Farah_Biskut

Top of my list countries that I shall visit :
Amsterdam, Paris, Milan, Zurich, Vienna, Prague
Munich , Amsterdam
This is what I have been planning so far.
Any suggestion.?
How many days should I take.?
I am to do it within 22 days, if it sufficient..
and what do you think about the budget?

Michael

Check out the movie If it's Tuesday it must be Belgium (the title says it all) and then ask again for suggestions. If you really want to do a European tour that quickly, a tour group may be the answer. Presumably your stays will be planned, as well as your visits and most of your meals, so that you will be able to cover a maximum in a minimum amount of time.

cathies

Hi Farah, welcome to Fodor's. This is a very ambitious plan and a tour is probably the only way yo manage it successfully.

Have you considered just visiting a couple of these cities and the planning another trip?

adrienne

Too many cities for 22 days. With moving from one place to another you'll only have about 2 days in each place.

How/why did you determine your itinerary. For instance, why are you going to Milan and not Berlin and why Zurich?

Why are you flying into and out of Amsterdam rather than flying into Paris and home from Amsterdam to save back tracking back to the original city.

I would keep your itinerary more compact and visit:

Amsterdam
Berlin
Prague
Vienna
Munich (fly home from here)

As to budget - if you stay in hostels the cost will be about E25 per night. You can eat cheaply by buying food at the grocery stores and preparing meals at the hostels. Not including airfare I would budget between E100 and E125 per day.

mezinkta

I think that you should avoid Zurich and Milan. These places are very expensive and I personally did not think that Zurich was as "cool" as the other locations you listed above. If you are going to Amsterdam then I would also recommend Brussels. It is very close and I think it is worth seeing for a day or so. I think two very underrated places in Europe that are a must see are Vienna and Budapest. I may be a little bias though because I was residing in Austria during my stay in Europe but Budapest in unbelievable. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as I did!

Michael

You might want to consider tours such as offered by Rick Steves:

http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours/best-europe

PalenQ

are you going by train - I would with those distances and largely visiting huge cities where cars are increasingly a liability as wide swathes of city centres are now off-limits to cars, parking if found can be really expensive, etc.

But the rail system is fantastic and you can also hop overnight trains between many cities to save travel time and the cost of a hotel that night to boot!

Anyway check out these info-laden European rail sites for great tips, itineraries, rail maps, etc - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com and www.ricksteves.com. And with that much travel if going by rail investigate some kind of railpass that allows you in many countries to hop on any train anytime. And my decades of European train travel also makes me highly encourage you to go first class on trains - a much much more relaxed journey - lots more room for luggage - bigger seats, more comfy seats, and fewer seats in the same space and lots IME of empty seats to sprawl out on rather than an oft packed to the gills 2nd class IMe.

ira

Hi FB,

8 venues in 22 days.

You will spend a lot of time on trains and very little else.

Fir 22 days, I suggest
Fly into Amsterdam, 3-4 nights
Train to Paris, 6 nights
Train to Munich, 4 nights
Train to Vienna, 3 nights
Train to Prague, 4 nights

Re budget, Switzerland is quite expensive.

Enjoy your visit.

annhig

Hi Farah,

you've had some good advice here. a trip done at the pace that you suggest in your first post can be very tiring and end you with you not seeing very much at all.

take it easier and though you visit fewer places, you will see [and appreciate] far more.

PalenQ

Well I do that type of fast-paced trip all the time and I LOVE it - is something wrong with me - am I missing out on something - been doing it for decades and I cherish my travels as much as annhig and anybody so it is a subjective take - I guess I should stay a week or so in every place and see a few places only - well let's not say categorically that faster seeing more is not as good as dwelling for say Paris for six days - the average first-time tourist in Paris will be bored stiff after 3 days so move on... more is not always better though less can be more in some ways.

Go for your proposed itinerary and perhaps tweek it like cutting a day of boring to me at least Munich and putting it in Amsterdamned.

janisj

"<blue>the average first-time tourist in Paris will be bored stiff after 3 days so move on... </blue>"

Wow!! But that does explain a lot. No wonder you recommend some of the things you do.

janisj

Farah: The others have made very good points. Traveling from place to place eats up a LOT of time and a LOT of money. If you really want to go to a lot of cities in 22 days you'll need to go on a guided tour. Unfortunately, they do not give you much time in each city but they do take care of all the transport/details.

If you want to do a trip on your own, then you need to cut back the number of cities.

ira

Hey PalQ,

>...the average first-time tourist in Paris will be bored stiff after 3 days so move on...<

You are not the average tourist, right?

ira

Hi FB,

When I was in my twenties I did a 3-week whirlwind tour like you are considering.

All I can remember is being in the Central Station in Amsterdam with a group of people gathered around me wondering if I was sick, drunk or stoned.

PalenQ

well if janis j and ira who say you must spend at least a week in Paris or not go there are average tourists then... no the real average novice tourist after three days in Paris will want to move on IMO - Paris can be boisterous, air filthy often, lines at museums long - it can be hectic really.

Ah Fodorgarchs just cannot put themselves in the eyes of ordinary first-time travelers. Tant pis!

adrienne

I was once an ordinary first-time traveler and my first trip to Paris was for a week. A week wasn't even long enough.

adrienne

There are only a few places where I spent too much time and they really stand out:

Interlaken (2 days)
Key West (24 hours here seemed like a lifetime)

Every other place I've been I've stayed for too short a time and have had to go back to see things I've missed or to experience the town for a longer time.

I've traveled both ways - zooming around from place to place with few plans and staying put for several days with a somewhat planned itinerary. Once I learned how delightful it is to stay put and enjoy a place I've tried to travel that way ever since.

StCirq

My first trip to Paris was 7 days long and I felt totally cheated and was almost on the verge of tears when I had to move on to a week in the Loire Valley.

Anyone who gets bored after 3 days in Paris needs to schedule a visit to a doctor.

annhig

Ah Fodorgarchs just cannot put themselves in the eyes of ordinary first-time travelers. Tant pis!>>

honestly Pal, I can. When DH and i were in our early 20s [a millenium or so ago] we did 2 big tours of europe [or rather bits of it]. No 1 was France, Switzerland and Germany, no 2 was france and northern Spain. we had a car, took 2-3 weeks each time, and mainly stayed 2-3 nights in every place, with very few "one night stands". generally when we moved, we drove about 150-200 kms - no further - so we had time to visit places in between our destinations.

we did not go to Paris and then immediately leave it to go somewhere else!

janisj

PQ: No one, not a single one, has ever said "a week in Paris or don't go!". How silly would that be??? What we are saying is that most 'normal' people would not/could not be bored after 3 days. The paint - it is really damaging the gray matter . . .