Itinerary tips for first timers
 

Hi there,

My partner and I are in our early 30's and looking to travel to Europe for the first time next May/June for 5 weeks. We would love any input on our (very) rough itinerary, particularly re: if we should spend more/less time in some places or reduce the places we are visiting (and if so which ones)? Or whether we should reconsider different places all together! Any help or advice or tips would be wonderful.

Our first thoughts are :

Arrive London (5 nights)

Paris (5 nights)

Bruges/Ghent (3 nights)

Amsterdam (3 nights)

Budapest (5 nights)

Venice (3 nights)

Florence (4 nights) (day trips out to Pisa & Cinque Terre & maybe Siena if time permits)

Depart Rome (4 nights)

We would love to have Prague or Vienna in the mix but I just don't think we'll have enough time? Germany will also have to wait for another day I think.

All feedback, advice etc is completely appreciated! Thank you :)

Overall I think it looks like a good plan. You should really lay it out day by day so that you can see where your travel time fits in (allow at least half a day from one hotel to the next) unless they are in addition to the above.

Also remember that 5 nights in a city means 4 days of sightseeing - minus travel time from the previous place - so really more like 3.5 days.

If it were me I would do Prague instead of Budapest, although both are fascinating cities. And I would definitely take one day from Budapest and add it to Rome which has about 5 times as many things to see/do.

Overall, looks pretty realistic. But your time in each place could use some revising, I'd take a night from Budapest for Rome, and I'd take a night or two from Bruges and add it to one of the places that has so much to see like London, Paris, Rome.

Great feedback, thank you. I've revised the itinerary based on your suggestions. How does this look:

Arrive London (5 nights) (day trip out to Bath)

Paris (6 nights)

Bruges/Ghent (2 nights)

Amsterdam (3 nights)

Budapest or Prague (still to decide) (4 nights)

Venice (3 nights)

Florence (4 nights) (day trips out to Pisa & Cinque Terre & maybe Siena if time permits)

Depart Rome (5 nights)

I also wondered if 2 nights would be enough in Venice? And use that extra night in London?

my thoughts are this is a good use of 5 weeks, now you are just going to have to sping those plates and select how much time for each place.

If it were me I'd reduce Paris from 6 nights. It isn't as big as London (nothing in Europe is), Bruges/Ghent looks right, Venice you need a min of 2 nights but 3 is good. I think I might add a night to Florence and see more of Tuscany.

Vote for Budapest over Prague, just because I don't like the crowds.