Linda

My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe and would like to see as much of Europe as possible. I realize we cannot experience everything in such a short amount of time but want to pack in as much as we can. We're leaning toward a Eurorail pass. <BR>Places we would like to visit are: Paris, Swiss Alps, Germany, Italy, Greece and any others we can pack in. <BR> <BR>Are we being realistic or should we limit ourselves to only a couple of places? <BR> <BR>Thanks for any help. <BR> <BR>Linda <BR>

elaine

Linda, <BR>opinions will be split on this: some will say go for it all , others will recommend quality over quality. <BR>My opinion is that in two weeks, and with eagerness to see more than one place, you might do 3 or even 4 places, but not all of those you mentioned, certainly not Greece which is farther afield and harder to cover because of inter-island travel. <BR>If I were planning YOUR trip, and assuming you have personal reasons for choosing the places you mentioned, I would do 4-5 days in Paris, take a TGV or other train toward Switzerland and finish out your first week to 8 days. Move on to a selected couple of spots in Germany, and then go home. <BR>If I were planning this for myself, I would take the same 4-5 days in Paris, take a train to a spot in the south of France OR in Switzerland for a couple of days, and then move on to a couple of places in Italy like Venice, Florence, or Rome. <BR>All of this can be done by train. Keep in mind that every time you travel from one destination to another, you essentially lose that day when it comes to sightseeing in one place. If you are able to salvage a couple of hours of sightseeing on a travel day, you will be ahead of the game. <BR>Good luck

elaine

oops, that should have been <BR>"quality over quantity"

Cindy

Linda, <BR> <BR>I would start off with the assumption that you and your husband will live long enough to take more than one trip to Europe. With that assumption, I think you'll be MUCH happier if you focus on two regions and see them well. Unpacking and packing over and over, as well as taking a train and changing money and finding your hotel can be a drag. Not to mention the hideous expense of hopping all around. <BR>I would make trip No. 1 either (1) Italy (alone or with Greece or Switzerland) or (2) Paris with Switzerland. My experience is that Italy can easily take 10-days to 2 weeks by itself. Personally, I vote for Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice) with Switzerland, which is plenty of hopping around right there. <BR> <BR>Have fun, and slow down!

Bill Irving

Here are some 2 week trips we have taken. 4 days each in Oslo, Stockholm, & Copenhagen, using train between each city. 5 days in Paris, train to Munich for 7 days including day trips to Salzburg & various areas in Bavaria. <BR>5 days in Paris & train to London for 7 days, with various daytrips in Britain, including Edinburgh. Then on another trip, just spent the whole time in Britain. That is just a ew of the trips we have been on. There are many more places to see & many combinations you can do. Depends upon what you want to do. Just know that in all the places we have visited, we wished we had a day or 2 more atleast.

dan woodlief

How about this option? 4 days in Paris, 2 1/2 days in Berner Oberland area of Switzerland (2 1/2 because of 1/2 day for travel), 3 days in Venice, 3 1/2 days in Munich and return from there (while there see Romantic Road and other areas of interest). OR <BR>4 days in Paris, 2 1/2 days in Berner Oberland, 2 days in Venice, 2 days in Florence, 3 days in Rome and fly back from there. In any event, most people would advise skipping Greece, unless you want to just go to Italy and Greece.

Flo

I m currently in the US for a while but I am European, lived in Paris, in Portugal and traveled in Greece, Italy, Germany...in a nutshell I want to give you my personal hindsight. <BR>Definitely go to Paris for 4-5 days then <BR>go to Munich (8 hours train, can be night train)2-3 days, <BR>then to Tyrol which is in Swizterland and really close to Munich <BR>then Italy is nearby, you can go to Venice which is really worth it (and if you book 2 months in advance you get cheap rates for hotels) and to Roma. <BR>Enjoy ! and for cheap accomodations in Europe see www.abaka.com

Rex

I think that the majority of people who respond here are likely to tell you that you are not being realistic - - but half the fun of this board is the contrasting opinions. And I can take almost any side of any argument. <BR> <BR>If you're set on doing this, and if (like a certain number of American travelers), you have (more than) enough money, but you're forever struggling to find the time to travel on an extended trip - - I believe that you CAN do it, and still enjoy yourself. <BR> <BR>The point that intra-Europe travel competes with being a "tourist" is right on, so you need to fly for the longer hauls, and drive for the shorter hauls, making the driving itself an essential part of your getting a taste of the regions through which you are driving. <BR> <BR>I vote for flying on a transatlantic itinerary that will permit you to make a stopover in Paris on your way to Greece, then returns you from (northern) Italy on an open-jaw ticket (Venice or Milan). This might mean that you should fly on Air France (but that might not be your only or best option) - - and you might have to connect through Paris on the return. There are relatively low cost options for flying from Greece back to Italy - - that will be a separate one-way ticket. <BR> <BR>Spend about four days in France, two in Paris, and two outside (but not far away) - - Chartres or Haute Normandie, to give just an example. Thinking that Paris = France is like thinking that NYC = the United States. It is a highlight of France for many people, but the rest of France is too important to spend 4 out of 4 days in Paris. <BR> <BR>Fly to Athens - - I am not particularly an expert on Greece, but I think that you can have an enjoyable three days in Greece, and you don't have to get that far away from Athens to experience the island (coastal) village towns of Greece. Sure, Santorini is a "star" of the Greek islands, but you can travel short distances within Attica or maybe a little into the Peloponnese and get a great glimpse of Greece - - to decide if you want to come back for a much longer trip. <BR> <BR>From Greece you can fly back to Venice cheaply (and maybe other Italy gateway cities), leaving you can 7 days to make a big arc (or an outright circle) up through Austria and/or Switzerlandand just a taste of Bavaria. This will be sampling at best, and you can't do justice to any of the bigger cities which could be included in this arc - - Venice, Salzburg, Munich or Milan - - but you can have a great road trip which begins and ends in Italy (saving you on car rental) - - regrettably, Italian car rentals are more expensive than German, but it will cost you less to fly from Greece into Italy. <BR> <BR>There are a million other ways to skin this cat, including a single train ride from Venice to Munich, for example, and then start a circle or an arc there. But any plan to see (some of) Italy, Switzerland (or Austria) and Germany should be done by car, in my opinion. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Linda, Pay attention to Dan above and <BR>plan on 4 primary destinations for this <BR>trip. I would do Paris, Berner Oberland, <BR>Lugano[the lakes], and Venice myself. <BR>The Munich[ Romantic road] option is also good if you skip Venice. Forget <BR>Greece--it is 2 weeks by itself.

elvira

I've done the "Western Civilization in Two Weeks" as well as the "Teeny Part of France in 9 Days" - and I recommend both. It all depends on your stamina, emotional stability, and if you've ever attempted to kill each other. <BR> <BR>The whirlwind tour gives you an overview of the place and a chance to decide what you'd like to see on your next trip (think of it as dim sum or tapas). It gives you highlights - the best of the best - and lots of great memories and pictures. This is very stressful on your physical selves (little chance to relax; you can't kick back for a day or you miss 800 years of history) and your psyche (packing up every day, trying to make train connections all the time, hunting for places to eat in always-strange places). Your luggage can't be much bigger than a weekend case. Unless you're prepared for all of this, the shower scene in Psycho is in your future. <BR> <BR>By hunkering down for several days in one place, you can relax, sleep in one morning, not have to hunt for a restaurant because you passed one yesterday that looked good. You'll get more of the 'flavor' of the place; you'll see children in schoolyards and mothers bringing home baguettes for lunch; you have time to watch a sunset or a puppet show or wander into an art gallery or a clockmaker's. The downside is less excitement, a chance to get bored (how, I don't know, but it happens) and the regrets of not having seen all the other stuff. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Bob

Everytime I see a post like this I remember when my wife and I lived in Germany while in the Army. We went to Switzerland for a weekend and ran into two American ladies on a ski lift. They were on a two week, see all of Europe tour. I asked them where they had been and they could not agree on where they had been the day before. Were not real sure of the things they had done and did not know where they were going the next day as their schedule was in their room. They were simply moving too fast. <BR> <BR>Listen to the posters that recommend hitting a few main spots and you can actually enjoy what you see and remember it. The other bad thing about using air and trains to get around and visit a lot of locations is you are assuming that there will be no delays and no strikes. Sitting in an airport waiting for a flight is not the way you want to spend a lot of your time. Packing and unpacking every night is a hassle also. Plan a few major spots and then go back again later. Much more enjoyable and relaxing.

Rex

I am not taking exception to what anybody else is saying. I already stated that my reply to Linda is as much "for arguments' sake" as anything. <BR> <BR>With that caveat, I don't think that the anecdote about the American ladies on the ski lift fits. Linda and her husband are PLANNING their trip themselves - - that's so much different from being led around by the nose. <BR> <BR>The planning can be like a whole additional trip, because for every night's stay you select, you can fill as many nights as you like, reading about and studying and learning about three other options that you don't choose. <BR> <BR>Good independent travelers, even first-timers, can and do fit this much stuff into a two week trip all the time. And of course, you will deviate from your plan or wing some portion of your itinerary without a plan, and that will be half the fun. <BR> <BR>Last of all, to advise someone not to use trains or planes because they might be delayed? Good grief! French farmers and truck drivers on strike have been known to close highways too, you know. I've seen that in person. Thank goodness I was going the other way. It looked much worse than being stuck in an airport! Choosing transportation based on "what if's" makes no sense to me. I hate to think that Europe travel has to be restricted to choosing a base, and seeing just what you can see on foot or bicycle!

jwagner

Just returned from a two week whirlwind tour of Europe. This was my fifth trip overseas and my wife's fourth. We took three friends who never had gone before and their only request was "we want to see everything." Ha. <BR> <BR>We started in Munich, arriving at 8 a.m. after an overnight flight. We stowed our bags at the train station and hit the ground running, walking down the main drag and seeing some of the sites. We managed to spend a couple of hours at Residenz, the Englisher Gardens, a few churches, and the Hofbrauhaus before settling in for the night. We spent a second full day in Munich and then took a night train for Venice, leaving at about 10 p.m. and arriving in Venice at 8 a.m. (Note, if you have a Eurorail pass you'll need to pay a small supplement to pass through Austria. Make sure you reserve a sleeper. Trains can be packed.) We spent two nights and three days in Venice before catching a late afternoon train to Florence. Did the same thing in Florence and then spent three nights in Rome. We took the overnight train to Paris, a long trip that got us to Paris early in the morning. After three days in Paris we returned to Munich for another two days doing trips to Rothenberg (I'm the only person in the world who thinks you can experience the best of Rothenberg in a day) and to Fussen, where we saw King Ludwig's castle. We stayed overnight there and got up early to beat the crowds. <BR> <BR>A couple of things to think about/remember: <BR> <BR>Don't overpack, especially when you are catching trains. We stowed our bags in the stations for a few bucks at each stay, throwing clean clothes and toiletries into small backpacks so that we wouldn't have to lug our luggage around. <BR> <BR>Remember to stay flexible: We had planned on spending an extra night in Rome but enjoyed Florence so much this time that we decided to change our itinerary midstream. <BR> <BR>Don't worry if you miss a must-see sight on your first trip. You will be so overwhelmed by all that you do get to see that it won't spoil your trip. <BR> <BR>Always be wary of people who are too helpful. One of the first timers got taken for $140 when a friendly Parisian volunteered to help him by some three day subway passes. <BR> <BR>Refer to this site often for ideas about things to see and do. And do make reservations for hotels if you are going in the summer. You don't want to waste time in each city trying to find a hotel. Lots of good sites can help you book reasonably priced rooms. <BR> <BR>Good luck. Email me if you have any questions.