Rome crowd in June end

I doubt that Rome will be more crowded than Paris at that time of year. But those are both big cities. There will be lots of people on the streets, most of them locals. Lines at top sights can be a problem in many cities popular with tourists, but there are strategies for minimizing their impact on you.

In terms of the perception of crowds, I have a feeling Amsterdam also would not be better than Rome since tourists tend to be concentrated (I think) in a smaller area.

However, I have never visited all three cities on a single trip, so I'm only guessing here.

If you really want a more laid-back experience, there are plenty of lovely smaller cities you could visit instead of the capitals on your list.

I am not sure it will make much difference. It is June, it is summer and that is when tourists become tourists. Rome is always crowded even in Nov. Since we were both in education June used to me our primary travel month and we always found that crowds were heavy in major cities at that time. Vienna, Budapest and certainly Amsterdam will not be less because they are further north and cooler. Rome can be very hot at that time.

Someone mentioned on another thread that while there are always a lot of people in Rome, it seems--except at the real attractions--that there are always more locals than tourists. We were there a couple weeks ago, were all around town and that was true. But that was March. I really dug Rome--very easy to do what the locals do, even if it is being sardined onto a bus and bs'ing with the guy three inches from you!

London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Budapest and Amsterdam are all great cities to visit. I would expect all six to be crowded in June. But Paris, Rome and London would probably be the cities on most travelers list of first cities to visit in Europe. However with just 15 days I would only pick two, or at most three, and leave Lauterbrunnen for another time.

Thing is, if you go to most major European cities during high season and want to see their respective Top 10 attractions, they're going to be very busy. If you are fine with choosing lesser-visited corners, you can find plenty of breathing room. We were last in Rome in mid-May (had been there before) and found lots to do without being run all over BUT the few Top 10's we chose to do again were mobbed.

So I wouldn't skip Rome because of crowds but you would want to organize your time to avoid the places where they'll be heaviest or just choose to deal with them? Can't answer for Budapest or Vienna but we've been to Paris and Amsterdam in September and their tourist-magnet areas/attractions were just as busy as Rome's in May. Wander away from those and there's space to be found. Time of day can make a difference as well: early mornings and evenings are often terrific times to explore without dodging lots of people.