On your budget go 2nd class on the train, definitely.

Because even hostels beds in a dorm may be typically 20-25 euro per night. That only leaves you 8 euro per day for transportation, food, drink, admissions, etc. It is not enough. While $3500 sounds like a lot of money you need to divide it into daily expenses to see what is reasonable. If that's truly the total budget I might suggest you shorten your trip by a week or two and/or move around less often to save money.

Hmmm... The Thorn Tree is incredibly active, you must have been on a slow branch or post or day. Check out Western Europe, but also shoestring travel, etc. for other tips.

1. If you didn’t book your tickets, check if you can save by flying to any other destination. Or, as many recommended before, try to fly out of Amsterdam.
2. Exclude Geneva all together.
3. It takes 3h from Nice to Avignon and 3h back, really difficult day trip.
On the other hand, Avignon is 2h 37 min from Paris (Nice is 5 h 30 min from Paris). If you include Avignon on your way from Paris to Nice you can save at list 6 h.
4. Check Antibes or Juan-les-Pins instead of Nice.
Antibes is chipper and nicer and Juan-les-Pins is much younger.
5. I think Luxembourg is the most expensive place on you itinerary. See if you can avoid spending the second nights there.
6. Alternative plan:
Is it possible to include Switzerland only once? Zurich-Lucern-Bern? Lauterbrunnen?
This way after your holiday in Rome you can proceed to Nice-Avignon-Paris- Brussels-???long day trip to Luxembourg - (you can do stop over in Antwerp on your way to Amsterdam) – Amsterdam- Dusseldorf- Cologne- Berlin.

Have a wonderful journey!

Here is a suggestion from my daughter and her husband who did a 4 week trip. Get a rolling convertible backpack. They were extremely sick of carrying those regular packs all the time when they could have wheeled them many times. The ones that have detachable daypacks are really ideal.

Hi there!
I am a Canadian who is living in Italy for a few months, and I have a quick tip for you. I have found that a Eurail pass may be overpriced. In my enthusiasm for the "bargain" I purchased one and was surprised to find out that for ALL of the direct, quick trains, you need to pay a supplement to your Eurail pass. There is a surcharge if you want to travel directly between any major city in Italy on the Intercity trains and on the Eurostar trains. This is REALLY important when calculating the price of the ticket that you actually pay and in calculating the cost of your trip. For example, you can travel from Venice to Florence on Eurostar, and it takes approximately 2hrs and 30 minutes. To take this train, you will have to pay a supplement of approximately $17.00 US. BUT, if you buy a ticket at the station or online (i.e. you have no Eurail pass), it will cost you only $30.00 US TOTAL for this train. If you want to take the cheap train and spend an extra 1 hr and 30 minutes, but buy the ticket directly at the station (i.e. you do NOT have a Eurail pass) it will cost you $22.00 US. So, my advice is to check the cost of your rail tickets through the online offices of each country (hey, that's part of the fun of planning!) and see if a Eurail Pass is worth it today. For starters, try www.trenitalia.com -- they have an english version and you can check timetables and prices directly.
My sense, after 4 trips to Europe and living here now, is that the cost of the tickets bought directly at the station are SO CHEAP that a Eurail pass really isn't worth it.
Ciao!
Freiamaya

Hi! Just one more thing --
Look into budget airlines. The major one here in Europe is www.Ryanair.com, and if your dates are OK and you book at the right time, you can fly from, for example, Pisa to London for around 50 euros (taxes etc. included). You can see what they have to offer!
Cheers,
Freiamaya