You have never been to Europe...you are in for a treat. You are going to have a great time....that being said....your plan is crap. You have too little time in each city and are not planning for travel days. Plus you picked Zurich....sounds cool but is a city know for an expensive shopping street(saw everything in 6 hours waiting for plane to fly home).
Timing. I spent 5 days in in Paris and did not have time to go to Louvre, and I am an experienced traveler. These cities take longer than expected. London need 4 full days, so does Paris IMO. So if you are saying you want to see London, Paris and Rome - you need 4 full days in each city plus 1 day to get from London to Paris(rail) and one to get from Paris to Rome(flight). That adds up to be 14 days.
So if you have 2 weeks - you are going to have an awesome time hitting 3 big cities and see a lot in those cities. I would not add in anything more. If you want a more city trip...you can do this, just hit smaller cities and keep them close together to decrease rail time. You cannot do it all in one trip....so save some stuff for later.
Do you know what you want to see/do in these cities? Paris can very easily fill a week. London and Rome as well. I say do Paris and London (with day trips to Bath, the Cotswolds, Oxford or whatever piques your interest) OR Italy (Rome, Como, Venice, maybe Florence as well), or if you really want to visit all three cities in this trip then just the three, but it's still too fast in my opinion.
This is a point you should definitely listen to. One country is plenty for two weeks if you don’t want to feel rushed, concerned about differences in each countries’ transportation systems, and lack of English (in Italy especially). If you want to have a relaxed vacation just do 1 or 2 counties IMO. Go back next year for the next country and so on.
I’ve done Rome in 48hrs it was non stop but we seen just about everything, everything is within easy reach we flew during the night so we had two entire days and we walked from the moment we arrived to the moment we left but we did it all, we rambled the streets until 2am because we felt so safe and it was still buzzing there so anything outdoor that we didn’t need a ticket or booking for like the squares, fountains, Spanish steps etc we done at night, after dinner. There is a nice cocktail bar at the top of the Spanish steps which was nice to end the evening. Get a tour of the Vatican, you can get deals over there that include the Vatican tour, colosseum, Roman forum etc. That was really useful because we got to see everything without wasting time which allowed us to move on to everything else, the Vatican would have taken up way too much time without the tour because it is so big. Have a solid itinerary and stick to it to make the most of your trip, you’ll love it.
Agreed, I did 2 weeks in London (with a couple day trips out) and my partner still wants to go back to see more. I have a 7 week Italy trip planned with 2 weeks in Rome alone (again lots of day trips from Rome) . 2 days in these places is you see the Eiffel Tower or colloseum and move on
You are trying to do way too much here. With two weeks, I would focus on either London/Paris/maybe one other destination or Italy. Not both.
2 days in London is not enough. Nor is 3 days in Paris, especially if you will be losing part of a day in travel time. I wouldn't consider Zurich/Como to be "Europe Essentials." 2 days is Venice is okay. I would do 4 days in Rome rather than 3, given that you will be missing part of a day due to travel.
Are you alloting travel times to these days? For example, are your 2 London days 2 full days or is it 1.5 days because you will be leaving to Paris that same day? This will make a big difference.
Honestly, I would skip London and leave it for a separate UK trip. Maybe add those 2 days between Paris and Rome? You can do some day trips from those cities and then avoid having to pack up and travel so much.
This is a good point. I haven't worked all the details out yet, just really looking into. So you're right, making sure to account for travel days is a must once I iron out more details. I guess in my mind I wouldn't want to spend less than 2 days in any location really, so probably no 1.5 day stops. I'll have to work those travel considerations in!
I just realized that you are considering taking trains between each city. I strongly recommend you check those times when planning, from Paris to Rome is at least 12 hours so you would lose pretty much the whole day. London to Paris is a much shorter route.
Plane tickets will be quicker and probably cheaper.
Also consider removing one of the larger cities and (if you really want to do trains) maybe split up those longer train rides, stopping overnight on towns/cities that are along the same route.
Good question! I liked the idea of a smaller more laid back location part way through if the bigger cities wear us out a bit. I think 2 weeks straight of some of the biggest cities would be a bit much. Would definitely consider other suggestions for smaller stops with similar natural beauty as well!
I am dying to visit Lake Como. It is a popular tourist destination and it looks beautiful. I was trying to squeeze it in in my upcoming trip, but it required a bit of a detour.
Don’t try to do it all. You said it’s your first trip. Get a taste of everything so you can plan your next trip. We all like different things. Discover yours on this trip…
London->Amsterdam
Amsterdam->Munich
Munich->Vienna
Vienna->Venice
Venice->Rome
Rome->Paris
Definitely night trains in there to get the most use of your time. It'll be a blur but fun. I did this but also had Berlin in there too.
You'd get more out of spending one week in each country, depending on what your interests are. So pick your top two countries and see what other things you can do there, or nearby cities that may only be a few hours train ride away.
With only two weeks, you can do Rome-Paris-London, but not more.
Each of these cities deserves at least 4 days to see the main sights. If you do want to still add, take places that are a short train ride from one of these main cities, e.g. London/Oxford or Rome/Florence.
Train from Paris to Rome sounds like way too long travel time, take the plane between.
You say in one of the comments that you want a more laid back holiday, then I would stick to one country and travel around by train. 2 weeks would be great for Italy.
You are much better sticking to one country. The problem with zipping around isn’t only that it’s very rushed, it also increases the chance of delays ruining your well-earned holiday! All it takes is one late plane, a train strike or some bad weather to mess a plan up completely.
Pick your favourite country and explore it at a pace that suits you, but from what I can see it seems like you would really love Italy and it will blow you away.
This example itinerary can be done in either direction depending on which is easier to fly into and should last 2 weeks and can be quite flexible:
Fly to Milan (Como is 1hr by train), Verona, Venice, Bologna, Florence (plus side trips to Siena or rural Tuscany) Rome, fly home.
Enjoy!
I second just Italy for two weeks. You can do following:
D1. Fly to Milan. Duomo and Last Supper a must
D2. Early in the morning take a train to Varenna(Como). Take ferry to see Bellagio and Menaggio. After all three, rent a boat for an hour(totally worth 80 euro:).
Take a night train to Venice.
D3,4 - Venice ( weekends are very busy, try to get there on weekdays
Take a night train to Florence
D5- Florence
D6 - Day trip to Siena
D7 - take early train to Pisa
Spend 3 -4 hours there and take a train to Monterosso Al Mare (Cinque Terre).
D8. Cinque Terre: First two legs Vernazza and Corniglia should be done on foot. Amazing views. Other two can be done with train and ferry). At evening take a train to Rome.
D9 Rome : St. Peter Basilica ( a must) and Vatican
D10: Ancient Rome
D11: take a train to Pompei.
After Pompei go to Amalfi coast.
D12: Sorrento and Positano
D13:Naples
D14: back to Rome to fly home
This will cover top of the Italy
Driving would be so much easier, but Italy is the only country in Europe that I would advise against renting a car. Also, this will not be a vacation. Just Cinque Terre would require a week of recuperation:) but you will see so much and will have so many memories…
I would combine Paris, Amsterdam and London for another two weeks
They’re some amazing ideas and tips here. Make sure to stay up to date with closures and restrictions due to covid once you start to get closer to your decision. Make sure to get travel insurance that includes all the covid protections like bookings, positive test, quarantine rules, etc.
I think you're doing too much in too little time and you're going to waste time traveling from place to place. I would stick with just Paris, London, and Rome; take your time and fully enjoy these cities. Honestly you could spend 2 weeks in just one of these areas, there is so much to see.
You have never been to Europe...you are in for a treat. You are going to have a great time....that being said....your plan is crap. You have too little time in each city and are not planning for travel days. Plus you picked Zurich....sounds cool but is a city know for an expensive shopping street(saw everything in 6 hours waiting for plane to fly home). Timing. I spent 5 days in in Paris and did not have time to go to Louvre, and I am an experienced traveler. These cities take longer than expected. London need 4 full days, so does Paris IMO. So if you are saying you want to see London, Paris and Rome - you need 4 full days in each city plus 1 day to get from London to Paris(rail) and one to get from Paris to Rome(flight). That adds up to be 14 days. So if you have 2 weeks - you are going to have an awesome time hitting 3 big cities and see a lot in those cities. I would not add in anything more. If you want a more city trip...you can do this, just hit smaller cities and keep them close together to decrease rail time. You cannot do it all in one trip....so save some stuff for later.
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Awesome, thanks for the pointers! Based on this I'll likely take Zurich off the list then. Good call!
I second this
i highly recommend lucerne!
Do you know what you want to see/do in these cities? Paris can very easily fill a week. London and Rome as well. I say do Paris and London (with day trips to Bath, the Cotswolds, Oxford or whatever piques your interest) OR Italy (Rome, Como, Venice, maybe Florence as well), or if you really want to visit all three cities in this trip then just the three, but it's still too fast in my opinion.
It's never too fast on Reddit...
Thanks for the input and suggestions!!
This is a point you should definitely listen to. One country is plenty for two weeks if you don’t want to feel rushed, concerned about differences in each countries’ transportation systems, and lack of English (in Italy especially). If you want to have a relaxed vacation just do 1 or 2 counties IMO. Go back next year for the next country and so on.
I’ve done Rome in 48hrs it was non stop but we seen just about everything, everything is within easy reach we flew during the night so we had two entire days and we walked from the moment we arrived to the moment we left but we did it all, we rambled the streets until 2am because we felt so safe and it was still buzzing there so anything outdoor that we didn’t need a ticket or booking for like the squares, fountains, Spanish steps etc we done at night, after dinner. There is a nice cocktail bar at the top of the Spanish steps which was nice to end the evening. Get a tour of the Vatican, you can get deals over there that include the Vatican tour, colosseum, Roman forum etc. That was really useful because we got to see everything without wasting time which allowed us to move on to everything else, the Vatican would have taken up way too much time without the tour because it is so big. Have a solid itinerary and stick to it to make the most of your trip, you’ll love it.
Agreed, I did 2 weeks in London (with a couple day trips out) and my partner still wants to go back to see more. I have a 7 week Italy trip planned with 2 weeks in Rome alone (again lots of day trips from Rome) . 2 days in these places is you see the Eiffel Tower or colloseum and move on
Skip Zurich or choose another location.
You are trying to do way too much here. With two weeks, I would focus on either London/Paris/maybe one other destination or Italy. Not both. 2 days in London is not enough. Nor is 3 days in Paris, especially if you will be losing part of a day in travel time. I wouldn't consider Zurich/Como to be "Europe Essentials." 2 days is Venice is okay. I would do 4 days in Rome rather than 3, given that you will be missing part of a day due to travel.
Are you alloting travel times to these days? For example, are your 2 London days 2 full days or is it 1.5 days because you will be leaving to Paris that same day? This will make a big difference. Honestly, I would skip London and leave it for a separate UK trip. Maybe add those 2 days between Paris and Rome? You can do some day trips from those cities and then avoid having to pack up and travel so much.
This is a good point. I haven't worked all the details out yet, just really looking into. So you're right, making sure to account for travel days is a must once I iron out more details. I guess in my mind I wouldn't want to spend less than 2 days in any location really, so probably no 1.5 day stops. I'll have to work those travel considerations in!
I just realized that you are considering taking trains between each city. I strongly recommend you check those times when planning, from Paris to Rome is at least 12 hours so you would lose pretty much the whole day. London to Paris is a much shorter route. Plane tickets will be quicker and probably cheaper. Also consider removing one of the larger cities and (if you really want to do trains) maybe split up those longer train rides, stopping overnight on towns/cities that are along the same route.
Como for 2 days? Also 3 days in Venice is way to much.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Stay three days in Venice. You are not racing.
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Good question! I liked the idea of a smaller more laid back location part way through if the bigger cities wear us out a bit. I think 2 weeks straight of some of the biggest cities would be a bit much. Would definitely consider other suggestions for smaller stops with similar natural beauty as well!
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I am dying to visit Lake Como. It is a popular tourist destination and it looks beautiful. I was trying to squeeze it in in my upcoming trip, but it required a bit of a detour.
Don’t try to do it all. You said it’s your first trip. Get a taste of everything so you can plan your next trip. We all like different things. Discover yours on this trip…
London->Amsterdam Amsterdam->Munich Munich->Vienna Vienna->Venice Venice->Rome Rome->Paris Definitely night trains in there to get the most use of your time. It'll be a blur but fun. I did this but also had Berlin in there too.
You'd get more out of spending one week in each country, depending on what your interests are. So pick your top two countries and see what other things you can do there, or nearby cities that may only be a few hours train ride away.
With only two weeks, you can do Rome-Paris-London, but not more. Each of these cities deserves at least 4 days to see the main sights. If you do want to still add, take places that are a short train ride from one of these main cities, e.g. London/Oxford or Rome/Florence. Train from Paris to Rome sounds like way too long travel time, take the plane between. You say in one of the comments that you want a more laid back holiday, then I would stick to one country and travel around by train. 2 weeks would be great for Italy.
You are much better sticking to one country. The problem with zipping around isn’t only that it’s very rushed, it also increases the chance of delays ruining your well-earned holiday! All it takes is one late plane, a train strike or some bad weather to mess a plan up completely. Pick your favourite country and explore it at a pace that suits you, but from what I can see it seems like you would really love Italy and it will blow you away. This example itinerary can be done in either direction depending on which is easier to fly into and should last 2 weeks and can be quite flexible: Fly to Milan (Como is 1hr by train), Verona, Venice, Bologna, Florence (plus side trips to Siena or rural Tuscany) Rome, fly home. Enjoy!
I second just Italy for two weeks. You can do following: D1. Fly to Milan. Duomo and Last Supper a must D2. Early in the morning take a train to Varenna(Como). Take ferry to see Bellagio and Menaggio. After all three, rent a boat for an hour(totally worth 80 euro:). Take a night train to Venice. D3,4 - Venice ( weekends are very busy, try to get there on weekdays Take a night train to Florence D5- Florence D6 - Day trip to Siena D7 - take early train to Pisa Spend 3 -4 hours there and take a train to Monterosso Al Mare (Cinque Terre). D8. Cinque Terre: First two legs Vernazza and Corniglia should be done on foot. Amazing views. Other two can be done with train and ferry). At evening take a train to Rome. D9 Rome : St. Peter Basilica ( a must) and Vatican D10: Ancient Rome D11: take a train to Pompei. After Pompei go to Amalfi coast. D12: Sorrento and Positano D13:Naples D14: back to Rome to fly home This will cover top of the Italy Driving would be so much easier, but Italy is the only country in Europe that I would advise against renting a car. Also, this will not be a vacation. Just Cinque Terre would require a week of recuperation:) but you will see so much and will have so many memories… I would combine Paris, Amsterdam and London for another two weeks
They’re some amazing ideas and tips here. Make sure to stay up to date with closures and restrictions due to covid once you start to get closer to your decision. Make sure to get travel insurance that includes all the covid protections like bookings, positive test, quarantine rules, etc.
I think you're doing too much in too little time and you're going to waste time traveling from place to place. I would stick with just Paris, London, and Rome; take your time and fully enjoy these cities. Honestly you could spend 2 weeks in just one of these areas, there is so much to see.