Allieckes

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Europe for about 9 days total. We are looking at flying into Munich and then traveling to Brussels with some day trips to Amsterdam and Paris, does anyone know if this is enough time?

Also, can you suggest any good hotels ( clean, quiet and centrally located to all sights) in all cities.

Michael

9 days is little time for Munich, Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris. Munich is worth a visit, has some great museums, interesting sights:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623111626965/

Brussels has also things of interest, particularly if one likes Art Nouveau architecture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622960216715/

and many would say that if in Brussels, you should not miss Bruges.

But if Amsterdam <b>or</b> Paris is on your must do list, go directly to one or the other and divide your time between Munich and the city you have chosen.

soogies

Whoa! In all kindness, you need to have a good look at a map. I know this is your first trip and you think you can do it all, but your locations are too far apart for 9 days. (Is that 9 days on the ground or do those include overseas travel?)

You really can't do a daytrip to Amsterdam from Brussels and have a good time. You'd spend a couple hours minimum each way traveling. Same with Brussels to Paris - probably 3 hours each way.

So just slow down a bit, look at some of the distances. Is there a reason you chose Munich to fly into? Maybe because of a good airfare? If so, then maybe explore the Munich area, Bavaria, maybe a trip into Salzburg, Austria. You could explore more of Germany with daytrips from Munich and get more out of it than trying to get to Brussels, Paris , etc.

Or, you could just fly open jaw. Into Munich and leave out of Paris, say. Spend 4 days or so in the Munich area and then head up to Paris and leave from there to go home. Just a thought.

I know you're excited but your itinerary seems undoable.

Allieckes

What about Munich and Venice is that doable??

Michael

Any two cities can be combined. Munich and Venice is a good choice. See if you can get an open jaw going to Munich and returning from Venice.

Allieckes

Thanks for the feedback, the reason we want to go to Munich is for Oktoberfest. If you can suggest other places to visit around Germany we would be happy to stay in one country for our whole trip if there is more to see. We know we can't see and do all in one trip, so we will be back.

soogies

Yes, I agree. Just choose two cities - fly into one, move on to the next and fly home from that one. Then you can choose to do a short day trip from each of these major cities. You will definitely have more quality time on the ground.

Check out www.whichbudget.com for cheapo airline information between countries in Europe - although I feel this website is not as helpful as I have found it in the past, you may get an idea of what airlines fly where.

Or, check out the German train website which is fabulous: www.bahn.de. I love it and use it to plan all over Europe, not just Germany.

soogies

Oh, I just saw Oktoberfest. I hope you are booking soon.

In that case, you could stay in the Munich area and do day trips to Fussen, Neuschwanstein for instance. Also, you could day trip to Salzburg, Austria although an overnight there or a few days in the Salzammergut near Salzburg (sp??) would be beautiful too. You could probably fly in and out of Munich in that case.

You could head up to Rothenburg ob der Taub as one or two nights. Or maybe 3-4 nights in Munich area with day trips mentioned and then head over to Mosel/Rhein area and see castles, rivers, wine - lovely country. You could then look to fly into Munich and out of Frankfurt if you don't want to back track to Munich.

There are many people here on FOdors with much more e xpereince than me in this area of Germany and I am sure they will chime in.

Allieckes

That all sounds really nice, thank you! Definite possibilities; still researching at this point to find the best possible travel itinerary for us but love your knowledge and feedback. THANKS!