Hello fellow travellers!
Would love to hear thoughts and advice on a 2 week itinerary for Central Europe in December. We are a family of 4 with 2 young adults. It is our first winter holiday and not being used to the short days (we live in Cape Town) I am really struggling to decide how many nights I should accommodate for in each destination we may visit. We love anything cultural (galleries, museums, architectural wonders, music) and prefer to soak up the atmosphere of a place rather than scream through a tick list (although of course there are always some bucket-list must-dos). We stick to public transport. While we do like to get outdoors we have a lot of opportunities to do this at home so outdoor activities wont be the focus of our trip.
We fly into Nuremberg and from there intend to travel a loop which will include Prague, Vienna, Salzburg and Munich. Our initial thoughts are as follows:
-- 1 night in Nuremburg with the aim to visit the Christmas market and head out to Prague in the morning (train via Regensburg)
-- 3 nights in Prague. We have visited Prague before and while we adored the city and would love to return this leg is not a necessity.
-- 3 nights in Vienna.
-- 2 nights in Salzburg.
-- 2 nights south of Munich to have a breather before hitting London.
With a few nights to spare we are torn between spending more time in any of the places above, or making our way towards London where we will spend our 3rd week. We have thought about Amsterdam for a couple of nights (this would be over new year), but are struggling to find an uncomplicated route there.
We travel light (cabin baggage only) so short stays for a single night here and there in smaller towns or villages are not a problem, in fact we quite like the breaks between big cities and the small town atmosphere. The only criteria would be that we need to stick to towns accessible via public transport, and not spend too much of that time travelling.
Would appreciate any thoughts on the above skeleton from any seasoned travellers that know the region. Have I under called, or over called any nights. Are we trying to squeeze too much in, or is this doable? Any hidden gems to share, or alternatives to the cities above?
Looking forward to hearing your opinions and thanking you all in advance!