Hi, I’m about to embark on my first european excursion, consisting of a 7 week stay in Rome, Italy (while studying), and then two weeks of travel to various countries. I need help in buying a pack.

I was initally going to pack enough for about a week and keep wearing and washing it over again, so taking reccomendations from other posts pack size needs to be around 3500-4000 cu in. However, I plan on taking a bit of extra clothes since I’ll be living there for an extended period of time, and needed some nicer clothes for the nightlife and restruants. I’ll also be trying to stuff my daypack inside my other pack during travel after rome. I’d like to buy a hiking backpack rather than a travel backpack so I can get more use of it (after my travel period).

With this in mind, what size pack should I get? Also, are top-loading packs a lot more of a hassle for traveling than a pack with more pockets to keep a bit more organized? Any advice about what clothes to pack, backpack choices and general packing advice for stay in italy would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much!