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This is way too rushed. In many cases you’ll be spending 1/2 to 3/4 of a day checking out of your hotel, getting to the train station, on the train, in the train station buying a reservation for your next leg, figuring out how to get to your next hotel, getting there, checking in, getting oriented to a new neighborhood. Any museums, attractions, etc. Will be closing by the time you get there and you’ll have to get up and do it all again early tomorrow morning. NOT romantic.
Some suggestions. Pick one area of Switzerland — NOT a city. Most cities aren’t in the Alps. Berne is a bureaucratic capital city, not, IMO, much of a tourist destination. Zurich is a convenient transportation hub and a pretty city, but it’s just that, another city, and it’s not in the Alps. Much of Switzerland is mountainous which makes transportation slow, so check train schedules to see if this whirlwind is even possible.
Milan is a big, bustling business and transportation center — very convient with a train station so big there’s a hotel and three shopping malls in it, but why did you pick it for one of your longest stays in Italy? Cut it, add the time to Forence. Visit Verona as a day trip from Venice and Bolonga as a day trip from Florence to avoid the hassle described in paragraph 1. Stay 4 days in Rome and visit Naples as a day trip — assuming that you have specific reasons you want to go there??
South France… Why Marseilles? One of the world’s biggest freight ports. Stay in Nice, Cannes or Antibes for a relaxing several days and visit Monaco and Marseilles as day trips.
Think about substituting cheaper, friendlier and more interesting nearby Bratislava for Vienna. Visit Salzburg as a day trip from Munich or Vienna or as an all-day stopover between the two.
I’d spend 4 days in London and 3 in Amsterdam — shouldn’t be an issue with your rail pass as you don’t need to validate it until you’re ready to leave Amsterdam.
Think about why you’re visiting Brussels — for the “I’ve been to Belgium” T-shirt? I love the place, but for the Afican and Carribean flavor not as a European tourist destination. Think about Brugges instead if you want a Flemish Belgian (as opposed to ultra cosmopolitan, French Belgian and EU bureaucracy) experience.
I’m with oldlady in thinking this is way too rushed. My wife and I would likely get divorced if we attempted this trip Frankfurt is another place that I would skip unless you have a particular reason for going there. I’d personally add another day in Barcelona, but it’s my favorite city.
Thank you very much Old Lady and augustin25 for your input!!! Although your words are not very encouraging, I’m glad to hear honest opinions from people with experience like yours. The idea is to cover as many places as possible on this pathway, while getting to know properly the local culture and customs. No we are not trying to get a “i’ve been here” shirt, but we definitely don’t want to overstay in places just for the sake of it. We haven’t booked anything ahead so we wil be very flexible. We will spend more time in cities we enjoy , and less times in cities we won’t.
Now let me try to answer some of your questions; some of the cities we decided to visit are not b/c of any particular reason, but b/c they are the capital city or a well-known city. Yes, this is our honeymoon but in the same time it’s not a “Cabo- let’s be in on the beach type of honeymoon”. We are on a budget and aware of the privilege we have to be in Europe for 2 months , so we want to take advantage of it and get to know as many places as possible. I am French originally, so I have family in France. The reason we’ll be many days in Marseilles is I have a sister living there. Same with Nancy- we will visit a aunt and the beautiful scenery there. Zurich- same story- my husband’s friend lives there. Amsterdam Manchester ( not here but planned for a day) and London- more friends
Berne- I can skip on it if you say it’s not very special. It’s just that I saw that it was on the way to Zurich and thought why not making another stop there. My friend told be about this scenic train in Switzerland over this famous bridge .. we’ll probably end up taking this one so we can end up next to the Alps/ small mountainous villages (like you suggested).
I’m taking all of your notes in regards to Italy . We want to spend lots of time there ( about 10 days) to really enjoy and relax and see the best places there! I really can’t wait to see this country and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. The length of stay is variable and like I said before we’ll stay longer where we enjoy ourselves better.
Vienna- I know 4 days is not short but my husband lived there for 6 months and adores the place and can’t wait to show it to me.
Silzburg- yes you probably right, one day is enough but if we arrive early in the day cause we plan on seeing different things there!
I have no particular strain for brussels- Will definitely consider to change it to Brugges.
Frankfurt- I can skip. What about Berlin? Didn’t hear anything special about the place?
Barcelona, Barcelona can’t wait
I will update the reality route we’ll take as we go along. I am very thankful of all your thoughtful comments. If I have further questions I’ll definitely ask you both.
<3 Sarah <3
Sorry about the negatives — did not guess from the itinerary that you weren’t first timers looking to hit as many of the places you’d heard about as possible. I still think much of your trip is far too rushed, but that’s somewhat mitigated by time spent with family and friends. Travel is much more intense “being together” than living together. The stress of 24/7 togetherness in very small spaces is quadrupled by an aggressive itinerary of 1 and 2 night stays.
All of your choices are fine visits. Some of them are places that novices pick that, IMO, aren’t great choices. A lot of folks pick Marseilles because it’s the only French city besides Paris that they can name or because they’re looking for a stopover between Italy and Spain. I’ve lived in the area and love it. The food and wine are great in Marseilles and it’s got a couple of great museums, but most tourists would be happier in Antibes or Nice or Cannes. If you aren’t willing to spend a few days there, I think it’s better (and usually cheaper) to fly from Italy to Spain than to spend 8 to 12 exhausting hours getting to Marseilles only to leave on a 16 hour trek to Barcelona after 1/2 night’s sleep.
I enjoyed Berlin and particularly liked the vibe in the Eastern sector, but others here have declared it boring. I also enjoyed Munich and it’s a good base for day trips to Salzburg or Innsbruk. Vienna is also a good hub, but I found it unfriendly to those of us who aren’t Aryan — I speak enough German to understand the comments. Do try to take a day trip to Bratislava.