Europe Trip Planner: Which Cities, a 12-Day Route and When to Go

Twelve city guides, one page to choose between them: which capitals suit a first trip, how the trains and cheap flights connect them, what a day costs, and a London, Paris and Rome route to start from.

How to plan a Europe trip

Europe's problem is abundance. Twelve of the guides on this site are European cities, most of them two to three hours apart by train, and the classic first-trip mistake is to try six of them in ten days. Every city change costs the better part of a day: checking out, reaching the station, the ride, finding the new apartment, reorienting. Three cities in twelve days, with three or four nights in each, is the pace at which a trip stops feeling like a relocation exercise. Two cities in eight days is even better.

The second decision is the shape of the route. Fly into one city and home from another (an open-jaw ticket, priced almost the same as a return) and you never double back. Chain cities that a single train connects: London to Paris, Paris to Amsterdam, Rome to Florence to Venice, Prague to Vienna to Budapest. Save flying for the legs no train covers well, which in this set means Lisbon, Santorini, Reykjavik and Istanbul. This page walks through the choice, a twelve-day route, the seasons, what a day costs and the entry rules, then hands you to the city guides and the planner.

Which cities for a first trip

  • The classic first trip: London, Paris and Rome

    The three most-visited capitals in the set, each a different country and language, linked by a two-and-a-quarter-hour Eurostar and a two-hour flight. London needs no language, Paris is the museum and café city everyone pictures, and Rome carries two thousand years of history on a walkable footprint. If twelve days feels short for three, drop London and give Paris and Rome five nights each.

  • Art, food and slow trains: Rome, Florence and Venice

    Italy alone fills twelve days without a single flight: Rome for the Forum, the Vatican and Trastevere, Florence for the Uffizi, the Duomo and a Chianti day, and Venice as the finale. Frecciarossa and Italo trains do Rome to Florence in about an hour and a half and Florence to Venice in two, every half hour, with advance fares from around €20. Fly into Rome and home from Venice.

  • Central Europe on a budget: Prague and Vienna (add Budapest)

    Prague is the cheapest big city in this set, with hostel beds under €30 and a half-litre of beer for €2 to €3, and Vienna is its grand imperial neighbour four hours away by Railjet train. Budapest, two and a half hours further, makes a three-city triangle with a single open-jaw ticket. Best in May, June and September, and magical in December for the Christmas markets.

  • Sun, sea and late dinners: Barcelona and Lisbon

    Two Atlantic-and-Mediterranean capitals with beaches inside the city, tiled old quarters, dinner at ten and daily costs a third below Paris and London. There is no fast train between them, so fly the two hours, or pair Barcelona with Paris by TGV (six and a half hours, one change-free ride) and leave Lisbon for a trip with Porto and the Algarve.

  • Canals, bikes and a gentle start: Amsterdam and Paris

    Amsterdam is compact, English-speaking and flat enough to cycle on day one, which makes it the easiest arrival city in Europe for nervous first-timers. The Eurostar to Paris takes about three hours and twenty minutes, city centre to city centre. Add London at the front for a three-capital week by train alone.

  • Islands, northern lights and the edge of Europe: Santorini, Reykjavik and Istanbul

    These three are trips in themselves rather than stops on a rail route. Santorini pairs with Athens or a second Cycladic island (Naxos, Paros) by ferry or a 45-minute flight. Reykjavik is a four-to-six-night stopover from most transatlantic routes, with the Golden Circle, the South Coast and, from September to March, the aurora. Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia and rewards five slow nights on its own, or pairs with Athens on a short flight.

12 days, three cities: London, Paris and Rome

Four nights in London, four in Paris and three in Rome, with one train and one flight. Fly into London and home from Rome. Each city has a full three-day itinerary in its guide; the Plan-this-trip buttons open the planner prefilled with the city so you can shift dates, pace and budget without retyping anything.

  1. Days 1–4, London: Land at Heathrow and take the Elizabeth line or the Piccadilly line into town. Give the first day to Westminster, the South Bank and a walk across the river; the second to the British Museum and Covent Garden; the third to the Tower, Borough Market and a West End show; the fourth to Notting Hill, Kensington's museums and an early night before the train.
  2. Day 5, London to Paris by Eurostar: The Eurostar from St Pancras to Gare du Nord takes about two hours and fifteen minutes; arrive 60 to 90 minutes early for passport control, which happens in London. Advance fares start around €50 to €60 one way and rise steeply in the last weeks, so book this leg the day you fix your dates. You are in central Paris by lunch.
  3. Days 5–8, Paris: Four nights covers the Louvre and the Tuileries, the Eiffel Tower and the Seine, Montmartre, the Marais and Île de la Cité, a market morning and a long dinner. Book the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower summit and the Orsay online with timed entries; walk or take the métro, which reaches everything for about €2.50 a ride.
  4. Day 9, Paris to Rome by air: Nonstop flights from Charles de Gaulle or Orly to Rome Fiumicino take about two hours and cost €60 to €150 on Air France, ITA, easyJet, Vueling or Transavia. Choose a late-morning departure so the last Paris morning still has a café in it. The Leonardo Express train runs from Fiumicino to Termini in 32 minutes for €14.
  5. Days 9–12, Rome: Three nights: the Colosseum, the Forum and the Palatine on one timed ticket the first morning; the Vatican Museums and St Peter's the second (book the earliest slot); Trastevere, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain by foot and gelato on the third. Fly home from Fiumicino on day twelve.

Plan this trip: London · Plan this trip: Paris · Plan this trip: Rome

Trains, flights and rail passes

Trains do the short legs best

Between neighbouring capitals the train beats the plane on total time, because stations are in the centre and there is no security queue. Reference times from the guides: London to Paris 2h15, Paris to Amsterdam 3h20, Paris to Barcelona 6h40, Rome to Florence 1h30, Florence to Venice 2h, Prague to Vienna 4h, Vienna to Budapest 2h30. High-speed trains in France, Spain and Italy sell like flights: cheap two to three months ahead, expensive the week before. Regional trains have fixed fares and never sell out.

Fly the long and the watery legs

Lisbon, Santorini, Reykjavik and Istanbul are flights, not train rides: Paris to Lisbon takes 2h30, Athens to Santorini 45 minutes (or five to eight hours by ferry from Piraeus), and Reykjavik and Istanbul sit at opposite edges of the continent, three to four hours from the middle. Low-cost carriers (Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling, Wizz, Transavia) run most city pairs for €30 to €120 if you carry cabin baggage only; checked bags, seat selection and a printed boarding pass each add fees.

Rail passes: when they pay

A Eurail Global Pass (for residents outside Europe; Interrail is the version for Europeans) makes sense when you take five or more long train rides in a month or want to decide as you go. For a fixed three-city route it usually loses to advance point-to-point fares, and the fast trains in France, Spain and Italy still require a paid seat reservation on top of the pass (roughly €10 to €30 a ride). Price both before you buy; the pass wins on flexibility, the tickets win on cost.

When to go: seasons and crowds

Shoulder seasons (April to June and September to October)

The months every city guide on this page recommends: 15 to 25°C in the capitals, museums with manageable lines, terraces open, hotel rates 20 to 40 percent under peak. Late May and September are the sweet spot for Rome, Florence, Barcelona and Santorini; April and October suit Paris, London, Amsterdam (tulips peak mid-April) and Vienna.

High summer (July and August)

Long light and festival calendars, but Rome and Florence pass 35°C, Barcelona and Lisbon hit 38°C in heatwaves, Santorini's Oia sunset is shoulder to shoulder, and Paris empties of Parisians in August with many neighbourhood restaurants shut. Hotels are at their most expensive. If summer is your only window, go north: London, Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna and Reykjavik, whose midnight sun runs June to July.

Winter (November to March)

Lowest fares and shortest lines, with Vienna's and Prague's Christmas markets from late November, London and Paris lit for the holidays, and Reykjavik's northern-lights season from September to March. Santorini mostly closes from November to Easter, and Barcelona and Lisbon stay mild at 12 to 16°C. Museums are the point in winter; pack for rain everywhere north of the Alps.

Crowd calendars worth knowing (Easter, school holidays and city events)

Easter week fills Rome and Florence; Wimbledon (late June to mid-July) and the Notting Hill Carnival (late August) lift London rates; Paris Fashion Weeks and the Paris Marathon (April) sell out hotels; Oktoberfest-style events do the same in Vienna and Prague. Check a city's event calendar for the exact week before you commit to dates.

What a day costs

Per person, per day, excluding flights to Europe, with two people sharing a room. The guides give each city's own range; these bands are the spread across the twelve.

  • Shoestring ($70–$120)

    A hostel dorm or a shared apartment room, supermarket breakfasts, one sit-down meal, walking and the odd metro ride, one paid museum a day. Realistic in Prague, Lisbon, Budapest and Istanbul; a stretch in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Reykjavik, where a dorm bed alone can be $50.

  • Mid-range ($150–$260)

    A three-star hotel or a good apartment, café lunches and a proper dinner with wine, transit passes, timed museum tickets and a guided tour or day trip every few days. This is where most of the city guides' own ranges sit: Paris $120 to $200, London $130 to $220, Rome $100 to $180, Vienna $100 to $180, Santorini $120 to $250.

  • Comfortable ($300–$500+)

    Four-star hotels in the centre, taxis, tasting menus, private guides and first-class trains. Reykjavik and Santorini in summer sit at the top of this band even for modest tastes; London and Paris reach it easily. Trains and museums cost the same at every budget, so the spread is almost entirely beds and dinners.

Entry rules, stated generally

Schengen and ETIAS

Most of the continent, including France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Greece and Iceland, is in the Schengen area, which admits US, Canadian, UK, Australian and many other passports visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across all Schengen countries together. ETIAS, an online travel authorisation with a small fee, is expected for visa-exempt visitors to the Schengen area; its start has moved more than once, so check the official EU page for the current status before booking rather than relying on any date you read elsewhere.

The United Kingdom and Türkiye

The UK is outside Schengen, so days there do not count toward the 90, and it runs its own online Electronic Travel Authorisation for visa-exempt visitors; apply before you fly. Türkiye handles entry separately too, and its rules for US and other passports have changed more than once, so check the official e-Visa site before booking. Carry a passport valid for at least six months beyond your trip; several countries in this set enforce it at the gate.

Money and connectivity

Everything in the Schengen countries here is in euros except the Czech Republic (koruna) and Iceland (króna); the UK uses pounds and Türkiye lira. Contactless cards work almost everywhere, including on the London Underground and Paris métro gates. An eSIM with EU-wide data (the UK and Türkiye are often extra) costs less than roaming and is installed before you leave.

Europe trip planning FAQ

How many cities should I visit in Europe in 10 to 14 days?

Two or three. Give each city at least three nights, four for London, Paris or Rome, and move once or twice, by train where one exists. Every city change costs most of a day, so four cities in ten days leaves less than two full days in each.

Which European cities are best for a first trip?

London, Paris and Rome are the classic trio: the most flights, the most English, the most famous sights, and a Eurostar plus one two-hour flight between them. Rome, Florence and Venice is the best no-flight alternative; Prague and Vienna is the cheapest; Amsterdam and Paris the gentlest start.

Is a Eurail pass worth it?

Usually not for a fixed two- or three-city route: advance point-to-point fares on the Eurostar and the French, Spanish and Italian high-speed trains are cheaper, and those trains charge a seat reservation on top of the pass anyway. The pass pays when you take five or more long rides in a month or want to keep the route open.

When is the best time to visit Europe?

April to June and September to October: mild weather, shorter lines and hotel rates well under peak. July and August are hot in the south and crowded everywhere; November to March is cheapest, with Christmas markets in Vienna and Prague and northern lights in Reykjavik, but short days and closed islands.

Do US citizens need a visa for Europe?

Not for short visits: US passports enter the Schengen area, the UK and Türkiye without a visa for tourism. The Schengen area allows 90 days in any 180, ETIAS pre-authorisation is expected for visa-exempt visitors and the UK already requires its own online travel authorisation; check the official sites for the current status before booking.

The twelve European city guides

Things to do, where to stay, what to eat, when to go and a three-day sample itinerary for each city.