2 Grad Students will be travelling to Europe this May/June for approx. 15 days. One is somewhat familiar with most of Europe, the other has not. The proposed Itinerary is:
Rome
Florence
Venice (Day trip from Florence)
Paris
London (Day trip from Paris on Chunnel)
Somewhere else in France

I don't think this is too ambitious, is it? Or should I be adding something, somewhere?
It is a tossup between spending more time in one location (which would be preferred), but also give one a better feel for what Europe has to offer by seeing more than 1 or 2 cities.
Any suggestions?

Too many places, too much time and money spend going from one place to another - rather than seeing/doing anything - and enjoying cafe-sitting, pub going and general relaxation/getting the feeling of the country.

In 15 days do 2 or 3 cities - no more - and really learn something about them - and have a chance to enjoy the culture and nightlife.

I agree -- you're wasting precious time and money spent in transit. This means cutting your evenings and/or mornings short because you're spending your time re-packing your stuff and checking out, and then checking in someplace else after spending 6 hours on a train or bus. These are the least pleasurable aspects of travel and it's usually best to minimize this.

Rome, Florence, Venice is doable in 15 days with reasonable train times.

London and Paris in 15 days makes sense although I'd cut London short if money is short. Traveling through France sounds great but usually requires renting a car which is quite expensive in Europe.

Have you considered Spain? Barcelona is gorgeous in May -- you get the city and the coastal area and there are very inexpensive but excellent dining and drinking options all over the city. Great art and architecture and a young (but not too young) vibe.

Agree. You should start subtracting.

I pretty much agree with the others that it's too much but I think if you just forget about the two day trips (too far a distance to be enjoyed as a day trip, in my opinion), you've got a plan. Don't book any hotels for your other place in France but decide on the spot whether you want to spend the time in Paris or not.

Not booking in May/June can be very risky.

It is incredibly ambitious. You can't do Venice as a day-trip from Florence. It's too far away.

I agree that you should keep the trip to mostly Italy. Maybe fly into Rome, stay there for 4 nights, rent a car for two days to drive northwards around Tuscany and stay at B&B's for two nights, drop the car off in Florence, spend three nights there, before taking the train to Venice for a couple of nights.

If you want to go elsewhere for the last couple of days, I'd suggest looking into a midweek flight on Ryanair to somewhere much further away. For example, there's a flight between Venice and Dublin for just 40 euros. That could be fun before flying home.

Hi I,

>It is a tossup between spending more time in one location (which would be preferred), but also give one a better feel for what Europe has to offer by seeing more...<

Common beginners mistake. It is not a toss up. Tours that hit only the highlights are tiring, stressful and ultimately disappointing.

You can do this if you limit yourself to 4 nights Rome, 2 nights Florence, 2 nights Venice, fly www.myair.com to Paris - 4 nights, 2 nights London, fly home.

However, with 15 days, I suggest that you will be much happier visiting any 2 of Paris, London, Rome, or Venice/Florence.

A daytrip to Venice is a poor way to see the town. You will find it crowded and unpleasant.

A daytrip to London from Paris is doable, but not recommended if you are also going to Italy.

Take a look at train schedules at www.bahn.de.

See www.whichbudget.com for cheap plane fares.

Consider that you lose at least 1/2 day each time you change venues.

Fly into one city and out the other.
See www.kayak.com.

Get your tickets stat.

Let us know what you decide.

We went to Italy and Nice for 15 nights last May. We flew into Rome and home from Nice:
Rome, 3 nights
Florence, 3 nights
Venice, 3 nights
Santa Margherita Ligure, 3 nights (on coast, near Cinque Terre)
Nice, 3 nights

This was a good plan, on the verge of being too many towns, but it worked fine for us.

You need to trim down your plan. Don't do the day-trips you've mentioned, as they would eat up so much time and money, and not be all that enjoyable, really.

Figure out your must-see cities, get your plane fare with an open-jaw ticket, then plan detailed itinerary from there.
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