Itinerary for a first time traveler

I would recommend taking the RS Best of Europe 14-day tour and beginning your trip with the plans you had for London/Amsterdam. You both would have a great time together, and you would also have a chance on that itinerary to see the gorgeous Switzerland Lauterbrunnen area. The RS trip would give you a lot more from each day vs. doing it on your own.

If you stick to your original plan, I would fly from Paris to Venice.

I loved the RS 21Day tour and felt it was a great value for my needs and wants.

I will just say about your itinerary that 2 nights in one place just gives you 1 full day, so for instance you are just giving yourself 1 full day in Venice. I also agree with flying this leg. I did Easyjet from Paris to Venice and it worked really well but you still lose 1/2 a day getting to the airport, flying and getting to the hotel at the other end.

I can understand the desire to see a friend in London but it seems to me that it would be better to fly directly to Amsterdam and start your vacation there. You are adding a transportation segment and if you don't want to see London then you are using valuable time for maybe a couple of hours meet up.

Some observations/suggestions ...
1. I would find an extra night for Paris
2. I would find an extra night for Venice by flying instead of taking the night train.
3. Sharing the cost of a hotel room with your Mum will make it cheaper for you.
4. At 51, your Mum is a good age (same as me) to be an agile and helpful travel companion.
5. Maybe your Mum could head straight to Amsterdam, and you join her there after your night in London.
5. Choose your hotel locations central to sights and there is no real need for booked day tours.
6. Paris Museum Pass is the one exception which seems to be universally praised on this Forum.
7. Late April/early May is a good time to travel before the real build up begins in June.

Flight from Chicago to London (1 night) - only stopping off to say hello to some high school friends
Flight from London to Amsterdam (3 nights)
Train from Amsterdam to Paris (4 nights)
Flight from Paris to Venice (3 nights) - check Transavia, easyjet, Vueling
Train from Venice to Florence (3 nights)
Train from Florence to Rome (3 nights)
Flight from Rome to Chicago

I am older than your mom! My 33 year old son is going to Europe with me and he is going to have a hard time keeping up with me!

If your budget allows, I think the R.S. 14 day BOE tour would be lovely. You could add a night or two in Paris before the tour and add two nights in Rome at the end. Both cities deserve more than the two nights on the tour. You'd miss Amsterdam but hey, next trip!

I am not sure one night in London is worth the time or considerable expense of stopping. You'll be jet lagged, so a visit with friends might be 2 or 3 hours over an early dinner, and then you have to pay for an expensive room and an additional flight or train to the continent. However, if you do make the London stop and drop AMS in favor of more time in Paris (i.e., the R.S. Tour), you can take the EuroStar to Paris. It's a great train ride!

You can do it on your own, but it would be more convenient to take the RS tour. If you have extra days, perhaps add a night or two for Roma, and a night or two at the beginning of your trip.

By the way, I (and many others) have traveled solo in Europe for over thirty years.

Our last trip was an 11 nt cruise over and 30 days on the ground with a rail pass and no reservations - my husband was 73 at the time. Our next trip will be 2 months split up a week at a time in 8 places with a 15 nt cruise home - he will turn 77 on that trip. I am currently 54 - as long as your mom is healthy she will be fine on an itinerary such as this.

Great time of year to go, beat the crowds - keep in mind it can still be chilly - think layers. On & off the train - think pack light.

We happen to like night trains and have no problem getting sleep - some folks do not like them at all. The Paris - Venice run is nice - board around 7pm and arrive around 9:30am - I do not like really early am arrivals.

Here is what the maninseat61 has to say about the Paris - Venice night train.

Even for the shoulder season book the Eiffel Tower in advance.

Looks like you have a great trip planned - have a ball!

You have 16 days on the ground (2 for travel to/from home). That's enough for the RS 14 day Best of Europe tour, which does not include London or Amsterdam. You could spend a day in London and have an extra day in Paris before the tour to see some of the sights that the tour doesn't cover. It's the only RS tour that covers most of your destinations. The benefit of the tour is the efficiency. You don't waste time getting to/from train stations (with luggage); you get to sights the most direct way (without getting lost) and often skipping lines, so you do see a lot. The guides will be better and you'll see more than with local tour companies and you'll be in a small-ish group with people who have become your friends. The drawback is that you will have less time in the cities you've listed and see other places (also great, though perhaps not as "classic").

It's possible to follow the itinerary you've suggested, but it's fast-paced. It does get tiring to move around every 3 days for 2 weeks. I would drop either Amsterdam or Florence to spend a little more time in the other stops. Consider these options:

1. Spend 2 full days in London and catch up with your friends while you let them show you the sights. London is a worthy destination and you might as well spend time there.
2. Amsterdam and Venice are both "canal" cities, but Venice is unique. Spend 2 full days there. Amsterdam is a good destination to combine with Germany (or other places) on your next trip to Europe. By the way, they are not similar, so it's not redundant to see both on this trip.
3. If you aren't very interested in Renaissance painting, sculpture, and architecture, you can see the highlights of Florence in a day. Leave Venice early, store luggage at the Florence train station, see the sights and take an evening train to Rome (have a picnic dinner on the train).

3 nights = 2 days. That's enough for Amsterdam and Florence, maybe for Venice, but not for Paris or Rome. By the time you're into your second week, you may want to slow the pace. Dropping one of your cities will give you breathing space to enjoy the others. It's hard to realize how tiring and stressful it can be to orient yourself to each new city. Doing it every third day is really rough. There are lots of things to see and do without going into any museums.

Lastly, you'll quickly find that you want to stay out late, not to drink or party, but to see these beautiful places after dark, especially Paris and Venice and Rome.

I guess my vote for doing this independently versus the 14-day BOE tour is the scant amount of time that one allows for Paris and Rome, and that the trade-off is time in 3 locations (Germany, Switzerland and Burgundy) that aren't on your list. That's sort of a big departure. If that still works for you, that's fine but IMHO 1.5 days isn't nearly enough for Paris and Rome, and 1 day isn't enough for Florence.

BTW, my husband and I are 61 and have had no trouble doing 10 miles a day on our feet or getting ourselves around in Europe. We do spend longer versus short periods of time in our chosen locations because it provides more flexibility to work around stuff like days museums are closed, weather, etc. and not because we can't manage a snappy pace. I also have single female friends who travel all over the world solo with no problems so 'risk' shouldn't factor into your decision! The cities you list are not difficult or risky to do on one's own.

I'd go along with the suggestion to drop one of your locations: Amsterdam or Florence, probably. I LOVE Florence - much more than Amsterdam - so it pains me to think about but its wealth is in Renaissance art. If you don't enjoy that sort of thing, it may not appeal? On the other hand, it's a good base location for easy day trips around Tuscany. Anyway, divide the 3 days from either city between London, Rome and Paris.

Thank you everyone for your great replies! Based on everyone's input I've come to the following conclusions:
- I think I will drop London from my current itinerary as I was only heading there to see my friends. If time allows, I may add it back.
- Amsterdam has to stay in my itinerary. This is one city that awakened my traveling bug so I must see it.
- I will use the extra day I get from dropping London and add it to Paris (Yay Eiffel tower!) as I want to see a lot of sites here.
- Still on the fence about the night train from Paris to Venice. I like the idea of getting a couchette and sleeping in one city and arriving in another, especially if I would be arriving close to the hotel. I understand comfort may be an issue. However, I also understand the advantages of taking a 1.5 hour flight. My two big hang ups are the flights (cheaper ones) may not be flexible on carry-on luggage weight, and the hassle of traveling to and from the airport.
- Other than the Doge and St. Mark's Basilica, there are no other sites I really want to see in Venice, so I am happy with just the two night stay (or 1.5 days). I intended for this to be my "rest city", where I can just wander around and enjoy the scenery. If anyone has a suggestion on other sites in Venice worth seeing, please mention it.
- Florence must stay in the itinerary. I really want to see the Uffizi museum, the Duomo, and take a day trip to Pisa (there were several offered on Viator.com).
- Rome must stay, as this is a major highlight of my trip.

If it is one thing I've learned about trip planning, it's certainly a task of editing (to think my original itinerary included Munich, Lucerne, and Milan!) but now I see the benefits of visiting fewer places and truly absorbing what they offer. As far as excursions go, what websites do you go to source reputable ones? Since this will be my first time going to Europe, I don't mind making the investment to cover certain sites. Thank you again for all your help.

I'm going on my second solo trip this summer. A few things that I've enjoyed using so far-
1. Citymapper app
2. T-mobile has a 5 dollar international add on prepaid plan available.
3. Vayable.com is a site for personal tours through your city of choice. (Someone to take you shopping, help with your laundry, walk you through museums, take you bar hopping etc.)
4. Meetup.com is a social networking site for people to come to events in your city of choice at your own leisure.
And
5. Airbnb.com is the best place to look for rooms or homes for rent for a reasonable price.

Hope those help find some events that you're more interested in and helps you find your way around!
Have a great time!

You seem to be acquiring some excellent travel=planning wisdom based on your last paragraph.

If anyone has a suggestion on other sites in Venice worth seeing, please mention it.

Venice is so good for just wandering and seeing what is around the corner, down the next canal. It is not just about sites and museums. To expand your exposure to the city, do take a walk over to the Frari Church (see the Rick Steves guide) and wander around Dorsoduro, out to the Zattere. Consider a day trip to Murano, Burano and Torcello, the birthplace of Venice (but only if the weather is good). Go up the bell tower at San Giorgio Maggiore, across the laguna from San Marco. Walk through the city at 7:00AM, before the hordes arrive and see the city wake-up and =get ready for the day.

Oh, I also forgot for Paris get onto one of those hop on hop off bus tours - you can see all of the sites in one go about - it's about 32 euro, and it'll take you to all if the sites in one day vs. Trying to find them yourself and wasting the time to get there. That was some of the best money I spent on the trip, and I'm not big into seeing all of the typical sites, seems too touristy and is kind of boring.

Don't pay to get up into the Eiffel tower, (unless you want to lol) instead bring goods for a picnic on the lawn and catch a great site with great food - but watch for pickpockets (last year it was so bad when I was there, they'd shut down the whole Eiffel tower thing for a few days ... I don't remember all if the details but it was something like this. )
There is a kiosk at Notre dame for the hop on hop off bus, I went to the people in the company vests with tourists surrounding them to get my tickets (just to be safe)
The tickets last from when you buy them to 8p I think. :)

I've been traveling solo to Europe since 1991. Never a problem.

As far as excursions go, what websites do you go to source reputable
ones?

Short answer? We don't do those. We didn't the first time. Most cities/attractions are very easily done with a good guidebook or the occasionally rented audioguide (when available). Going solo provides us flexibility to spend as much or as little time as we wish at an attraction and take breaks as we please. It also doesn't nail us down to doing something on a day that doesn't turn out to be ideal weatherwise; we can choose something else and do that thing on a better day.

It's not everyone's method - there are many ways to skin a cat! - but it works best for us. The one exception might be to book a combo tour of the Vatican Museums and St Peter's. You can do that on the Vatican's website, and the efficiency having a guide to shepherd you through a vast amount of stuff - and huge crowds - is a benefit.

https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do

Pisa is not difficult to do by train from Florence. Really. But if you're more comfortable with a tour, that's just fine too.

Skipping London - good.

Amsterdam - I totally understand. A fun way to see it is to rent a bike. You can get around fairly quickly, you don't have to figure out buses and trams, and you feel like a local.

Getting from Paris to Venice. I'm a light sleeper so I've never considered a night train. It's probably not going to add much time if you have to check luggage for the flight. Since you are traveling light, it will be easy to get to/from the airports - just don't use Beauvais from Paris. If you are a sound sleeper, the train might be better, but it would be the pits to get to Venice exhausted after not sleeping much and might wreck your first day there. Check the train route to see how many stops it makes and how long it is between stops. The starting/stopping can be a hindrance.

Venice. The joy is in being there. As soon as you get 5 minutes away from the Grand Canal or St. Mark's Square, it's quiet and peaceful and completely charming. You said you could add a day or 2. This is one place I'd try to fit in 2 full days.

Florence. You can see the Uffizi in 2-3 hours. The Duomo takes an hour, unless you mean to climb the dome or the tower. The markets are great fun (but skip the shops on the Ponte Vecchio). If you have an "extra day" in Florence, I recommend taking the bus to Siena for the day instead of the train to Pisa. The Leaning Tower is interesting, the church is beautiful and the baptistry is even better, but there's much more to see in Siena and it's your chance to see a small medieval town - very different from your other places. Both are easy to do on your own, not worth a big group tour (with the obligatory shopping stops).

Viator has consistently good tours, fairly priced with the best part being skipping the lines (same with most/all tour groups). We have also done several walking tours by just going to the city's Tourist Information office and joining often free (tip expected) guided walking tours.

As a first time traveller to Europe it is natural to want to experience a night train, whether for reasons of practicality, cost, or the romantic attraction of rail. I was the same. There is only one way to find out if your romantic notions are matched by the reality. So I would say, go ahead, do it.

The times are good, and with no stops between approx 10pm at Dijon and 6am at Milan, sleep disruption is minimised while security is maximised. Wake up to the countryside of northern Italy as you speed from Milan to Venice. Definitely book a sleeper though - sharing a 4 berth couchette showing at 110 € for next month. In my opinion this compares favourably with half the cost of a Paris hotel room and a cheap flight the next day.
Book through thello ... https://www.thello.com/

EN 221
Dep 19:11 PARIS GARE DE LYON (France)
Arr 09:35 VENEZIA S. LUCIA (Italy)

I have used Viator as well, they are a third-party vendor for tours. You may want to look at booking directly with the sites or the actual tour company Viator is selling tickets for. Here are some local sites for your locations:

PARIS
Paris & outskirts: Paris City Vision, http://www.pariscityvision.com

Eiffel Tower: Tickets go on sale 90-days out and sell out fast, http://www.toureiffel.paris

Paris Museum Pass: Can be purchased at some Train Station Info Desks and small sites w/shorter lines/wait times as well. Such as Musee des Arts Decoratifs (Decorative Arts Museum) not far from the Louvre, http://www.thecitycase.paris/store/p2/Paris_Museum_Pass.html

ITALY
Venice: St. Marks Basilica & more, http://www.venetoinside.com/attraction-tickets-in-veneto/tickets/skip-the-line-saint-marks-basilica/

Florence & Pisa: Uffiizi & Accademia, http://www.ticketsflorence.com/en/, http://www.florence-museum.com

Colosseum: http://www.tickitaly.com/tickets/colosseum-tickets.php

Vatican:https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do,

Rome in a Day: Walks of Italy, https://www.walksofitaly.com/rome-tours/rome-in-a-day-tour

Enjoy your trip.