Itinerary Review and Suggestions

I would choose either Cesky Krumlov or Hallstatt, to give you more time in Salzburg and Munich.

Prague - 3 nights
Cesky Krumlov or Hallstatt - 2 nights
Salzburg - 2 nights
Munich - 3 nights
Night train to Venice - 1 night
Venice - 2 nights
Florence - 3 nights
Cinque Terre - 2 nights
Stresa - 1 night
Gimmelwald - 3 nights
Basel - 1 night

Remember that a 2 night stay really equates to just one full day for sightseeing.
Do not count your travel days, nor schedule anything from your 'must-do' list on these days.
Consider any sights you manage on travel days as a bonus.

If your daughter doesn't do well in the heat, you might want to reconfigure so you are doing Italy first. At the very least you need to have lodging with AC for your Italy stops.

I think you have too many cities to visit in your time frame. Remember you have to check out of a hotel, take train to next city, then check into a hotel. All of this takes away from sightseeing.

Example--Salzburg, one day, how? Leave from Hallstatt, stop on the way to Munich? I just prefer to spend more time in one place.

I don't tolerate heat very well either and I certainly would not go to Italy June, July. Maybe Scandinavia or Iceland. I know people who were in Venice in June and said - never more. I went to Italy many times but always April and first half of May or last half of September, October and first half of November.

Judy,

I haven't looked in much detail, but my first impression of your proposed Itinerary is that it's too "ambitious" and is going to be tiring. Travel times between locations will most likely take longer than planned. The one night stops are especially problematic as those typically only allow one evening to see a city, which is hardly worth the effort and cost. A few additional thoughts....

• Prague - you could add a day here and see Cesky Krumlov as a day trip. As I recall, there are lots of firms with street kiosks selling bus tours to Cesky.
• Venice - you might also consider travelling from Munich to Venice during the day, as the scenery is great.
• Salzburg - add some time here and visit Hallstatt on a day trip, perhaps with one of the local tour firms.
• Florence - there's a LOT to see and do in Florence, and using two of your three days for day trips to Siena and "hill towns" will not allow much time to see anything.
• Stresa - is worth more than one day and night (IMO). I'd suggest leaving that for a future visit if you can't spend more time there.
• Basel - the short time there won't allow you to see much. Have you also considered Lucerne?

Good luck with your planning.

It takes at least a half to a whole day of your time just to get from one town to another. So one night equals zero days; two night equals one day. It can take a couple of hours to get from one museum/sight to another in a bigger city. Time for meals, shopping, laundry, etc., and you see very little.

Judy, if your daughter suffers in heat you might want to look at a cooling scarf (I got mine at REI for about $15) Heat combined with long days on trains could lead to TWO surly people!

The cooling scarf is a good idea in dry heat. If it's humid, it isn't efficient. The cooling factor is dependent on water evaporation.

I'll add to the chorus that you are likely to have hot weather in several to many of your destinations. In the more northern ones, air conditioning is scarce (hotels, restaurants, even some museums) since the hot weather season is short. The buildings are built to keep heat IN, so at the very least, book hotels with AC (not so good for your budget).