best time to go on my trip to 7 countries!!! Please help
 

Im going to be traveling to these places listed below (in that order) and I'm trying to kill 7 birds with 1 stone (sounds horrible but yea..)

Dublin, Ireland
London, UK
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Berlin, Germany
Paris, France
Rome (&venice via train), Italy
Barcelona, Spain

I was thinking of going next year in january, but i know it will be very cold in most of those locations. So now i am thinking of going in April, May or June..just need help with figuring out when is the best weather in all this places? Please help!

Thanks in advance!

How long will your trip be? That's a lot of ground to cover in months when the weather might not be very pleasant, and delays are likely.

"Best time": For 8 major cities -- Unless you plan on about 6 weeks -- there is no good time.

weird -- our posts didn't top the thread . . . TTT

Trains here, flights on skyscanner.com:

http://www.seat61.com/

Yes, that trip will need at least 6 weeks and I would reverse the order if you do in the spring so you have the benefit of the warmer weather in the south following you as you go north. I would start with Barcelona/Italy in mid May and then do the rest of the trip through June.

If you are planning on less than 6 weeks or so this is a really bad idea and you will ends up spending a lot of time (and money) just getting places versus actually seeing and doing things.

Before we talk about weather let's talk about time. My first trip to Europe was an organized tour with my high school. We visited 7 or 8 countries over 5 weeks and we still felt very rushed. As others have mentioned above I hope you don't plan to do this in any less than 6 weeks.

P.S. How about a nicer figure of speech? Let's say you are going to feed 7 birds from one feeder. :-)

Your title says "7 countries," but you listed only cities - 8 including Venice. It seems like a kind of "check off the list" trip, but I wonder if that is your intent. Not that major cities are not exciting and worthwhile, but there is so much more to each country, from Medieval hilltop villages to Roman Baths and arenas, from ruins like Pompeii and the ancient stones of Stonehenge to castles and walled cities, to painted Bavarian houses and the snowy Alps. Just throwing it out for your consideration.

After you decide what you want to do and see in each city, you can decide how much time you need in each. Places like Rome and Paris can take several days. Others maybe only a day or two, but some may have wonderful places nearby that you would want to see.

May

I would do London = Paris = Bruxelles = Amsterdam.
In that order and that part of the trip by train.

see capitainetrain.com

And I added one city/country so you have one more nearly for free.

Now it is up to you to define how much time you stay per city. I once did a trip involving 14 cities in North America in one month. Nobody will support this crazy trip here but I liked it.

(Forgive me my Lord, for I was young).

Two months would be a good timeframe for a trip like this, but as others have said, why only major cities? I personally get very tired of the hustle and bustle of major cities, whether they be in Europe or elsewhere, and love my time spent wandering around rural areas and getting to know something about village life. Maybe that's not your style, but it's worth considering whether you just want to city-hop all over Europe.

At any rate, go in spring or fall and you'll likely get the best weather and avoid crowds.

Its cold in January and perhaps more importantly the days are very short. I would pick May and I agree you need 5-6 weeks for this trip. You will need more time if you want to do day trips outside any of your destinations.

April-June is a much better time frame for this trip, should be great. I like the idea of starting in Barcelona and then going north, as it may be iffier in the north in April. If you must pick one month, I'd personally probably pick June just because May has a lot of holidays and seems to be a bit rainier, it seems to me. But it's not a big deal. I would not pick April.

I don't understand the comment that you said 7 countries but only listed cities. They happen to be in different countries so it is 7 countries, seems fine to me. I like cities, much more interesting and for a first-timer, I think it's natural to want to experience these places you've heard to much about. Not to mention, there is public transportation in major cities. Wandering around villages sounds like a big bore to me, and you can't do it without more expense by renting a car.

Yes Apr-May-June is a perfect time for that trip- just reverse the order - end up in Dublin and fly into Barcelona.

30 days for 8 big tourist cities is IMO enough for the average traveler - of course you could spend a week or a month in each too but three full days is enough again for the average first-time traveler IMO -maybe 4 in some,.

for lots on European trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Since you will probably fly a lot no kind of railpass would be useful to you.Booking WAY early can save tons of money if you are fine with locking yourself into a specific train on a specific date at a specific time and not be able to change it - and book in stone months in advance at times to get those limited in number deep discounted dcuats - ditto for air travel.

Villages are not just villages. Many have buildings, bridges, etc. of great historical and architectural interest equal to major cities. Places like Pompeii and Versailles are major important sights. Fantastic cathedrals and Roman Baths can be found in many small towns and villages. Cities are absolutely wonderful, and it is fine to decide only on cities, but they are not the country. A country is so much more than one city.

Train and bus service is so excellent in much of Europe that you can easily access many, many places, even small towns and some villages without a car. Skip them if you like and have no interest. It is personal as travel should be, but don't discount their importance, especially all of them, out of hand.

Agree heartily with sass! and many such places are not overrun with tourists and that makes them even nicer.