Is this too much for 10 days?

I personally would limit to two countries. If you are there 14 days, count out the arrival and departure days and that leaves you with 12 days. Then if you are flying from Paris to Florence, cut out another half day for airport check-in, etc. Now down to 11 and half days. Why not 4-5 days in Paris and rest in Florence and surrounding cities and then you would be able to enjoy and not feel just too rushed. Also you said you hope to go back which I am sure you will be able to do and then can do Switzerland, Spain or whatever. Just my thoughts.

Don't bother counting your arrival day and your depature day as part of your time as you are likely to be dealing with jet lag upon arrival and probably leaving by mid-day on your depature back to the U.S. so you are going to need to allot the better part of your morning to getting checked out of a hotel and getting to the airport several hours in advance of your departure. Knee jerk reaction for me, personally, is to save Spain & Switzerland for another trip. Paris for 1st timers deserves at least 4-5 days (more if you want to use it as a base and take some day trips to the countryside). Florence about 2-3 days. You mention "see Italy" - where else besides Florence? Rome, like Paris, also is a place you can easily spend 4-5 days visiting. Think about what you may want to do outside of the major cities in France & Italy. There is more than enough to keep you occupied if you want to see more rural or coastal areas, and even if you aren't renting a car, there are places you can reach by train or bus.

Tiffany, As this is your first trip to Europe, my first suggestion is to read Europe Through The Back Door before you get too far in your planning. It will provide you with a lot of good information on things like Itinerary planning and especially Rail Skills. You could also have a look at some of the country-specific Guidebooks to get ideas on Hotels, Restaurants, sightseeing, local transportation, etc. You should be able to accomplish most of your objectives if you can manage to get 14-days for the trip. However, I'd skip Spain on this trip as it's somewhat "distant" from your other locations and you won't have time for four countries (IMHO). I'd highly recommend using open-jaw flights, perhaps inbound Paris and outbound Milan. In planning your time, keep in mind that you'll lose the first day and last day of your trip, and will be jet lagged for a day or two after arrival in Europe. One possibility to consider would be something along these lines: > Flight to Paris - 4 days? > Train to Switzerland - 3 days (perhaps Lucerne or the Berner Oberland - what do you want to see?) > Train to Italy - 5 days (do some research in the Guidebooks to narrow down locations other than Florence that you might like to see - Cinque Terre, Lake Como, Siena, other locations in Bella Toscana or ?) > Flight home from Milan / MXP There are lots of possibilities, but this would cover three of the four locations you wanted to visit. Switzerland is somewhat "on the way" to Italy, so would make a good intermediate point to visit between France and Italy. Travel by train (especially fast trains like the TGV in France, which travels at 300 kmH) is the most efficient use of limited vacation time. Good luck with your planing!

Thanks guys. Yes I thought I was stretching myself thin. On the Italy part I was thinking of sticking to the Tuscany region this go around. I am in my ealry thirties so I hope life will allow me to travel there again but if not I here I have to see Tuscany! Would you all agree? Is there another part of Italy I should look at? Is the best course of action to travel by train from Paris to Florence? Would this take me through Switzerland? As you can tell I am a novice at this. Is May or April good timing? So thankful for all of the advice.

Ken is spot on as usual. Just remembered my sister and husband flew into Paris about five years ago, 4 days, train to Switzerland for 4 days and then train to either Rome or Florence and home from there. We could also help if we know what your budget is, but this plan is feasible. Good luck.

All good ideas. Thank you all for reminding me to subtract a day from the start and a day from the end. As far as budget I have no idea. I wanted to get an idea of where I was going and what the cost would be and scale down from there. I will say it is a moderate budget whatever that might mean their. I have a lot of research and pricing to do.

I personally like Gail's recommendation, unless you absolutely have to see Switzerland. 4-5 days in Paris and in Tuscany is about the minimum I would suggest. You are young, you will return. I would go for quality instead of quality. I think April and May is a great time to go.

I didn't bother to read all of the preceding posts, but Switzerland is on the way between Paris and Italy, and a stop on the way, depending on how it fits in, might be justified, but Spain? Not in the time you have.

Remember you will go back again. I sometimes like to think of European travel as a smorgasbord - first time through do some sampling and then coming back for seconds for the things you really like. Fly in to Amsterdam for a two nights isn't a bad place to start - you really know you are not in Austin anymore, it is very managable and you don't have any language issues. Then a quick train to Paris 4 nights there (or 3 and an over night elsewhere in France Night train to Florence (find out it is really over rated and over crowded (oops did I say that, others may not agree)) go to Sienna via bus. Think about getting a car for the Tuscan Countryside (4 nights in that area) End in Venice for 2 nights Fly home form there. All of this is really dependent upon how agile you are as a traveler. May would be better than April - warmer and more light.Make sure you get and Really read Europe Through that Back Door and do every thing you can do to become familiar with your destinations when you get there.

Thanks again. David, where are your favorite places in Italy? I have heard good things about Florence but I am sure there is a bad side too. I have also heard mixed reviews on venice and rome. From everything I have read Tuscany looks beautiful.

What things do you want to see in the spots you have picked out. When you say you have "heard" mixed reviews about Rome, what does this mean? Does Rome have the sites you want to see or not? Does Florence have the sites you want to see or not? If they do, then go. There is beautiful scenery all over the continent of Europe, and you could just stay in France and spend your time there rather than traveling so far to Italy. A cheap flight would be the quickest way, and probably the cheapest too, if you want to go to Italy from France. You would then need an open jaw ticket to fly home from Italy. An easier option is to visit the countries that are near Paris. Germany is a just a couple of hours by train, the Netherlands and Belgium are also near by. This way you get to spend more of your very short vacation time sight-seeing rather than sitting on a long train ride or in an airport.

Generally speaking, I'd agree with Jo that nearer places to France (Germany, Netherlands) would beat further places like Italy and especially Spain. But in spring, northern Europe is often chilly and damp, whereas Italy is actually much pleasanter than it would be if you scheduled a summer trip. So count me as a vote for Italy after Paris.

Thanks all. I think if we go from France to Italy and stop along the way in Switzerland maybe it will break up the trip some. As far as mixed reviews I have had some people tell me skip Rome and go to Venice. Others skip Venice and go to Florence lol. So I am just trying to figure out which region to do for this trip since I can't do them all. Yes we would like to other countries as well but I think for this one we want to stick to Italy and France. If only I had unlimited time and money! I am sure I will have many more questions as I continue to plan this trip and will be asking here!

Hi Tiffany. Only you can decide if Venice sounds more interesting than Florence. Read about both cities and see which one has more things you'd like to see and do. I've been to both but my experience has been a little lopsided - I was in Venice for a day but lived in Florence for 2 weeks. I like both cities but for different reasons. Whatever you don't see gives you a reason to go back!

Tiffany, "Would you all agree? Is there another part of Italy I should look at? Tuscany is an excellent choice for your first visit, and it will provide a sample of one of the most beautiful parts of Italy. Florence (which is in Tuscany) is a good "home base" to visit Siena or other parts of that region. "Is the best course of action to travel by train from Paris to Florence? Would this take me through Switzerland?" To reiterate the comments in my first reply, Switzerland is "on the way" to Italy, so would make a good intermediate point to visit between France and Italy. Could you provide further information on what type of sights you're interested in seeing in Switzerland? There are numerous choices in trains, so yes, you'll be able to take a train from Paris to Switzerland. For example, if you decide to stop in Lucerne, there are trains departing Paris Est to Lucerne (~time 5H:06M, often one change in Basel). As you're a "novice at this", be sure to read Europe Through The Back Door as that will answer a lot of your questions. Read the "Rail Skills" chapter carefully so that you're "up to speed" on how rail travel works in Europe. Cheers!

I like Ken's advice. On my first trip to Europe, I started with 4 days in France (including a half day in Versailles). On the day I left, I took a detour to Chartres just to see the cathedral since I was focusing on art and architecture. Took an overnight train to Florence and spent 3 days there. Plenty of art there. If you aren't into art, then you don't need to spend as much time there. Then I took a quick hop to Rome/Vatican Museum for one day before heading north. I think stopping at Switzerland on the way to Florence would break up that long train ride. So far, I've only been to the airport there. :o If you go down to Rome, you can spend a few days there and take your flight home from Rome. I love Europe and went back every other year after that first trip for 4 other trips. I'm finally returning after 15 years away.