jmd1018

My husband and I (late twenties) are planning around a 3 week trip to Europe. I've been to Scotland and London before, but none of the other countries/cities we are going to. I have researched the trip a lot, but am unsure of the best route to go to all these different places and if there are any additional places that would make sense to include on the trip. When we go on trips, we are usually pretty fast paced and don't mind walking a lot. We know we won't be able to see everything, but we hope to see as much as we can. One place we have been contemplating is Amsterdam, but we are unsure if it would make sense to include or not. Any advice on what cities to fly into and out of and trains from/to where would be helpful! Thanks!

London: 4 days(including 1 day to Bath)
Paris: 5 days
Rome: 3 days
Florence: 2 days
Venice: 2-3 days

annhig

hi jmd,

welcome to Fodors!

so far you have 5 places in 21 days, which is getting on for the optimum number, IMO, though you might squeeze in one or two more, if you really want to, though there are plenty of opportunities for day trips from all of the places you've mentioned, if you [unlikely] ran out of things to see.

assuming you are coming from the US, conventional wisdom is to fly back home from Rome rather than Venice as flight to the US from Venice tend to be very early in the morning, that would give you this:

London - eurostar to Paris - train/plane to Venice - train to Florence - train to Rome.

if you added in Amsterdam, you could get the train there from Paris, and fly to Venice as before.

BTW it helps if you count nights - it tends to be more accurate. if you do that, you'll find that actually you don't have much time left for Amsterdam!

how about this? [gives you 21 nights]

London: 5 nights ( = 4 days including 1 day to Bath)
Paris: 5 nights [=4 days]
Venice: 4 nights [=3 days]
Florence: 3 nights [=2 days]
Rome: 4 nights [=3 days]

remember you lose at least 1/2 a day every time you move from one place to another.

jent103

I think annhig's got it right - personally I would absolutely fly to Venice from Paris or Amsterdam, but either way the geography makes sense. I tend to move at a pretty fast clip too, but I think you could easily add a day each to London and Rome. Three full days in each isn't bad, so if you're committed to all five cities I think you'll be all right, but it's something to think about.

annhig mentioned the timing of flights from Venice back to the US (if indeed that's where you're coming from) - many of them are ridiculously early, but when I was looking last year I found at least one flight out at 11am or something like that. Who knows what the schedules are like now, but it's worth looking at several different itineraries on Kayak or similar, and see if you get substantial savings with decent schedules anywhere.

jmd1018

Great! Thanks for the advice so far! Yes we are coming from the United States and this trip is going to be next August. That's the only time that works for both of us.

vespacurves

Without knowing what dates you are traveling, it is harder to advise. There is a big weather difference between some of these places, for example. Or -- to take another example -- if you a traveling over Christmas, London closes down tighter than Paris does.

Also, without knowing what you really most like to do, hard to advise whether Amsterdam might be more fun than Florence for you. Really depends on your appetite for Italian Renaissance art, because you will be seeing plenty in Rome. It could be fun to include Amsterdam to compare with Venice as two of the world's great canal cities, and if shopping is something you enjoy, Amsterdam is a blast.

If you are going in Fall, I would start in London and end in Rome to maximize chances of nice weather throughout. If you are going in spring, go the other way. In winter, I'm not sure what I'd do. Depend on if Christmas was in the mix (and I wouldn't go to Amsterdam in winter). If going in summer, I'd think twice about Florence.

Mimar

If you're arriving in London after an overnight flight, you'll probably be jet-lagged and sleepy the first day or two. London is a good place to start your trip because there is lots to do at all hours of the day and night. But take the jet-lag into consideration when allotting days to London. You won't be as efficient sight-seers until you get over it.

Judy

Check with your airline, though, regarding flights from Venice. We always had early flights out of Venice but, two years ago, had a Delta flight leaving around noon.

jmd1018

Thanks for all the advice! We aren't greatly into art, we are mainly interested in seeing the famous works. We would probably choose a beautifully painted chapel over going to an art museum unless it had a lot of the famous works to see. In regards to most sights we want to see the big things. I am rethinking Florence a little after I just looked at the forecast now and it's in the 100s! The trip will begin the beginning of August next year. It seems like in Italy things may not be as busy during this time, but in London and Paris it will be very crowded. Am I right in thinking this?

mamcalice

It will be very crowded in Italy and hot. But don't let that stop you. I wouldn't miss Florence for the world. You're going in August, you have to expect heat.

If you want to visit a beautifully painted chapel consider the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence where there is a small chapep with beautiful fresco of the Adoration of the Magi.

And try to see the Museo San Marco right across from the Accademia in Florence, a cloister containing Fra Angelico frescos. Beautiful but open only in the morning.

vespacurves

It will quite crowded in Florence, and around the famous sights of Rome. Paris can feel wonderfully empty in August away from the most famous tourist sights. London is always busy, but crowds tend not to all pile into the same spot all at once, except maybe a few set tourist pieces (like the changing of the guard, the London Eye, Ceremony of the Keys). Venice is heaving with tourists in August, but nighttime thins them out a bit.

I mainly travel for art and architecture, and I would definitely skip Florence in August, especially since you are not avid museum goers. Many of the museums and chapels are not air conditioned, and most are more crowded than is comfortable in August. If you end up going anyway and want to see famous works, book in advance where you can. Otherwise, lines are long.

jent103

Florence is my least favorite of the cities on your original itinerary (I haven't yet made it to Amsterdam), though of course that's an entirely personal opinion. You've already stated that you're not a huge museum person; if you're pretty averse to crowds too (I am), I'd probably skip it and add the time somewhere else. However, one option could be to stop in Florence for the day on your way between Venice and Rome, or to do it as a (long) day trip from Rome. For option #2, you could leave it till you get there to decide.

Venice will be crowded around Piazza San Marco and the Rialto, but if you wander a bit further afield it's much more sane and more beautiful to boot. Rome is going to be crowded and hot. It's a given. It took me a couple of days to get used to it and to get my bearings, but once I did, I really loved it. There is SO much history and beauty there. Just plan ahead - take a refillable water bottle, incorporate some rest and gelato time in the afternoons. If it fits in your budget, you might look into a nighttime tour of the Vatican Museums rather than going in the day with everyone else. That kind of thing. One good thing about you planning so far ahead is that you have ample opportunity to find accommodations with air conditioning - that isn't as common in Europe as in the States. (I wouldn't worry too much about crowds in London and Paris. They're big cities, so there will always be people, but they don't tend to cluster quite as much as in Rome or Venice, I don't think. London has a ton of green space in the city center as well, which helps a lot.)

Delaine

We flew to the U.S. from Venice at the beginning of September last year on Delta, and the flight left around 1:00 p.m.