Need help for travelling to Europe 3 weeks mid Nov

7 cities, 20 days. This is not reasonable.

1) This involves 6 moves. Each move costs 1 day. You are down to 14 days with this many moves.

2) Berlin, Munich, Prague, Vienna are all 3-4 day cities.

I would pick 4 cities and spend 5 days in each. Fly to Berlin. Travel to Prague, Vienna, Munich. Leave out Cologne and Salzburg. Rothenburg can be a day trip from Munich if you wish.

Get a piece of paper. Get the RS Germany and Austria books. Look at each city. Most experienced travelers plan on one activity in the morning, 1 in the afternoon. What will you do? Do you like museums? Bars? Are you coffee drinkers, beer, wine? Do you like late nights?

Everyone who goes to Europe for the first time wants to do everything. Everyone who has gone multiple times (I have been to Europe now 15-16 times) plans on more time in a city. On our last trip, we spent 3 night in Chartres (big cathedral town, but a small town). It allowed us to see the night scenes, the cathedral in several ways. For you, planning on 3-4 days in Berlin is an easy one - there is so much to do.

To ease the anxiety of doing fewer cities but more time in each, merely repeat "We will go to Europe many times."

I agree with Paul, far too much although I disagree with leaving out Salzburg. Salzburg in winter is fantastic particularly approaching Christmas and it's not far from Munich. I would drop Cologne and Rothenburg. Berlin is definitely a 3/4 day minimum.

Have to agree with the others. If 13 and 30 Nov are your travel dates, you actually only have 16 days on the ground and too much travel time between destinations on your list, especially if you are restricted in your options for places to fly in and out of. The only ways to avoid backtracking are: 1. fly into one city on your itinerary and out of another or 2. fly into and out of one city and do a circular route that makes logistical sense.

For instance, you could fly rd trip to Frankfurt and go from there to Rothenburg, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague and fly back to Frankfurt - skipping Berlin and Cologne. Or, if you have to fly rd trip to London, get a flight from there to Prague, from there to Vienna, Salzburg, Munich and Berlin and fly from there back to London, skipping Rothenburg and Cologne.

You don't have time for all of your desired destinations, so you will have to cut something and only you can decide what. You will also need to do research on dates of Christmas markets in your desired locations and decide on which ones you really want to go to and which ones fit with your itinerary. You can start your research with this website.

Thanks Paul and Jc for both of your feedbacks.
If I have to choose, I will go for Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Munich (may b more days here to arrange day trip to Rothenburg and cross over to Salzburg before heading to Vienna, is this doable?)
I don’t do late nights, serious coffee junkie. Not too wild on beer but we would definitely sample as much as we could take in now that we will be in Germany.
Since it’s my first time I want to do some touristy visits but yet not too touristy that I could just so slow down and take in th city like a local, so yea you’re right more time in the city is the way to go.
As we are going quite close to December I’m really hoping to visit some of the top Christmas markets, actually that is what I’ve been wanting to do(it might sound silly to you, but I would visit any market or bazaar I could get in any country I go haha) but because we couldn’t travel in the month of December, I only have the last few days of my trip to schedule some of the best Christmas market to visit. Which would you recommend base on the cities that we have decided? I’m thinking should I do the holiday as what you suggested but in reverse order -> Munich, Vienna, Prague, Berlin (I’m thinking Berlin Christmas market would worth going hence I put it towards the end of nov ?)

Thanks Nancy, that sounds like a plan too. I will need to check my flight tickets again to see if round trip airfares would be more reasonable than flying in and out of different cities.

Since I was suggested your revised itinerary, I think it is improved. Now, you need to decide on hotels. In Munich, we stayed at a nice hostel, near the Bahnhof - 4You Hostel. Good breakfast, each day you get a voucher for 1 beer/coffee from the bar. In Vienna, we stayed at one of Rick's recommended short-stay places. All cities you will travel to have excellent public transport. I have not done the Kristkindlmarkts, but really would like to. I am sure you will have a nice time with those - biggest problem will be not spending money!

Especially with a car, it would be easy to travel from Vienna to Salzburg to Munich. You could also, if interested and willing, go to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp near Lintz. Everyone should go to a camp, because this memory is important.

According to this list:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/13/best-christmas-markets-europe_n_4437426.html

you have picked the cities with the top 4 Christmas markets. Can I get in on your trip?

I don’t know anything about Mauthausen Concentration Camp, will find out what is it.
Well among those 4 markets i will only have chance to visit 2 may be, I hope .... they all only open late November ....
But like you said, i can go back, I mean I WILL go back again
Let me get on further planning, hope you don’t mind helping me out as I progress on my planning and need more advice later