suggestions for itinerary 34 days in europe
 

My husband and i will be travelling to UK and Europe for 47 days (22april to 8 June) We will fly into London and spend the first 9 days in London staying with family...after that we will be flying with family to Barcelona to spend 4 days. From that point everything is undecided! My problem is my hubby would like this to be a bit of a touring holiday but car hire is expensive when starting and finishing in different countries. Car leasing is an option but we would have to have the car for min 21 days and I dont want to have the car when visiting major cities. We leave Barcelona on the 5th May..and need to fly back to Australia around 8 June from whereever we end up! I was thinking of flying to Paris from Barcelona and spending 3 days there..then perhaps to Provence region in France (maybe staying Uzes) for 5 days, hiring a car whilst we are there. I would like to visit friends in Lausanne, drive across the Simplon pass into Italy, see Lake Como area, definately want to visit Rome (4/5 days) and also Venice. In between I need suggestions. I travelled thru Europe back in 1990 on eurail pass but my husband has never been before. Any suggestions on an itinerary and the best way fro us to get around would be appreciated. We were thinking of maybe looking into staying at apartments (airbnb?) if we stay in any location longer than a couple of nights. Want to see beautiful scenery, historic towns/castles, markets, and Paris, Rome, and Venice. Any help in figuring out an itinerary would be appreciated.

What is your departure city?

The preferred manner of travel now between Barcelona and Paris is the new fast train--6.5 hours.
You could turn the rental car in Nice and catch the train into Italy from there.
Have a great trip!

flights havent been booked yet so departure city open to suggestion at the moment

Depending on your return flight (I would look at Paris, Rome or Milan for cheaper flights), you could take a train from Barcelona and pick up a car after you cross the boarder into France. Tour southern France by car for a few days or a week, drop the car somewhere (Nice?) with convenient train to Paris. Spend a few days in Paris and take Easy Jet from Paris Orly to either Venice or Rome. You could rent a car for a few days to tour the lakes region and use trains the rest of the time in Italy (car is useless for many Italian cities).