Hello! I will be in Europe for five weeks in June and July this summer. I will be starting and ending in Paris. This is my first time planning a trip of this magnitude, and my only experience in Europe to date is a week-long trip through England. I'm interested in visiting museums, seeing cities of cultural relevance, and taking in natural beauty. Culture, beauty, and good (it need not be fancy) food are important to me. I will be taking public transport, so I won't have access to a car for day-trips. I've been recommended Nice, Florence, Venice, Rome, Sorrento, Athens, Bern, Geneva, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and London by a friend who went on a backpacking trip last summer. I'm not sure I want to visit so many destinations, so any additional advice on standouts would be appreciated. I'm planning on concentrating the first 1/2 to 2/3rds of my trip in Southern Europe, then traveling to Amsterdam and London before my return to Paris. Also, If you have advice about keeping hotel costs down without resorting to hostels all the time, please share.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5647 posts
Paris is hosting the Olympics this summer, have you researched available accommodations, costs, and related disruptions? I'd drop Paris. Also, Sorrento will be hot and crowded , not to mention expensive. Also, Switzerland is very expensive.
What are your interests, not your friend's? Get some guide books, do some research, watch u- tube videos, join Facebook groups for areas of interest. Decide on your priorities, we can't do this for you.
You have chosen mostly large cities in the heat of summer. Don't you want to experience some smaller towns? And after awhile, you'll need to slow down, do laundry, nurse a cold, and relax.
Draft a reasonable itinerary based on your interests, and come back here with more specific questions.
I wish you memorable adventure and a remarkable summer. Safe travels!
Posted by
8322 posts
Five weeks is a lot but your plan includes seven countries, some quite far apart.
My wife and I spend four weeks just in South Wales and England (not visiting London). We still didn't cover it all.
Just considering Italy, you want to visit Venice, Florence, Rome and Sorrento. I recommend minimum of
Venice 3 days
Florence 4 days (day trip to Siena and/or Pisa and Lucca, add 2 more days).
Rome 6 days
Sorrento 5 days, consider adding Pompeii, Capri, the Amalfi Coast and Naples.
That adds up to 20 days, which would leave you with only 15 more days.
Greece is wonderful and Athens is a must see, but what about the islands and places like Delphi, Corinth and more. Consider saving Greece for another trip where you add a cruise that included some Greek Islands like Crete, Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos and perhaps Rhodes.
Amsterdam, we did that city last in August 2022 for one week and didn't see it all.
As for Switzerland and Germany, you could easily spend three weeks doing those countries and a bit of Austria.
Do your research and determine what you want to see in each location. TripAdvisor "things to do."
Plan your transport between each location, which should generally be by train, except for long distances like going from Athens to Rome or London.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1423 posts
E.K. - Welcome to the Forum.
Start by reading Rick Steve’s Europe Through the Back Door for basic advice on European travel and narrow down your choices to whatever floats your boat. The kind Forum members would like to help but we don’t know what interests you. Give a good look at a map of Europe, read some guides and then come back here with your thoughts. Five weeks in Europe can breeze by. I spent 3 weeks just in Spain and Portugal alone.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1423 posts
E.K. - also, since you seem like you want to include many destinations, when you look at flight options for booking use the multi-city option on the airlines website. Fly into one city and out another. That way you are not backtracking just to fly home.
Posted by
164 posts
Why reinvent the wheel. Go to Ricks tours and look at Europe in 21 days. Everything you seem to want to see is there. All you have to do is book your transportation and hotels, read his books, watch his videos that are free, and away you go. My advice is don't get hung up in trying to get to cities and countries you know little about on your first trip. Your month vacation is long enough to enjoy Europe but remember it is hard work to plan and pull it off. With hard work and planning you will have a great time.