First Time to Europe
 

Hi All - We turn fifty this year so planning our first trip to Europe. Have read and followed the posts and recommendations here.

Itinerary: June/early July:
London - 5 nights
>London - Paris - Eurostar
Paris - 5 nights
>Paris - Lausanne/Montreux - TGV
Montreux - 2 nights
>Montreux - Interlaken - Golden Pass
Interlaken - 2-3 nights
>Interlaken - Lucerne
Lucerne - 2-3 nights
>Lucerne - Lugano
Lugano - 2 nights
>Lugano - Venice - TGV/Trenitalia
Venice - 3 nights
>Venice - Florence - Trenitalia
Florence - 4 nights
>Florence - Rome - Trenitalia
Rome - 4 nights
>Rome - Fly-out

Will appreciate any thoughts and advice. Cheers!

I've been to some of the places you are going to and they are beautiful and I'm sure you will love them. I'm glad that you have allocated 5 nights to London and 5 to Paris and have allocated a good amount of time to the 4 cities in Italy that you have noted.

My only comment would be that you need to remember that each time you move cities you will lose at LEAST 1/2 day in checking out of the hotel, catching the train and then finding and checking into the next hotel. So, some of the 2 night stays in Switzerland might end up just being one day. Perhaps it would be better to drop one of those cities and add a bit more time to the others?

You have a reasonable number of nights for all places and it looks like a nice trip. I wouldn;t stay in both Interlaken and Lucerne since they are so close together and are very similar - sizable towns located in the valley. Instead of Interlaken I would spend a couple of nights in a much smaller town part way up the mountain in order to get a feel for the more rural areas of Switzerland.

Can't comment on Lugano - since I only passed through - or rather around. But definitely make sure you get some time up in the mountains - not just cities in Switzerland.

Thanks cathies and nytraveler.

I have factored in the whole day for travel, so should work out. We could consider going from Montreux to Lauterbrunnen. This will be closer to Jungfrau. We can then go to Lucerne. I have booked the in & out flights and the London-Paris Eurostar. The rest remains flexible at present.

Yes, it may be sensible to drop one of the shorter stay places in Switzerland. We are giving the larger cities in Switzerland a miss to see more of the mountains and lakes. A friend visited Lugano and found it to be a beautiful small town. I will have a closer look at the itinerary. Kind regards.

Nice plan well crafted tonnes of fun have done it a lot.

couple of nice sites for you

www.betterbidding.com

pick up awsome 4 5 * city hotel values bidding priceline

www.eurocheapo.com

www.ricksteves.com

www.insuremytrip.com always wise...

Have fun,

www.seat61.com

best training site find it cheaper better

to hop on like a local stay flexible

for best travel experience.

The CisAlpino is a wonderful train a pendolino

that takes you all the way down to www.venice-tourism.com

www.sirmione.com Hotel Eden makes a wonderful stop at Garda

Hi qwovadis, thanks for the links. I will have a look at them.

I have used www.seat61.com and advice on this forum to plan the trip. Now have to book hotels. Betterbidding seems interesting!

Any thoughts on local city tours? Any tours that I should book ahead?

Kind regards.

for the switzerland-part, i would cut the days in lucerne and interlaken into one stay of 4 days in lucerne (and take the train to make a 1day-trip to interlaken.. there is way more to see in and around lucerne, and its a realy realy nice train ride..) in lucerne you can go up the titlis/pilatus and catch some fresh mountain air with a short-stay with the additional days up in engelberg...

dunno realy about the lugano part... i think Bern is a lot more interessting than lugano.. on the other hand, Lugano is right next to a lake and if you catch some good weather, it can be very nice next to the water..

Generally, switzerland has one of the best public transport systems.. you can get everywhere with trains and busses within resonable time and basically every track offers great views.. so you might think about reducing the places to stay within switzerland to two, and travel by train to the other places... its realy a question of willingness to travel by train and the budget to cover the costs..

i forgot:
for every connection within the whole of the public transport system you can check:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm

Thanks travelzomg, the reason to stay in Interlaken (and maybe further up) was to go up the Jungfrau. Advice on forums has been that staying closer allows an earlier start. But I will review this part.

Lugano was a stop on the way to Venice. Maybe we can travel from Lucerne to Venice direct. We can add one night to Lucerne and another to Venice. Kind regards.

Hi aspar,
Things not to miss:

Riding the London Eye. Fabulous views from the top.

Strolling along the Seine after dark while eating gelato and listening to the musicians. Magical.

A night time cruise on the Seine to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up.

A vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal after dark when all the buildings are lit up. Truly a magical evening.

Wandering around the back alleys of Venice.

About Switzerland:
We absolutely loved the Berner Oberland. We stayed in Lauterbrunnen for 8 days. There is a ton to keep you busy up there. You can catch the train up to the Jungfrau and stroll around up there. It's beautiful. It's about a 2 hr ride one way from Lauterbrunnen to the Jungfrau.

Another day you can catch the cable car from Wengen up to Mannlichen and then take the leisurely hike around to Kleine Scheidegg. From there you can take the train back down through either Wengen or Grindelwald and then back to Lauterbrunnen.

Happy planning. It looks like a great trip.

Of all of your cities I'd drop Lugano.. It was just OK compared to your other Switzerland choices.

Montreux and Lucerne were stunning, Interlaken, a bit busy, but going from there to Lauderbrunnen and up to Piz Gloria was something that stays in my memory.

And as for Paris----I'm one of those annoying people that can't stop talking about Paris. Even after 7 trips, I can't wait to go back.

You're at the right age to start Europe----our daugther says that she graduated from college and we got our passports, and we haven't stopped since.

What time of year are you going? And BTW, you chose the right site for all the best info.

Hi michele_d and TPAYT - thanks for the suggestions. Things 'to do' are what we are looking forward to doing, so should be enjoyable. I will look at staying in Lauterbrunnen instead of Interlaken. Then carry on to Lucerne.

Have decided to miss Lugano. Will take the train from Lucerne to Venice.

We travel from early June to early July. This forum has been brilliant. The advice and links here helped shape the initial itinerary. And with 'personalized' guidance, I am refining it! :-) Kind regards.

Need some more advice. What local tours need to absolutely be pre-booked in - London, Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome?

These are tours which have to essentially be booked ahead, before arriving in each country. Kind regards.