30-35 days in Europe
 

Traveling with the wife in early fall 2027 to Europe (right after we retire), planning on 30 or so days. Wife has traveled a lot for work when she was younger and my travel internationally has been just to the UK. We are thinking of flying into London and spending a couple of days there before moving on to France. Obviously, we plan to visit Paris, and then I want to go to Normandy (I’m retired military; finishing up my second career) to visit. I think all in all we’ll be in France for about a week. Then a week in Italy, a few days in Munich, a few days in Switzerland and Austria, a few in Prague, and then Bruges. Am I missing anything? If we head back to Europe again, my guess is it will be Greece. Thanks for your advice, as I’m a newby at all of this!

You're missing lots .

But you're biggest issue is you're bouncing around like a superball. My guess is what you've laid out will end up with a third or more of your days being travel. You'll see lots of train stations. Maybe a few airports. If that's the goal so be it but IMHO flying all that way to spend it on a train is a waste.

What else are you missing?

All of Spain? Most of Germany? Eastern Europe? Northern Europe? Likely most of Italy and France.

It would be easier to make a list of what you aren't missing

London - Brugge - Paris - Normandy - Paris - Switzerland - Florence - Rome - Venice - Vienna - Prague - Munich is all feasible by train.
But are these really the places you want to visit?
And what about all the gems between these citiies?
You will not have time for everything.

Where in Italy? Where in Austria?
Does that 30-35 days include travelling to Europe?

Honestly you are better off dropping places, taking your time. I understand the desire to see it all, but that just isn't possible, even if you took longer. Even living in Europe I wouldn't try and do that list in your time span.
Decide what you really want to see, look at guidebooks, maps, remember that 2 nights nets one day of sight-seeing, and every move uses up at least half a day, often a lot more.
You have plenty of time to plan so my advice again is slow down, you will be retired, so take your time in fewer places. Maybe also look away from the major cities, and over touristed places. You will enjoy it so much more.

Lots of countries in 35 days

Moving bases every 2-3 days for 30 days will be tiring. With that much time, I probably try to find 3 or 4 places where I'd be happy spending 5 days or so, then moving around a bit before landing on your next base.

Given your interest, Normandy would be a great place to spend a week without running out of things to see. There are lots of places in Italy where you could spend an enjoyable week, but you'll not enjoy spending a week trying to see all of Italy, even if you limit it to say, the big 3 tourist cities (Venice, Florence, and Rome). You won't really see the mountains in Switzerland if all you do is pass through on your way somewhere else, rather than spending a few days exploring one area. So, that's my advice, pick a few areas where there is plenty to see without moving camp for several days or even a week, and then maybe string those together with some shorter stays in between.

Welcome to Fodors. "Am I missing anything? " Yes - tons. But you'll be missing even more with this type of hectic schedule.

Honestly, less is more and I don't mean spending a month one place (though that is certainly an option).

But the more destinations one tries to squeeze in, the LESS they have time to see and enjoy. Everey move eats up a minimum of half a day and often a full day. Even just a 3 hour train ride becomes a six hour transit when you figure in packing/checking out, getting to the station, getting from the train to the next hotel, checking in/unpacking. So the day is pretty much shot until late afternoon/early evening. This sort of plan also leaves uo time for 'accidental' discoveries, rest, whimsy or even laundry.

I'd sit down and talk about which places or even specific sites you've always wanted to see - maybe bucket list things. Where those are can be the beginning a framework for your itinerary.

Additionally, 'A couple of days in London' is almost 'why bother' territory -- you'll likely be jet lagged and have maybe most of one day to see/do anything. Not worth the cost of London accommodations really. If you want to see or re-visit even just a tiny part of London -- stay several days. Otherwise don't even go there -- fly into Paris or Munich or Brussels or which ever other city is in you plan.

For major cities - London for sure, Paris, a few other, I personally would not plan fewer than 5 nights - which nets four full days.

A week in Italy means 2 major places -- maybe three at very most (but that would be rushed). So which are they - Rome, or Venice or Florence, or Tuscany or the Amalfi Coast/Naples or Sicily or Milan or or or

You have the luxury of a nice long trip -- I wouldn't turn it into a "If this is Tuesday it must be Belgium" sort of race.

Not to pile on but I just counted and you've included eight different countries - you must see that doesn't really work. Even using the 35 days (30 would be even worse) Deleting all the transport (Transatlantic and intra-Europe) you would leave approx twenty-six-ish days. With 2 places in France, 3 in Italy, 2 in Switzerland 1 in Austria plus London Prague, Bruges, and Munich = just over 2 useable days per stop. That might work for Bruges or Salzburg but not for London or Paris or Munich or Rome or Venice.or . . .

"Am I missing anything?'

I am going to go out on a limb and say yes, just a few places.

You are missing many great joys in Europe - but there is no single way to travel or list of places to go. And the list is so vast that I can't even begin to tell you. So go to places that inspire you. There is no better way to travel. But you might want to read a little bit more about the possibilities. I have made many trips to Europe but only last year did I see Meteora in Greece or Belogradchik Fortress in Bulgaria. Jaw dropping.

But don't just think of visiting places. How about experiences? A farm where they cook meals for their guests with their own products, festivals, hikes, kayakking.

My suggestion: Pick one place you feel you absolutely have to go, no matter what, and go there first. Then make sure you choose at least one area you've never heard of before now. Rent a car for at least a week and get into the rural landscape.

I am guessing your interest in Normandy is the Landing Beaches and D-Day. Definitely rent a car. Interpretation of military history is fairly weak in Europe (not at all like in the US), except for D-Day. Wherever you go, take your time. Don't do too much rushing around or standing on lines.

OP here, thank you all for your thoughts. Good info.

OP here, thank you all for your thoughts, good info for sure.

Do you plan to stay focus on cities (except Normandy) or would you want to visit other attractions (natural or not) on the countryside?
Depending on what you prefer, it will change a lot. First option will mean being based in a city, spending 3/4 days there and flying/ riding a train to the next destination.
Second option will mean a limited number of cities + car rental to explore the surroundings. For example, Paris could include Verneuil (Monet garden), Rouen, Honfleur, D-Day beaches and Mont St Michel. Florence would include Tuscany (Pisa, Sienna) and Bologna. Munich and Bavaria (castles, mountains..). And so on

rouelan makes a good point well.

I would ignore borders and focus on geography and airports. My examples would be as follows

Hence looking at Normandy (which is now pretty big and includes Monet's garden etc) then move on towards Alsace via places like Nancy, Metz, Epernay, Strasbourg, then up into the Pfalz, Mosel, Rhingau wine regions picking off WW1 sites, Napoleonic war sites and the odd wine festival (Bad Durkheim https://militaryingermany.com/bad-du...-wine-festival might line up with your early fall dates but other wine festivals do exist) then either across the Black Forest to Lake Constance and Munich or Prague ,,,, or go north towards Lubeck and all the Hanseatic cities and fly back from Frankfurt/Berlin or even Copenhagen.

Much of this could even be done by train as well as by car (though ww2 sites by car makes more sense though you might prefer to do a paid for tour (which would be better use of your time) and would save on drop off fees for country to country rentals.

Many North Americans prefer the idea of the car for the freedom it gives, while many Europeans prefer the use of the train for the freedom that it gives, so don't reject either idea until your plan comes together.

If working with trains/buses and ferries I'd use rome2rio as my core planning tool (it gets better every year) and seat61.com for how-to advice.

I'd either get some Europe picture books from the Library (there is so much to see that frankly pictures may well be the way to focus) or the 1000+ page Rough Guide to Europe and get reading. Then get a map and start sticking post-it notes on it.

I agree with some of the advice you have had above. You could pick 4 - 5 bases (you will want a map for this) and either see them in a circuit (for example, London, Paris, Prague, Bruges, London), or in a straight line (London, Bruges, Paris, Prague) with an open jaw flight so that you fly into London and out of Prague. You can do this with either trains or by car; if you did Paris - Prague, you could even take a short flight. You don't have to pick capital cities. If your interest is Normandy, perhaps you could plan a more fine-grained trip concentrating on destinations in Belgium, France, Germany (or Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic). You don't have to see everything, either. In future you can come back. It's easy to get burned out by a string of short-stay destinations. If you are staying in Europe for a month, you can also factor in days or afternoons off (where rain stops play, or when you want to do some laundry). If you just have a long string of destinations, it is a bit harder to take a rest break because the pressure will be on to see what you have scheduled for those days.

As well as a good planning map I would also buy a couple of guidebooks. AA has good driving routes, Michelin, Lonely Planet and The Rough Guide are comprehensive, Rick Steves is for the new traveller, DK has good pictures. Your local library might have some, you don't have to spend a fortune. Nowadays guidebooks lean towards general information and fewer tips for hotels and restaurants, although Rick Steves still has these, and Michelin has specialty books on restaurants. booking.com is somewhere to start when researching accommodation online as it has both many properties and good reviews..

Good luck and keep refining your plans here, we are all willing to help.

Lavandula

I think it is also good to plot out your plan while considering the time you'll need to travel from base to base. It often takes almost a full day to travel between locations but the time you pack up, travel, check into your hotel and unpack.

For example: Day 1 Fly to London, Days 2, 3, 4 London, Day 5 travel to Paris, Days 6, 7, 8 Paris, Day 9 travel to Normandy, Days 10, 11 12, Normandy, etc.

Don't forget to include down time. 30 days is long enough you'll need a vacation from your vacation. Especially if you're rushing from stop to stop

and clothes washing, we find clothes washing in an Airbnb works well but other solutions exist including truck stop laundary machines or city machines.