Need help planning a part of our first trip to Europe in 2019

You are very wise not to rush. I like your time allotments!

So many places you can go between Paris and Rome! You can take a direct train to Turin, which is easily worth two-to-four nights and much less-visited than most Italian cities. Or fly to Venice or Florence, which are each a perfect 4-night stay.

Another thought would be Switzerland, but it is expensive. Hard to get that $150 per night and food is very expensive.

Include a day trip if you have not to Keukenoff from Amsterdam.

05/21/19 through 05/25/19 for 4 nights really need help on where to go for this period

I am thinking you should head south on the faster trains to either Cote D'azur (Nice) or Provence (Marseille or Arles or Aix).
Research the two area to see what strikes your interest.
Marseille and Nice both airports have direct flights it Rome.

We did look at staying in Switzerland, but it is expensive. I am looking at Nice and Florence. Both of those are really good ideas. I will check into both. Turin was one that I looked at. We originally were going to Chamonix, but it looked like it was real hard to get to and that is when I saw Turin. Great ideas. Thank you. I will look into these. Any more great ideas?

Germany is an obvious choice from Paris, then flying from Germany to Rome if you want more "diversity" in your trip. The TGV trains from Paris to Germany are quite fast. The Rhine might be interesting to you and good lodging can be had under your budget. But there's also Alsace, or other places in Italy that would do nicely as well.

If you want to visit WWI battlefields, 3 nights in Brugge is fine, but if you're not, you might get a bit bored. Brugge is pretty, but very touristy and small. To me it makes more sense as a day trip inbetween larger destinations or for 1 night if you don't mind a 1 night stay. We stayed 2 nights a few years ago and I was bored, honestly.

I would absolutely include Switzerland! I just checked Booking.com and there are several accommodations available in Lauterbrunnen Valley that fall in your price range on those dates. If needed, you can expand your search to Interlaken, Lucerne, or Bern, and you will find plenty of affordable options. You will also need to consider your train travel budget.

On 5/21, travel from Paris to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Plan on 5.5-6 hours train travel. You can likely get to Bern in 4-4.5 hours and then 1.5 hours or so to Lauterbrunnen via Interlaken, depending on available connections (which are usually quite frequent). Spend 3 nights in Switzerland, 5/21 to 5/24. This gives you two full days to enjoy Switzerland, 5/22/ and 5/23 - and hopefully the afternoon of 5/21 and the morning of 5/24.

Then, train to Stresa, Italy to see Lago Maggiore. Should take about 2.5- 3 hours by train from Lauterbrunnen. Stay 5/24 in Stresa and enjoy the afternoon and evening on or near the lake. If you are up for it, most trains through this corridor stop in Visp or Brig, which give you easy access to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. So, if there's good weather and you can handle the connections and fast pace, you could enjoy a whirlwind visit.

EDIT: If it were me and good weather, I'd leave early to get up to Zermatt by lunchtime. 1 hour from Interlaken to Visp, 1 hour from Visp to Zermatt. Get there by 11:30am. Spend 3-4 hours in Zermatt and take the Gondola up to Schwarzsee or hike around for a couple of hours. Then, by late afternoon, train to Stresa in time for dinner. 1 hour from Zermatt to Visp, 1.5 hours from Visp to Stresa. If you leave Zermatt in time to make the 5:00 train in Visp, arrive in Stresa by 6:30pm.

On 5/25, train from Stresa to Rome, via Milano. About 1-1.5 hours by train from Stresa to Milano. Then, about 3 hours from Milano to Rome - frequent trains. Arrive in Rome the afternoon or evening of 5/25 and stay through the end of your trip, as planned. Again, if you are up for a long day and fast-pace itinerary, you could spend a half-day in Milano or Florence en route. You won't be able to enjoy everything either city has to offer - not by a long shot - but quick visits to excellent locales can give you a taste of what it offers. Whets the appetite for a return trip and breaks up your travel day!

EDIT: If it were me, enjoy a leisurely morning in Stresa and leave by 10:30 for Milano. Grab bread, cheese, and produce in Stresa for lunch on the train. Connect to Florence and arrive in Florence by about 2:30 or 3pm. Leave your bags at the station. Enjoy the afternoon and early evening in Florence, including a quick dinner at a small cafe. You have time for Rick's Renaissance Walk Through Florence. You might even have time to pop into the Uffizi Gallery. Less than 1.5 hour train ride to Rome gets you to Rome by 8 or 8:30pm and to your hotel by 9pm or so.

So far, your trip looks like it's all cities cities cities. Those are great cities, of course, but how about leavening that with some lovely countryside? Consider either (or both) of the following:

From Paris, spend a couple days in Normandy, and/or spend a couple more visiting the chateaux of the Loire Valley. If you wanted to do both (and that's what I would recommend), take a couple days from Paris, you have enough to spare.

A couple of suggestions for the 21-25 would be Salzburg or Vienna. Both are great destinations and have many day trips available. Have fun deciding.

Agree with David. This itinerary is very heavy on the cities. I like a mix of cities and countryside when I travel.
I like the idea of Berner Oberland in Switzerland or area around Nice. Happy planning!

I think Switzerland would be a nice respite after being in all those great, but big cities. In Luzern, Switzerland, I found Drei Koenig https://www.drei-koenige.ch/de, to be affordable, clean, friendly and with an expansive and included breakfast. In Lauterbrunnen Valley, I used AirBnB and cooked a few meals in order to not blow the budget.

Hi,

I would suggest seeing one of these three...Cologne, Frankfurt, or Aachen, if you decide to include Germany and not go as far as Berlin, very doable too. In France go to Amiens as part of the Paris visit or afterwards, very doable from Paris Nord station.

My advice is logistical. If you're flying out of Paris, make sure the airport is either de Gaulle or Orly. Some budget flights leave from Beauvais which is a great distance from the city with limited tranportation options. I would not want to take 2 flights to get from Paris to Rome, if you can avoid it.

One way to see your options is to look at the wiki pages for each airport. There is a table with all the airlines and destinations available.

You can get an idea of train schedules using bahn.com. For Italian trains trenitalia.com may be better, but you have to use the Italian names on the English website (Firenze, Roma, Torino).

Beauvais is a bit over one hour from Paris, ca half way between Paris and Amiens. I went there on a day trip from Gare du Nord.

I'd go to Innsbruck, Austria. It's a really nice, smaller town with INCREDIBLE views of the Alps surrounding it. You can go high up in the mountains via cable car. There are various museums and attractions. It seems to be about halfway between Paris and Rome. There is an airport and a train station so you could arrive/leave either way.

Switzerland! It is the hotels and restaurants that are so expensive. Staying in a self-catering apartment and cooking your own meals can bring the price down to the "moderate" range. For example, the apartment in Chalet Fontana (Mürren) is 155 CHF a night for two people, and includes breakfast in the B and B upstairs. The kitchen is well-equipped for cooking, and the Coop grocery is right across the street.

I will endorse the idea suggested above of three nights in the Berner Oberland and a night in Stressa on Lago Maggiore on the way to Rome. (But I would skip the Zermatt part).

Just a cautionary note about Switzerland -- how accessible or hike-able will the mountain scenery be in late May? Can you count on enough snowmelt by then?

I like countryside too, in any country, but the OP wants to fly or take trains rather than drive. Plenty of smaller towns accessible by train but limited things to do there on multi-day stays.

My suggestion for the four-night window in your schedule would be somewhere in the south of France, either Provence or the Riviera, or maybe the Cinque Terre or Florence. Pick one base.

Yikes. I did not notice the May dates. Thanks for catching that, Dick. I am not an advocate of visiting Mürren in mid-May; the weather and trail conditions are too iffy.

Thank you for so many good suggestions. I am still looking at Switzerland and Germany. Florence is a good idea too. That is close to Pisa and would make a good day trip. So many good choices. I will be looking into all of the suggestions.

I would take 2 or even 3 of those Rome nights for Florence. Its quieter and more accessible than Rome. Honestly, once I've done
the Vatican Museums, Vatican, Colosseum, Forum, and Pantheon in Rome(3 trips so far and trips 2 and 3 included people who hadn't been before ), I'm done with Rome. However, on every trip we've made to Italy, we increase the amount of time we spend in Florence. It's a great place to wander.

Have you booked your flight yet?

I'd start in Rome and end in A'dam. Rome is hotter early, better to get there as early in the year as possible and work north from there.

I personally wouldn't want 4 days in A'dam. One or two days to see the architecture, canals and a museum or two is plenty. It might be better used elsewhere.

A'dam to Bruges I'd use the train.

Same for Brugges. For me one full day, two nights, is plenty to see the beautiful architecture of the city center.

Bruges to Paris I'd also use the train.

I think you can use any amount of time productively in Paris. The list of sights is nearly endless plus it's a great place to just relax and enjoy a park or sit at a cafe and people watch. I'd probably plan 6 nights for a first visit, just to give yourself more time to do things elsewhere, with a plan to come back again and see things you missed (or just come back).

I went to Burgundy/Alsace/Champagne last May and felt it was too early to be there. The weather was still somewhat cold and the vines weren't really starting to grow.

Train, or fly, to Provence then rent a car. If you have a car no where else, this is the place to plan renting a car. Public transportation is too limiting for the time available. My choice for a base is Arles. There is a ton to see in the area and it should be warm in May. I spent 5 nights in Provence last September and didn't tick off everything on my list. I'd suggest planning 6 nights.

Avignon is a pretty major hub. If you aren't planning more stops, I'd fly to Rome from Avignon, on a European carrier, to save valuable time and money.

Rome is another city with virtually endless sights. If you work through the entire itinerary and have extra days, use them in Paris or Rome.

If you have four extra nights, check out Antibes on the Riviera. My favorite place and four nights gives you time to see some sights (by train, you don't need a car) up and down the coast. If you do this, fly to Rome from nearby Nice. If you absolutely don't want to rent a car. Skip Provence and just fly to Nice and stay in Antibes. I walked from the airport to the train station (at least half a mile), then took the train to Antibes (about 10 to 15 minutes). If walking or baggage is an issue, you can taxi to Antibes.

For lodging, I really like Airbnb in most of France. Just pay close attention to location when you don't have a car. I found a great apartment in Juan les Pins (next to Antibes) for around 50 euro per night in September. Paris is expensive. There are Airbnb's in Paris but look for their tax number to make sure they are doing it legally, Paris is cracking down on others. I've rented apartments from Airbnb for under $100 and found business hotels, like Ibis, for around $100 per night. Either were perfectly fine. It's easy to spend much more for a nicer hotel (or even not so nice hotels).

I haven't used an Airbnb in Italy so I'd make a point to ask others about their experience.

Bear in mind (for some) mentioning Airbnb is an issue (same for Uber). Expect some responses about putting others out of business. I see it more as helping out a person who can use extra euros in their budget. There are "professional landlords", however, who buy multiple flats specifically to rent through Airbnb. You can also rent a room in a family home, which is an interesting way to meet a local and get recommendations/information about the area. I've done both and had good results at least as consistently as hotels (where I've paid more).

Switzerland? In May, it may well feel like winter and costs are exorbitant. Not sure I'd recommend it. Try doing some test bookings to see how it fits your budget?