Is this doable, need suggestions--first time to Europe

Have you consulted any guide books or looked at a European map? What are your dates of travel. You do realize that you are coverings some great distances and will be spending a lot of time and money on and in trains.

Anything's potentially doable, but your time seeing anything of what you came to see may be limited if you have a train to catch to get to your next destination. It's been so long since I've been in Germany that I'll leave it for others to give their insight, but when we visited Normandy in 2008, we needed 2 days to just see some of the towns and sights, including the excellent museum in Caen, and we were staying in the Normandy region, not commuting from Paris.

Transportation can eat up a lot of your sightseeing time and energy. There are cheap flights within Europe that can jet you from city to city quickly and often cheaper than a train, bus, or rental car plus gas. Remember that you have to get to the airport and need time to check in if you use one of those airlines (easyJet, Vueling, etc). Night trains, with a couchette sleeper compartment, can be another way to get from point A to point B (like maybe Munich to Venice), so you arrive at your next destination without the need for a hotel bed the night before. Quality of sleep on the train can vary, however.

You're on the right track allowing at least 3 days for Rome, however. We were there for a full week in 2012 and still have a lot on our list that we didn't get to see. Our last night, we stayed at the Hilton Hotel at Rome's Fiumicino Airport. We had an early flight the next day, and it was very convenient to basically already be at the airport. For sightseeing and transportation (bus & metro), consider getting a Roma Pass.

Others are being rather kind in their responses. Frankly, I do not see how you can pull this off, most especially the Friday thought of going from Munich to Venice to Florence all in one day! Also, traveling to Normandy, seeing the sites, and then catching a train (or even a flight) to Munich in one day is not feasible. There just isn't enough time in the day, and if there is, there is no enjoyment. The suggestion to consult a guidebook is a great one. For example, all your questions about Munich are answered via a guidebook. And, you will need to pick one of those side trips from Munich as all three are not a good idea.

As mentioned, the amount of time you have devoted to Rome is good. Think about that for the other spots.

Trains from between Paris and Normandy take 2 -3 hours each way. You cannot see Normandy in one day and return in time to catch a night train. Paris-Munich night train also may be interrupted by construction, depending on your departure date; check schedules below. In order to depart from Paris Est station at 19:00, you have to leave Bayeux by 14:30. Within Paris, you have to transfer from St. Lazare to Est station by taxi or bus.

You could also consider flights Munich-Paris and Paris-Venice at www.skyscanner.com. How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. Once you have decided your plan, the trains to/from Munich are sold at the best prices on that site. You can buy Paris-Normandy-Paris and other, shorter train tickets locally, or they will be on different sites.

I'd say what you have proposed is not doable.

There are no night trains from Normandy to Munich. There is only one night train, from Paris, CNL40451, so I guess it has to be the most affordable (also the least affordable). It leave Paris just before 7 PM, and Paris is two hours from Normandy, so you won't have much time in Normandy.

If you plan to tour Dachau (not just see it as you go past), it is not possible to do both it and Neuschwanstein in a day. The Dachau tours are at 11 AM and 1 PM and take 2½ hours. It's a half day trip, but the other half day is divided between morning and evening.

What do you mean by "Hitler's summer home". His summer home, the Berghof, in Obersalzberg was dynamited after the war. Kehlsteinhaus (Eagles Nest) was a "diplomatic tea house" on a mountain top overlooking Obersalzberg. It's a three hour trip each way from Munich, so visiting it is a loooong day trip.

The best way from Munich to Venice by rail is a train connection that leaves Munich at 7:38 and gets to Venice at 2:40 PM, too late to spend much time there (certainly not "a day") before heading to Florence.

As for flying, it would probably be from DeGaulle to Munich, so you will still have the train to Paris. The night train to Munich takes 12 hours. Assuming 8 hours to sleep, that leaves only 4 hours to get from Paris to CDG, two hours for checking in, security, getting to the concourse, waiting to board, and boarding, then the flight, then finding ground transportation in Munich and traveling into town (40 min). And that doesn't include finding your hotel in Paris or Munich and checking in and out. On the train you can get ready for bed and have breakfast in the morning, all on the train. In short, unless you severely cut into sleep time, it will probably take longer if you fly.

Thank you so much for the suggestions....they were very helpful...we may have to leave off Normandy....and either Venice or Florence. I have kept Rick Steves' Best of Europe 2014 as my bed-side reading for months, however, he doesn't address Munich and Normandy.

Please add to anything that may help with this last leg of our trip. I hope I can do everything I want in Munich in 2.5 days.

Doable? Yes. Are you going to feel rushed and miss lots of stuff? Also, yes.

Skip Normandy and go directly to Munich to spend 3 nights (4 if you can). Then do two or three nights in Venice or Florence (I vote for Florence.) Finish up with at least 3 nights in Rome.

I would also recommend pairing down your daily itineraries because I suspect they are packed. Pick one or two must sees per day and stick to them. Better to fully see one or two major sites than run through a checklist stressed and crazy to get a dozen different things checked off. I started out with a list of a dozen museums to see in Paris in 3 days. I ranked them in order of my interest in them (1. Louvre; 2. Orsay; 3. L'Orangerie; etc....) Then I cut the list down so that I only visit one or two museums each day (even that will be a feat in and of itself!)

I would keep Normandy and cut something else. Of all the things that you could possibly see in Europe, this might be the most meaningful of all of them Having lived here for over 20 years and visited many, many places, our 3 day visit to Bayeux and the Normandy beaches was the best thing we ever did.

Just my opinion of course, but take a look at all the things you want to see, perhaps write them as a list and then prioritize them and figure out the time spent getting to each of them. How much of your vacation time do you really want to spend on a train, bus or at an airport? For example, I would put Hitlers home at the bottom of any travel list I had. I would rate Florence as less important to me than Rome, and though Venice is beautiful it still doesn't rate as high for me as Rome, but others may rate both of these cities higher. Neuschwanstein doesn't hold any kind of high rating for me compared to Dachau and it is a big chunk out of your travel day. You are already hopping all over the Europe map with far too much time going from one spot to the next. You have 8 destinations listed to do in 6 days.

It is all personal and going places because you heard that you should, means you are doing someone elses trip and not your own.

Thank you so much for all the tips and suggestions. I think I was trying to see as much as possible (first time) and trying to make everyone in my group happy. After reading your suggestions, I plan on doing the following:
Tuesday--leave Paris on train to Munich
Wed. go to Neuschwanstein Castle/stay in Munich ans savor the city and have down time
Thurs. Go to Eagles Nest and see countryside/stay in Munich and enjoy the night life
Fri. ride train to Venice/see the sights and spend the night
Sat. ride train into Rome
This schedule took away Normandy and Florence, much to my disappointment, but maybe another trip is calling my name!

We will spend the remaining part of our trip in Rome.
Thanks again for your suggestions and tips and please keep them coming!!!

Sounds like things are shaping up. By including some down time (and jet lag can happen), plus some quality time in some great places, your group will be happier than if the itinerary was rushed and you were spending your time just moving around. Staying in Venice for a night will let you enjoy it more than so many who are just there for part of a day. Rome's a great way to finish this trip.

Rick's France guidebook has a lot of info on touring Normandy, including WW II sites, the Bayeux tapestry, cider/pommeau/calvados. If you make it to northern France on a future trip, also venture a little west of Normandy into Brittany, for fresh oysters in Cancale!

A suggestion might be to do Berchtesgaden as an overnight trip instead of a day trip (6 hrs RT). There are several train/bus connections (train to Villach, IC bus to Venice) from Salzburg every day.

Some parts of your first Itinerary were NOT realistic (IMO), but your revised version looks much better.

As it sounds like you plan on returning, a few points regarding visiting Normandy. I'd suggest spending at least two (but preferably three) nights there, using Bayeux as a home base. As many of the D-Day sites are spread out over a 50 mile front, the best option is to take one of the excellent local tours, as they provide transportation and know the area well. There's also an excellent WW-II Museum in Bayeux and another in Caen, which is only a short distance by train.

For the trip from Munich to Venice, I'd suggest using the 11:38 direct train (no changes). That goes through the Brenner Pass, which has some beautiful scenery.

I like your revised version (and completely understand the painful decisions you had to make). Your attitude is a good one.

The only other addition I have is perhaps you might want to look into the more country/city specific guidebooks for your trip. You are correct that the Best of Europe guidebook is just a bit broad to address some of your specific questions. Maybe head to the library to check out the more specific guidebooks and take good notes.

Your local library will let you request an Inter-Library Loan.....just go to the main desk and ask for a form. Write down the Names and Years published and your info. They will get the book(s) and they will contact you when the books are available to pick up. You might end up getting a book from Alaska or some other far away place. It definitely widens your possibilities!