Paris/Tours/Amsterdam/Berlin/Prague - advice? :)
 

Hi everyone,

I am going to Europe with my boyfriend in October 2016. I am really just looking for some advice on our itinerary/whether the time we have allotted to each city is enough etc. Your input and help would be soooo appreciated. My bf has never been to Europe, and i have only been to France/England/Scotland.

We have a total of 25 days that we can take off work, and considering the travel time to and from New Zealand this leaves us with 21 nights we can spend in Europe.

Our ideal itinerary is below:

Paris, France - 5 nights
Loire Valley (Tours), France - 3 nights
Amsterdam, Netherlands - 4 nights
Berlin, Germany - 5 nights
Prague, Czech Republic - 4 nights

Is this enough time to spend in each city? We do not mind fast travel, as we will be 23/24 when we leave for Europe. We want to have enough time to enjoy the major sites in each city, as well as soaking up the atmosphere (people watching at a cafe in Paris, going on a bike ride between the towns in the Loire Valley, going to a local gig in Berlin, wandering the streets of Prague etc)

I understand that there are so many itineraries posted on this forum asking for advice, so any help you can give me would be amazing :)

Looks good to me.
Maybe Loire is a little bit too short, depends what you want to see/how many castles.
Mvg.

Hi Whathello,

The main castle i want to visit in the Loire Valley is Chenonceau. I was thinking of spending one of our full days visiting Chenconceau and maybe one other castle, and then spend the other full day biking between the towns and exploring :)

Amboise is a much nicer base for biking to Chenonceau than Tours, a fairly big city - Amboise is a neat smaller town and has a nice youth hostel overlooking the Amboise chateau and the Loire river. Rent a bike and bike the fairly short distance to Chenonceau.

Tours is a nice town with a large university so it may have more nightlife for younger folk but Amboise is so so much more romantic.

October weather however can be very funky for biking - wet and windy at times or it may be just nice - never can tell. You can also take mini-bus tours from Amboise and Tours that take you to 2-3 castles and you tour on your own.

For lots of info about trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. As you are under 26 look at the Eurail Select Youthpass valid in France, Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), Germany and the Czech Republic.

Chenonceau can also be an easy enough day trip by train from Paris -again the weather could be grim and for Kiwis that may be cooler than you like in northern Europe - not ideal for biking. Amsterdam is a biking mecca - rent a bike and do a day trip - if weather is nice - to the countryside or around town.

We were in Europe last October, in Prague October 6-9, Dresden October 10 and Berlin October 11-15. When we got to Prague it was sunny and it was great that we went on the river cruise that day. The next days were overcast and rainy. In Berlin it really turned cold and rainy. Our long underwear really saved us. Be sure to take shoes that can handle the rain too. If you like history, museums and such, I highly recommend you make a stop in Dresden and see The Green Vault. It has the most fabulous collection of treasures you will see anywhere!

Forget Tours, congested little city that lacks charm.

Stay in Amboise.

Agree to select someplace other than Tours. If I were you I would rent a car for the Loire - makes it much more enjoyable and easy to get from place to place - since most of the chateaux are in the deep countryside - and stay in one of the private chateaux - rather than a regular hotel.

Sorry - I think your overall itinerary is fine given your interests. My only question is when you will arrive in Paris. If it's late in the day and you really have only 4 days in Paris I would switch 1 day from Amsterdam to Paris, esp since you are likely to be jet lagged.

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your advice regarding Tours/Amboise. We have decided to book accommodation in Amboise instead, it is much more romantic :)

We will be arriving in Paris at around 1:30pm, so will definitely consider taking a day from amsterdam and adding it to paris!

Thanks so much!