10 Day Europe Itinerary: 12 Routes, Fully Costed for 2026

Ten days is the length of trip that breaks the most first-time Europe plans. It feels generous. It is not. Subtract two travel days at either end and you have eight usable ones, and the moment you try to squeeze in a fourth city those eight become five of sightseeing and three of standing in stations.

A good 10 day Europe itinerary covers two or three cities in one geographic corridor, uses fast trains rather than budget flights, and leaves one unplanned day. Three nights per city is the sweet spot. Expect roughly 450 to 1,100 euros per person on the ground, excluding international flights, depending on the region.

I have planned this exact trip length more times than any other, for readers, for friends and for myself, and the pattern that separates a good ten days from an exhausting one is always the same: fewer places, better transport, and a realistic idea of what things cost before you leave home.

That last part is what this guide is built around. Twelve routes, each one costed. Every train leg with a journey time and a real fare. Every headline attraction with its 2026 price and its booking rules. A tourist tax table, because those now add 40 to 100 euros to a ten-day trip in the wrong cities. An entry-requirements section that reflects where the rules stand in August 2026, including the Entry/Exit System that has been running at every Schengen border since April. And a plain statement wherever I could not source a number, rather than a plausible-looking guess.

What a realistic 10 day Europe itinerary looks like

Start with the arithmetic, because it is unforgiving.

Day one is a write-off. If you are flying from North America you land somewhere between 7am and noon, you cannot check in until mid-afternoon, and you will fall asleep at 6pm whatever you tell yourself. Day ten is also a write-off, because a mid-morning long-haul departure means leaving your accommodation before breakfast. That leaves eight days.

Now subtract travel time between cities. A Rome to Florence hop costs you a morning. A Paris to Barcelona run costs you most of a day. Every city change, including packing, checking out, getting to the station, the journey itself, and finding your next place, eats four to six hours even when the train itself takes ninety minutes.

Here is the maths in three versions:

Structure	Nights per stop	Travel days lost	Full days of actual sightseeing	Verdict
Two cities	4 + 5	1	7	Relaxed. Room for day trips and repeat visits to places you liked
Three cities	3 + 3 + 3	2	6	The sweet spot for most people
Four cities	2 + 2 + 2 + 3	3	5	Works only on short, fast legs. Nothing over three hours
Five or more	2 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 2	4	4	You will remember the stations, not the cities

Two nights in a city gives you one full day. That is enough for Bruges. It is not enough for Rome, where the Vatican alone can absorb four hours before you have seen the Colosseum.

The second rule is geographic. Draw your route as a line, not a star. Flying into Paris, training to Amsterdam, then doubling back to Barcelona wastes an entire day on backtracking that a different ordering would have saved. Build the trip as an arc and fly home from the far end, which is what an open-jaw ticket is for. More on that below, because it is the single most useful booking trick at this trip length.

The third rule is about pace, and it is the one people ignore. Book one day in the middle with nothing in it. No museum slot, no train, no reservation. You will either need it because something went wrong, or you will spend it in a park in a city you have decided you love, and that is usually the day people remember.

If you want the wider framework behind all of this, our guide to how to plan a trip to Europe covers the booking sequence in order, and the Europe itineraries hub compares this length against a 7 day Europe itinerary and a two-week trip.

The 12 best 10 day Europe itinerary routes, compared

Every route below is built around three nights per stop wherever the geography allows, and every one of them is costed. Read the table, then jump to whichever line makes you want to know more.

Route	Countries	Nights	Longest single leg	Intercity fares, advance	10 days on the ground, per person	Best months
1. London, Paris and Amsterdam	UK, France, Netherlands	3 + 3 + 3	Paris to Amsterdam, 3h 20m	€39 + €29	€700–1,100	May, June, September
2. Rome, Florence and Venice	Italy	4 + 3 + 2	Florence to Venice, 2h 01m	€14.90 + €18.90	€700–1,100	April, May, October
3. Paris, Barcelona and Madrid	France, Spain	4 + 3 + 2	Paris to Barcelona, 6h 25m	€39 + €14	€700–1,100	May, June, September, October
4. Prague, Vienna and Budapest	Czechia, Austria, Hungary	3 + 3 + 3	Prague to Vienna, 4h 15m	€12.90 + €7.90	€450–800	May, June, September
5. Berlin, Prague and Vienna	Germany, Czechia, Austria	3 + 3 + 3	Prague to Vienna, 4h 15m	€19.90 + €12.90	€600–950	May, June, September, December
6. Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague	Netherlands, Germany, Czechia	3 + 3 + 3	Amsterdam to Berlin, about 6h	about €30 + €19.90	€600–950	May, June, September
7. Munich, Prague and Vienna	Germany, Czechia, Austria	3 + 3 + 3	Munich to Prague, 5h 30m to 6h	€16 + €12.90	€600–950	May, June, late September
8. Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague	France, Netherlands, Germany, Czechia	3 + 2 + 2 + 2	Amsterdam to Berlin, about 6h	€29 + €35 + €19.90	€650–1,000	May, June, September
9. Zurich, Milan and Nice	Switzerland, Italy, France	3 + 3 + 3	Milan to Nice, 5h 41m	CHF 38 + about US$30	€700–1,100	June, September
10. Lisbon, Porto and the Douro	Portugal	4 + 3 + 2	Lisbon to Porto, 2h 50m	€16 promo, €35.70 standard	€700–1,100	April, May, September, October
11. Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast	Italy	4 + 2 + 3	Rome to Naples, 1h 10m	from about €9	€700–1,100	May, June, September
12. Athens and two Greek islands	Greece	3 + 4 + 2	Ferries, times vary by vessel	No rail legs, ferry or domestic flight	€700–1,100	May, June, late September

How to read the cost column. It is nine nights of accommodation, food and local transport for one person. It excludes your international flights, the intercity fares in the previous column, and the major attraction tickets, all of which are itemised separately further down. The bands come from a widely used regional rule of thumb: roughly 80 to 120 euros a day in Western Europe and 35 to 70 a day in Central and Eastern Europe, applied to the nights each route spends in each. Two independent cross-checks land in the same place. One 2026 cost survey puts a mid-range traveller in Western Europe at 150 to 250 US dollars a day including everything, and a Spain-specific breakdown gives 60 to 80 euros a day at budget level and 90 to 140 comfortable. Treat these as planning brackets, not quotes.

How to read the fares column. Those are lead-in advance fares, the cheapest seat on the cheapest train, released months out. They are what the route can cost, not what you will pay if you book three weeks before departure. Assume two to four times those numbers at short notice, and see the full fare table further down.

1. London, Paris and Amsterdam: the route that works for almost everyone

Three capitals, two land borders, one continuous rail spine, and not a single airport transfer in the middle. If you have never been to Europe and you want a trip that feels like the postcard without feeling like a coach tour, this is the one I recommend most often.

Days 1 to 3, London. Land, drop your bags, and do nothing ambitious. Day two is the big one: the British Museum in the morning while it is quiet, lunch in Bloomsbury, then walk south through Covent Garden to the river. Day three I would give to one neighbourhood rather than one more monument. Greenwich for the maritime history and the view back across the Thames, or Hampstead if you would rather have a heath and a pub.

Days 4 to 6, Paris. Eurostar out of St Pancras in the morning puts you in Gare du Nord before lunch. Day four is a walking day: Île de la Cité, the Latin Quarter, the Jardin du Luxembourg at the hour the light goes gold. Day five is the Louvre in a timed slot, then the Tuileries. Day six, climb something. Note the numbers before you commit: the Eiffel Tower summit by lift is 36.70 euros for an adult, while the stairs to the second floor start at 14.80.

Days 7 to 9, Amsterdam. Eurostar again, 3 hours 20 minutes direct, from about 29 euros if you book far enough ahead. Amsterdam rewards aimlessness more than any other city on this route, so plan two fixed things and let the rest happen. The Rijksmuseum is one. The Anne Frank House is the other, and it needs planning of a specific kind, which I cover below.

Day 10. Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal is 17 minutes and 6.20 euros, which makes it the least stressful departure morning of any route here.

Route one, day by day

Since this is the route most people take, here it is at day level. Every other route follows the same shape: two full days per stop, a travel morning between them, and nothing scheduled on the last afternoon.

Day	Where	Plan
1	London	Land, drop bags, walk one neighbourhood with no ticket. Eat early, sleep early
2	London	British Museum at opening, lunch in Bloomsbury, walk south through Covent Garden to the river
3	London	One district properly. Greenwich for the maritime history and the view, or Hampstead for the heath
4	To Paris	Morning Eurostar from St Pancras, arrive Gare du Nord before lunch. Île de la Cité, the Latin Quarter, the Jardin du Luxembourg at golden hour
5	Paris	The Louvre on a timed slot, then the Tuileries. Keep the afternoon loose
6	Paris	Climb something. Eiffel Tower summit by lift at €36.70, or the stairs to the second floor from €14.80. Evening in Montmartre or the Marais
7	To Amsterdam	Eurostar, 3h 20m. Arrive mid-afternoon, walk the canals with no destination
8	Amsterdam	Rijksmuseum in the morning. Anne Frank House if your Tuesday alarm worked. Jordaan in the evening
9	Amsterdam	The unplanned day. Out of the centre, or back to whichever of the three cities you liked most, in spirit at least
10	Home	Schiphol from Centraal in 17 minutes for €6.20. The gentlest departure morning of any route here

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Advance fare from	Notes
London to Paris	Eurostar	2h 20m to 2h 40m, sources differ	€39 / £35 standard	Book three months out to reliably find fares under £50
Paris to Amsterdam	Eurostar	3h 20m direct	€29	Cheapest fares sit 12 to 20 weeks before departure
Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal	NS	17m	€6.20	Direct, every few minutes

Two entry systems on one route

This route crosses two separate entry regimes, and in 2026 that has consequences. The United Kingdom is outside Schengen, so most visitors, including citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and the EU, need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation costing 20 pounds, and every traveller needs their own including babies. You then cross into the Schengen area at Paris, where the Entry/Exit System has been recording biometrics at the border since it became fully operational in April 2026.

Practically, that means allowing more time at St Pancras than the old advice suggests, and doing your ETA application before you book anything else. Our Europe entry requirements guide keeps the current position on both systems, and there is a dedicated page on the EU Entry/Exit System.

Who it suits

Take it if this is your first trip, if you want English as a fallback on day one, or if you are travelling with teenagers who will appreciate three very different cities. Leave it alone if your budget is tight. London, Paris and Amsterdam are three of the most expensive cities in Europe to sleep in, and a hostel dorm in any of them runs 28 to 46 euros against 12 to 30 in Prague or Budapest.

Deeper reading: United Kingdom travel guide, things to do in Paris, things to do in Amsterdam and the Netherlands travel guide.

2. Rome, Florence and Venice: the shortest train legs of any route here

Italy has the best-value high-speed rail in Europe and the shortest useful distances. Rome to Florence is 1 hour 25 minutes from 14.90 euros booked 90 days out. Florence to Venice is 2 hours 1 minute from 18.90 on Italo. You can cross the country for less than the price of a museum ticket, and that changes what ten days can hold.

Days 1 to 4, Rome. Four nights, not three, because Rome has two full days of unmissable sights and you will lose most of one to arrival. Ancient Rome takes a day: the standard Colosseum ticket is 18 euros and includes the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, valid 24 hours from first entry. The Vatican takes another: 20 euros entry plus a 5 euro online booking fee, so 25 all in for a pre-booked slot. Day four is for the parts of Rome that are not on a ticket, which for me means Trastevere in the evening and the Appian Way if the weather holds.

Days 5 to 7, Florence. The Uffizi is 25 euros walking up or 29 booked online with the four euro fee, but there is a change worth knowing about from January 2026: entry from 4pm now costs 16 euros on site or 20 online. If you are happy seeing the Botticellis in the late afternoon, that is a third off, and the rooms are calmer. The Accademia, for the David, is 16 euros plus a four euro mandatory online booking fee, and on-site tickets sell out by mid-morning between April and October.

Days 8 to 10, Venice. Two nights, and if you can spare a third by taking one off Florence, take it. Venice empties every evening when the day boats leave, and that emptied city is the reason to stay overnight at all. The Doge’s Palace is 30 euros booked more than 30 days ahead and 35 inside that window, which is one of the clearest booking-lead-time penalties in Europe. It includes the Correr Museum, the Archaeological Museum and the Marciana Library.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Advance fare from	Notes
Fiumicino to Roma Termini	Leonardo Express	32m non-stop	€14	Every 15 minutes
Rome to Florence	Frecciarossa	1h 25m	€14.90 at 90+ days	Both stations are central
Florence to Venice	Italo / Frecciarossa	2h 01m fastest	€18.90	Get off at Venezia Santa Lucia, not Mestre

The Venice access fee, which applies to fewer people than you think

Venice charges day visitors an access fee on 60 dates from mid-April to the end of July 2026, between 08:30 and 16:00. It is 5 euros if you register at least four days ahead and 10 euros for late bookings, and it applies from age 14. The important part: if you have an overnight booking anywhere in the Venice municipality, you are exempt, because you are already paying the overnight city tax instead. Staying overnight, as this route does, means the fee is irrelevant to you. It only bites if you try to see Venice as a day trip from Florence, which is another argument against doing that.

Who it suits

Anyone who would rather go deep than wide, anyone travelling on a fixed budget who wants predictable costs, and anyone who wants to eat well every single day without researching it. Avoid high summer. Rome averages a 32 degree daily high in July with effectively no rain, which sounds lovely until you are queuing on the Palatine at two in the afternoon, and August adds the crowds without dropping the temperature.

Deeper reading: Italy travel guide, 10 days in Italy, things to do in Rome, things to do in Florence and things to do in Venice.

3. Paris, Barcelona and Madrid: one long leg, two very different countries

This route asks you to spend most of one day on a train, and the payoff is a trip that starts in northern European formality and ends in a city that eats dinner at ten. Paris to Barcelona is 6 hours 25 minutes direct, from about 39 euros on Ouigo and around 59 on a standard TGV. That is a long sit, but it is one sit, and it beats the four hours of airport friction a flight would cost you.

Days 1 to 4, Paris. Four nights, because Paris punishes a rushed visit more than most. Note the 2026 price change before you build the budget: from 14 January, non-EEA visitors pay 32 euros for the Louvre, a 45 percent increase, while citizens of the 30 EEA countries continue to pay 22. If you are American, Canadian, Australian or British, that is the number that applies to you. Entry is timed and must be booked in advance either way.

Days 5 to 7, Barcelona. Take the morning train, arrive mid-afternoon, and do not plan anything for that first evening beyond finding dinner. Sagrada Família is 26 euros for a standard adult ticket, 24 if you are under 30 or a student, and 21 at 65 or over. Adding the towers takes it to 40. There is a centenary surcharge of somewhere between 2 and 5 euros expected from June to December 2026, which I have seen reported but not confirmed on the basilica’s own price page, so budget the top of the range and be pleasantly surprised.

Days 8 to 10, Madrid. The AVE covers Barcelona to Madrid in 2 hours 29 minutes, and Renfe’s promotional fares start around 14 euros. Madrid is the city on this route that people expect least of and come back talking about most. The Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen sit within a fifteen-minute walk of each other, and the food scene is the best in Spain now that San Sebastián has priced itself into occasion territory.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Advance fare from	Notes
CDG to central Paris	RER B	25 to 35m to Gare du Nord	€14	2026 fare
Paris to Barcelona	SNCF / Ouigo / Renfe	6h 25m direct	€39 Ouigo, about €59 TGV	Typical second-class advance sits €39 to €49
Barcelona to Madrid	Renfe AVE	2h 29m	€14 Promo	Flexible fares run €80 and up
El Prat to central Barcelona	Aerobús	about 35m	€7.45 single, €12.85 return	Official fare from 1 March 2026

The tax that changed this year

Barcelona raised its city surcharge from 4 to 5 euros per person per night on 1 April 2026, and it is scheduled to rise by a euro a year to a maximum of 8 by 2029. That sits on top of the separate regional Catalan tax, which reaches 7 euros a night in a five-star, so a 2029 worst case is 15 euros per person per night. Three nights for two people is 30 euros of city surcharge alone. It will not change your decision, but it should be in the spreadsheet.

Who it suits

Travellers who want maximum contrast in ten days, and anyone who has already done the London and Paris circuit. It is the wrong choice if six and a half hours on a train sounds like a wasted day, in which case do Paris with Lyon and the south of France instead, or run Spain on its own.

Deeper reading: France travel guide, Spain travel guide, things to do in Barcelona and things to do in Madrid.

4. Prague, Vienna and Budapest: the best value on this page

If money is the constraint, stop reading the other routes. Three imperial capitals, two short train legs, and a daily cost that runs at roughly two-thirds of what the western routes demand. Prague to Vienna is 4 hours 15 minutes with about twenty trains a day, from 12.90 euros. Vienna to Budapest is 2 hours 37 minutes on a Railjet from around 9 euros, or 7.90 euros on RegioJet. Both legs together cost less than one Eiffel Tower summit ticket.

Days 1 to 3, Prague. Cross the Charles Bridge before eight in the morning or after ten at night and it is a different structure entirely. Give day two to the castle complex and Malá Strana, day three to Vinohrady and Žižkov, where the beer is cheaper and the crowd is local. A hostel dorm here runs 15 to 25 euros in the outer districts and 15 to 30 across the city.

Days 4 to 6, Vienna. The most formal city of the three and the one that most rewards booking a concert. The one number that changed this year: the Ortstaxe rose from 3.2 to 5 percent on 1 July 2026, and it is scheduled to reach 8 percent from July 2027. Budget on 5 percent for a 2026 trip.

Days 7 to 9, Budapest. The cheapest of the three and the one where an extra night would not go amiss. Budapest runs 25 to 40 percent below Prague on daily costs, dorms sit at 12 to 18 euros, and the tourist tax is 4 percent of the net rate with under-18s exempt. The thermal baths are the thing people remember, and Széchenyi at seven in the morning is worth the alarm.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Advance fare from	Notes
Prague to Vienna	ČD / RegioJet	about 4h 15m	€12.90	Around 20 departures a day
Vienna to Budapest	ÖBB Railjet	2h 37m to 2h 40m	€9 ÖBB, €7.90 RegioJet	Wien Hbf to Budapest Keleti
Vienna to Salzburg, optional add-on	ÖBB Railjet	2h 22m fastest	€19.90 advance	Walk-up fares reach €65

Three currencies, and three tax regimes

Czechia uses the koruna, Austria the euro, Hungary the forint. That is not a problem, it is a habit: pay by card wherever you can, always choose to be charged in the local currency when the terminal offers you the choice, and take out one modest cash withdrawal per country rather than several small ones.

The taxes vary as much as the money. Prague charges a flat 50 koruna, about 2 euros, per person per night for all of 2026, though Prague 1 district has proposed raising it to 175 koruna, roughly 7 euros, with a national review decision expected in the middle of this year. Vienna and Budapest both charge a percentage of your room rate instead, at 5 and 4 percent, so those two bills scale with how nice a room you book while the Czech one does not.

Who it suits

Anyone doing this on a student budget, anyone who has done Western Europe already, and anyone who wants a trip where a sit-down dinner with wine does not require a decision. Look elsewhere if you specifically want beaches, mountains or the Mediterranean, none of which this corridor has.

Deeper reading: Central and Eastern Europe travel guide, the Prague, Vienna and Budapest itinerary in detail, things to do in Prague and things to do in Budapest.

5. Berlin, Prague and Vienna: the route for people who like the twentieth century

Three cities that spent the last hundred years being repeatedly redrawn, connected by two easy legs. Berlin to Prague averages 3 hours 50 minutes with around eleven trains a day. Prague to Vienna is the 4 hour 15 minute run again. What makes this route different from the previous one is Berlin, which is not an imperial capital and does not pretend to be.

Days 1 to 3, Berlin. The city is enormous and low-rise, so pick two districts and stay put. Mitte for the Museum Island and the government quarter, then Kreuzberg or Neukölln for the evening. Day three belongs to the memorial landscape, which Berlin handles more unflinchingly than any city in Europe. Berlin’s city tax is 7.5 percent of the net overnight price and applies to business stays as well as leisure.

Days 4 to 6, Prague. Arrive by lunchtime, which gives you two and a half usable days. The fare structure here is worth understanding, because the gap is enormous: the standard second-class Berlin to Prague fare is 67.70 euros, and 109.40 in first, while Deutsche Bahn’s Sparpreis Europa and Czech Railways’ First Minute Europe saver fares start at 19.90. Same train, same seat, roughly a third of the price, and the only difference is when you clicked.

Days 7 to 9, Vienna. Finish with the coffee houses, the Kunsthistorisches and whatever the Staatsoper has on. Standing-room tickets at the opera are the best value cultural experience in Central Europe and they are sold on the day.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Fare	Notes
Berlin to Prague	DB / ČD	about 3h 50m average	€19.90 saver, €67.70 standard second class	About 11 trains a day. First class standard is €109.40
Prague to Vienna	ČD / RegioJet	about 4h 15m	from €12.90	Around 20 departures a day

Who it suits

History readers, anyone who found Paris too polished, and December travellers, because all three cities run serious Christmas markets and this is one of the few routes here that improves in winter. Not the route for warmth or coastline.

Deeper reading: Germany travel guide, things to do in Berlin, Austria travel guide and European Christmas markets.

6. Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague: the route that got cheaper this year

The transport on this corridor changed in 2026, and it changed in the traveller's favour.

Amsterdam to Berlin used to be a single grinding ICE run of just under six hours, from about 35 euros, upgraded to newer ICE3neo stock in November 2025. Then in March 2026 a new operator called GoVolta started running the same corridor, taking around 6 hours 30 minutes on slower 160 kilometre per hour rolling stock, three times a week initially and moving to daily through the summer. Fares open at 10 euros, but that is the first hundred seats on each train. The realistic average is closer to 30 euros against the ICE’s 35, so treat GoVolta as a modest saving with a thirty-minute penalty rather than a bargain, unless you book the moment seats go on sale.

Days 1 to 3, Amsterdam. Book the Anne Frank House the moment you know your dates, for reasons explained in the booking section below. Otherwise: the Rijksmuseum, one canal walk with no destination, and a day out of the centre.

Days 4 to 6, Berlin. Take the morning departure. Six hours is a real chunk of a day, so treat day four as a transit day and start properly on day five.

Days 7 to 9, Prague. The 3 hour 50 minute run south, ideally on a 19.90 euro saver fare, and then three nights in the cheapest city on the route. Note the cost gradient you are riding: Amsterdam dorms sit at the top of the 28 to 46 euro Western range and Prague at 15 to 30, so your money stretches further with every leg.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Fare from	Notes
Amsterdam to Berlin	ICE (DB / NS)	just under 6h	€35 Economy	ICE3neo stock since November 2025
Amsterdam to Berlin	GoVolta	about 6h 30m	€10 lead-in, about €30 typical	Launched 19 March 2026, three times weekly rising to daily in summer. The €10 fare is the first 100 seats per train
Berlin to Prague	DB / ČD	about 3h 50m	€19.90 saver	€67.70 at standard second-class fare

Who it suits

Budget travellers who still want a Western European city at the start, and anyone who likes the idea of a trip that gets progressively cheaper. Think twice if long train days bother you: two of your three legs are four hours or more.

Deeper reading: Netherlands travel guide, Germany travel guide and Central and Eastern Europe.

7. Munich, Prague and Vienna: beer, baroque and Bohemia

A tighter, greener, more Alpine version of the Central European loop. Munich to Prague takes around five and a half to six hours from 16 to 19 euros, which is slow for the distance because there is no high-speed line, and most services combine a train with an express bus for part of the run. It is comfortable and it is cheap, but do not plan anything for the afternoon you do it.

Days 1 to 3, Munich. The Residenz, the Englischer Garten, and at least one long afternoon in a beer garden, which in Munich is a legitimate cultural activity rather than a drinking session. Neuschwanstein is the obvious day trip. Adult admission is 21 euros at the ticket centre or 23.50 euros online including the 2.50 euro booking fee, and you should book, because same-day tickets are not a realistic plan in season.

Days 4 to 6, Prague. Take the early departure so you arrive with an evening in hand.

Days 7 to 9, Vienna. And if you want a fourth stop without breaking the three-night rule, Salzburg sits 2 hours 22 minutes from Vienna on a fast Railjet, from 19.90 euros advance against up to 65 walking up. Two nights there instead of the third Vienna night works well, particularly in late spring.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Fare from	Notes
Munich to Prague	DB / ČD, train and express bus combinations	about 5h 30m to 6h	€16 to €19	No high-speed line on this corridor
Prague to Vienna	ČD / RegioJet	about 4h 15m	€12.90	Around 20 departures a day
Vienna to Salzburg	ÖBB Railjet	2h 22m fastest	€19.90 advance	Up to €65 walk-up

Who it suits

Anyone travelling in late September, when Oktoberfest overlaps with good walking weather in Bohemia. Anyone who wants mountains within reach without committing to Switzerland. Avoid it if slow trains frustrate you.

Deeper reading: things to do in Munich, Bavaria travel guide, Salzburg travel guide and the Oktoberfest guide.

8. Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague: the fast northern arc

Four cities in ten days breaks my own three-night rule, and I am including it because the legs are short enough to make it work and because a lot of people are going to attempt four stops regardless. If you are going to do it, do it on this corridor, where every hop is a direct train and the line runs east in a straight geographic arc with no backtracking.

Nights go 3 in Paris, 2 in Amsterdam, 2 in Berlin, 2 in Prague. Paris gets the extra night because it is the city that suffers most from a two-night visit.

Days 1 to 3, Paris. One museum, one neighbourhood, one long walk. Do not attempt the Louvre and Versailles in the same trip at this pace.

Days 4 and 5, Amsterdam. Eurostar, 3 hours 20 minutes, from 29 euros. Two nights is one full day, so choose: the Rijksmuseum or the Anne Frank House, not both plus a canal cruise plus the Jordaan.

Days 6 and 7, Berlin. The six-hour run east. Take the earliest departure you can face.

Days 8 and 9, Prague. Under four hours, and then two nights that will feel like a reward after all that movement.

Day 10. Fly home from Prague, which is why an open-jaw ticket matters so much on this route.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Time	Fare from	Running total on the rails
Paris to Amsterdam	3h 20m	€29	€29
Amsterdam to Berlin	just under 6h	€35 ICE, or about €30 typical on GoVolta	€64, or about €59 via GoVolta
Berlin to Prague	about 3h 50m	€19.90 saver	€83.90, or about €79 via GoVolta

Under 90 euros of intercity rail across four countries, if you book early. That is the case for this route in one number.

Who it suits

People who have done a two-city trip and found it too slow, travellers who care more about breadth than depth, and anyone whose flights happen to land in Paris and leave from Prague. It is a poor fit for a first trip, and a poor fit for anyone travelling with young children.

Deeper reading: the best travel routes in Europe and a Europe train itinerary.

The honest warning

You will spend roughly 13 hours of your ten days sitting on trains, plus perhaps another six on the packing, checking out and station logistics around them. That is close to a full day. If reading that sentence made you wince, take one of the three-city routes instead. There is no version of four cities in ten days that does not cost you this.

9. Zurich, Milan and Nice: Alps into the Mediterranean

The most scenic of the twelve, and the most expensive. Zurich to Milan takes 3 hours 12 minutes at its fastest, 3 hours 23 minutes on average, from around 38 Swiss francs, and it runs through the Gotthard Base Tunnel and down into Ticino. Milan to Nice is the awkward one: 5 hours 41 minutes at best and 8 hours 18 minutes on average, with a change, from about 30 US dollars.

Days 1 to 3, Zurich and the lakes. Zurich itself needs a day. Use the other two for the mountains, because that is what you came for and Switzerland’s rail network makes day trips absurdly easy.

Days 4 to 6, Milan. Milan divides people. Give it a day for the Duomo and the Brera, then use it as a base: Lake Como is close enough for a proper day out, and Bergamo’s upper town is a lovely half-day.

Days 7 to 9, Nice. The long westward run along the coast. Nice is the right base rather than Cannes or Monaco, both of which are easy day trips from it and neither of which is much fun to sleep in.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Fare from	Notes
Zurich to Milan	SBB / Trenitalia EuroCity	3h 12m fastest, 3h 23m average	CHF 38, about US$40 via Trainline	Through the Gotthard Base Tunnel
Milan to Nice	Trenitalia / SNCF, with a change	5h 41m fastest, 8h 18m average	about US$30	Check the fast connection specifically. The average is much slower

The currency and cost warning

Switzerland is not in the euro and uses the Swiss franc. It is also, by common consent, the most expensive country in Western Europe, and I could not find a sourced Swiss-specific daily spend figure I was willing to publish. Assume the Swiss leg sits at the top of the 80 to 120 euro Western band or above it, which puts this route at the upper end of its 700 to 1,100 euro range rather than the middle. Your Milan and Nice days will feel cheap by comparison, which is not something people often say about the Riviera in summer.

Who it suits

Photographers, second-time visitors, and anyone travelling in June or September, when the Alpine passes are clear and the coast has not yet filled up. Not the route if you are counting every euro.

Deeper reading: Switzerland travel guide, Lake Como, Nice travel guide and the south of France.

10. Lisbon, Porto and the Douro: one country, slowly

The counter-argument to every multi-country route above. One language, one currency, one rail operator, and ten days that never once involve a border. Lisbon to Porto on the Alfa Pendular takes 2 hours 50 to 2 hours 58 minutes on a tilting train that runs at 200 kilometres per hour, at a standard 2026 second-class fare of 35.70 euros, with promotional tickets from around 16.

Days 1 to 4, Lisbon. Four nights, with one of them given to Sintra, which needs a full day and an early start to beat the coach parties to the Pena Palace. Lisbon’s tourist tax is 4 euros per person per night, capped at seven nights. It doubled from 2 euros in September 2024 and is holding at 4 through 2026.

Days 5 to 7, Porto. Smaller, steeper, and in my view the better city to spend an evening in. The port lodges across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia are the obvious afternoon, and they are worth doing properly with one tasting rather than three.

Days 8 and 9, the Douro Valley. Two nights in the wine country up-river, which is where this route pulls ahead of every other single-country option. The train line along the Douro is one of the great European rail journeys and it is not a tourist service, it is the normal train.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Fare	Notes
Lisbon to Porto	CP Alfa Pendular	2h 50m to 2h 58m	€16 promo, €35.70 standard second class	A tilting train, and the fastest way between the two
Porto to the Douro	CP regional, Linha do Douro	No current sourced fare	No current sourced fare	A normal service train, not a tourist one, and one of the great European rail rides

Who it suits

Anyone who has done a multi-city trip and found it exhausting. Anyone travelling in October, when Portugal is still warm and the harvest is on. Couples, and slow travellers generally. Look elsewhere if you specifically want the big-hitter museums, because Portugal’s are good rather than era-defining.

Deeper reading: Portugal travel guide, things to do in Lisbon, Porto travel guide, the Douro Valley and Sintra.

11. Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast: the southern Italy version

Same country as route two, completely different trip. Rome to Naples is 1 hour 10 minutes on a Frecciarossa from around 9 euros, which is the cheapest useful intercity leg in Western Europe and makes this the easiest ten days here to organise.

Days 1 to 4, Rome. As in route two: one day for ancient Rome on the 18 euro Colosseum ticket, one for the Vatican at 25 euros pre-booked, and two for the city itself. If the Colosseum’s timed slots have gone, the Forum Pass SUPER is 18 euros, covers the Roman Forum, the Palatine and eight rotating SUPER sites including the Domus Tiberiana and the House of the Vestals, and rarely sells out. It excludes the Colosseum interior, which is the trade.

Days 5 and 6, Naples. Two nights, which is enough for the archaeological museum, a day at Pompeii, and the best pizza you will eat anywhere. Naples is not a comfortable city and that is rather the point.

Days 7 to 9, Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast. Here I have to flag a gap. I could not source current 2026 fares or timings for the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento, the SITA coast buses or the seasonal ferries, and I am not going to publish numbers I did not see on a page. What I can tell you from experience is that the coast road is slow, the buses are crowded from June onwards, and the ferries are the better option whenever they are running. Base yourself in Sorrento rather than Positano unless budget is no object, and check the operators directly when you book.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Fare from	Notes
Fiumicino to Roma Termini	Leonardo Express	32m non-stop	€14	Every 15 minutes
Rome to Naples	Frecciarossa	1h 10m	about €9	Frequent all day
Naples to Sorrento and the coast	Circumvesuviana, SITA bus, seasonal ferry	No current sourced figure	No current sourced figure	Check operators directly. Ferries beat buses in summer

Who it suits

Second-time visitors to Italy, food travellers, and anyone going in May, June or September. Avoid August, when the coast is at its most crowded and Rome is at its hottest.

Deeper reading: Amalfi Coast travel guide, best places to visit in Italy, Italian food by region and the best time to visit Italy.

12. Athens and two Greek islands: the one that needs the most flexibility

Every other route here runs on rails, which makes it predictable. This one runs on ferries, which does not. I am including it because a lot of people want islands on a ten-day trip, and because the mainland end of it is well documented even where the sea legs are not.

Days 1 to 3, Athens. The airport metro on Line 3 reaches Syntagma in about 40 minutes for 9 euros one way or 16 return. The Acropolis is 30 euros for 2026, entry is timed and mandatory, and a daily cap of 20,000 visitors applies, so the slot you want may already be gone if you leave it late. Go at opening or in the last two hours. Athens in July averages a 32 degree high with 5 millimetres of rain across a single wet day, which tells you everything about visiting in midsummer.

Days 4 to 7, the first island. Four nights somewhere with enough to it that you do not need to move: Naxos, Crete or Milos, depending on what you are after: ruins, mountains or beaches.

Days 8 and 9, the second island. Two nights only, and only if the ferry connection is direct. This is where ten-day Greek itineraries fall apart, because people plan an island hop that requires backtracking to Piraeus.

Day 10. Fly back to Athens rather than sailing, if the schedule allows it. A missed ferry on day ten is a missed international flight.

The legs, with times and fares

Leg	Operator	Time	Fare	Notes
Athens airport to Syntagma	Metro Line 3	about 40 minutes	€9 one way, €16 return	Direct, no change
Piraeus to the islands	Conventional ferry or fast catamaran	No current sourced figure	No current sourced figure	Book direct with the operator. Catamarans cancel in high winds more readily
Island to island	Ferry, or a domestic flight via Athens	No current sourced figure	No current sourced figure	Only take a second island if the connection is direct

Who it suits

Travellers who want swimming as well as sightseeing, and anyone going in late May, June or late September, when the sea is warm and the Acropolis is not 32 degrees. It is the wrong route for anyone on a rigid schedule, because the ferries do not respect one.

The gap I could not close

I could not source current 2026 ferry timings or fares for any Aegean route from an operator page, and I will not estimate them. Book directly with the operators, add a buffer of at least half a day before any onward international flight, and take the fast catamarans in shoulder season with the knowledge that they cancel in high winds more readily than the conventional ferries do.

Deeper reading: Greece travel guide, the best Greek islands, a Greek island hopping itinerary and things to do in Athens.

What ten days in Europe actually costs in 2026

There are four separate cost buckets on a trip like this, and people routinely forget two of them.

Bucket one: getting there

A round-trip transatlantic flight sits at roughly 900 US dollars per person in the 2026 cost surveys I could source, though that figure swings enormously by origin, season and how far ahead you book. Summer flights and hotels run 30 to 50 percent above shoulder-season rates, which is the single largest lever you control.

Bucket two: daily spending

Region	Hostel dorm	Daily total, budget	Daily total, mid-range	Ten days, mid-range
Western Europe (Paris, Amsterdam, London)	US$30–50 / €28–46	US$80–120	US$150–250	US$1,500–2,500
Southern Europe (Spain benchmark)	€25–40	€60–80	€90–140 comfortable	€900–1,400
Central & Eastern Europe (Prague, Budapest, Kraków)	€12–30 by city	US$25–50	€35–70 rule of thumb	€350–700

The regional gap is not marginal. On the cost-survey figures I could source, Central and Eastern Europe runs roughly 50 to 60 percent below Western Europe, Budapest sits 25 to 40 percent under Prague, and Kraków undercuts Prague by another 15 to 25 percent. The same source puts Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey cheaper still, at 60 to 75 euros a day for a mid-range traveller. These are editorial estimates rather than statistical ones, so treat the direction as reliable and the precision as not.

Some real prices, to make those bands concrete. A three-course menú del día with wine in Spain is 12 to 16 euros. A beer or a glass of wine is 3 to 4. A sit-down trattoria lunch in Italy is 15 to 25 US dollars. A basic café lunch in Paris is 18 to 28, and a regional brasserie menu du jour is 15 to 22.

Bucket three: intercity transport

See the full fare table in the next section. Booked early, this is 22 euros on the cheapest three-city route and about 84 on the four-city one. Booked late, or flown, it can be several times that.

Bucket four: the costs people forget

Tourist taxes, seat reservation supplements, a data SIM, and the museum tickets themselves. One planning source suggests budgeting an extra 100 to 200 euros for exactly this category on a multi-city trip, and having added it up for the routes above I think that is about right. Three nights each in Paris and Barcelona, for two people, is already 63 euros of tourist tax before Rome is added, at 5.53 euros a head a night in a Paris three-star and 5 in Barcelona.

Putting it together

For a ten-day trip, mid-range, one person, all in including a flight from the United States, the sourced figure is 3,000 to 3,500 US dollars. A budget version comes in near 1,800 and a luxury version starts at 6,500. A second widely cited estimate puts the mid-range figure at 3,000 to 5,000 and intercity transport at 350 to 600 US dollars across ten days, which is roughly four times what the advance rail fares in this guide would cost you.

One caveat worth repeating: these daily figures come from 2026 travel cost editorial rather than from national statistics offices. They are good planning brackets and poor quotes. For a fuller treatment see Europe on a budget, what a Europe trip costs and daily budgets by country.

Every train leg in this guide, with times and fares

One table, every route, so you can price a corridor before you commit to it. All fares are lead-in advance fares in the currency the operator charges in.

Leg	Journey time	Advance fare from	Confidence
London to Paris	2h 20m to 2h 40m	€39 / £35	Sources differ on the time
Paris to Amsterdam	3h 20m	€29	Operator page
Paris to Barcelona	6h 25m	€39 Ouigo, about €59 TGV	Rail reference site
Barcelona to Madrid	2h 29m	€14 Renfe Promo	Time verified, fare single source
Rome to Florence	1h 25m	€14.90 at 90+ days	Time verified
Florence to Venice	2h 01m	€18.90 Italo	Time verified
Rome to Naples	1h 10m	about €9	Time verified
Munich to Prague	about 5h 30m to 6h	€16 to €19	Time verified
Prague to Vienna	about 4h 15m	€12.90	Time verified, about 20 trains a day
Vienna to Budapest	2h 37m to 2h 40m	€9 ÖBB, €7.90 RegioJet	Time verified
Vienna to Salzburg	2h 22m	€19.90	Walk-up to €65
Amsterdam to Berlin, ICE	just under 6h	€35	ICE3neo since November 2025
Amsterdam to Berlin, GoVolta	about 6h 30m	€10	Launched 19 March 2026
Berlin to Prague	about 3h 50m	€19.90 saver, €67.70 standard	Both verified. About 11 trains a day
Zurich to Milan	3h 12m fastest	CHF 38	Time verified
Lisbon to Porto	2h 50m to 2h 58m	€16 promo, €35.70 standard	Time verified
Paris to Lyon, an alternative first leg on route three	from 1h 53m	about €12 on Ouigo	Time verified. Not used in any of the twelve routes as written
Milan to Nice	5h 41m fastest, 8h 18m average	about US$30	Requires a change

Read that table with one thing in mind. Every “from” figure is the cheapest seat on the cheapest train, released months in advance and gone quickly. The Berlin to Prague line shows you the spread most clearly: 19.90 euros on a saver fare against 67.70 at the standard second-class price, for the same journey. Booking early is not a small optimisation on European rail, it is most of the cost.

More detail in our guides to train travel in Europe, how to book European train tickets and high-speed trains.

Two worked budgets, line by line

Bands are useful for choosing a route. They are useless for deciding whether you can afford one. So here are two of these routes costed properly, for one person, ten days, excluding the international flight.

Route four: Prague, Vienna and Budapest, mid-range

Line	Working	Cost
Prague, 3 nights	Eastern band, €35 to €70 a day	€105–210
Vienna, 3 nights	Western band, €80 to €120 a day	€240–360
Budapest, 3 nights	Eastern band, and Budapest sits at the bottom of it	€105–210
Prague to Vienna	Advance fare	€12.90
Vienna to Budapest	RegioJet advance	€7.90
Tourist tax, Prague	CZK 50 x 3 nights	about €6
Tourist tax, Vienna	5% of the net rate, 3 nights	varies with your room rate
Tourist tax, Budapest	4% of the net rate, 3 nights	varies with your room rate
Total on the ground	Daily bands plus the two fares	€471–801

Round that to 470 to 800 euros, plus percentage-based taxes in two of the three cities and whatever you spend on the baths and the opera. Add a transatlantic flight, which the 2026 cost surveys put near 900 US dollars, and this is comfortably the cheapest complete route on the page.

Route one: London, Paris and Amsterdam, mid-range

Line	Working	Cost
Nine nights of daily spending	Western band, €80 to €120 a day	€720–1,080
London to Paris	Eurostar advance	€39
Paris to Amsterdam	Eurostar advance	€29
Schiphol to Centraal	NS	€6.20
UK ETA	Per person, one-off	£20
Louvre	Non-EEA rate from 14 January 2026	€32
Eiffel Tower summit	Adult, by lift	€36.70
Anne Frank House	Adult, including the €1 booking fee	€16.50
Tourist tax, Paris	€5.53 in a 3-star x 3 nights	€16.59
Tourist tax, Amsterdam	12.5% of the room rate excluding VAT, 3 nights	varies, and it is the largest tax line here
Total on the ground	Daily band plus the euro lines above. The £20 UK ETA is on top	about €896–1,256 plus the Amsterdam percentage

The comparison is the point. The same ten days at the same standard of travel, costing half as much again at the bottom of the band and nearly double at the top, and most of the difference is accommodation and food rather than anything you would notice as an experience. If your budget is the binding constraint, the route choice does more work than any amount of frugality within a route.

The booking order, from six months out to the week before

Sequence matters more than effort here. Doing the right things in the wrong order is how people end up paying 67.70 euros for a 19.90 euro train.

Six months out

Fix your dates and your route. Book the international flight, and search it as multi-city rather than round trip so you can see the open-jaw options. Apply for a UK ETA if your route includes Britain, because it is required now and costs 20 pounds. Check the European Commission’s revised-timeline page for ETIAS, which is no longer expected in 2026 and will cost 20 euros whenever it does start.

Three to six months out

This is the rail window. European operators typically open booking three to six months ahead, and that is when the lead-in fares exist: 14.90 euros Rome to Florence at 90 days, 19.90 Berlin to Prague on a saver, 12.90 Prague to Vienna, 29 Paris to Amsterdam. Book accommodation in the same pass, because the two decisions interact. If you cannot get an affordable train on the day you wanted, shift a night.

Two to three months out

Book the Doge’s Palace if Venice is on your route, because crossing the 30-day line takes it from 30 euros to 35. Book the Louvre, the Colosseum, the Vatican and the Acropolis, all of which are timed entry and all of which sell out in season. Book the Alhambra if you are going to Granada, which needs more lead time than anything else in Spain.

Six weeks out, on a Tuesday

The Anne Frank House, at 10:00 Amsterdam time, for the week six weeks later. Set an alarm. Be logged in five minutes early. This is the single hardest ticket to get in Western Europe and there is no fallback.

Two to four weeks out

The Uffizi and the Accademia. Airport transfers, if you want them pre-booked, though every one in the table above can be bought on the day. A data SIM or eSIM. Check whether your Venice dates fall on one of the 60 access-fee days, and register if you are day-tripping.

The week before

Download your tickets offline. Screenshot your accommodation addresses. Tell your bank. Check the operator pages for the two or three prices in this guide that were flagged as changing: the Sagrada Família centenary surcharge, the Prague tourist tax review, and the Vienna Ortstaxe, which rises again in July 2027.

Our Europe trip planning checklist runs the same sequence in list form, and when to book a trip to Europe goes deeper on the flight timing.

Rail pass or point-to-point tickets? The maths for a ten-day trip

This is the first question most people ask about a European trip, and for ten days the answer is usually no. Here is the arithmetic behind that.

What the passes cost in 2026

Pass	Adult, 2nd class	Youth 12 to 27	Senior 60+
Eurail Global, 7 days within 1 month	US$369	25% off	10% off
Eurail Global, 15 days within 2 months	US$542	25% off	10% off
Eurail Global, 2 months continuous	US$958	25% off	10% off
Interrail Global, 4 days within 1 month	about €283	25% off	10% off
Interrail Global, 7 days within 1 month	about €381	25% off	10% off
Interrail Global, 15 days continuous	about €476	25% off	10% off

Two caveats. First, Eurail and Interrail render their prices client-side and vary them by residency and currency, so all of these except the roughly 381 euro Interrail 7-day line came from a price tracker rather than the operators’ own pages. Check before you buy. Second, I found the 10-days-within-2-months Eurail price quoted at both US$441 and around US$650 by different sources in the same week, which is too wide a gap to publish as a figure.

Which product you can buy depends on where you live: Eurail is for non-European residents, Interrail for European ones. Children aged 4 to 11 travel free on a Child Pass, up to two per accompanying adult, and under-4s travel free with no pass at all.

The reservation supplement, which is where passes lose

Seat reservations are not included in a Eurail or Interrail pass. They are charged separately by each railway, and on exactly the trains a ten-day itinerary uses. Budget roughly 10 euros for a domestic high-speed reservation, 15 for an international one, and 20 for a night train, where reservation is always mandatory. A rule of thumb from the most reliable rail reference site is to build in about 20 US dollars per travel day for supplements. Most regional and slower trains need no reservation at all, which is what makes passes work for people wandering rather than routing.

The verdict for ten days

Run route four, Prague to Vienna to Budapest, as an example. Two legs, 12.90 plus 9 euros, so under 22 euros of point-to-point advance tickets. A 7-day Interrail Global Pass is about 381 euros and would still need reservation supplements on top. There is no arithmetic in which the pass wins.

Now run route eight, the four-city northern arc: 29 plus 35 plus 19.90, so about 84 euros of advance fares. A pass is still four and a half times that.

Passes tend to win across four or more countries over ten or more travel days, and for spontaneous travel where you cannot book ahead. Point-to-point advance tickets are almost always cheaper for a fixed, pre-booked itinerary, which is what a ten-day trip is. If you want to check your own numbers, we have full comparisons in is a Eurail pass worth it and Eurail versus Interrail.

One product worth knowing about if you do buy: the Global Plus Pass, a newer Eurail option that covers seat reservation costs on most trains, which removes the supplement problem entirely.

Trains or budget flights? What changed in 2026

On the corridors in this guide, take the train. A three-hour rail journey city centre to city centre beats a one-hour flight once you add the transfer out to the airport, the two-hour check-in buffer, the transfer back in at the other end, and the bag rules. The exception is a leg over about six hours where a low-cost carrier flies it directly, which on this page means Lisbon to anywhere else, and the Greek islands.

The cabin bag rules, as they stand right now

Airline	Free item	Larger cabin bag	Fee
Ryanair	40 x 30 x 20 cm, under the seat	55 x 40 x 20 cm, 10 kg, overhead	Requires the Priority Boarding bundle
easyJet	45 x 36 x 20 cm including handles and wheels, no weight limit	56 x 45 x 25 cm, overhead	Reported from £5.99, and much higher at the airport. It flexes by route, season and lead time

Ryanair increased its free bag to 40 by 30 by 20 centimetres from 4 September 2025, which exceeds the EU minimum of 40 by 30 by 15.

The free cabin bag law, and why it does not help you yet

On 7 July 2026 the European Parliament approved revised air passenger rights by 646 votes to 12, with 3 abstentions. The package guarantees a free personal item up to 40 by 30 by 15 centimetres, requires every displayed fare to include both a personal item and a cabin bag, and adds compensation for delays of at least three hours. It is expected to enter into force in 2027, pending formal adoption. For a trip taken in 2026, it does not apply. Plan around the airlines’ current rules.

What you will really pay

A 2026 budget-airline round-up I could source, though not from the airlines themselves, puts headline promotional fares at around 15 to 20 euros on Ryanair and Wizz, Wizz’s basic fare floor near 24, easyJet at 15 to 20 percent above Ryanair, and short hops booked in advance frequently under 50 euros one way. The number that matters more, from the same source: a 10 euro base fare can reach about 45 once you add a cabin bag, seat selection and payment fees. Nobody publishes a figure for the specific four-to-eight-week booking window, so treat all of those as promotional floors rather than expected prices.

See also budget airlines in Europe, flying versus the train and getting around Europe.

The tickets you must book before you leave home

A ten-day trip has no slack in it. Turning up at the Accademia at eleven in the morning in June and finding the day sold out does not cost you an hour, it costs you a quarter of your time in Florence. Here is every headline attraction on the routes above with its 2026 price and, more usefully, its booking behaviour.

Attraction	2026 adult price	Booking rule
Louvre, Paris	€32 non-EEA visitors, €22 EEA citizens	Timed entry, advance booking required. The non-EEA rate rose 45% on 14 January 2026
Eiffel Tower, Paris	€36.70 summit by lift, from €14.80 by stairs to the second floor	Book the summit ahead. Stairs tickets are easier on the day
Colosseum, Rome	€18 standard, €24 Full Experience with the arena floor	Includes Roman Forum and Palatine, valid 24 hours from first entry
Forum Pass SUPER, Rome	€18	Forum, Palatine and eight rotating SUPER sites. Excludes the Colosseum. Rarely sells out
Vatican Museums, Rome	€20, plus a €5 online booking fee	€25 all in for a pre-booked slot
Uffizi, Florence	€25 on site, €29 online; €16 / €20 from 4pm	The afternoon discount is new from 1 January 2026
Accademia, Florence	€16 plus a €4 mandatory online fee, so €20	On-site tickets sell out by mid-morning, April to October
Doge’s Palace, Venice	€30 booked 30+ days ahead, €35 inside 30 days	Includes Correr, the Archaeological Museum and the Marciana Library
Sagrada Família, Barcelona	€26 adult, €24 under 30 or student, €21 at 65+	€40 with tower access. A €2 to €5 centenary surcharge has applied since 1 June 2026
Alhambra, Granada	€22.27 general	Guided tours from €40, night tours from €12 self-guided
Anne Frank House, Amsterdam	€16.50 adult, €7 ages 10 to 17, €1 under 10	See below. This one has a rule of its own
Acropolis, Athens	€30	Timed entry is mandatory and a 20,000 daily visitor cap applies
Neuschwanstein, Bavaria	€21 at the ticket centre, €23.50 online including the €2.50 booking fee	Book ahead. Same-day tickets are not a realistic plan in season

The Anne Frank House release rule

Tickets are released every Tuesday at 10:00 Amsterdam time for the whole of the week six weeks later. Booking is online only, and the popular midday slots go in two or three minutes. There is no walk-up option to fall back on.

Practically: count back six weeks from your Amsterdam dates, work out which Tuesday releases them, put an alarm on your phone, and be logged in at 09:55. If you are on route one, six or eight, this is the single most time-sensitive thing in your entire plan and it needs doing before you book a hotel.

The three others worth an alarm

The Accademia in Florence, because the David is the reason people go and on-site tickets are gone by mid-morning in season. The Acropolis, because of the 20,000 cap. And the Doge’s Palace, purely on price: crossing the 30-day line costs you five euros per person for no reason other than timing.

Tourist taxes in 2026, city by city

On a ten-day trip across three cities, tourist taxes add somewhere between 40 and 100 euros per person, and in Amsterdam considerably more, because it is charged as a percentage of your room rate rather than as a flat nightly fee.

City	2026 rate	Notes
Paris	€5.53 in a 3-star, €11.70 in a 5-star, €15.93 in a palace or unclassified rental	Per adult, not per room. Under-18s exempt. The full range runs €0.65 to €15.60 before surcharges, which include a 200% Île-de-France Mobilités uplift
Amsterdam	12.5% of the accommodation price excluding VAT	The highest in Europe. A coalition plan to raise it to 16% and then to 20% by 2030 is not in force
Berlin	7.5% of the net overnight price	Applies to business stays too
Vienna	5%, up from 3.2% on 1 July 2026	Scheduled to reach 8% from 1 July 2027
Budapest	4% of the net rate	Under-18s exempt
Rome	€3 at campsites up to €10 in a 5-star	Charged for a maximum of 10 consecutive nights
Florence	€4 in a 1-star to €7.50 in a 4-star to €10 in a 5-star, flat €6 for private rentals	Per adult per night, up to 7 continuous nights
Venice	€1 to €4.50 by property and season	Capped at 5 nights. Separate from the day-tripper access fee
Barcelona	€5 city surcharge since 1 April 2026, on top of the regional Catalan rate	Up from €4 on 1 April 2026, rising €1 a year to a maximum €8 by 2029. The Catalan regional tax is charged separately and reaches €7 in a five-star
Lisbon	€4	Capped at 7 nights, and holding at this rate through 2026
Prague	CZK 50, about €2	Holding at this rate for all of 2026. Prague 1 has proposed CZK 175, decision pending

Two things to take from that table. Amsterdam charges 12.5 percent on the pre-VAT room rate, so a 200 euro advertised nightly rate works out near 22 euros a night of tax, which is more than a Prague hostel bed costs. And the flat-rate cities, Prague at about 2 euros and Lisbon at 4, are the ones where the tax barely registers.

Most properties collect this at check-out in cash or card, separately from the booking. It will not appear on your reservation total, so add it yourself.

Entry requirements: where things actually stand in August 2026

This is the part of Europe travel that has changed most in the last year, and it is the part most worth checking on the day you book rather than trusting to a guide. Here is the position as of August 2026, taken from European Commission and UK government sources.

The Entry/Exit System is live

The EES became fully operational across all Schengen countries on 10 April 2026, completing a 180-day phased rollout that began on 12 October 2025. It replaces passport stamps with a digital record of your entries and exits, and it captures a facial image, fingerprints and your travel document data at the external border.

You do not apply for anything in advance. Registration happens at the border on arrival. In participating countries you can pre-register within 72 hours of entry using the official “Travel to Europe” mobile app, which speeds up the check. It covers the 29 European countries of the Schengen area, and tens of millions of crossings have been processed since launch.

The practical effect is queues, and they have been worse than anyone expected. Peak waits at busy crossings have run to several hours since April, and several member states have used the flexibility in the rules to pause checks when queues build. The first time you enter Schengen involves biometric enrolment, which takes longer than a stamp did. Build in real extra time at your first Schengen airport, and considerably more if you are connecting onto a short domestic hop.

ETIAS is not live, and it will not be this year

The position moved again this summer. A launch in the final quarter of 2026 was the plan until eu-LISA concluded it was not feasible, and the official EU pages dropped that target in July 2026. A revised timeline is expected after the September board meeting, with 2027 now the realistic window. As of August 2026 ETIAS is not in operation and no confirmed start date exists.

When it does launch it will cost 20 euros, raised from the 7 euros originally announced, and will be valid for three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. It covers 30 countries, the Schengen area plus Cyprus.

Who needs it: visa-free nationals, which includes citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Who does not: anyone who already requires a Schengen visa, such as Indian nationals, because the visa does the same job. Carriers will check it before departure once it is running.

The date has moved repeatedly, which is exactly why no guide should print one as settled, including this one. The European Commission maintains a revised-timeline page and that is the thing to check before you fly. When it does launch, apply through the official EU site or the official ETIAS app, because third-party sites charge a markup for the same authorisation.

The UK is a separate system

The UK Electronic Travel Authorisation is required now, not later, for most visitors including those from Europe, the United States, Australia and Canada. It costs 20 pounds, covers the UK, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man for stays up to six months, and every person needs their own, including infants. You do not need one on a British or Irish passport, or if you already have permission to live, work or study in the UK. You do need one if you are passing through UK border control in transit.

The 90/180 rule, unchanged

Non-EU nationals can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the 29 Schengen countries. Ten days will not trouble it, but if you are on a longer trip with multiple Europe legs, the EES now tracks this automatically and accurately, which it did not when it depended on a border officer finding space for a stamp.

Fuller treatments: Schengen visa and ETIAS, what ETIAS is, the 90/180 day rule and documents you need.

Which currency will you need?

The euro is not universal, and one country changed sides this year.

Country	Currency in 2026	Note
Bulgaria	Euro	Adopted on 1 January 2026 as the 21st euro-area member, at a fixed rate of 1.95583 lev to the euro
Croatia	Euro	Since 1 January 2023
Czechia	Czech koruna	Not the euro
Hungary	Hungarian forint	Not the euro
Poland	Polish złoty	Not the euro
Denmark	Danish krone	Holds a formal treaty opt-out
Sweden	Swedish krona	Not the euro
Switzerland	Swiss franc	Not an EU member
Norway	Norwegian krone	Not an EU member

The euro area now has 21 member states and more than 357 million people. The EU countries still outside it are Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Romania.

On Bulgaria specifically: any guide written before this year, and a good many written since, still quotes prices in lev. Both currencies circulated during January 2026, with payment accepted in lev but change given in euro, and mandatory dual pricing runs until 8 August 2026. If you see a Bulgarian price in lev, divide by 1.95583.

The practical advice does not change much. Pay by card, always choose the local currency when a terminal offers to convert for you, and take one sensible cash withdrawal per country rather than four small ones. More in our guide to currency in Europe for travellers.

When to go, with actual numbers

May, June and September are the consensus months among the travel professionals I know, for the obvious reasons: workable weather, thinner crowds, and prices below the June to August peak, when flights and hotels run 30 to 50 percent above shoulder-season rates.

This is what those months feel like, using 30-year normal daily highs from national meteorological agencies.

City	May high	July high	October high	July rain
Paris	20°C	25°C	16°C	62 mm across 8 wet days
Amsterdam	17°C	22°C	15°C	77 mm across 10 wet days
Prague	18°C	23°C	13°C	66 mm across 9 wet days
Barcelona	21°C	28°C	22°C	20 mm across 2 wet days
Lisbon	21°C	28°C	22°C	6 mm across 1 wet day
Rome	24°C	32°C	22°C	21 mm across 2 wet days
Athens	24°C	32°C	23°C	5 mm across 1 wet day

That table contains the most useful planning insight here, and it is a north-south split. In July, Rome and Athens both average 32 degrees with effectively no rain at all, one and two wet days respectively. Amsterdam and Prague sit at 22 and 23 degrees with ten and nine wet days. If you are travelling in high summer, run a northern route and save Italy and Greece for the shoulder season. If you are travelling in October, invert it: Prague drops to 13 degrees while Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon and Athens all hold at 22 or 23.

I could not retrieve May and October rainfall counts for all seven cities within research budget, so I have left the rain column to July, which is the month it matters most. Two partial figures I did find: Barcelona takes roughly 100 millimetres across about six rain days in October, its wettest month, and Paris sees about eight rain days in October.

For a deeper look, see the best time to visit Europe, Europe weather by month and travelling in shoulder season.

Airport transfers, priced

Small numbers, but they are the first and last thing that happens to you, and getting them wrong turns a good arrival into a bad one.

Airport	Best option	Time	Fare
Paris CDG	RER B to Gare du Nord	25 to 35 minutes	€14
Rome Fiumicino	Leonardo Express to Termini	32 minutes non-stop, every 15 minutes	€14
Barcelona El Prat	Aerobús	about 35 minutes	€7.45 single, €12.85 return
Amsterdam Schiphol	NS train to Centraal	17 minutes direct	€6.20
Athens	Metro Line 3 to Syntagma	about 40 minutes	€9 one way, €16 return
London Heathrow	No current fares sourced	Not sourced	Check National Rail and TfL directly

Amsterdam has the best airport connection in Europe at 17 minutes and 6.20 euros, which is one small reason route one finishes there rather than starting there.

Open-jaw flights: the booking trick that saves you a day

Every route above ends somewhere other than where it started. If you book a standard return, you have to travel back to your arrival city, which on a ten-day trip costs you the best part of a day and a train fare you did not need to pay.

An open-jaw ticket, which airlines and booking sites call multi-city, flies you into one airport and home from another. The thing people assume is that it costs more. It usually does not. Most airlines price an open jaw as a round trip, charging half the round-trip fare for each leg. The worked example: if a return to city A costs 400 dollars and a return from city C costs 500, your open jaw is 450, being 200 plus 250. It is also usually cheaper than booking two separate one-way tickets, because international one-ways carry a heavy premium.

Search it with the multi-city option on Google Flights or Skyscanner rather than the round-trip box. I could not source a concrete percentage for how transatlantic multi-city fares compare with round trips in 2026, so I am giving you the pricing logic rather than a number.

The planning benefit is bigger than the fare. Building a geographic loop with an open jaw eliminates backtracking, which is the largest single time cost on a trip this short.

See also cheap flights to Europe, when to book and planning a multi-country trip.

What three nights buys you in each city

Three nights means two full days plus two half days at the edges. That is not much, and it buys very different amounts depending on the city. This table is the one I use when someone insists their route is fine and I suspect it is not.

City	One full day covers	Two full days covers	Three nights enough?
Rome	Ancient Rome on the €18 Colosseum ticket, or the Vatican at €25. Not both	Both, plus one evening in Trastevere	No. Take four nights
Paris	One major museum plus one neighbourhood	Add the Eiffel Tower and a second district	Just about. Four is better
London	The British Museum and central Westminster	Add Greenwich or Hampstead	Yes
Amsterdam	The Rijksmuseum and a canal walk	Add the Anne Frank House and one outer district	Yes, comfortably
Florence	The Uffizi and the Duomo	Add the Accademia and the Oltrarno	Yes
Venice	San Marco and the Doge’s Palace	Add Dorsoduro, Cannaregio and one island	Yes, and the evenings are the point
Barcelona	Sagrada Família and the Gothic Quarter	Add Park Güell and the beach	Yes
Madrid	The Prado and Retiro	Add the Reina Sofía and La Latina	Yes
Prague	The castle and Malá Strana	Add Vinohrady and Žižkov	Yes
Vienna	The Kunsthistorisches and the Innere Stadt	Add Schönbrunn and an evening concert	Yes
Budapest	Buda Castle and the Parliament	Add the baths and the ruin bars	Yes, though four would not go amiss
Berlin	Museum Island and the government quarter	Add the memorial sites and Kreuzberg	No. Berlin is the city three nights shortchanges most
Lisbon	Alfama, Baixa and Belém	Add Sintra as a full day	No. Four nights, because Sintra takes one of them
Athens	The Acropolis on a timed slot and the museum	Add the agora, Plaka and one hill at sunset	Yes

Four cities on that list need more than three nights: Rome, Berlin, Lisbon and arguably Paris. That is exactly why routes two, ten and eleven give their opening city four nights and take one back at the other end. If your route includes Rome or Lisbon and you have allocated three nights, that is the first thing I would change.

The reverse case is worth saying too. Amsterdam, Venice, Florence and Athens are all well served by three nights, and Amsterdam in particular is a city where a fourth night usually gets spent doing something you could have done at home. On a fixed ten days, taking a night off Amsterdam and giving it to Paris is almost always the right trade.

The half days nobody plans for

Your arrival afternoon and your departure morning are real time and most itineraries pretend they do not exist. The arrival afternoon is best spent walking a single neighbourhood with no ticket and no plan, ideally the one you are sleeping in, because it turns an unfamiliar city into a known one before you have to navigate it properly. The departure morning is worth using: most European museums open at nine or ten, and an early slot at a small museum near your station is a better last memory than an extra hour in a hotel lobby.

Smart swaps: same route, different city

Every route above has a substitution that trades a famous stop for a cheaper, quieter or better-connected one. These are the swaps I make when planning for people.

Instead of	Try	Why
Venice as a day trip from Florence	Two or three nights in Venice	Any overnight booking exempts you from the day-tripper access fee, and you get the city after 4pm, which is the version worth seeing
Madrid, on route three	Seville or Granada	Andalusia in spring and autumn is the best of Spain. The Alhambra is €22.27 and needs booking well ahead
Vienna, on route four	Kraków	Kraków undercuts Prague on cost by 15 to 25 percent, and Prague already undercuts Vienna heavily
The third Vienna night, on route seven	Two nights in Salzburg	2h 22m from Vienna, from €19.90 advance, and a completely different landscape
Milan, on route nine	An extra two nights on Lake Como	Milan is a day. The lakes are the reason you came
Nice, on route nine	Turin	Cheaper, closer, and largely undiscovered by the ten-day crowd
The ICE from Amsterdam to Berlin	GoVolta	Thirty minutes slower for about five euros less on a typical fare, and considerably less if you catch the €10 seats
An 11am Uffizi slot	A 4pm Uffizi slot	€16 on site rather than €25, and quieter rooms
The Colosseum, when slots have gone	The Forum Pass SUPER, €18	Eight rotating sites, the Palatine, and it rarely sells out
Eiffel Tower summit at €36.70	Stairs to the second floor from €14.80	Better views of the tower’s own structure, and less than half the price

Which route should you take? Pick by traveller type

First time in Europe

Route one, London, Paris and Amsterdam, or route two, Rome, Florence and Venice. Both are dense with things you have already heard of, and both run on short, frequent, well-signposted trains. Route one has English as a fallback for your first three days, which matters more to nervous first-timers than they usually admit. See our guide to the best places to visit in Europe for a first trip.

Tight budget

Route four, Prague, Vienna and Budapest, without hesitation. Roughly 450 to 800 euros on the ground for nine nights against 700 to 1,100 for a Western route, plus under 21 euros of intercity rail. Route six is the next best, because it gets cheaper as it goes east. Read backpacking Europe and the cheapest places to travel in Europe.

Couples and honeymooners

Route ten, Lisbon, Porto and the Douro, for the slow pace and the wine country. Route nine if you want the drama of the Alps and the Riviera in one trip and the budget stretches. See romantic Europe.

Travelling with children

Route two, Italy, because the legs are all under two hours and gelato solves most problems. Remember that children aged 4 to 11 travel free on a rail pass Child Pass, up to two per accompanying adult, and under-4s need no pass at all, though on this trip length point-to-point tickets still work out cheaper. Our Europe with kids guide has more.

Solo travellers

Route four or route six. Both run through cities with strong hostel scenes and low costs, which is the combination that makes solo travel sociable rather than lonely. See solo travel in Europe.

Second or third visit

Route nine, route eleven or route twelve. All three assume you have already done the headline capitals and would rather have landscape, food or coastline. Route eight if you enjoy movement and want four countries.

Travelling in high summer

Route one, six or eight. Northern routes hold up best in high summer, with July highs in the low to mid twenties in Amsterdam, Prague and Paris rather than the 32 degree averages of Rome and Athens. Their best-months cells still say May, June and September, because that is when they are at their best. July is simply when they are least bad.

Travelling in December

Route five, Berlin, Prague and Vienna, which is one of the few routes here that improves in winter thanks to the Christmas markets. See European Christmas markets and Europe in winter.

Three ten-day routes I would talk you out of

Plenty of ten-day itineraries circulate that look sensible on a map and fall apart in practice. These are the three I get asked about most and advise against.

Paris, Rome and Barcelona

Three of the four cities people most want to see, and no sensible way to connect them in ten days. Paris to Barcelona is 6 hours 25 minutes by rail. Barcelona to Rome has no direct train at all. You end up flying at least one leg, which means two airport days out of your eight usable ones, and you arrive in each city having just left another one exactly like it in scale and pace. Pick two of the three and go deeper, or run Paris to Barcelona to Madrid as route three does.

London, Paris, Rome and Athens

The greatest-hits version, and the one that most reliably produces a miserable trip. Four countries, four separate flight or rail regimes, two entry systems, and roughly nothing under three hours between stops. You will get one full day in each city. The Vatican alone can take four hours. Athens has a daily visitor cap on the Acropolis that you will be trying to beat on your single available morning.

Anything that includes both Scandinavia and the Mediterranean

The distances are the problem, not the countries. Copenhagen to Rome is a flight, and a long one, and the two regions want different clothes, different budgets and different months. Northern Europe holds up best in high summer, when Amsterdam averages 22 degrees. Southern Europe is at its best in May, June, September and October, once Rome and Athens have come off their 32 degree July highs. A trip that tries to do both is fighting the calendar in one direction or the other.

The underlying rule: if two stops on your list are more than about six hours apart by rail, they belong on different trips.

Day trips worth building in, and one that is not

Three nights in a city gives you two full days, and on several of these routes the second one is better spent outside the city than in it.

Base	Day trip	Verdict
Lisbon	Sintra	Worth a full day and an early start. The Pena Palace fills with coach groups by mid-morning
Milan	Lake Como or Bergamo	Both easy. Como for the scenery, Bergamo’s upper town for a quieter half-day
Naples	Pompeii	The best archaeological day out in Europe. Go early, take water, wear real shoes
Munich	Neuschwanstein	Worth it, but book ahead. Admission is €21 at the gate or €23.50 online
Vienna	Salzburg	2h 22m each way makes it a long day. Better as two nights than as a day trip
Nice	Monaco or Menton	Both close, both easy. Menton is the better one and almost nobody goes
Porto	The Douro Valley	Doable in a day, much better as two nights, which is why route ten builds it in
Florence	Venice	The one to avoid. Two hours each way, and you would arrive inside the day-tripper access fee window between mid-April and the end of July

That last row is the important one. Venice as a day trip costs you five euros if you registered four days ahead, ten if you did not, four hours of travel, and you see the city at exactly the hour it is at its worst. Three nights there, as route two does, costs you the overnight city tax of one to four and a half euros a night instead, and gets you the city after the day boats have gone.

More ideas in day trips from Amsterdam, Tuscany and European city breaks.

Ten mistakes that ruin a ten-day Europe trip

1. Booking four or five cities. The commonest and the most damaging. Five stops leaves you four days of sightseeing out of ten and a permanent low-grade exhaustion. If you cannot bear to cut a city, cut it anyway.

2. Booking a round-trip flight into and out of the same airport. This forces backtracking on a trip that has no time for it. An open jaw usually costs about the same, because airlines price it as half of each round trip.

3. Leaving train tickets until you arrive. On several corridors in this guide the walk-up fare is three times the advance one for the same seat on the same train. Late booking on European high-speed rail is not a small penalty.

4. Assuming a rail pass is the cheap option. For a fixed ten-day itinerary it almost never is, and the reservation supplements of 10 to 20 euros a leg are charged on top of the pass price.

5. Forgetting the tourist tax. Amsterdam charges 12.5 percent of your room rate. Three nights in a 200 euro room is 75 euros you did not budget for.

6. Missing the Anne Frank House release window. There is no walk-up option and no second chance, so the release rule above is worth reading twice.

7. Flying a leg the train does better. Rome to Florence is 1 hour 25 minutes centre to centre. Any flight version of that journey takes longer once you count the airports, and costs more once you count the bag.

8. Visiting southern Europe at the height of summer. Rome and Athens both average 32 degrees in July, with 21 and 5 millimetres of rain across the whole month. You will be sightseeing in conditions you would not walk the dog in at home, and August is no kinder.

9. Not checking the entry rules for your specific nationality. The EES has been running at every Schengen border since April 2026, ETIAS has slipped out of 2026 altogether and will cost 20 euros whenever it arrives, and the UK ETA at 20 pounds is required now. Route one crosses both regimes.

10. Scheduling every single day. Leave one blank. It is the difference between a holiday and an itinerary you executed.

More in common Europe travel mistakes and first-time Europe travel tips.

What this guide does not cover

A note on scope, because “Europe” is a big word and twelve routes is not all of it.

There is no Scandinavian route here, no Balkan route, no Ireland, no Poland beyond a passing mention of Kraków, and nothing in the Baltics. That is a limit of what I could source properly rather than a verdict on any of them. A Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo trip is a genuinely good ten days, and I did not include it because I could not put current fares against the legs, which is the whole premise of this guide.

I also could not source current ferry timings or fares for the Greek islands, or current fares for the Amalfi Coast buses and ferries, and I have said so at each point rather than filling the gap. Where a table cell reads that no figure was sourced, that is what it means.

Two further caveats worth repeating. The daily spending bands come from 2026 travel-cost editorial rather than statistical agencies, and the Eurail and Interrail prices come from a third-party tracker because both operators render their prices in JavaScript that a reader cannot check and a researcher cannot fetch. Verify anything you are budgeting tightly against.

Final thoughts

The best 10 day Europe itinerary is the one with the fewest cities you can bring yourself to accept. Every time I have watched someone come back from this trip length disappointed, the cause was the same: one city too many, chosen because it felt wasteful to be that close and not go.

Three nights per stop. One geographic line, not a star. An open jaw home from the far end. Trains booked the month the window opens, which is where the cheap fares live and where most of the savings on this whole trip sit. Tourist tax in the spreadsheet. One day with nothing in it.

Do those six things and the route almost does not matter. Do none of them and even the best route here becomes ten days of logistics with some cathedrals in between.

If you are still deciding on length, our Europe itineraries hub compares this against a 7 day Europe itinerary, two weeks and a full month, and how many days you need tackles the question directly. For the trip itself, what to pack, Europe travel tips and where to stay are the three we get asked about most.

Hannah Brooks has spent fifteen years travelling, living and writing across Europe, from the Arctic tip of Norway to the south of Sicily. She has planned hundreds of European itineraries for readers and is Senior Europe Editor at EuropeanTourism.org.

Photo credits

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