I remember your previous posts snd (many) similar threads to this one. Congrats on your graduation.

OP, go where you want to go. You do not need validation.. A little tip, if you have a friend who is indifferent and not contributing to any of the planning, they will be this way when you are there, too. Or worse, may bail when it comes to book. Just FYI as someone who experienced it and never will go on trip with indecisive friends again. (No one was happy, and no one had the trip they wanted. Hope your experience will be better).

Where you go depends on the type of trip you want. You are of the age where it is less about how long it takes to get there and what you have to see than it is about experiences. I'd imagine hostels and clubs are more your preference over wine and museums.

You do not need to read every history book before you go, either - you have your entire life for that. Or not. As there are many of threads of people go to countries without researching a darn thing!

I don't normally suggest this, but since you are under 25: plan less: take the uncomfortable night trains, sleep in the dorm-style hostels, drink the absinthe (blech!) , and just go. If you do want to see the museums and landmarks, yes you will have to plan - I presume that this trip is in about 2 months? But if say the Mona Lisa and top of Eiffel are not on your list, then prebooking is not necessary for those things. But if they are, you have to plan for that to avoid lines and/or required entries, for example.

If hiking and beaches are more your focus, then it is much easier to work around. Though you seem more interested in cities. It all really depends on what YOU want (and your friends).

Hello everyone,

I appreciate all of your responses. They have helped my friends and I narrow down our trip selection quite a bit. Since we have 14 days of travel, we are thinking to spend 2-3 days in each city. The cities we have decided on (no hard decisions just yet) are: Rome, Venice, Munich or Berlin, and Saint-Tropez. What do you all think about these cities? Are there any better alternatives to them? Also, if you guys have any experience in these places. What are some of your favorite things to do/eat/see in these cities or surrounding areas?

Keep in mind that you lose almost a full day traveling from place to place. St. Tropez is a bit of an outlier is it would be at least an 11 hour train ride from your other locations.

Not only is Saint-Tropez an outlier and a bee-atch to get to from your other cities -- It is really REALLY crowded and expensive in summer.

Rome, Venice, Munich or Berlin, and Saint-Tropez. What do you all think about these cities? A pencil sketch below.

Berlin is a blast, with a massive park dumped in the middle the city spreads out and out into the countryside with lots to do. If I spoke German I'd spend a lot of time there. (lots of people speak English just I prefer etc...)

Munich I don't really get. Maybe because to me it is just a big conference centre (during conference time hotel prices are high) and I've had to work there too much. Certainly, to me, there are many many nicer German cities, others adore it. I understand there is a US base nearby.

Great public transport in both cities though.

Venice is a tiny city (more a town really), built on logs into a what was a swamp and is a major tourist destination, but with a long beach area called the Lido and some special Venice features, like the water buses, the water taxis and all the other water based transport you can think of. Apart from the architecture, the history, the art, the tiny alleys you can be quickly bored in this place, luckily I like the first 4 things I mentioned.

Rome is a big capital city with a tiny country stuck in the middle and an ancient ruined city next to that which makes strange juxtaposition. You can walk out of a 15 century church into a monument to The Fatherland (basically fascisti architecture) and out the other side into the main trading forum of an ancient empire all in about 5 minutes. Public transport is more constrained by this "design" but the people of Italy know how to have a good time

Nice instead of St Tropez
 

The last post here was over a month ago, so I am curious as to how your plans are going for your trip to Europe. Any updates? BTW, I would do Nice instead of St Tropez but you could take a ferry from Nice to St Tropez for a day trip.

It’s not clear how long you intend to stay in Munich. Lufthansa has the best airfares and if you want to continue on to a second city, you can get a 24 - 30 hour layover. Otherwise, from Munich you can catch a train to Innsbruck and the Dolomites. You might also like Ljubljana and the surrounding area.

Not sure if the other posters have brought this up but this summer Paris is hosting the Olympics and Para Olympics so it will be very busy, very crowded and very expensive.

Hi all - the OP last posted April 14th (post #22) with an updated itinerary. Despite some providing thoughts/suggestions, he has not returned with an update.

Let's give him a chance to report back with changes and/or a trip report.

If you are spending time in Munich I would go into AUSTRIA! To humor both you and your friends you could go to Innsbruck cute city, but also a fantastic mountain to hike up. Salzburg another great little city and then Wolfgangsee (Lake Wolfgang). It's very easy to get there from Salzburg. I comfortable bus ride a little over an hour long not many stops. Wolfgangsee has amazing hikes!! Hike up to Schwarzsee (Black Lake) and go for a swim and eat lunch. If you have time go to Vienna.

I would recommend either interrail or even flying ahead of car hire. If the budget is tight, definitely look into interrail as option 1! enjoy :)