Hi All! My friend J and I are backpacking through Western Europe and would like itinerary help & suggestions. We're 23yo women on a student budget. We like history (especially Classical and medical), local culture, strolling & hiking, trying new foods, and getting out of our comfort zones to learn. We are not shopping and partying types.
We met on a mainland Greece trip led by our Ancient Greek professor and have both traveled within & beyond Europe. J's at Oxford for her Master's, so we're in her apartment for the first week. We're traveling on a 10 day/2 month Eurail pass and will spend ~1 week walking into Rome as Via Francigena pilgrims. Our motto for this trip is "Anything for an Experience!"
Our Current Itinerary (Nothing Booked Yet):
Sept 2: I arrive in Oxford.
Sept 3-8: Based in Oxford. 2 day trips to Bath (train) and a day trip to London (bus). In Bath, we're thinking the Baths, Jane Austen museum (J is a huge fan), walking tour, and try scrumpy. In London, the British museum, Imperial War museum, Shakespeare show as Groundlings, & Hunterian museum (over both days).
Sept 9: Early train to London, day in London (2 London days total), late train to Canterbury. Sleep Canterbury.
Sept 10: Pick up Via Francigena passports from priest and tour cathedral. Sleep Canterbury.
Sept 11: Journey to Paris via trains + ferry. Eiffel tower picnic. Sleep Paris (Montmartre).
Sept 12-14: Days + nights in Paris. We're thinking Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle, Notre Dame, Musee Curie, & History of medicine museum. We're considering the museum pass so we can pop into other sights.
Where things get shaky:
Sept 15: Travel to Gimmelwald, Switzerland.
Sept 16-17: Days + nights Gimmelwald. Hiking, considering Via Ferrata.
Sept 18-19: Travel to + stay in Salzburg. See Fall folk festival, classical music.
Sept 20-22: Sleep Munich. 1 day Dachau, 1 day Neuschwanstein (maybe), 1 day Oktoberfest. Night train to Venice on 22nd.
Sept 23: Day in Venice, sleep Venice.
Sept 24: Day split between Venice & Padua. Sleep Padua.
Sept 25: See anatomical theatre & maybe Cini castle nearby. Sleep Padua.
Sept 26-27: Travel to + sleep Florence. See Accademia & Uffizi. Maybe Duomo, Galileo museum, & Bargello.
Sept 28: Travel to Viterbo. Enjoy hot springs, maybe stop at Orvieto wine filling station.
Sept 29-Oct 3: Walk to Rome.
Oct 4: Arrive Rome, complete Pilgrimage at St. Peters. See Holy door, Scala Sancta.
Oct 5: See Pompeii + Ostia Antica + Pantheon on free Sunday.
Oct 6-7: Rome. See Vatican museums (if haven't already), Forum, Borghese, Caracalla baths, Capuchin crypt.
Oct 8: Morning flight home.
Additional Notes:
- J has been to London, Paris, & Rome, otherwise all locations are new for us
- J has mild Autism, so struggles with continual crowds and sensory overload. Any strategies to avoid crowds or take breaks from Rome/Florence/Oktoberfest chaos are appreciated (she is looking forward to these places and has special earbuds to help, so we don't want to avoid them altogether)
- Yes, we want to take the ferry and night train. We're also choosing to go by train instead of short flights within Europe. We want the experience and adventure of older/less convenient travel
- We'd like to experience the Chästeilet/cow festival near Interlaken on Sept 19, but is going to Salzburg and backtracking a good idea?
- We want to do an alpine luge/summerrodelbahn, but we're not sure where a good spot is. We also want to see castle(s) at some point.
Congrats on making it through a gargantuan post, and thank you for all your help!!