Have 12 days in Western Europe! What should I plan to see?!

"Is the EuroRail a good idea for seeing the best of Western Europe?" No. "Eurail" is a company jointly owned by several of the national rail companies that sells marked-up tickets and passes to non-European citizens. They neither operate or own the actual trains. There really is no reason to use them, they're just an unnecessary middleman. If you travel by rail, just buy your tickets directly from the national rail company (Deutsche Bahn, Nederlandse Spoorweg, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, Trenitalia, etc.). Come up with a general idea of what you want to see and do, then figure out the transportation logistics.

I'd start by allowing at least a few days in Berlin before or after your conference. There's plenty to see and do there, and I happen to love it. See my post here (third and fourth reply) for details of why, and here for details of my most recent trip. After that, you can go anywhere in Europe, if you're willing to fly; look at http://www.skyscanner.com/ for flights. By train, it's harder; Berlin is in a corner of Germany and has good connections to the rest of the country, but it takes time to get to any other country besides Poland. So, decide what you want to see, and then plan travel methods and routes accordingly. Ralph is right about the short days, and don't forget the winter weather. You'll want to focus on cities (with lots of indoor attractions) or places with Christmas markets (a big feature of lots of German towns). You won't want to see "the countryside," as it will be brown. And with only 12 days, you won't see "the best of Western Europe" or even "the best of Germany"; you'll just get a taste of a few places (which is fine). I'd start by figuring out what places you want to see, posting them here, and then we can help you figure out if these connect in a reasonable itinerary.

This would be a far better question if you could provide some specific info about what you would like to see and do? We have only 2000 characters available for a response. Have you consulted any guidebooks? Think of how you would answer a Germany tourist question, "I have 12 days for western United States, what should I see?"

If you want to do it all by train then logistically easiest route would be Prague, Vienna, Budapest. You can fly back from Budapest. Or Rome, Paris, London. Because of distances I would fly from Berlin to Rome, from Rome to Paris and then take Eurostar train to London, fly home from London. Of course there are many more cities and combinations how to do it. These are just first options which crossed my mind.

You can't see everything, obviously, but you can have a very memorable trip. Where would you like to go? What sorts of things do you think you would like? The logistics should follow your priorities, as well as inform your choices.

You may want to choose your itinerary based on the routes available. The discount airlines tend to be cheaper than the trains. RyanAir and easyjet are the ones I have used. I have been to Germany, Austria, France, UK, Scotland, France, Spain, Italy. If I were you I would make the most of the time you have in Berlin for the conference, then move on. Go to Munich if you love beer or castles. Vienna is at the top of my "wish list" so I would go there if you like music/opera. My best advice is to book open jaw into Berlin, and fly back from Rome or Paris. How many cities you visit depends on how long you spend in each place, and how much you want to spend (time and money) on transportation between cities. I am going with my daughter in December, into Rome, 4 days there, then 3 days in Paris and home to the US from there.

Take the train down to Dresden (1-2 days) and then to Prague and Vienna. Book your return flight from Vienna. This a bohemian itinerary to especially fun cities.