jose

I have 20 days to spend in dec/jan in Europe. I know many of you would concentrate in one country but I would rather go to a few and get a feel of the different places. I am still in the very beginning stages of planning but I would like it to include london, venice and somewhere in switzerland. I am not a paris lover.

singapore

Jose,<BR> You will get many pro's and cons in this forum. I seem to like quantity more than quality. I love travelling by trains and car so i donot mind the going from place to place. In 20 days you can do Switzerland( Lucerne, zurich, interlaken and geneva)and Italy (venice, florence, rome)

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Consider a simple rule. First, take the number of days you have in Europe and divide by 3--that gives you the max # of destinations you should try to visit.<BR>Then, make sure that the travel time from one to the next is no more than 4 hours. So, why London?

Susan

Bob, with a cheap flight on Easy Jet from London to Geneva, that segment is easily less than your four hour limit.

Rex

This actually is a workable trio - - even by Bob's criteria. London (Stansted) to Venice (Treviso) on www.ryanair.com is cheap, and only about two hours.<BR><BR>Likewise, London to Geneva is cheap and quick on Easyjet.com - - not that Geneva would be a favorite place I would ordinarily suggest to anyone without a very good and specific reason to go there. But other parts of Switzerland are within easy reach.<BR><BR>You might look into air fares that take you into Geneva - - then fly to London - - then fly to Venice, and back home from there. If you do allocate the 20 days equally, then I would recommend that you consider subdividing the 6 for Italy into some IN Venice - - and some outside, either in other parts of the Veneto, or in Tuscany, or in some of the other accessible parts of northern or central Italy. And I am sure that you will want to give some thought on where to spend six days in Switzerland.<BR><BR>There are some cheap fares on www.affordablepoland.com (not just for Poland) and I think they have a consolidators' contract with Swiss.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Kay

You can easily tack a few days in London onto the beginning or end of a trip that focuses on Switzerland and northern Italy. That sounds very reasonable to me. Take a look at http://www.flybudget.com (click on &quot;Europe&quot; in the main frame) for details of which budget airline flies to/from from various airports in London (and throughout Europe), and links to the airlines' own sites.

rising

up up up<BR>

John H

Jose,<BR><BR>Like most others here, I usually like to spend 3 days in one place, if I can. And, while I have done several 4-hour transits between siteies, doing maximum 2-3 hour drives/flights is better. Otherwise, with stops for lunch and perhaps one sightseeing stop, you really do lose a whole day.<BR><BR>That said, I think your itinerary is doable with cheap flights and ideally an open jaw international flight (in to London, out of Geneva or Milan or Venice).<BR><BR>Happy travels.<BR><BR>John H

joe green

Does London typically get snow in January?<BR>

Linda

I would aim to spend at least 2 nights at most stops, with 3 nights in big cities like Rome. If you're only spending one night at a place, you're traveling in on the first day and leaving the next, leaving you with (at most) a late afternoon and evening and perhaps early morning in the place--hardly enough time to see anything. Plus, those 20-countries-in-20-days things will simply wear you out--you'll be too exhausted to enjoy anything. Leave enough time to simply sit at a cafe and soak up the atmosphere for a couple of hours and decompress.