3 Month Europe Trip

[magdelina]

Hey there! I'm new to this website, and so far everything has been super helpful! So for a while I've had this plan that when I graduate college I'm going to backpack Europe, and recently I've been getting really into it. It's a few years away, granted, but I want this trip to be perfect and it is so much fun to plan. I've made a rough sketch of the places I want to go and just wanted some opinions from those more experienced than me. =]

Basically, my trip centers around two things:
I want to be in Paris for Bastille Day, July 14 and
I want to end up in Edinburgh by August 1 and stay there for a few weeks for the Fringe Festival.

Here is the itinerary I've planned around it: (June 1 would be the first travel day, and then between each city I've added a travel day.)
Madrid - 3d
Marseille - 3d
Rome - 4d
Venice - 5d
Vienna - 3d
Prague - 3d
Berlin - 4d
Amsterdam - 4d
Brussels - 3d
Paris - 5d
London - 5d
Dublin - 4d
Edinburgh

So that's at least three full days in each city. I have a lot of leeway, though, and I want to add some destinations that aren't cities. Small towns, relaxing spots to just enjoy nature and wind down after hurried travelling. What cities do you think I could chop off some days at, and where should I spend some relaxing time? Overall, how does this route work?

Thank you so much!

[Eagle]

magdelina,

Welcome to GFE! I have a few comments regarding your proposed trip.

To begin with, if this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door, as that will provide you with lots of information on "how" to travel in Europe.

it would help to have some idea on where you're travelling from? Using open-jaw flights would be the most efficient method, as that will avoid returning to your starting point. What prompted you to choose each of the locations you listed?

You didn't provide any mention of your budget, what type of accommodations you prefer or what you want to see in each city? I'd suggest reading some Guidebooks on each city to get some ideas and information. I assume you're planning on travelling primarily by rail? Be sure to allow for adequate travel times between locations!

As July and August are the peak travel seasons in Europe, you might consider pre-booking at least some of your accommodations.

Regarding some of the destinations you listed.....

> Marseille - why did you choose this location? There are nicer places to visit in southern France.

> Venice - I'd probably drop a day or two from Venice. It tends to be a bit on the expensive side, and you'll be able to see most of the main sites within a shorter time.

> Amsterdam - Three days would probably be adequate.

> You might also consider Bruges, as it's a beautiful and scenic city.

> Dublin and Edinburgh - is this the order you were planning to visit both of these cities? Depending on where you're flying from, it would be more logical to make Dublin the last stop.

Did you consider visiting any other places in Italy between Rome and Venice? There are lots of possibilities - Orvieto, Florence, Siena and the Cinque Terre are a few examples.

Good luck with your planning!