Why are Zurich, Vienna and Milan “must sees?” Those and possibly Rotterdam and Frankfurt would be the places from your total list that I would cut first.

Some sort of railpass will definitely save money for this trip, but which pass is best depends on your final itinerary.

history, architecture, nightlife and general sights…

of what you listed above id say amsterdam… obviously for the party berlin (although not listed). amazingly progressive city with history and nightlife galore prague… one of the most beautiful places Venice… speaks for iteself rome… history history history florence… equally beautiful and filled to the brim with art cinque terra… I havent been but is supposed to be a great scenic hike between each town San sebastion, Spain…gorgeous, old, beaches

you listed alot of italy so this hits the major stuff. Im with oldlady on your must sees… unless you have family from milan…leave it off the list

prime

I agree with oldlady about Milano and Rotterdam, but I’m not sure about Zurich and Vienna – not that I have been theres but because of all common things I’ve heard, especially about Vienna.

I’m in the minority that I like Zürich, but some of the other places are kind of “meh.” Milan, Frankfurt and Rotterdam might have a few good museums, but they’re not really places I’d call “must see.” They’re all basically “new” cities and don’t have that sort of “old world ambiance” that you get from places like Florence or Salzburg.

Six weeks is kind of a long time, so it’s not really a time issue for the places you mentioned, but as always I’d recommend shaving off a few big cities (ideally the ones I mentioned above), spending a few extra days in the other cities, and try to “break it up” by spending a few days in smaller towns between time spent in big cities. You’ll find it makes your trip a lot more enjoyable, and memorable.

Thanks everyone for your comments, I’ll definitely be taking them into consideration. I’ll let you know when I’ve made some changes and see what you think then =)

I agree with old lady…Frankfurt is nothing special…just a travel hub in which to catch a train or plabne to someplace interesting.

Zurich…a dull banking business city

Milan…has the dubious honour of being Europe’s most polluted city! Lots of smog (a brown haze blankets the City much like Mexico City)…Beautiful cathederal and and galleria and the the wall mural of the Last Supper is there (if you’re into the Davinci Code), but you could miss this city and still die happy.

Rotterdam…skip it, seriously…it’s just a big modern, industrial port city (the European equivalent of Newark). Better places would be the old city of Haarlem or Utrecht or Maastricht