One thing that would probably help with the budget would be to limit yourself to a city per week and then rent a flat...with two of you it could be a studio...but you would have kitchen facilities (and if you're lucky, a washer and dryer) and that could save you money.

Did I miss the meaning of "Med."?

Underhill:

I guess he means Mediterranean, but I opened it because I thought it meant Medieval (sp?). Oh well.

topping for soulseven... see http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34475066

...and your other posts.

Best wishes,

Rex

Where you go should relate to what interests you. If you like art, for example, Rome and Florence and Venice would suit you; if you like countryside and untouristy culture, you might avoid those places.

My general suggestions would be to plan to spend about a week in each area, and to take a whole day travelling between areas, preferably in a way that will let you see some scenery. Thus, I would prefer trains or boats to planes (or cars, since I have to do the driving while my wife watches the scenery).

The suggestion above to find apartments is good; you get more space, laundry facilities (often), and kitchen facilities, so you can save on food, even if you don't want to cook. You lose access to the concierge, but my experience is that the neighbors you will meet are a good substitute.

You should also consider what they call an open jaw flight, where you fly into one location, but return from another, which gives you more time to spend adventuring rather than travelling. On places like Expedia, they often call such flights multiple destination flights.

Also, be sure to allow time in your schedule for unplanned events. Everyone finds something they hadn't anticipated, and if you have space, you can explore that.

My suggestion for three weeks would be to fly into Greece, spend a week, then boat to Italy and spend a week in Rome, then train to Venice, spend a week there, and fly home from Venice, or vice versa. I know some places have a reputation of being expensive, but good planning can overcome that. We found Switzerland quite reasonable, but that was because we were away from the tourist areas. Venice can be reasonable with good planning, and it is such a unique place that I would not wish to have been in the area and to have missed it, but if your interest don't include history, art, architecture, and culture, you may wish to skip it.