Itinerary advice

To do the Bernina Express from Salzburg, you will probably want to do an overnight in Chur.
Where is the 7 day cruise from Venice going to drop you?

The cruise starts and end in Venice. Thought this was the best way to see Athens.

I like your plan. You will have some longer travel days, but on an extended trip, I think those are very relaxing and give you a chance to read, nap, chat, chill out.

Do stay in Chur the night before you take the Bernina Express. Lovely trip!

Looks lovely. Do fly Venice-Paris. Easyjet has flights to Orly for 28 EUR. They also fly to CDG.

Dresden, Vienna, Innsbruck are other possibilities along your route.
Vicenza in the Veneto is only 35mins from Venice by train in order to join your cruise. From here you can also visit Verona and Padova.
What a wonderful trip. Enjoy.

Interesting choices. We have been to all the places you are visiting. Also, dear wife and I are avid cyclists, but hate biking in cool or cold weather. It will be chilly in the Low Countries in October, take warm clothes.

I love Berlin, but what are you doing for four days?

Also, you could probably cut a day from Prague. We did a great river cruise from Lyon to Arles and that was great. The south of France that time of the year will be cool for sure. Barcelona is good, but three days there is enough.

My general observation is that your itinerary is spread over too wide an area. I don't know where you have been in Europe, but if you minimized travel (save time) you will enjoy the trip more. You will probably be back.

The bike/barge trip is the last one of the year. I know it will be chilly but hopefully not too bad. The travel back to Paris seems like a lot of travel but we will fly. I have been to Paris but my wife has not. I may try to talk her into the Amalfi coast which should definitely be warmer. A nephew suggested that four nights in Berlin would be appropriate but we will see.

Thanks for the input.

Oct 22 Amsterdam
Oct 26 Berlin
Oct 30 Prague
Nov 2 Salzburg
Nov 5 Munich
Nov 8 Innsbruck
Nov 10 Chur
Nov 11 Bernina Express to Lake Como
Nov 14 Veneto (Vicenza or Padova)
Nov 17 Cruise from Venice
Nov 24 Fly to Paris
Nov 29 Nice
Dec 2 Barcelona
Dec 5 Depart Barcelona

I haven't been to Nice, no idea what you do there or what it's like at the end of November. If you haven't been to Barcelona, I recommend no less that 3 full days. Unless there's something special about Nice, I'd just take the TGV from Paris to Barcelona, possibly adding 1-2 nights to Paris, but 5-6 full days in Barcelona is not too many.

Thanks for the help. Is it worth the effort to take the Bernina Express to Venice or would the Brenner Pass route suffice? The former would involve an overnight which is doable but would probably avoid if both routes are scenic.

Are you thinking of skipping the Lake Como stop? The night trains from Munich and Salzburg don't go over the Brenner Pass anymore, but through Tarvisio and Udine.

Is it worth the effort to take the Bernina Express to Venice or would the Brenner Pass route suffice?

The Bernina Express is not an efficient route to Venice. It ends at Tirano and that is a long way from Venice. You originally said you intended to go to Lago di Como, which is possible from Tirano after arriving from Chur on the Bernina Express.

Hi,

The 5 nights in Paris I would do one day/side trip to Fontainebleau (take the train from Gare de Lyon) or Versailles. I prefer Fontainebleau and its Napoleon connection. Also, from Berlin do the day trip r/t to Potsdam or choose another cultural town...Weimar, Halle, Leipzig.