Howdy from Texas,
My hubby and I are planning our first European trip and my of my is it overwhelming!
Here's are wish list of things to do:
About 2 weeks abroad
Must sees- Paris, Rome, Barcelona, possibly London
Would love to see the big sights but also spend time getting to know each location and culture like a local
This is not our daughter's 20 something hostel living trip
Don't want to break the bank but would love to see as much as possible.

Where to start? Should we use a travel agent, a tour service, DIY it or a combination of the options.
What is the most affordable time of year? Don't want to be with all the other Americans- we want the full European experience.
Top of the line is not our goal, but creating memories for a life time- or until the next trip.

Would love advice from others that have had a wonderful experience.
Thanks and happy travels,
Empty Nesters in Texas

Welcome to Fodors.

First you need to nail down exactly what you mean by 'about 2 weeks'. If that is 14 days home-to-home you will actually have 11-ish days free on the ground in Europe. Which is not long enough for those four major cities. If the 'about 2 weeks' is really 11 or 12 days you'd have even less time (8.5- to 9-ish ful days). But if the 'about two weeks (again home-to-home) is more like 16 or 17 days - then you would have 13-ish to 14 days free, So that decision will determine how many places you can visit.

You definitely do not need a travel agent.

"What is the most affordable time of year?" Most major European cities don't really have a 'low season' -- but in general, things will be a little less crowded/less expensive Jan. through March.

"Would love to see the big sights but also spend time getting to know each location and culture like a local". Trust us -- with just 3 to 5 days in any major city you won't get to know it or live like a local. You will be tourists -- so enjoy it

"Don't want to be with all the other Americans- we want the full European experience." See above - you will be (very) short term visitors so not sure what you expect but it won't be a full European experience - and there will be lots of American tourist no matter when you t=go. (and Chinese, and Canadian, and Australian, and etc)

What sorts of things do you want to see/do?

You’ll get lots of excellent advice from others, but I can’t resist posting this:

There are some good suggestions about how to begin planning on the thread a few below yours (first time out of the USA). I would read it for some initial tips on planning and how to count your days and nights.

Start looking at Google Flight prices and then also look at hotels.com or a similar site to get an idea of hotel prices in the places you want to visit.

Where we decide to visit is often dependent on where we find an inexpensive flight deal. We have a lot of places we want to see and aren’t too tied to caring when we visit. We’ve had a lot of March and November trips which have been fairly inexpensive.

It’s not too difficult to plan things on your own. I usually start by reading trip reports here and also
looking at sample itineraries here and on Rick Steves. That helps me determine what I might be interested in doing.

also, you can always go back! You don’t need to do everything on one trip. You can go back.

Howdy.

Kurieff beat me to it, as I was going to suggest reading the other thread. That poster is getting a lot of good advice for a first time traveler to Europe. But do disregard post #41 on that thread. :😀

Here is a link to the thread kureiff and P_M refers:

First trip out of USA, in May, two teen daughters. Any and All help much appreciated!

(right now it is just below your thread but that will change so just click on the link)

Congratulations on starting to plan your first European trip! Most of the responders on this form tend to plan our own trips but there is always the option of taking a group tour which takes away a lot of the need to choose and plan.

No matter what you decide (group tour or individual), I suggest checking out Rick Steves's travel books as he has lots of good advice for first timers.

Four locations in two weeks is a busy plan. Would those two weeks include your arrival and departure days? Spain and Italy are very hot in the summer so I would look at travel in the Spring or Fall. If you can, try to schedule flights into one city and out of another (known as open-jaw) so you don't have to waste time and money backtracking. If you do decide to go to London, that might be a good first stop as the language adjustment will be a bit easier. That being said, I think you'd be better off choosing just three locations to give yourselves more time to enjoy each place.

Since your priorities are Paris, Barcelona and Rome you could spend 5 nights in two locations and 4 nights in the third, if you actually have 14 nights in Europe. With a 14 night plan, I would schedule 5 nights in the first place you land to give you some time to get over jet lag and then decide how to allocate your other days depending on your priorities.

I hope these ramblings give you some ideas to get started!

For Rome and most of the rest of Italy low season is mid November until Mid December. Then again second week of December towards Easter.

Similar periods in most of Europe but you need to watch for events. Barcelona the mobile trade show tends to be in January and that can drive up hotels. There are other smaller shows.

But you're trading weather for lower prices. It might be better to bite the bullet pay more and come in May when the weather tends to be perfect.

One of the most important things to understand is to try and book multi-city flights, meaning fly into one city and out of another. This often doesn't make the flight any more expensive, and even if it's a bit more it's well worth not wasting time getting back to the original city. A good example of this for you would be fly into London, take the train to Paris, then fly on a euro airliner to Barcelona and then fly home from Barcelona .

Some will tell you to only do 2 cities in the time you have. But I'd say 3 is doable, even for 11 days. Don't only let the people who like to linger in a city define your trip. It depends on how YOU like to travel. You might want to do 2 cities and spend 5 days in each. We typically prefer to spend 2.5 to 3.5 days in a city and spend the half day to travel to the next city. We just like to travel that way. Just realize there are some here who have been to Europe 30 times and I think they've forgotten what their first trip was like...which was likely more hectic than the way they travel now. Once again...it's about how YOU want to experience Europe. For us the more the merrier, but I do understand that's not for all.

Have fun...trip planning is half the fun for me.

As Janis mentioned, in order for people to give the best advice, we need to know how many nights you actually have, not counting travel time to and from Europe. Sounds as though three places would be good for you, not four, especially since you want more than the top sites.

If you plan this yourself forsaking tour or cruise costs, you will likely be surprised how affordable 2 weeks in Europe is and will return, so no need to cram.

You will always be a tourist but if you spend a week someplace small, you will start to fit in. If you want that experience go for it.

Americans aren’t really that large of a percentage of the tourists you will run across.

Think about what you enjoy and if the savings to go in less than ideal weather is actually worth it. If you want Christmas markets or many museums and do not mind bundling up or find city streets at night in winter fun (sometimes we do), or want to go to a big winter festival, like Fastnacht in Switzerland, then do it. OTOH, If you picture sitting out late at night in warm weather in a plaza in Spain or a Square in France, having dinner under the stars or in the light of a sunset, music playing, water falling over the sides of fountains, etc., and the cost of flight tickets is more to have that experience, the extra cost is worth it. It depends on where you are going and what you want to do. Example: most cities are OK anytime and even lovely just before Christmas. However, if you want to visit Provence or the Amalfi Coast, go when the weather is good enough to be out and enjoy the scenery, the outdoor dining times and being on boats and ferries.

What do you like to do on holiday and what do you mean by culture?

If you like glam shopping, opera and fine dinning then our advice will be different to if you like chatting to people in markets, watching soccer matches, swimming in rivers and playing golf.

At this stage in your planning you may have to recognise that going to the top 4 destinations is a bit at odds with wanting to go where there are no other tourists. You have to choose what you want to see and do.

I could spend the next few pages telling you how to visit Barcelona football ground but if you prefer to just lie on the beach it would be a waste of both our lives. Welcome to Fodors and Europe.

Good for you that you have identified your three 'must-see' locations. Paris, Rome, Barcelona. Then figure out how many 'hotel room nights' you have. Try to eek out as many as possible. It's a long, expensive plane flight, so every night you can spend on the ground makes it all the more worth it. Buy tickets that fly into one city and out another so you don't waste time backtracking. 14 nights means you could spend 5,5,4 nights in each city.

If you can go any time of year, then May is your best chance for that sweet spot of nice weather, fewer tourists and lower prices.

Look for low-cost European airlines to go from city to city, and then book well in advance to get the lowest prices.

Spend some time in each place to 'stop and smell the roses.' You can do a self-guided walking tour in any of these cities to take a beak from the monuments packed with other tourists.

Two weeks including travel days between cities does not give you much time to see anything. Research Barcelona to asses whether it’s a must see. It’s a second tier city compared to Rome, Paris and London because it has less to offer.

Another option for you to consider is a Mediterranean cruise. These are port intensive so you spend full days at the ports and sleep on the ship while you travel from destination to destination. It can be a cost effective way to see the highlights if you research DIY tours. The cruise would not include Paris, but would visit a southern France port. Barcelona is a good embarkment port because the airport, cruise port and tourist section are just miles apart, so logistics will be easier.

Taking a polluting cruise in the international ambiance of a giant floating hotel.... where does that meet up with European culture?

If your goal is an authentic experience and culture, pick one location and immerse yourself. The top choice of your three would be Rome or even Florence as a base. Florence is more authentic and is central for easy day trips to Rome and Venice. Rome is really fantastic if you like history. I believe there’s a direct train to Pompeii once a week. Watch Mary Beard’s very entertaining BBC documentaries.

For a first trip abroad, landing in London as a first stop is less overwhelming. After your London visit you will be ready to tackle more places. We have traveled all over the world, and London still is at the top of my favorite places to visit.
You will return to Europe! Don’t visit too many places on your first trip. Less is more!

You are starting to get what I call random advice. First time travelers do best with simple logistics. My first trip to Europe occurred in the 1960's as a whirlwind 4 week "Grand Tour" package. Hotels, transport, sightseeing buses and guides and some meals all arranged. We saw the highlights of London, Belgium, Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Swiss countryside and a mountain, Nice, Venice, Florence, Rome Pompeii, and 15 minutes each in Austria and Germany. All I had to do was learn quick packing and sink laundering. Since then, I have been back to all of the places I said I would have to get back to.

If you are inexperienced in adjusting instantly to foreign cities, finding a way to a hotel, finding the site you want to see and arranging advance tickets, getting to and taking international transport, handle unexpected strikes and closures, etc. than go for a self guided vacation. I would instead recommend finding a tour package. I am sure you can find a 14 day London, Paris, and Rome arrangement. As has been said above, unless you are multilingual, staring in London would be the best, although anywhere you are likely to want to be will deal with English only speakers easily.

Get a few guidebooks, including Rick Steves, gather up some ideas, and let us help you fine tune it.