Best of Europe 14 day free time suggestions

I think the tour goes to Dachau; look at the itinerary for the next morning.

Rick usually includes some particularly thought-provoking sight on the tours; battlefields, concentration camps, etc.

Look through the guidebook RS sends you for the tour, and look at the sight listings and ratings in each city, noting the ones the tour visits and those it doesn't. It's such a matter of personal interest that it's difficult to make recommendations. But note that some people just want to relax, shop, do laundry, etc. And there are other people on the tour who may have ideas they want to share.

I have not taken this tour, but did BOE 21 days. It’s pretty action packed. First, I checked and Dachau should be included in your tour.
Most sites in Rome don’t need reservations and wandering is highly recommended. The Borghese Gallery requires timed reservations and is fabulous. We booked a walking food tour once and enjoyed it but if historical museums are more your thing Rome is your happy place.
You will need a reservation for St Mark’s in Venice—or stand in line for a ticket.
Paris—you could easily stay an extra week. If you love art, get a museum pass. It may be included in your tour while you are there. For the 21 day tour we were advised to get a single ticket for Ste Chappell and activate our pass the next day if we planned on going to Versailles after the tour (it was a 2 day pass). You could also add another 2 day pass. The art museums are great. Also consider a trip to Giverney if you love Monet, a day trip to champagne country or to Normandy (you can book day trips from Paris). Or, enjoy Paris and plan to come back
Your tour guide is a great source of information about reservations and will help. Ours organized all interested in a gondola ride in Venice complete with a singer for the 3 boats. If you want a private ride, you can have them help or reserve ahead.

Relax and immerse yourself in your surroundings.

We did this amazing tour in 2019 and these are some things I remember doing independently:

Paris - Eiffel Tower, Montmarte neighborhood, the Louve (the group portion of the day ended here and we were free to spend time after), exploring Rue Cler. The tour started in Paris, and we were about 3 days early, I think. So we also did a day trip to Versailles.

Lauterbrunnen- the guide organized optional trip to Schilthorn, which we did. Then we took a long walk back to the Valley, stopping at Trummelbach Falls on the way.

Venice - Doges Palace, took gondola ride with the group (optional). Great to just wander around in the streets.

Florence - didn’t have a ton of time here, just looked around at the market.

Munich - spent time wandering around the Victuals Marketplace and ate lots of tasty food, returned later to the outdoor beer garden for dinner. Did laundry that afternoon, haha.

Rome - Basilica of San Clement (the “lasagna” church), the Scala Santa (because the stairs were uncovered when we were there). Basilica of Maria Maggiore, St Peter in Chains Church, St John Lateran Basilica. We also returned to St Peters to climb the dome and attend Mass (we stayed extra time in Rome, which was the end of the tour in 2019).

I highly recommend the Borghese Gallery. We booked the first morning time slot for the day our tour started as the tour did not meet up until 3:00 pm. That gave us time to visit the Spanish Steps on the way to the Borghese Gallery, tour the gallery, then grab lunch before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before the tour meeting.

For most all other days your tour guide will offer suggestions, but for some things you will need reservations as well. St. Marks is one I would also highly recommend for Venice.

In Munich we strolled around the English Garden.

As far as Paris, we added several days to the end of our trip, so we did the Eiffel tower (again you need tickets in advanced). We took a trip out to Versailles, then one day we had a picnic in a local park.

I did this trip last year and had a wonderful time! I can give my recommendations if that will help. These are things covered by the RS group: Rome: you will go on a long walk all over Rome, visit the Vatican first thing in the morning (we beat all the crowds by going at 7:00 a.m-had the place to ourselves almost), visit the Vatican Museum and tour the Spanish Step and Colosseum ( all with the group). One thing that a tour member did was they booked a pre-trip cooking class in Rome. But most other things were covered by RS. BTW Rome was hot! Bring cool clothes and a hat- I was there in May.
Florence-you will tour with group. One thing others did was climb up the steps of the Duomo (see if you can book that early or need a ticket in advance any time after 1 p.m.), The Effizi museum and Statue of David are covered by RS. I went leather and purse shopping in the markets with my free time.
Venice: again you will tour first thing in the morning so it is not crowded yet. If you want to visit the Doges Palace or Tower in St Marks Square, purchase those tickets before the trip after 1 p.m. I had hoped to go up the tower in St Marks Square, but the entire day was sold out on the day of. That is one thing I wished I could do.
Munich: Tour first thing in morning with RS. If you want to walk Octoberfest gardens, then that is open for you to do. RS gives tickets in most cities to subway so you have the ability to move around the cities without the group. We didn't need to purchase anything in advance here. All sightseeing had short waits in May/June that I went. Dachau is included the next day with RS.
Switzerland: RS tour guide will buy the tickets up the gondolas and on the city bus, but you pay them back in Euros. This is why it is handy to have Euros on hand. It was about 60 Euros/person to go up all the way to he top of the mountain by gondolas.
Beaune France: There is some free time only in the afternoon to walk the small city. You will do a wine tasting with RS.
Paris: This is where you must pay for most extras. RS walks you around and includes the Louvre. But book Eiffel Tower (if you want in advance before you go on trip. This allows you to cut the line). Book Versailles in advance for extra day if you want. You choose the time and day. Allows you to queue the line separately than masses. Book any food tours separately. You can go to Sacre Coeur on your own easy. RS gives you extra Metro tickets to navigate the city. Versailles is an additional metro tickets but easy to purchase on your own.
A really helpful thing that RS does is first thing in Rome, they walk you step by step through the Metro-Subway system. And I mean walk you through in basic terms. But they the rest of the time all Metros in Europe make sense and you can go navigate by yourself.
You will tour with the group every morning through about 1 p.m. Then afternoons are your own. Dinners sometimes together or sometimes on your own or with your new friends. Most people crashed by 10 p.m Long days touring wipe you out.
Enjoy!!! I found the 14 day plus 3 extra days perfect ( that I stayed) and I was ready to return home exhausted but thrilled with all that I had seen.