touring europe for a month, need help!
 

hi, we're planning to tour europe for a month in june '06. i got responses from my previous post that our itinerary seems exhausting due to the numerous countries/cities we wanted to see so i think it would be wise to eliminate some of them but before doing so, can anyone tell me if we would be missing a great deal if we don't visit the following (or maybe take them off my list of must see's due to time constraint):

budapest
vienna
nice
cannes
monaco
spain

thanks!

Hello edb,

You will have a great time, enough said! Suggestions: What are you interested in? Museums, churches, soccer pitches, malls and so on. Try the book store and buy a guide book that covers the area of Europe you plan to visit. Next buy a large scale map of that area and then sit home with your crew and plot the proposed journey. Europe can be travelled by plane, train, bus, tour bus, rental car and hired car and driver. Search will provide more information than you can process!

Well, it would help if you told us what places you ARE planning to visit..ahrd to say if these listed should be deleted or not when we don't know where you are planning to go.

Do you honestly think that the itinerary is "too exhausting" because someone ELSE thinks so or have you in fact agreed based on your OWN needs and stamina?

Nice, Cannes and Monaco are pretty close together. You could base yourself in one place on the Cote d'Azur for several days and travel around the area on day trips.

Hi edb,

IIRC, your original expedition was
1st stop: amsterdam 2 days
paris 3 days
spain 7 days (madrid, barcelona)
monaco 4 days (monte carlo, nice, cannes)
italy 6 days (florence, venice, rome)
budapest 1-2 days
vienna 1 day
prague 4 days

amsterdam
paris
italy (florence, venice, rome)
prague

Prague is still an outlier. If you drop it, you will still be visiting 5 cities in 30 days, which isn't exactly slow travel.

Will you be missing "a great deal" by not going to the places you have listed? Yes.

That's why you have to go to Europe more than once.

Are you still planning only 3-5 days in Paris?

((I))

edb: it is obvious the responses to your original thread have caused you to think more aboout what is possible.

But whether you delete these place or not you are still trying to cram a lot in a relatively short trip. Now, I know a month sounds like a looooooong time. But it really isn't for what you want to cover.

Consider -- from Amsterdam in the north to Rome in the south, Spain to the west and Prague/Budapest to the east. That is a huge, HUGE area.

w/ 4 weeks/one month -- if it were me -- I would consider at most 3 countries. Two would be better and one would not be out of the question.

What are the most important places/cities you want to visit? For instance An itinerary of Italy/France would be great -- but if Spain is a <b>must</b>, then France/Spain or Spain/Italy would be better.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I suggest use a map &amp; figure out places nearer to each other and/or with convenient air connections.

For one month I would pick 4-5 destinations (specific cities or regions, not entire countries).

I think it will all be a blur by the time you're finished. (Now, where was that cathedral with the black and white stonework?) A whole month?! What a dream! While I'm fantasizing, here's what I would do (assuming this is your 1st trip to Europe):

France:
Paris, 5 days
(w/car)Provence, South of France 7 days

Rome, 5 days
(w/car) Tuscany, 6 days
Lake Maggiore, 3 days
Venice, 3 days

I could die happy after that trip!

Hi edb, We just returned from almost a month in Europe and covered a lot of ground (Spain, Madrid and Sevilla 7 days, Provence, Avignon, Moustiers St Marie, St Paul de Vence 6 days, Italy, Bellagio, Santa Margherita,Venice 9 days, Prague 3 days). I think it depends on how you like to travel. We find it exciting to see new places and love the journey as much as the destinations. The only recommendation I have is to fly between long distances. It is cheap to fly and will allow you to cover these distances without getting so travel weary.We took Ryan air (fabulous airlines) between Sevilla and Milan and then Venice to Prague. Drove a lot and took some trains. Some hints: One pull bag with a carry on you can attach to it will make your travel much easier, leave gaps in your itinerary; don't book every night ahead of time and rent a car to give you flexibility during the gap times. We have traveled Europe this way many times and have never been unhappy. Have a fantastic time