5 week Itinerary (1st Draft)

[mccroz]

Hi everybody,

My wife and I are planning a trip to Europe in May of 2008. Here is our 1st draft itinerary:

Day 1: Depart Calgary for London
Day 2-3: London
Day 4: London to Paris (fly or ferry?)
Day 5-7: Paris
Day 8:Paris to Strasbourg/Stuttgart (Wife used to live here)
Day 9-12: Strasbourg/Stuttgart/Baden-Baden
Day 13: Stuttgart to Munich
Day 14: Munich
Day 15: Munich to Salzburg
Day 16-17: Salzburg
Day 18-19: Innsbruck
Day 20-21: Bern
Day 22-23: Zermatt
Day 24: Lake Como
Day 25-26: Venice
Day 27-28: Monacco
Day 29-31: Cinque Terre
Day 32-34: Rome
Day 35 Depart Rome arrive Calgary

Any feedback and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[pointofnoreturn]

Hey there, always nice to see a fellow Canadian on the boards!

London - I may be biased but it's my absolute favourite city in the world. There's so much to do and see in London... lots of free museums, great parks, great pubs and really nice people. I would always recommend more than 4 nights minimum but 2 nights.... it's possible, if you really planned your days out well and know where you want to go.

Paris - 3 nights... that's okay. Just go to the places you want to go and buy a 2 day Paris Museum Pass to make your time worthwhile (no waiting in line). No daytrips though.

Rome - 3 nights is nearly not enough for me. I spent 5 nights in Rome and we didn't even get to see everything! Mind you, we made two daytrips (one to Tivoli and another to Naples) but still... you may get a few things done quickly.

Keep in mind that there's a special week in Italy called Culture Week. All state-run museums and archaelogical sites are free. This year, it was May 12-18, 2007. We were in Rome, Florence and Milan these days and we got free entry in nearly everything (except Vatican City). Reservation fees still apply (although at the Galleria Borghese, it was waived). You'll probably find out the exact dates in Feb. 2008. It is usually sometimes in April, May or June.

[Eagle]

mccroz, my initial impression of your Itinerary is that there are too many stops for a 35 day trip (although you have allowed adequate time in most cities). A few thoughts to add to those posted by PONR:

London - given that you'll probably be jet-lagged for a day or so, two days in London is not going to be adequate IMO. However, if you don't have a lot of interest in the sights of London and just want a quick look, two days will have to suffice.

Paris -[/i I agree with PONR, if you're just interested in a few of the "main" sights, then buy a Paris Museum Pass so that you don't have to waste as much time in queues (there will be some waits though, even with a pass).

Lago di Como - one day hardly seems adequate! My preference would be to adjust days in other locations, and spend at least a few days there. Which town on the lake were you planning to stay in?

Venice - Monaco - Cinque Terre - something seems rather "awkward" with the routing, especially travel from Venice to Monaco and then back to the C.T. The stops in Bern and Zermatt tend to complicate the situation somewhat. I'd have to give some thought to more efficient routing, but hopefully some of the others will have a few comments as well.

Rome - I agree, three days is definitely not enough time for Rome!

I notice that Florence is not on the list?

Good luck with your planning!!!