Need help for deciding cities and length of stays

I certainly would do a very least of 4 nights in London and in Rome, because there are larger than Paris for which I think a very very minimum would be 3 days,
I would do Germany, Austria, to which it would be intersting to add Hungary another time.

Ps: I.'d be so happy if you would stay 4 days in Paris, mind you, it is the city of love.

Remember that less is more when it comes to whirlwind trips. In my humble opinion, I would add more days to both London and Paris and save Germany for another trip. One night really isn't enough to see much of anything (again just my opinion). Enjoy your trip whatever you decide.

You won't run out of things to do in London or Paris. I'd probably save Germany/Austria for another trip. There are plenty of small tour companies that offer day trips to nearby places from Paris and London, which might be a fun alternative if you're craving more countries. In London my daughter and I took a Jack the Ripper walking ghost tour, which might have your 12 year old written all over it. It's a great tour for any age though. Go to Stonehenge (I took it as a day trip). I paid the extra to walk around the stones at sunrise. The trip also included Lacock- an authentic "ye olde" town where the Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice movies were made. There we had a traditional English breakfast at a 600 year old Inn that included a stockage out back and a dog wheel inside (where dogs were put in to run a wheel that turned the meat on the spit in the fireplace). The trip also took us to the Roman Baths and the museum there which is also friendly for all ages. Of course you should check out the theater too, and the London Eye. There is a great park by the Eye and lots of interesting "characters" and buskers. You could easily enjoy a week just in London and the English countryside and Paris is no different.

Whatever you choose, have fun!
Lisa

Yes this too much. Its like planning a tour of the cities of the East Coast of the US, adding extra days in Boston, New York and Miami, then tacking on California at the end. Europe looks compact on the map, but it takes most of a day to relocate from one place to another regardless of traveling by rail or plane.

How much extra time do you have to spend?

I, too, would save the Germany/Austria for another trip. You will touch on Germany with your 2 nights in Munich and you will drive thru Austria but not really stop anywhere except an Autogrille (like a plaza on an Interstate) for a pit stop. I hope you stop in the Italian-tirolean village for lunch that we stopped in on the 21 day tour. Really cool!

If you have enough days, I would fly in to London and spend at least 4 nights there. (You know you will leave Ohio one day and arrive the next when you travel to Europe.) If you can add a night that would be great, then perhaps you can do a day trip out of the city. I would take the Eurostar to Paris (get a taxi to the hotel from Gare du Nord) and give yourselves at least 2 or 3 nights ahead of your trip. At the end in Rome I would add 3 more nights.

Rick always says, Assume you will be back! You don't need to see everything in one trip altho ALL of us know it is tempting. I will also add that altho I have not done the 14 day tour, I did the 21 day tour. It is easy to underestimate how packed these tours are since you see blockbuster sights every. single. day. You will be tired by the time you get to Rome!

That is ambitious in my opinion but it is your trip and money. As this is your first trip to Europe and London is not included in the tour I recommend flying there to start your trip. Stay at least 3 nights to get an overview (remember you can't see it all) and see the highlights: Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, Tower of London, etc. I would then take the Eurostar to Paris for 2 or 3 nights before the tour starts to see things that are not part of the tour. You can tack on extra days in Rome at the end of your trip. I would skip Austria and Germany and save that for another time. Remember this is your first trip to Europe and you will be overwhelmed just by the tour not to mention bringing a 12 year old all over. The tour takes care of everything. You will have to take care of the extra days. Have fun!!

I think crucial questions are – how good are you all at long trips, and how much time do you have for the trip? If you can enjoy 4 to 6 week trips that have a number of "surprises"/uncertainties in the US, it might be reasonable to try a trip of this nature. And you'd also need to have enough vacation time that you're not rushing from city to city.

Since you've not been to Europe before, starting in London would give you a nice opportunity to recover from jet leg and adjust to the changes in a place where English is the first language. Adding days in the city where tour starts and days in the city where is ends is also relatively easy. Adding additional countries, like Austria and Germany, presents a little more challenge in traveling.

The best way to determine how long you want to stay in each city is get a guidebook, list your priorities, and estimate how long you'd like to spend on each of those priorities. You really are the only one who can do that. I find photo-based guide books,like the National Geographic or Eyewitness guides, to be particularly helpful for this type of planning. You could also look at itineraries of tours that visit a city, and use those to decide which of the highlights most interest you. Just remembered that traveling on your own is slower than traveling on an organized tour – it takes time to plan logistics, allow time to get lost, etc.

100,

I will let others comment on if its too much, but i will comment as to the days i allocated for the places you wish to go.

London - 4 full days
Paris - 4 full days
Vienna - 3 full days

Im going to Rome this Sept and have allocated 3 full days.

For what i had planned and wanted to see, the days were just about right. However, i will say that in all 3 of cities i did not do any side/day trips. In France i did go to Normandy but i had allocated 3 full days there too.

happy trails.

You've received some good advice already. And yes, your itinerary is a little too fast moving. You may need to catch your breath in Rome before heading out again.
I would suggest you stay over in Rome another two days after the tour's end. Then catch an EasyJet flight up to London for a minimum of 4 days.

After your time in the U.K., catch the Eurostar down to Paris. Fly home from Charles deGaulle Airport.

You may need another visit to take in Vienna, Hallstadt, Salzburg, the Austrian Alps and Munich.

I think you'll want at least 4 nights (3 full days) in London. Then take the Eurostar train to Paris (buy tickets 120 days in advance for cheap fares). Then you have 2 nights (1 full day plus 1 or 2 half days) to get oriented in Paris and see some of the sights you won't see in the 1.5 days on the tour. For me this isn't enough Paris. Then you have 13 nights on the tour, changing hotels every other night. The tour includes 1.5 days sightseeing in Rome. 2 more nights gives you 2 full days more. Take into account that you may be a little tired (you'll have been traveling for 3 weeks). You may need a day to just chill, stroll, shop for things you've run out of, take care of laundry.

Flying from Rome to Vienna will eat up at least 1/2 day, depending on how much you spend on getting to/from the hotels/airports. Also keep in mind that flights within Europe have stricter luggage limits (both carry-on and checked), and budget airlines are the strictest. For each location change on your own, figure at least 1/2 day - packing, checking out, getting to the train station, then getting to your next hotel to drop your luggage, the time adds up. Vienna to Salzburg is 2.5-3 hours just on the train. Salzburg to Frankfurt is 5-6 hours.

If it really saves you enough money to fly home from Frankfurt (including the full cost of flying there from Rome), I'd advise just staying in Frankfurt for 2-4 nights. Frankfurt is an often overlooked city for tourism and there are day trips to other interesting German towns. If it turns out the savings aren't enough to warrant using the better part of a day to get there, there's a whole lot of Italy you can still see within a couple hours' train ride from Rome!

Thank you, everyone, for your comments and advice. ^^

Now I understand that I need at least 4 nights each in London, Paris and Rome. I need to reconsider my visit to Austria. But I want you to know that this is likely my first and last trip to Europe. Of course we never know, but it looks like it. So I'd like to visit as many historical places as possible.

Thank you again for your advice.

Don't sell Uncle Rick short...his tours will guarantee you will want to return to Europe! Either with another tour or as an independent traveler with the skills you have learned from your guide.

I'm just guessing here, but if you have a 12-year old son, you're in your 30s or 40s. Why oh why would you think this is your only shot at Europe. Many of us on the forum didn't travel much - or at all - until after that. Europe is fun at 50, at 60, at 70, and even at 80 for the lucky ones who's health and money last that long.

Pam and Chani, thank you for your encouragement. I'm in my late 40s. The only reason is financial. Yes, I do hope to return to Europe in the future, but I don't know if I could afford it later. This time I was able to get some resources. In that sense, Rick Steves' 14 Day Tour fit my needs to visit several different places in a short period of time. Of course 21 Day might've been better but it doesn't fit my plan.