From where? I suggest you go to your nearest library or bookstore to the travel section, and look for guide series such as Lonely Planet, Let’s Go, Rough Guides, and Rick Steves. Even Frommer’s and Fodors might have some tips you can glean. Each series has a different style and caters (generally) to different style of traveller; the first 3 more backpacker-style /young budget travellers, and the latter for older or travellers who might spend more and prefer hotels to hostels, but still keep budget and quality of experience in mind. Also check out our Guidebooks forum: http://www.eurotrip….

Your budget will depend a lot on where you will travel from, when you will travel (airfare most expensive in summer), how long you will stay, and your style of travel (hostels, public transport, and making your own meals, or hotels, taxis, and lots of dining out — for example).

thanks for the info! really appreciate it

Don pretty much hit the nail on the head. There’s a lot more research you need to do first. We need to know what you’re interested in too because there are thousands and thousands of cities/towns in Europe…we can’t just tell you which one’s to see. That is just too vague. Definitely check out the Let’s Go 2009 book to get some starting information.

I wouldn’t set the order of your itinerary in concrete yet. Based on airfares this year, visiting Italy first would be likely be more expensive than flying into/out of Spain or Germany. Look for airfares that offer a good balance between cost & logistics, then decide the order.