcome to this Forum, danneshowrang! I see you posted one other question, asking about going to Bath, and also mentioning that you were on a tight budget, and tight on time. So are you including a short visit in England, in addition to (or as part of) your 4 weeks in Europe? What’s your budget for hitting the places in Europe over a month?

London is one of the more expensive places in Europe, although there are many free museums, and ways to save money while having a good visit. Bern, and the rest of Switzerland, are also not exactly low-cost places, either. Bern is a great place to visit, but I’ve been there while visiting Zurich and the countryside, but not going other places in Europe. Travel between one country and another can eat up time and finances.

I’ve also been on trips with many cities in many countries, moving all the time. I now try to stick with one country (or two, at most) per trip. I spent 6 weeks just in Italy this fall, and your 4 weeks in just Italy could include many places. Naples is fantastic, particularly for its Archaeological Museum, although I’ve only visited it for me long day, while staying in Sorrento, Italy. If you’re staying in the Sorrento/Naples general area for a week, you can also see the ancient ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum, and climb n Mt. Vesuvius. Naples is also credited as the birthplace of pizza, so if you’re going to have a pizza, nowhere is better than Naples.

kernow1300; if you count all of the countries that have territory in what is considered Europe (even that isnt entirely clear cut) and if you count Kosovo (which you should I think); then the number I believe is 51.

How many cities? Didnt have time to count.

danneshowrang, if you publish an interest, a theme for the trip, age and time of year; you might get some practical advice.

....my list is kinda nutty..... KIND OF does not begin to described the nuttiness. You need to do a lot more homework before we can response with any clarity. Good luck --

How about dividing the trip up into three 10 day periods. Traveling slower is better.

London--Amsterdam--Paris by train

Then fly to Rome--Florence--Venice

Then take a train up to Munich--Salzburg--Vienna--Budapest

That's enough. All special cities.

We spent three weeks (traveling by car) in the following cities and had a great time:

Boppard, Germany: 3 nights
Rothenburg ob see Tauber, Germany: 2 nights
Salzburg, Austria: 5 nights
Ljubljana, Slovenia: 5 nights
Venice, Italy: 3 nights
Munich, Germany: 3 nights

I recommend flying into one city and out of another (multi-city airfare). We like to spend at least 3 nights at each stop, to give us at least 2 full days for exploring. With a car, our stops were about 3 hours drive from each other, except from Venice to Munich. Take the transit time into consideration when planning your stops.

Neither Bern nor Naples would make my list, but it would be helpful to know why these cities appeal to you.

Other than the time I went to Lithuania for a 4-week summer Yiddish class I got college credit for, i never took a trip that lasted more than 14 nights. To travel i have to ask for the time off from my current job. If they would let me take off more than 10 working days, it would be unpaid; I wouldn't ask for any more (unpaid) time off.

I suggest you just focus on one to two or possibly 3 countries. Pick Italy and Switzerland. Yes include Bern and Naples. I have not traveled to Switzerland. I know Switzerland has Zurich, Bern, Basel, and Geneva. Request some guide books from your local library. I spent 3 nights in Naples because I wanted to see the remains of Pompeii. In Naples i had time to see the archaeology museum, walk on a path by the bay of Naples, and see an art museum that might have been underwhelming because too many of the paintings were catholic themed and I wasn't raised catholic. In Italy I spent 6 nights in Florence (maybe 4 or 5 would have been enough; that included a day trip to Pisa), and 4 nights in Rome. I suggest you write a day-by-day itinerary listing the museums or places you want to see each day. I didn't make time for Venice, or ancient Greek temples in Sicily. I am undecided on whether 4 weeks in Italy is reasonable or too much.

1. Bern and Naples are OK, but not top destinations,

2. Four weeks, I suggest picking destinations where you don't have to fly to within Europe.

3. I have enjoyed all the many countries that I have visited in Europe (done 3/4 of them). My favorite is Italy, with Great Britain second.

4, For Italy, start with the big three, Rome, Florence and Venice. Those three will take up 10-14 days. Add the Naples area (Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi Coast and Pompeii), Orvieto, Siena, Pisa, Ravenna, Verona, Milan and more if you like.

1. From Italy, you could go to Austria, Southern Germany and Switzerland and spend another 10-14 days or to the South of France (one week) then head up to Paris for a week in that city.

Are your interests in European cities general or specific in nature? Without regard to logistics, I would suggest Paris, London, Rome, Florence, Madrid, Athens if your interests are general.

If these interests are specific, that's another story; then I would suggest Budapest, Vienna, Krakow, Salzburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Prague , Leipzig, Dresden. As to how long, I would have no hesitation in staying 5-8 nights in any of these cities, likewise with Paris and London, assuming this is your first time.

Risk Steves actually has a really good Video on how to plan your trip to Europe.
Make a list of everything you want to see.
Then pick the top 10 from that list.
With that top 10 then start map out how many days in each place based on what you want to see, this will naturally bring your list wayyyyy down. For instance, Rome alone could eat up 10 days...so my list of 15 things in Rome gets reduced to 5 things, 4 days...next!
Also factor in that travel days are usually throw away days, not always if your destination is close, but between lodging check out/check in times (Usually 3PM) makes it hard to plan an early afternoon activity without a lot of movement (maybe you can drop your bags off at the hotel before check in which means a trip there).

It has been 3 days since the OP asked a question that can’t really be answered without more information. I wonder if they will come back to provide some guidance.

Paris
Lyon / Avignon (2 hours by TGV)
Barcelona (4 hours by TGV/Renfe)
Sevilla (5 hours)
Fly to Palermo Sicily
Cruise Sicily, then boat to Naples and move on to Bologna, Merano, Switzerland/Austria etc

Naples is not for everyone. Cheap food though.
Rome - been there twice and happy to leave twice

What kind of city are you looking for? Larger/smaller, old/new?

We wasted a lot of time. The OP will not respond and I am guessing it really was more of a troll than a serious question.

Agree with Frank.

Also, is it worth it to go to Bern and Naples, or is it just a waste of valuable time?

Bern is interesting and you can see the Einstein museum and the clock that inspired relativity. It's got a unique city center and some picturesque gorges and bridges. But I felt 1 day was enough for me. There are many other more interesting places in Switzerland - and remember that it's super expensive for everything, so minimize your time.

Naples is a weird place unlike other place in Italy. It's not really a pretty place at all. In fact, our first taste of it near the train station was a lot of lower income area that made us nervous for our safety and wild unstoppable traffic - although nicer that the mean streets near Roma Termini. We spent a few nights in the city center of Naples, and that was like a giant pedestrian shopping area that was very vibrant crowd of young people. You can walk endlessly and it's totally safe. From our point of view, the only attraction to Naples was that restaurants were incredibly cheap. I don't know why but we ate like kings - or at least like squires for a small fraction what you pay in Venice for lousier food.

There are some castles and museums in Naples I wanted to visit, but I got overruled. We did have some nice day trips to the nearby islands of Prochida and Ischia. They are not out of this world amazing but they are both nice. Indeed you can spend the night on them. I think it cost about 40 eu a person for the three boat trips. Naples is also nice because you can take a train or boat to Sorrendo, and a boat to Sorrento, Capri, Positano, or even Palermo Sicily.

one week in Rome and 3 weeks in Venice

2 days in each is more than enough.

My Suggestion :
I took just before pandemic hit in less than 5 weeks. In fact, I had a 30 day rail pass and used the last day to get back to London. Notethat I travel ultra light - just as RS sdvises. Also I had a rail pass, and sometimes hit two cities in a day carrying my stuff on my back. By traveling light, and having a schedule you can move with the same haste that Napoleon moved on Ulm in 1805 and see a lot. I think I hit over 40 cities in 30 days.
London 2 days
Fly to Vienna, Austria 3 days
Salzburg, Austria
Innsbruck, Austria
Munich, Germany,
Nuremberg, Germany
Rothenberg Au Tauber, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany
Basel, Switzerland
Geneva
Lausanne
Montreux
Bern, Switzerland
Thun
Interlaken, Switzerland
Lauterbrunen
Wengen
Kleinesheindigg (full on ski resort with a bunch of snow, and my carrying my whole pack)
Stresa, Italy
Milan, Italy
Fly to Catania, Sicily (1 hour I think)
Siracusa, Sicily
Taormina, Sicily
fly to from Catania to Barcelona, Spain (2.5 hours I think)
Madrid
Seville
Cadiz
Granada
Cordoba
Barcelona
Paris (train was 6 hours from Barcelona)
Eurostar to London

So 28 nights I'm assuming? Naples is awful I do not recommend it is dirty hectic and crowded nothing worth seeing.

3n Paris
3n Nice (Villefrancesurmer, Cap Ferrat)
3n Swiss Alps ( Lauterbrunnen see Murren,Gimmelwald)
3n Amsterdam
3n Berlin
2n Rothenburg
3n Venice (day trip Murano,Burano)
3n Cinque Terre (one off/lazy day)
3n Rome
3n Sorrento (day trips Capri, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast)

Looks like OP isn’t appreciative of those who took the time to respond. Troll with a capital T.

I can spend that amount of time in Scotland or Wales or northern Spain, or any number of areas. Maybe the OP wants us to make his flight and hotel reservations too before responding.