Yes, I agree with that advice, especially in Switzerland. But I greatly prefer Spiez to Interlaken (20 minutes apart).

It also might be that one could save a lot of money staying just outside Amsterdam (another country with a good rail system).

I don't think it works well for Rome, however. One really must be in the city. Paris, too, although staying someplace unfashionable like La Defense might help the budget.

Thanks for all the advice guys. After talking it over for a bit we have decided to cut out Athens and Zurich. Leaving us with just Paris, Rome, Berlin, and Amsterdam. Our flight to and from Paris is booked because we got an excellent deal from Air Canada for the round trip tickets. We also have now booked tickets taking us from Paris to Rome, and then Rome to Berlin. Unfortunately we are having some difficulty finding flights going from Berlin to Amsterdam, and the Amsterdam to France. So we may have to take the train for those legs of the trip. By slowing it down a bit we can hopefully spend some time exploring the big cities and then check out some of the surrounding areas as well. We are purposely skipping London because we have both seen it before, and as much as we'd love to go back there we would rather experience something new.

Spending a week per city does sound fairly appealing and a bit less rushed. We were just stuck in the initial mindset that we wanted to try and see as much as possible. But with the schedule we were planning it seems like our brains may have imploded. Also we might luck out in Amsterdam I have some family there who we might be able to stay with for a bit, which would help bring down costs significantly.

This all being said now, what are the things we should try not to miss in these cities? We have been going through the various tourist sites and looking around, but it is always good to get a honest opinion from people.

In Amsterdam, don't fail to take a canal tour on a boat. I HATE tours, and avoid them like the plague, but this one is the only way to see how beautiful and varied Amsterdam is. It's a very different view from the water. You can put your fingers in your ears if you don't want to listen to the pre-recorded explanatory talk, but you'll want to look. A very sophisticated friend of mine talked me into going, and I'm glad I agreed.

If you are in Rome for a week, don't fail to go to Trastevere to see the church of Santa Maria and enjoy the neighborhood, and do not fail to visit Porta d'Ottavia at night. There are restaurants in that area too that serve the Roman specialty of fried artichokes, which is another reason to go.

In Paris, do not fail to see St. Denis and to take the Batobus. You should also see Ste. Chappelle.

I've never been to Berlin, but I hope to by the end of the year.

Cool thanks. We are looking around at various hotels seeing where to stay, and then plan what to do! I don't know if it has sunk in that I'ma ctually doing this yet. Either way it is really cool.

So far in Paris I really want to see the Pere Lachaise cemetary, and try and see at least some of the Louvre. For Berlin I've heard it has one of the biggest zoo's int he world so I would like to check that out. We will definatly look into that canal tour in Amsterdam, we'll try and sit as far from a speaker as possible.

I like zoos, and we went to the Berlin one, but I didn't think it was particularly large, special, or had anything very unique.

Oh... Well thats not very good news. From the information I found online it has the largest collection of animals in the world.

Paris has a nice little zoo, it is well worth a stop. Still not sure about the Berlin portion (?). If I were to get on a plane for that type of distance I would go to Prague instead. If you are going to Rome, it would be a shame to skip Florence (which I would prefer over Rome anyway). Amsterdam can be done in a short period of time as well.

Easyjet flies Berlin-Schoenefeld to Maastricht which is under 3 hours from Amsterdam by train. You might want to rent a car for one-way drop-off and take a day or two across the countryside to get to Amsterdam - it's about time you get outside of the big cities on this trip, and this would be an opportunity. If you book right now, you might get in very cheaply on Easyjet.

www.transavia.com and Air Berlin fly to Amsterdam - did you check them out?

WK

I, too, wonder why Berlin? As far as my opinion it certainly isn't the best of Germany.

Around Europe?

Hi nessundorma
>Posts crossed, ira. My remarks were in response to bob.<

I realized that. No offense taken.

Hi K,

>...difficulty finding flights going ... Amsterdam to France.<

I think that the train from Amsterdam to Paris is more convenient than flying.

See www.voyages-sncf.com

hey, much better plan! It's great fun to see things like this take shape.

For the two legs you are missing are there overnight trains available? I think your mostly flying works well, but a train ride or two might make for a nice change of pace. Traveling by train in Europe is big fun, imo.

With a week in each city, I would not stress terribly about pre-planning activities. All I ever do ahead is plane tickets and hotel reservations.

For the rest... you can read a guidebook on the plane/train ride, pick up free information at the local tourist bureaus or from your hotel lobby, buy a weekly entertainment guide for the city for up-to-date events. I know many folks here plan down to the minute but it isn't necessary for a successful trip.

I definitely agree that planning down to the minute is not necessary, although for some of us, it makes us rather more comfortable (although having a week in each place helps slow the pace down and be more spontaneous, take a day or so to relax, etc.).

At a glance it looks like the high speed train from Amsterdam to Paris is only a 4 hour trip with frequent availability.

Berlin to Amsterdam 6-7 hours. If an overnight train is available that route, I really think that's a fun thing to do ONCE during a trip (it's a bit of an adventure I wouldn't want to do it too often).