Hannahmegan

Hi,

My boyfriend and I are planning a 25 day trip to Europe next October. We have narrowed it down to the following places that we want to see:

Paris: 6 nights
Nimes (South of France): 6 nights
Prague: 4 nights (we will be flying from Marseille airport to Prague)
Berlin: 5 nights
Amsterdam: 4 nights.

I also want to add in some day trips from Nimes to Avignon and Aigues-Mortes, as well as a day trip somewhere from Prague. any suggestions? Does this itinerary seem feasible?

I would just like some advice if the amount of time we have given for each city is too much.too/little. As we are only going for 25 days, there is a lot that we want to see and a lot of cities we want to go to, but we don't want to only spend 2 or 3 days in each place to do so.

Thanks in advance!

Sassafrass

It is great that you are allowing time to see things, not rushing around.

Think about the best arrangement of your itinerary.
Would It be better to arrive in Paris and fly home from Amsterdam, or would it be better to arrive in Amsterdam, train to Paris and fly home from Berlin?
Another possibility would be (depending on where you are coming from in the US) to fly into Marseilles, train to Paris, train to Amsterdam, etc. home from Berlin.

Is there a special reason to stay in Nimes? In that area, there is so much to do, you might consider renting a car and staying in a couple of different places. It is usually not on everybody's top list of places to visit, but we loved Aigues Mortes and I hope you enjoy it too. However, I do not think a day trip offers any of the magic of being there at night. If you could stay a night inside the walls, it would be great. If not, stay late and have dinner there.

There are wonderful smaller towns minutes from Amsterdam by train. Try to do a day trip to one of them, or stay in one and do day trips to Amsterdam.

kja

In general, I think you have come up with a very good plan. Kudos!

Depending on your interests, you might want to add a day to Prague, perhaps taking it from Nimes -- but I haven't been to southern France yet, so I really can't comment knowledgeably.

If you haven't already booked your flights, I think Sassafrass has pointed to some great options! I usually make a rough map and mark it up with my options for getting to / from each place I want to visit, and then see which routing meets my needs best.

I'm not sure why you want a day-trip from Prague in particular, but I think Cesky Krumlov is the most common one. Of course you have TONS of day-trip options from all your destinations, which should be well covered in better guidebooks.

And yes, DO get yourself at least one good guidebook, if not more! You will learn things you never even thought to ask.

Enjoy!

Sassafrass

I am in the reverse situation of Kja, not been to Prague yet, hope to go soon, but can't comment knowledgeably on time there. I bet she is right though, that you would wish for more time.

I have also not been to Berlin, so others can make recs for time there.

OTOH, we spent nearly two weeks in Provence, and felt we had seen only a bit. Close to Nimes is Uzes, Pont du Gard, Avignon, Arles, Les Baux, St Remy, the Camargue, Aix de Provence, Marseilles, and dozens of other villages. That is all in only one small area. You can guess I would say to add time there. OTOH, I don't know how it will be in October. I like sitting outside at cafes and it might already be too chilly for that, though many restaurants have heaters and some plastic tenting.

I have also spent a good bit of time in the Netherlands and it is filled with charming places to visit and wonderful museums.

You have chosen some great places. How much time depends on what you want to do in each.

tonfromleiden

Nice selection. And enough time for each location to enjoy it.
Others can advise you on daytrips from Prague. I would like to give you some suggestions on those from Amsterdam to get a taste for what the rest of the country has on offer:
- Haarlem is a good historical city, just 15 train minutes away. Depending on your interests, the Frans Hals Museum is a highlight and the Teylers Museum, which is a museum piece in itself.
Actually you can consider to stay in Haarlem. Amsterdam is getting more and more like a theme park. In Haarlem you know you're in the Netherlands. It's good to know it's only some 30 minutes from Schiphol airport, if you need that for your return flight.
- Hoorn is another good and simple daytrip. Small historical town on the former seacoast, one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company. The Westfries Museum is worth a visit, if only for a series of magnificent militia paintings.

bvlenci

We liked Nîmes very much, so I don't know why people are discouraging the choice. We spent four nights there and felt as though a few more nights would have been ideal. It's also a good base for day trips by train or bus, if you don't have a car. We went by train one day to Avignon, and another to Pont du Gard. We felt as though we hadn't planned enough time at Pont du Gard, not realizing that the bridge was in a beautiful park, which we really hadn't allowed enough time to explore.

There were other possible day trips from Nîmes, which we didn't have time for.

We had allowed one full day to see Nîmes itself, but two days would have been better.

pariswat

Nimes is indeed superb and a good base.

I love Prague but think 4 nights is too many.
A day trip would be the beautiful castle which name escapes me now... Alzheimer !

Amsterdam is imho getting too many nights and Berlin to few - disposess the Dutch from one night and give it to Germany.

Well done, really a well balanced trip. Flying open jaw Paris + Berlin is indeed a very good idea.

Probably Berlin to start with, as weather can get cold towards end of october there.

Hannahmegan

Hi everyone,

Thanks heaps for your feedback!

The reason that i want to go to Nimes is because i lived there for a few months when i was 16 and loved it! Unfortunately i have not been back since.

Trust me, i would loooooove to spend more time in the South of France, but as we only have 25 days i don't want to take time needed in other cities to add on to S. of France.

How many nights do you recommend for Prague? 2 nights seems too little, is 3 a better idea?

And one more thing, sorry! What would be the best order of cities, as some can obviously get colder quicker than others towards the end of October.

Thank you so much!

PalenQ

Nimes to me was nice - a city with a unique look - Roman ruins and intact Roman things - a suave city with broad boulevards and far fewer tourists than many nearby places - a great base so go for it especially since you know it so well - otherwise yes an Arles or Avignon for the average tourist would be more romantic than a largish busy commercial city.

nytraveler

Glad you are not rushing around super quickly - but you need to decide which days will be travel - and how that will impact the number of days in each place (since you list above includes all 25 nights).

The only place that I see that might be flexible is Nimes - since you obviously don;t want 5 full days there - but will be visiting other places in the area. We have visited Nice, Cannes and various parts of the Riviera but not Nimes/area.

F r your other cities you don;t have too much time any places and will need to select sights carefully.

I would consult the Michelin green guides, which have not only detailed info on all major sights but give you an idea of how much time you will need to actually see each sight.

kja

"How many nights do you recommend for Prague?"

As I noted above, perhaps enough to ensure at least 3, if not 4, days there. (If you still want to take a day trip from there, then I personally would want at least 4 days, if not more. Or you could plan on 4 days, taking the day trip only if you feel you have time.) But as I also noted above, it really depends on what YOU want to see and experience, and as others' comments show, people differ in their preferences for Prague. To decide how much time to spend in Prague or any where else, consider checking some good guidebooks (always a good investment, IME, but you can also consult them at a library), identify the things you want to see and do, check opening hours (for that, consult the web for the latest info), and mark up a calendar.

Hannahmegan

Thank you for all your help everyone your input has been really valuable