I am planning my honeymoon for next May. It will be an 18 day trip. The first 10 days will be a Mediterranean cruise. The next 8 days, my fiance and I will be on our own. I've settled on going to 2 out of the 4 cities I want to see, in order not to rush. I'm just having trouble deciding which 2. I have been to London and Paris, however, that was 12 years ago and on one of those hurried 14 countries in 12 days kind of things. I've been to Germany, just not Munich.

We are interested in the museums, castles, architecture, parks or other beautiful scenery, and the food. We are interested in the popular/touristy sites, but would also love to try the "off the beaten path" things as well. Especially when it comes to the local cuisine. I want to eat at the places with the best food, not just the trendiest at the time.

My fiance is into science, technology, history, and computers. I'm into the history, culture, art, shopping, and food. I know that any of these places would more than satisfy almost all of our interests. I'm interested in which two places you'd suggest and why. Our budget is $3,000. Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Where does your cruise end? Does the eight days include the day the cruise ends and the day you depart to return home? Do the 18 days include travel time at the beginning or at least a day before the cruise begins? In other words, laying it out, will you actually have a full eight days for sightseeing after the cruise? You may have already accounted for travel time. If not, it might look like this.
Day 1, depart US
Day 2, arrive - ? Port where cruise begins?
Day 3, begin cruise
Day 13, end cruise, travel to?
Days 14, 15, 16, 17 ?
Day 18, depart for home

Good questions by sassafras.

Personally, I'd choose Paris and Prague. I have to admit that I don't particularly like Germany. And while I love London, I'd choose two places on mainland Europe.

I haven't been to Munich so can't comment on that one. I also would choose Paris and Prague because those are two of my favorite cities. Some people might not call Prague a destination for foodies, however. I'm not that picky, and eat okay there, but their local cuisine is not my favorite experience (lots of pork and potatoes). Depends what you like. I could say that about Germany, also. you can always find top restaurants serving other countries' cuisine in any major city of course (such as London, and that's what I eat when there, also, not British cuisine, whatever that may be).

However, I think combining Paris and London would probably be the most efficient use of time. How do you intend to get between these cities, or is money no object? Of course you can always buy airline tickets one-way on major carriers but they won't be cheap that way. I think Easyjet or Vueling does fly from Prague to Paris direct, but the schedule on Easyjet is evening or something.

That isn't really a lot of time for two major cities, it really gives you only about 3 days in the city itself for sightseeing, what with the travel. So going from Paris to London by Eurostar would eat up only about half a day.

Paris and London for transportation reasons. I love Munich but for a honeymoon def pick Paris and London.

Munich is beautiful and I would suggest that and Prague! In Munich you will have a chance to see Neuschwanstein which is worth the trip! The churches and the Glockenspiel which is a major attraction and fun to watch. I also LOVED Prague, we actually had bought 2 day subway tickets and only used them once, we walked and walked! Up to the castle, across the Charles bridge with 30 Baroque statues of religious figures. The architecture in both these cities is incredible, There is a church in Munich that is so "busy" you would have to stay for hours to see everything in it! Very different from most of the churches I saw.

By the way, what cruise are you going on? where does it start and end?

Definitely Prague as it is just beautiful. Second would be Paris, as it is easy to find your way around Paris, and of course very pretty too - lots of feeling of space and much to explore!
London is a bit busy and you've seen it before, so that should be enough - does not bring anything new, although is English speaking.
Munich is quite lovely too, and Neuschwanstein is a trainride away, but I must say - it looks great from the outside - however when you go inside the castle, it is actually not as impressive, as was built much later compared to other more beautiful castles and palaces in Europe.
So my pick is Prague and Paris.

I'd vote for Paris and London -- just a personal reference.

My husband and I will be hitting all 4 of these cities in a 3-wk trip (no cruise!) this fall.. I started researching about a year in advance like you - so if you are just info gathering for now, I'll let you know which ones I think, after we return!

Munich does have a terrific science and technology museum, http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en.

Thank you everyone for all the helpful suggestions and tips! They really have helped me narrow things down.

@ckwmn- Thank you so, so much, I would LOVE to hear all about your trip when you get back. And of course enjoy yourselves!

@Sassafrass- I did already take out 2 days for travel, so we will have 8 FULL days in each place.

I haven't chosen a cruise yet, still narrowing that down too! Of the cruises I'm considering, it will either leave us off in Venice or Rome.

So far, from all the independent research I have done and from the several other forums I have posted in, we are leaning towards Prague and Munich. That being said, we have also been thinking of doing the trip in reverse, Prague and Munich before the cruise. Flying into Prague will be cheaper than flying into Rome or Venice. After Prague we were thinking about taking the bus to Munich. After Munich, taking the City Night Line to Venice or Rome, whichever our cruise leaves from.

I like the idea of reversing your trip - and it sounds quite efficient! You can also take the train from Prague to Munich, as you probably already know.

We've been on two Med cruises and would jump at the chance for another one. Have fun!

I found Munich and Prague absolutely brilliant. I can;t compare them with London or Paris, but you wont go wrong with these.
Plus there day tours into the countryside that you can do,especially from Munich, Berchtesgaden, salzburg for example.
See if this helps you make a decision:
Prague : http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...e-in-2-5-days/
Munich : http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...public/munich/
The food was awesome, the location's brilliant, a

My vote is Prague and Prague!!

If you do go to Prague, I recommend a day trip to Cesky Krumlov.