Best of Europe 14 Days

My best tip: Try to get packed and everything taken care of at least 2-3 days before you are due to leave. Bills, mail, house or pet sitters, get it all out of the way. Then maybe the day before your tour go enjoy a pedicure. You are going to have so much fun on this tour!

Thank you Nance! Great tips!

Enjoy! We had a great time on our trip last year. Munich was the biggest surprise.

I went on the BOE 14 day tour in September 2014 and loved it. I had been to all the countries the tour was going to and most of the cities, so I had an idea of what we would be seeing and what I wanted to do in my free time. READ the RS book on Europe for each section of each area or city you will be visiting. Write down what you think you will want to see even if it is more than what you will see, this way you have choices and depending on weather or what others may want to do you are prepared. No need to purchase anything in advance, except if you want to see an opera in Venice on the second night when dinner is on your own. If not, I would ( and I wish I had but my friend didn't and then she was sorry) go on the Venice pub crawl. Out of the whole trip that is my one regret I did not do. You go with a guide ( it is in the RS book) (not a RS guide) pay a small fee and he takes you and others that may not be on the RS tour to different bars to have a glass of wine and small plates ( like Tapas). I heard it was fun. I plan to do that if I get back to Venice. Plan what you want to see, museums, sites, even restaurants in your free time and dinners on your own. In Venice, you can see some churches, walk the streets, take a boat ride or go to Doges Palace for a tour and have a drink in the Piazza. I had been to Venice before and always wanted to go inside the Doges Palace so I did. Plus walked around a little. In Munich, it was a bit cold and rainy, so we went to the Residenz Museum which is the palace and it was wonderful. I love a good Palace and crown jewels! Went to a beer hall at night. In Paris, you can visit any number of museums ( make sure their open). I have been to Paris before, and being that it was a Sunday ( museums are free and super crowded) I went to the Luxemburg Gardens, the Cluny Museum ( not crowded) and the Pantheon ( yes their is one in Paris) and had lunch sitting outside. Never been to Paris, walk around see the bridges, go on a boat ride up the Seine, see the Arc de Triomphe. In Rome, make sure you see the Spanish Steps, Piazza Nouvona and have a drink on the piazza. If you want when you go to the Vatican, you can stay in the Vatican museum and spend the afternoon there after the Vatcian tour is over. Much to see in this museum. If you have more questions, feel free to pm me ( private message me) and I will be happy to give you more suggestions. I have tons of other suggestions but space is limited. Have two options, one if it is nice out and one if it rains. Have a wonderful safe time.

Should it rain while in Rome, you could go to the National Museum of Rome, which is close to your hotel, I would only do it if it rains, as it is best to see Rome by walking around. There are so much to see that is outside and as I said as you are walking around if you see a church, pop in as you will be amazing by the sheer beauty of each church in Rome.
If you find your self back by your hotel, you can go to the Baths of Diocietian, the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria which has the most amazing Bernini's statue, St Teresa in Ecstasy, Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and around the corner is the church, Santa Prassede. All are in a short walking distance of your hotel.
It would also be nice to go to Piazza Navona -- we went at night as a group which is great and going during the day would also be nice. Great people watching place and a great place to have a drink or a gelato. So there are many options on how to spend your time in Rome.
I tell you all of this as it is a huge adventure you are going on and you need to be prepared as I am sure you are but it never hurts to read what other people did. Do look at the RS scrapbooks on line on this website, they are a wealth of information!

Beaune, France --- lovely little charming village -- Take the tour of Hotel Dieu which is a hospital, self guided tour, they give you earphones to hear the walking tour of the hospital and very interesting and different. I have traveled a lot and never saw anything like it. Should not take more than an hour or so, maybe less. Then just walk around the town and see all the little streets and shops, lots of shops, lots of window shopping, very well done windows. Lots of places to have a drink, eat and relax. But you are only there one day and will have a nice wine tasting and dinner with the tour. So your afternoon will be spent walking around the town and seeing the Hotel Dieu. You can also take a walk around the walled city. ( We did not have time to do as we did not spend as much time as you will in Beaune, they changed the tour a bit, we went to the Lourve in the morning before going on to Beaune). Nice relaxing day, could have stayed there an extra day.

Go to the Trocadero as it is a great view and see the Eiffel Tower and across the street is the Trocadero which is a great place to really see the Eiffel tower and take photos of the tower. You can get a bite to eat or a snack or fruit in Rue Cler which is right near the Eiffel Tower.
If you are coming in the same day as the tour you could still go see the Eiffel Tower after the tour goes to Notre Dame and Latin Quarter or you could go to my all time favorite museums, the D'Orsay which is an old converted beautiful train station and houses all the French Impressionists art, start at the top floor and work you way down to the ground level. And if time, small museum, but stunning is the Orangerie Museum ( near the Lourve) which houses the very large water lillie paintings of Monet. Again start at the top and work your way down.

If you're talking about the BOE 14 day tour that begins on the 25th, I am also counting down as we will be on the same tour!

Thanks everyone for the wonderful tips shared so far!

Great tips Everyone! Thank you!
Yes Shauna, I am! See you soon. I look forward to meeting you!

I don't think the Vatican museum is part of this tour anymore. At least it wasn't last year. We prebooked going up the Eiffel Tower but then missed the bus tour at night which was added to the tour. Still glad we went up. We also prebooked going to the Borghese gallery in Rome.
We used our museum pass in Paris to go to museums like the Orsay. Enjoy!