Itinerary Planning Help

Are you saying that you will be staying only in France? Or are you wide open on an itinerary? How much time do you have and when will you be traveling? Have you ever been to Europe before? I know these are a lot of questions, but you can get some great advice if people know what you have in mind.

Sorry forgot to include that :) We are open to going anywhere in western europe and will be travelling for about 3 weeks in july. We were thinking of being in paris for bastille day, any thoughts? As for previous travel, my son has been to europe (Sweden and France) and will be travelling for a third time, by himself again in march 2012.

Your question is extremely broad; that may be why you haven't received many answers. What do each of you enjoy doing? What makes you want to travel to western Europe? What places or things have each of you dreamed about seeing or visiting? Begin from those points. Do you want to visit big cities or small villages? Or both? Do you want to be with lots of people, or in rural areas? Outdoor activities, cultural events, museums, food, people-watching? How would you transport your group from place to place? Train or car? Or even plane, depending on where you end up going. Based on the ages of your son and niece, I'm guessing they'll want to spend some time on their own, so keep that in mind as well. Go to your local library and check out a bunch of guidebooks, preferably the kind with lots of pictures. Also check out some travel videos, (surprise) we've found Rick Steves' very helpful for this.

Hi There - we will be travelling by train with a eurail pass. We enjoy a mix of rural and urban areas. We are travelling to visit friends in western Europe. As for what we enjoy, we enjoy cultural experiences, museums and outdoor activities (ie. Beaches). We do have a few guidebooks but are having a hard time deciding because there are so many wonderful places to go

There are so many wonderful places to go.... the huge problem for all of us. Why not ask each of the people going to give you the top two destinations that would make them happy when they think of their dream trip to Europe. Then see if you can build an itinerary from their choices. That way one person is not making all the decisions and each person gets to see what they want. Once you get a vague itinerary you can come back with logistical questions. Plot out the places they want to go on a map and see if you can make sense of it.

Thanks so much that's a super idea :)

Hello, I'm Miruna, I live in Europe and I would like to suggest you some places from the old continent. I believe, Spain is a must, you will be impressed, try Barcelona(an open air spectacle), Marbella, Valncia or you can go to Italy.Rome is beautiful and immortal and the the south of the country is gorgeous.Prague and Amsterdam are also in top, especially if you are looking for quiet days, noisy nights and culture all around I'm a travel writer and I could make many suggestions but it would take too much time, if you are interested you can check one of my articles on : http://www.tripwolf.com/en/blog/2011/08/30/5-places-you-should-visit-in-romania/ or my blog:
http://mcarticles.blogspot.com/2011/07/barcelona-in-picture.html Have a nice trip!

Thank you very much :) amsterdam and rome, as well as barcelona are on the short list!