Mark62

My wife, daughter (14) and I will be traveling to Europe this Christmas 2006. We would like to visit Prague, Munich, Alps, Paris and Amsterdam. We have 13 days and will probably fly into Prague and out of Amsterdam.

Any suggestions on the itinerary? Best way to travel between cities? Best city to be in for Christmas, New Years? Is this itinerary going to require a break neck speed? If you would cancel one leg, which would it be?

Thanks

nessundorma

Five destinations in 13 days during winter is brutal.

I don't know why you've chosen these destinations, so it is difficult to suggest what to cut. I will point out that the Alps will be mobbed with vacationing skiers during Xmas week, and that Amsterdam has extremely short daylight hours (and most likely wind-whipped rain).

janisj

Have you been to Europe before. This is a really REALLY ambitious itinerary. It would be hard in the summer, but in winter -- nessundorma picked the right word -- brutal.

Does your 13 days include your travel time to/from Europe?. If so it will only net 11 days "on the ground" in Europe. Then you have to deduct 1/2 to 1 full day every time you move from one city to the next. Then deduct a bit more for weather delays in December and you are looking at barely 8 or 9 days for 5 locations.

In winter - especially over the holidays, you will be <u>much</u> better off limiting yourselves to 2 cities w/ maybe one short side trip. 3 days in Prague, a couple of days in Munich and a week in Paris is a good starting plan . . . . .

ira

Hi M,

I agree.

Viajero2

I guess by the fourth post you may have been made quite aware that you need to scratch that itinerary and start again. All cities listed are wonderful and don't blame you to want to get to them, but certainly not a sound idea if you only have 13 days in Christmastime. This trip will be cheaper and more enjoyable.

I suggest to fly in/out of Munich, train to Prague. While in Munich, explore the possibility of using train travel to visit WONDERFUL German cities with Christmas markets (Nuremberg), ski (Garmish; all ages, athletic crowd). Even a visit to Innsbruck should be easy to do.

nytraveler

Agreed - way too ambitious. Esp given that bad weather can slow down all types of travel at that time of year - and if you're actually trying to do somethig Christmas or New Years Day - these are generally family holidays with few places/restaurants operating.

jbtan

Way, way too ambitious. I was in Prague for 7 days and still didn't get to see everything. This is a great city for walking around as it has a lot to offer; but then again maybe not in winter. Still I would suggest cutting down your itinerary to just two or at most three cities. No point zipping through the places and have problems remembering where you have been six months down the road because it's all in a blur. But then again, it's a matter of preference. I personally prefer staying put in a place for a while so that I can sample lots of local cuisine, at least learn about 50 conversational phrases and just wander about.

Mark62

Thanks for all of the good input.
Based on the unanimous feedback we've scaled back and decided on 1/2 cold 1/2 warm weather locations. Here is the latest itinerary: Fly to Munich, stay thru Christmas eve, take train from Munich thru the Alps on Christmas day to Venice Italy. Stay in Venice for a day and fly to Spain for 5 days. Fly home. We've never been to Spain so any suggestions on great places to visit while in Spain would be welcome.

Does this itinerary sound more realistic? Thanks

ira

Hi M,

&gt;Stay in Venice for a day .....&lt;

Please make that 2 nights. Better yet, skip Spain.

See http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/venice/re_christmas.htm

kleeblatt

Don't do Venice in a day. You won't like it. Venice needs to grow on you before you can appreciate it.

Do three days Venice and three days Barcelona.

Remember, it can be very cold in those places too.

nessundorma

Spain is a fantastic destination and certainly the better bet for warmer weather. If warm weather is what you are after, I would suggest heading for Sevilla and the general area of Andalucia.

As for Venice, it may be mild winter weather or it could be snowing. Whichever, it will certainly be damp and chilled, and more than likely overcast. I would also recommend two nights in Venice -- or skipping it entirely.

Check out cheap air fairs for points past Munich. Train rides can be long and uninteresting if it is snowing outside.

nessundorma

PS: I have spent Christmas eve and Christmas Day in Venice and everything but the churches is shut up tight. On Chirstmas day it is very hard to find an open restaurant. Boats run on a very limited schedule. The upside is seeing Venice when it is almost deserted, but that may not mean all that much in the context of your trip.

nessundorma

PS: I forgot to add that the day after Christmas is San Stefano's day, which is a uniquely important holiday in Venice, and even many churches will be closed most of the day, as will all museums and most restaurants.

You might want to reconsider where you put Venice into your trip (after Spain? Before Munich?) or skip it in favor of Paris.

born2wonder

OK Mark,

Since you have already blown away Paris, Prague, and Amsterdam, I will suggest a new route.

1. Fly into Munich, stay four nights. Take a day trip to Garmisch, and a day trip to Nuremberg. That gives you a day in the Alps, and a day in the best Christmas market in the world. Hang around the Viktualien market in Munich and eat great food.

2. Take the train to Vienna. Stay three nights. Eat chocolate. Go shopping. See great monuments.

3. Take the train to Venice. Stay two nights. Rest up while eating pizza, and pasta. Pretend you are Italian. Relax, there is a reason this is Venice.

4. Take the train to Rome. Do as the Romans do. Stay three nights. That makes 13 days and 12 nights of splendor.

5. Go home a happy family.

nytraveler

Well - parts of Spain - the Southern Coast - will be warmer than central europe - but still coolish - definitely not swimming weather. And Madrid and northern Spain can be quite cold - including snow.

So unless you have some real love for Spain I wouldn;t bother going all that way - but would stay a couple days in Venice and come back via Forence/Milan.

janisj

Spain seems to be an odd add-on to Munich/Venice. Plus nowhere in Europe is a &quot;warm weather location&quot; in Dec.

Also - arriving in ANY European City on Christmas day is pretty iffy. So much is closed, reduced or non-existant public transport, bad weather, etc.

So what is it you actually want - warm weather? - then book somewhere other than Europe.

A European Christmas? Then stick to a couple of countries Like Munich/Bavaria through a day or so after Christmas, and then a few days in Venice and/or Rome.