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Suggestion for Trip to Paris, Zurich, Venice, Munich & London

Suggestion for Trip to Paris, Zurich, Venice, Munich & London

Old Jan 25th, 2014, 06:16 PM
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Suggestion for Trip to Paris, Zurich, Venice, Munich & London

Our trip to Europe has been planned for April 26-May 14. We are starting in Paris, then to Zurich by train, Venice by train, Munich by train and then flying to London and then home.

We would like any information on the weather, attraction must sees, places to eat or any other tips you may have.

Would appreciate any help or advice you can give us. This is our first trip to Europe and we are so excited.

Thank you!
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Old Jan 25th, 2014, 06:33 PM
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Are you set on that order? I'd go Zurich>Munich>Venice and fly from there, since this will allow you more direct train routes. Unless you're planning to explore the Southern part of Switzerland. Then again, if you've not booked the flight, it would be easiest to fly into London and out of Venice or Munich.
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Old Jan 26th, 2014, 07:30 AM
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Have you friends at Zurich or do you plan to visit one of the Zurich museums?

As to the itinerary, I agree with above:
TGV Paris - Zurich, bus Zurich - Munich, day or overnight train Munich - Venice.

Things would be different if you would be interested in the Alps, in lakes, medieval towns, cathedrals, castles or so.
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Old Jan 26th, 2014, 07:42 AM
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I believe your itinerary includes the biggest mistake made by first-time visitors to Europe, trying to cram too many places in the time available. As it stands you'll be spending about a third of your trip moving from place to place, not a good ratio for enjoying these places. I suggest you reduce the number from 5 to 3.
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Old Jan 26th, 2014, 08:01 AM
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5 cities/countries in 20 days is too much moving around imo. You spend such a large percentage of your time on the ground checking in & out of hotels, going to & from train stations, etc. I'd cut at least 2 from your list.

If you are already set to fly into Paris and out of London, I guess you need to keep those two. For me I love Venice so that would be my 3rd city pick.
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Old Jan 26th, 2014, 08:07 AM
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My best advice to new travelers is always to get a guidebook or two and read them. I've been traveling since the beginning of recorded history, and I always buy a couple of guidebooks. You'll find all kinds of information in them--hotels, restaurants, sights, laundromats, emergency information, etc..

I also agree that you have too many destinations. It's important to remember that you'll lose a day each time you change cities. You have to check out, travel to your destination, and check in. Your first day and your last day are also not real vacation days. It looks to me like you will be losing about a week traveling from one place to another.
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Old Jan 26th, 2014, 09:43 AM
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Not sure what your key to dos and interests really are.

You are in Switz at an awkward time - ski season is over - but the weather will still be chilly and you're early for really gorgeous countryside (and IMHO Zurich is a really boring business city).

I too would cut back on the number of destinations - and decide on the number of days in each based on YOUR must sees.
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Old Jan 26th, 2014, 04:28 PM
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May 1st is a national holiday in France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Wherever you end up on that day, it's likely many sights will be closed and there could be organized demonstrations. It might make a good travel day.
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Old Jan 26th, 2014, 05:18 PM
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A good guide or two should prove invaluable to you.
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Old Jan 26th, 2014, 05:23 PM
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Sorry - that should have read "a good guide BOOK or two should provide invaluable."
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Old Jan 27th, 2014, 07:17 PM
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Thanks everyone for the suggestions! We already have our plane tickets purchased as well as several excursions. I have done a lot of reading and have purchased pocket guide books for our destinations. I have looked at our schedule so much that I dream it. lol Shockingly, I have already changed it earlier, because I even had more packed in. Hard to limit yourself. We do want to see the alps, castles etc.
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Old Feb 10th, 2014, 06:36 AM
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We just returned from a 14 day trip to Paris, Barcelona and Rome. We also had Venice on the itinerary but we lost out on it because we had too many cities in too little time. I agree with everyone else on this thread and suggest that you limit your focus on three cities because you will be under strict time constraints and you really want to enjoy your time over there

If you can, cut down two cities where you are not arriving or departing from. Trust me, you are not going to regret it. Good luck, safe travels and have a wonderful time.
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Old Feb 10th, 2014, 08:37 AM
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It is probably too late to help but I have a comment to add. Less is always more. First timers always try to cram too much into relatively short trips. My recommendation is to stay at least 3 or 4 nights minimum in each location. More than that is usually better. Slow down and catch all those other sites and countries on your next trip. Just believe that you will come back. Also, don't cheap out on travel books. Even if you don't carry them all with you, you can take the pertinent pages, and when planning read everything about your destination you can get your hands on. You're spending thousands of dollars on your trip, don't skip the planning information. You're only talking about less than a hundred dollars for at least three different travel books. I like to get different perspectives so I go for Fodors, Lonely Planet and maybe... Eyewitness. There are plenty more (Rick Steve's, Frommers, Let's Go and so on). Finally, like someone above said, your first and last day don't count. And travel days (changing hotels, spending time in train/bus/plane terminals etc.), are days lost. Yes, they are part of the adventure, but they lessen your time enjoying a location. I hope you have a great vacation, you will love it regardless.
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Old Feb 10th, 2014, 11:55 AM
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Thanks everyone! We will sit down and see where we can cut back with the least expense. We have all of our transportation purchased, so will need to check into that. Thanks again!!!!
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Old Feb 10th, 2014, 12:39 PM
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Knock it back to 3 destinations. Dump Zürich, which someone here on Fodors aptly described as a sleep clinic. Most boring, uptight destination I've ever set foot in in Europe after 40+ years of travel there several times a year. And forget the pocket guidebooks - they are largely useless. Get some books that actually give you concrete, detailed information. Good luck with this.
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