Seeking second opinion on itinerary
 

Planning a round-the-world trip at the end of the year, and I want to do a corner of Europe. So far I'm planning to do:

7 days in Paris
3 days in Koln
5 days in Amsterdam
2 days in Brussels
7 days in London

This will be my first time in Europe so I really don't know much - wondering if the above plan is at all feasible. I don't really want to rush but that's pretty much all the time I have in Europe so if I should spend more time in one city, I'll have to spend less in another. I basically have a flight into Paris and a flight out of London and I don't want to go too far, so I'd like to stick to the abovementioned cities (The Grand Masterminds of the Internet/Google search said that to get to London from Amsterdam by train (is it cheaper by plane?) requires a transfer at Brussels so I figured I'd spend a couple of days there, but I can cut that out completely if those 2 days can be devoted somewhere else?)

I'm not really sure what I want to do yet, but I quite like just walking around the streets/people-watching/nice scenery. I'm not sure if museums/art galleries are my thing but I wouldn't mind going to at least a couple of the big ones in every city. I'm definitely not the shopping type. I like castles and cobblestone pathways... ... and I'd love to try local foods.

A couple of extra things; I'll be travelling alone at least some of the way... I'm 21, female, and I know these aren't dodgy places, but just want some confirmation that it's safe enough to do so.

Also, most of this is going to happen in the first half of December... how cold is 'cold', exactly? I can handle like single digit degrees celsius but I've been warned that it'll be a lot colder than that.

Oh and, one final thing - I'll work on my French before going but will English be okay for the other destinations or will I need to pick up some basic German/Dutch?

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I don't know what your background nor your cultural interests are, but as a european I must say I find your choice of destinations a trifle strange. Perhaps you care to tell what your interests are and how you put this scheme together.

Hi Baldrick,

It's a bit of a long story, but I guess I didn't get to choose any of it. Basically the cheapest way for me to get in and out of Europe - and I need a Europe stopover since it's a round-the-world ticket - is to go in to Paris and out of London, so those are kind of fixed. My real intention of going to Europe was to meet my friend, who lives in Koln. We're wanting to do something nearby, hence Amsterdam. And then Brussels since that's how the train ticket works from Amsterdam to London. So; Paris > Koln > Amsterdam > Brussels > London.

I think it all looks very doable. You can get cheap flights from Amsterdam to London, on amongst others Easyjet. There are websites which list cheap airlines. The earlier you book the cheaper it is (which is also true of the train btw).
You could also consider the train and overnight ferry from the Netherlands to London if you fancy something a bit different.

seat61.com Thalys train best way to do most of your route

regional trains will be cheapest and most flexible.

skyscanner.net will have cheap flights booked in advance

Personally prefer overland by train always see more.

dutchflyer.com great way to go over to LON might

adjust a bit to do that... eurocheapo.com great tips for

cities ricksteves.com backpackeurope.com also...

Have fun,

www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/rail-and-sail/holland/ - CachedSimilar
Rail and Sail to Holland with Stena Line's and the dutchflyer service, the rail and ferry service provides city-to-city travel from Britain to Holland

Hi D,

I would go Paris --> Brussels --> Koln --> Amsterdam.
You can then fly or train to London.

Do you have a particular interest in Koln?

I would fly into London (5 -6 nights), train to Paris (5-6 nights) then on to Brussels (3 nights with a daytrip to Bruges, Amsterdam (4 nights) and Berlin (4 nights) before going on.

Enjoy your visit to the world.

((I))

Thanks for all your help guys. Will be sure to check those links out. I do prefer train over plane - I don't think plane is any faster once you factor in all the check-in times and passport processing/clearing customs and whatever and I like the scenicness of it - so I think I'll dig around for train tickets/routes.

And @ira I'm meeting a friend there, but I can make it a shorter stop and check out Berlin if time permits.