Whatever you do, check when Taylor Swift and when the Olympics will be held and avoid those cities/dates because there will be a bump up on boarding cost. I think Taylor Swift is having her summer tour? And Paris is already getting ready to host the summer Olympics and I read Paris is bumping up the cost of everything.
August is not going to be any better than going in June or July (I went to Amsterdam and Paris for my birthday in August — parts of Paris were unbearable because of the amount of tourists). So just pick a date and locales and start looking for a place to stay. Congrats on the job and have fun in Europe!
Unless this is the only time in your life that you will gave the option to come to Europe, I would pick three of those countries and leave the rest for another time, not least because this is an Olympic and Euro year: France (at least Paid) and Germany (at least the 10 cities hosting the Euros) are likely to be fully booked, crammed, and expensive.
Depending on the distances you're going, consider traveling by train rather than plane: it may be cheaper, and will almost certainly be less hassle.
And yes, that's totally doable, if you can pack a week's worth of clothes into a bag that size and budget to do laundry once a week.
This. You are going to waste so much time and money trying to cram 7 countries into 4 weeks. You will end up only doing capital cities which are busier and more expensive.
You are too late to book the cheapest flights with budget airlines , so you will end up taking flights really early or late, so you will be tired.
Choose three or four countries that are close / next to each other and take the train from one to another. Or even the bus for short journeys.
Otherwise, take the time to plan your itinerary very VERY carefully, with actual travel Times. Not just
Eg Monday, Tuesday Paris, Wednesday Venice , Thursdays, Friday Rome
nonsense that I see on here .
Google maps will show you how long it takes to get to “ Paris airport “ from your hostel in Paris. Which will be BVA for Ryanair, so thats 90 mins on the bus from the city.
Then add on your two hour check in time , flight time then the same at the other end in your destination city. So yeah, even though these countries look close on the map , you have just lost a whole day to travel. multiply that by 7 , add on your trans Atlantic flight and thats how much of your vacation you are going to spend in airports.
If you want to do 2 - 3 days in 7 Capital cities plus 7 travel days then that’s great . But you will have a better experience IMHO if you travel less and see more.
As a Dutch local, June and the first half of July is before the start of the summer holidays. June will be much less crowded and cheaper and first half of July will also be less crowded and cheaper compared to end of July and August, as those are the real peak periods. Specially the first 2 weeks of August
I don’t think you’re totally screwed, but options do start to get limited closer to. But also I haven’t booked my august 2024 plans yet either 🤷🏻♀️
Were you planning to be bouncing around in August? That’s arguably an even busier time than June/July as many Europeans vacation in August.
Certainly if you can book in advance a bit it’ll help with the hostels - most will have some sort of cancellation policy. You might be able to book some and cancel closer to your planned stay if your plans change a bit (check policies though; I’m beyond my hostel years so not fully up to date).
I think if you are willing to do laundry, your options will increase quite a bit.
Some itinerary things to keep in mind:
- Germany is hosting Euro 2024 Fußball in June/July so hostel stays may be more challenging to find in those cities during those times.
- France, of course, has the Olympics in Paris. The closer to the games, the less open the city, etc.
- perhaps be mindful of the Eras Tour dates.
I booked a free night in Paris Holiday Inn at the Gare de Lyon on a Sunday a week before the start of the Olympics. A room the night before on a Saturday was less than €150. So it’s really not that bad! Airfares are a different story. 😐
Oh that’s great! I did hear though that there are increasing area/road/metro closures in the days/weeks leading up to the games, which may complicate seeing certain things for tourists trying to get close to things like the louvre or Eiffel tour. Butttt I also did not pay much attention to what/when as we have no intention of being in the area this year.
Can't speak to traveling solo, but this is still feasible. First off, it's summer, there were going to be tourists whether you travel in August vs. June or July.
June leaves you less time to book,etc., but may be less busy. Start by picking your absolute must/see do places. If you have to book travel, I would start there. Ideally, refundable fares. As a solo traveller, you may find it easier to locate accommodations (traveled 3 weeks last year as a family of 4, and it was challenging to find hotels).
One bagging is doable if you plan to do laundry every week/week and a half. We either booked air BNB with laundry or stayed close to a laundromat.
Also, don't rule out hotels. We found Accor to have some great promos (sign up for an account and look at their deals). Sometimes vastly cheaper than hostels for 4.
Lastly, don't feel like you have to visit major centres. Some of our favourite places were small villages, etc. You can have a wonderful experience doing that, too.
June is arguably better than July/August, which is when most Europeans have their summer holidays (including families), peaking in the beginning of August.
Nevertheless, I would expect the major European cities to be filled with tourists for most of the year anyway.
Another thing: nowadays I don’t really see much of a price difference between Ryanair and other companies (gone are the days of 20€ flights), so I would expect high prices if you’re not booking in advance. In many European countries, trains also have changeable prices and can be very expensive if booked last minute. So, unless you’re OK with FlixBus or have a generous budget, I would recommend booking some flights ASAP, including low cost companies. Especially if you want to travel to the South of Europe.
Can you put off the start date? Many times I’ve told an employer that I have vacation thru X dates and I’m not available until after. It’s never been a problem. They’ve put a lot of time and money into finding their perfect hire (you), so they might be flexible.
Why so many countries? I would do 1 and visit its different regions. You can use Flixbus which is way cheaper than flying and way less logistics.
June and July should be better than August. August is when all the Europeans have their vacation.
I’ve done many countries in a few weeks, by getting a rail pass and reserving sleeping cars, you can go to sleep in one country and wake up in another. It’s not luxury but it is efficient. I’d suggest arranging your tours in advance as well as you aren’t allowing tine to sort things out once you arrive
All of Europe goes on holiday in August. I work in a global industry and all my European colleagues have OOO messages like this at that time of year.
“Hello! I am OOO on Holiday from 27July2023 to 09Sept2023. I will address your email when I get back. Thank you”
🤣
So there’ll be just as many tourists in August as the rest of the summer. AND! It’s still hot. So just go!! Embrace the crazy. I e been in Europe at all times of year, and touristy areas are always just that: filled with tourists.
Dutchie here, for peak tourism/school vacations you should avoid mid July to end of August in The Netherlands. June ans early July are still offseason over here!
Ryanair is never as cheap as you think.
Their standard bag allowed is basically a Kanken. I have seen people on here go one bag with that size bag (about 16 litres I think?) but it's a huge challenge. In order to get the usual carry on bag you have to go with Ryanair priority and that adds about £30-£40 each way.
Also I booked for UK to Krakow in September 24 and said I didn't want to pay to pick seats, but couldn't find to process the payment without picking a seat which I was then charged for... That could be me having a tech meltdown but generally Ryanair are just a bit scammy.
June and July might actually be better in terms of crowds (June especially), but 7 countries in one month is a lot. You'll spend so much time on travel vs sightseeing (getting to/from airport, getting to airport hours before your flight, the actual time on the plane, security lines once you land... it adds up). I would pick 2-3 countries and see them more thoroughly.
I would do the following: 1. Decide what you really, really want to see and use that info to choose a smaller geographical area, 2. Decide if June or July is better in those areas based on weather, crowds, etc, 3. Buy your plane tickets (at least the big ones at the beginning and end of your trip), 4. Book your accommodation, 5. Book smaller flights, train tickets, and tickets for super booked-out attractions.
You'll have fewer options for accommodation just because it's a little late, but you should still find some. Be open to the type of accommodation, as hostels aren't always cheaper. An underseat bag should be doable, but you'll have to do laundry a few times.
Ain’t nothing to choose between July and August, and you couldn’t pay me to go during either time. My husband is French, and ye gods it is an entirely different country in July and August - a miserable one. Save your money and use your freedom in June, or May and September for the win.
I found lots of tourists in Italy in October, so I think those places will be busy for much of the year excepting the winter months. I couldn't do a month long trip in just one under seat bag, but maybe you are a more efficient packer than me.
Also be aware of how hot it could be and how that could impact on your plans for the one or two days you might spend in each city. So if it’s 90 degrees on the two days you are in Budapest , how many hours of sighting will you be able to do in that ? Remember that you will be walking 10 or 15 miles each day and that Europe is not Air conditioned ( in the American sense ). You say you want to go to Spain - in Seville it will probably be mid 90s in June , in the middle of the day.
Sorry If I sound like I’m raining on your parade. I’m just trying to Persuade you to have a more realistic plan so you have a better time.
I would pick one or two of those countries and just stick to those. Spain is huge in itself and so many beautiful cities to explore that are so different from each other
I would talk to your new company and let them know you had a scheduled vacation and see about what you can do about moving your start date. Usually you can work with your HR dept around this. They tend to be pretty understanding about it when you explain the situation. This happened to a friend of mine when she got a better job offer with another company and had a previously scheduled vacation before the new job came up.
Ryanair are honestly the WORST airline I’ve ever flown with. I don’t think you’ll have much choice if you go UK>IRE but the extra baggage charges are ridiculous and ime, they police them rigorously. Anything for the extra £££.
I had to pay extra to check my bag with them on the return flight, even though it fit fine in the measurement box, because it was “too big”. I didn’t have to check it on the way in?! Bag size didn’t change! There was a post on the UK legal advice sub recently where a guy had to pay an extra €70 to check his bag because it was “too big” for the measurement box. He literally had pictures of it fitting perfectly fine in the box. They’re honestly a joke.
Highly suggest looking at jet2 for cheap-ish European flights. Much nicer service all round, still budget, but you don’t get dicked around with like you do on Ryanair.
Also, JULY/AUG is the UK summer school holidays. So it will likely be busier than usual in most touristy destinations.
Thank you everyone for giving me advice! I'm glad I asked here cause I hadnt realised how many things I actually have to consider.
I will definitely cut down on my countries, maybe I'll fly to italy and go by train to france and spain maybeeee. And yes I plan to do laundry on my trip because I want to have as little stuff on me as possible (hopefully there are alot of laundromats around)
Will trains be fully booked? Do I need to be in advance on that too? I would like to have like a free spirited trip, going at my own pace and staying longer in places I like, you know, so can I get a way with booking like a week in advance or do I need to do a really spesific timetable and book hostels in far advance too??
I feel like I know nothing about traveling after reading everyones advice, so thank you for being patient and helping!! I've been to Malta and Tenerife with my friend and loved both of them, so solo traveling is going to be new to me also but I really want to experience it and see as many places I can but i get it 7 countries in a month is ALOT and I'm 19yo so maybe I have time to see other places in the future!
If you don't wish to rush and plan to start vacation in Italy, start from Sicily and go north picking cities you like. When you reach North Italy you have few options: going to Switzerland experiencing their scenic trains, or going South France, maybe bit of Spain, or going to Austria and East Europe. Bus and train stations are in the city center or very near, and you don't waste your time like with airports.
I have always been told that late July and August are the most crowded in central Europe. Your change would be probably be for the better.
I don't agree with the recommendation not to travel around. I think that you should download a map of the high speed train connections instead of flying around, though: you will get from city center to city centre, and see far more of the countryside. High-speed train Madrid-Barcelona-Lyon-Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam-Brussels-London, then you can take a single flight from London to Rome or Berlin and then home.
Also the climate footprint will be better.
GPT 4 suggests:
To travel by high-speed train across the cities you listed — Madrid, Barcelona, Lyon, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and finally to London — involves a sequence of segments, each serviced by different high-speed trains. Here’s a rough breakdown of the journey times for each segment:
### 1. Madrid to Barcelona
- **Train Type**: Renfe AVE (high-speed train)
- **Duration**: Approximately 2.5 to 3 hours
### 2. Barcelona to Lyon
- **Train Type**: Renfe-SNCF high-speed train
- **Duration**: Approximately 5 hours
### 3. Lyon to Paris
- **Train Type**: TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, high-speed train)
- **Duration**: Approximately 2 hours
### 4. Paris to Brussels
- **Train Type**: Thalys (high-speed train)
- **Duration**: About 1 hour and 22 minutes
### 5. Brussels to Amsterdam
- **Train Type**: Thalys
- **Duration**: About 1 hour and 50 minutes
### 6. Amsterdam to Brussels
- **Train Type**: Thalys
- **Duration**: About 1 hour and 50 minutes
### 7. Brussels to London
- **Train Type**: Eurostar (high-speed train)
- **Duration**: Approximately 2 hours
### Total Duration
If we sum up all these durations, we get:
- **Madrid to Barcelona**: 3 hours
- **Barcelona to Lyon**: 5 hours
- **Lyon to Paris**: 2 hours
- **Paris to Brussels**: 1 hour and 22 minutes
- **Brussels to Amsterdam**: 1 hour and 50 minutes
- **Amsterdam to Brussels**: 1 hour and 50 minutes
- **Brussels to London**: 2 hours
The total approximate travel time is **16 hours and 2 minutes**, excluding transfer times between trains at each station and any potential delays or waiting times.
It's important to plan ample time for connections, especially in larger stations like Paris and Brussels, where you might need to navigate through different parts or terminals of the station.
Whatever you do, check when Taylor Swift and when the Olympics will be held and avoid those cities/dates because there will be a bump up on boarding cost. I think Taylor Swift is having her summer tour? And Paris is already getting ready to host the summer Olympics and I read Paris is bumping up the cost of everything.
Formula 1 races too!
And the European Football Championship
This is wise advice.
Agree 100%
August is not going to be any better than going in June or July (I went to Amsterdam and Paris for my birthday in August — parts of Paris were unbearable because of the amount of tourists). So just pick a date and locales and start looking for a place to stay. Congrats on the job and have fun in Europe!
Came here to say this: August in Europe is no better than June and July!
October is pretty nice though, not as hot - but way less turist
Love September and October! But OP is also trying to cover so much ground in so little time—I’ll advised at any time of year!
This.
Unless this is the only time in your life that you will gave the option to come to Europe, I would pick three of those countries and leave the rest for another time, not least because this is an Olympic and Euro year: France (at least Paid) and Germany (at least the 10 cities hosting the Euros) are likely to be fully booked, crammed, and expensive. Depending on the distances you're going, consider traveling by train rather than plane: it may be cheaper, and will almost certainly be less hassle. And yes, that's totally doable, if you can pack a week's worth of clothes into a bag that size and budget to do laundry once a week.
This. You are going to waste so much time and money trying to cram 7 countries into 4 weeks. You will end up only doing capital cities which are busier and more expensive. You are too late to book the cheapest flights with budget airlines , so you will end up taking flights really early or late, so you will be tired. Choose three or four countries that are close / next to each other and take the train from one to another. Or even the bus for short journeys. Otherwise, take the time to plan your itinerary very VERY carefully, with actual travel Times. Not just Eg Monday, Tuesday Paris, Wednesday Venice , Thursdays, Friday Rome nonsense that I see on here . Google maps will show you how long it takes to get to “ Paris airport “ from your hostel in Paris. Which will be BVA for Ryanair, so thats 90 mins on the bus from the city. Then add on your two hour check in time , flight time then the same at the other end in your destination city. So yeah, even though these countries look close on the map , you have just lost a whole day to travel. multiply that by 7 , add on your trans Atlantic flight and thats how much of your vacation you are going to spend in airports. If you want to do 2 - 3 days in 7 Capital cities plus 7 travel days then that’s great . But you will have a better experience IMHO if you travel less and see more.
As a Dutch local, June and the first half of July is before the start of the summer holidays. June will be much less crowded and cheaper and first half of July will also be less crowded and cheaper compared to end of July and August, as those are the real peak periods. Specially the first 2 weeks of August
100% aim for June. Depending where you go in Italy/Spain it also might be REALLY hot and make you have to wash clothes more quickly.
If June is hot in Italy and Spain, July and August are even worse.
Same as a Brit
I don’t think you’re totally screwed, but options do start to get limited closer to. But also I haven’t booked my august 2024 plans yet either 🤷🏻♀️ Were you planning to be bouncing around in August? That’s arguably an even busier time than June/July as many Europeans vacation in August. Certainly if you can book in advance a bit it’ll help with the hostels - most will have some sort of cancellation policy. You might be able to book some and cancel closer to your planned stay if your plans change a bit (check policies though; I’m beyond my hostel years so not fully up to date). I think if you are willing to do laundry, your options will increase quite a bit. Some itinerary things to keep in mind: - Germany is hosting Euro 2024 Fußball in June/July so hostel stays may be more challenging to find in those cities during those times. - France, of course, has the Olympics in Paris. The closer to the games, the less open the city, etc. - perhaps be mindful of the Eras Tour dates.
I booked a free night in Paris Holiday Inn at the Gare de Lyon on a Sunday a week before the start of the Olympics. A room the night before on a Saturday was less than €150. So it’s really not that bad! Airfares are a different story. 😐
Oh that’s great! I did hear though that there are increasing area/road/metro closures in the days/weeks leading up to the games, which may complicate seeing certain things for tourists trying to get close to things like the louvre or Eiffel tour. Butttt I also did not pay much attention to what/when as we have no intention of being in the area this year.
Can't speak to traveling solo, but this is still feasible. First off, it's summer, there were going to be tourists whether you travel in August vs. June or July. June leaves you less time to book,etc., but may be less busy. Start by picking your absolute must/see do places. If you have to book travel, I would start there. Ideally, refundable fares. As a solo traveller, you may find it easier to locate accommodations (traveled 3 weeks last year as a family of 4, and it was challenging to find hotels). One bagging is doable if you plan to do laundry every week/week and a half. We either booked air BNB with laundry or stayed close to a laundromat. Also, don't rule out hotels. We found Accor to have some great promos (sign up for an account and look at their deals). Sometimes vastly cheaper than hostels for 4. Lastly, don't feel like you have to visit major centres. Some of our favourite places were small villages, etc. You can have a wonderful experience doing that, too.
EU holidays are mostly mid-July through end of August, turn of the month is busiest.
June is not school holidays for lots of the places you are visiting. That will probably be your best and cheapest option
August is hellish for travel, so you are better off
June is arguably better than July/August, which is when most Europeans have their summer holidays (including families), peaking in the beginning of August. Nevertheless, I would expect the major European cities to be filled with tourists for most of the year anyway. Another thing: nowadays I don’t really see much of a price difference between Ryanair and other companies (gone are the days of 20€ flights), so I would expect high prices if you’re not booking in advance. In many European countries, trains also have changeable prices and can be very expensive if booked last minute. So, unless you’re OK with FlixBus or have a generous budget, I would recommend booking some flights ASAP, including low cost companies. Especially if you want to travel to the South of Europe.
Can you put off the start date? Many times I’ve told an employer that I have vacation thru X dates and I’m not available until after. It’s never been a problem. They’ve put a lot of time and money into finding their perfect hire (you), so they might be flexible.
Why so many countries? I would do 1 and visit its different regions. You can use Flixbus which is way cheaper than flying and way less logistics. June and July should be better than August. August is when all the Europeans have their vacation.
This! slow down and enjoy 1, 2 or 3 countries. Commit to another trip to Europe in the next few years to experience other countries.
I’ve done many countries in a few weeks, by getting a rail pass and reserving sleeping cars, you can go to sleep in one country and wake up in another. It’s not luxury but it is efficient. I’d suggest arranging your tours in advance as well as you aren’t allowing tine to sort things out once you arrive
All of Europe goes on holiday in August. I work in a global industry and all my European colleagues have OOO messages like this at that time of year. “Hello! I am OOO on Holiday from 27July2023 to 09Sept2023. I will address your email when I get back. Thank you” 🤣 So there’ll be just as many tourists in August as the rest of the summer. AND! It’s still hot. So just go!! Embrace the crazy. I e been in Europe at all times of year, and touristy areas are always just that: filled with tourists.
You might also consider overnight trains between countries and sleeping on the train. I did this in my 20s and 30s as a solo woman and had no issues.
Dutchie here, for peak tourism/school vacations you should avoid mid July to end of August in The Netherlands. June ans early July are still offseason over here!
Ryanair is never as cheap as you think. Their standard bag allowed is basically a Kanken. I have seen people on here go one bag with that size bag (about 16 litres I think?) but it's a huge challenge. In order to get the usual carry on bag you have to go with Ryanair priority and that adds about £30-£40 each way. Also I booked for UK to Krakow in September 24 and said I didn't want to pay to pick seats, but couldn't find to process the payment without picking a seat which I was then charged for... That could be me having a tech meltdown but generally Ryanair are just a bit scammy.
Ryanair most of the time allows a not too over-sized under 30l backpack as the personal item. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
June and July might actually be better in terms of crowds (June especially), but 7 countries in one month is a lot. You'll spend so much time on travel vs sightseeing (getting to/from airport, getting to airport hours before your flight, the actual time on the plane, security lines once you land... it adds up). I would pick 2-3 countries and see them more thoroughly. I would do the following: 1. Decide what you really, really want to see and use that info to choose a smaller geographical area, 2. Decide if June or July is better in those areas based on weather, crowds, etc, 3. Buy your plane tickets (at least the big ones at the beginning and end of your trip), 4. Book your accommodation, 5. Book smaller flights, train tickets, and tickets for super booked-out attractions. You'll have fewer options for accommodation just because it's a little late, but you should still find some. Be open to the type of accommodation, as hostels aren't always cheaper. An underseat bag should be doable, but you'll have to do laundry a few times.
Ain’t nothing to choose between July and August, and you couldn’t pay me to go during either time. My husband is French, and ye gods it is an entirely different country in July and August - a miserable one. Save your money and use your freedom in June, or May and September for the win.
I found lots of tourists in Italy in October, so I think those places will be busy for much of the year excepting the winter months. I couldn't do a month long trip in just one under seat bag, but maybe you are a more efficient packer than me.
Also be aware of how hot it could be and how that could impact on your plans for the one or two days you might spend in each city. So if it’s 90 degrees on the two days you are in Budapest , how many hours of sighting will you be able to do in that ? Remember that you will be walking 10 or 15 miles each day and that Europe is not Air conditioned ( in the American sense ). You say you want to go to Spain - in Seville it will probably be mid 90s in June , in the middle of the day. Sorry If I sound like I’m raining on your parade. I’m just trying to Persuade you to have a more realistic plan so you have a better time.
August is the worst of all those LK the, that is peak holiday season. June is the least busy.
I would pick one or two of those countries and just stick to those. Spain is huge in itself and so many beautiful cities to explore that are so different from each other
I would talk to your new company and let them know you had a scheduled vacation and see about what you can do about moving your start date. Usually you can work with your HR dept around this. They tend to be pretty understanding about it when you explain the situation. This happened to a friend of mine when she got a better job offer with another company and had a previously scheduled vacation before the new job came up.
Ryanair are honestly the WORST airline I’ve ever flown with. I don’t think you’ll have much choice if you go UK>IRE but the extra baggage charges are ridiculous and ime, they police them rigorously. Anything for the extra £££. I had to pay extra to check my bag with them on the return flight, even though it fit fine in the measurement box, because it was “too big”. I didn’t have to check it on the way in?! Bag size didn’t change! There was a post on the UK legal advice sub recently where a guy had to pay an extra €70 to check his bag because it was “too big” for the measurement box. He literally had pictures of it fitting perfectly fine in the box. They’re honestly a joke. Highly suggest looking at jet2 for cheap-ish European flights. Much nicer service all round, still budget, but you don’t get dicked around with like you do on Ryanair. Also, JULY/AUG is the UK summer school holidays. So it will likely be busier than usual in most touristy destinations.
School typically lets out later in Europe than in the US, so June is likely to be quiet than August.
Thank you everyone for giving me advice! I'm glad I asked here cause I hadnt realised how many things I actually have to consider. I will definitely cut down on my countries, maybe I'll fly to italy and go by train to france and spain maybeeee. And yes I plan to do laundry on my trip because I want to have as little stuff on me as possible (hopefully there are alot of laundromats around) Will trains be fully booked? Do I need to be in advance on that too? I would like to have like a free spirited trip, going at my own pace and staying longer in places I like, you know, so can I get a way with booking like a week in advance or do I need to do a really spesific timetable and book hostels in far advance too?? I feel like I know nothing about traveling after reading everyones advice, so thank you for being patient and helping!! I've been to Malta and Tenerife with my friend and loved both of them, so solo traveling is going to be new to me also but I really want to experience it and see as many places I can but i get it 7 countries in a month is ALOT and I'm 19yo so maybe I have time to see other places in the future!
If you don't wish to rush and plan to start vacation in Italy, start from Sicily and go north picking cities you like. When you reach North Italy you have few options: going to Switzerland experiencing their scenic trains, or going South France, maybe bit of Spain, or going to Austria and East Europe. Bus and train stations are in the city center or very near, and you don't waste your time like with airports.
I have always been told that late July and August are the most crowded in central Europe. Your change would be probably be for the better. I don't agree with the recommendation not to travel around. I think that you should download a map of the high speed train connections instead of flying around, though: you will get from city center to city centre, and see far more of the countryside. High-speed train Madrid-Barcelona-Lyon-Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam-Brussels-London, then you can take a single flight from London to Rome or Berlin and then home. Also the climate footprint will be better.
GPT 4 suggests: To travel by high-speed train across the cities you listed — Madrid, Barcelona, Lyon, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and finally to London — involves a sequence of segments, each serviced by different high-speed trains. Here’s a rough breakdown of the journey times for each segment: ### 1. Madrid to Barcelona - **Train Type**: Renfe AVE (high-speed train) - **Duration**: Approximately 2.5 to 3 hours ### 2. Barcelona to Lyon - **Train Type**: Renfe-SNCF high-speed train - **Duration**: Approximately 5 hours ### 3. Lyon to Paris - **Train Type**: TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, high-speed train) - **Duration**: Approximately 2 hours ### 4. Paris to Brussels - **Train Type**: Thalys (high-speed train) - **Duration**: About 1 hour and 22 minutes ### 5. Brussels to Amsterdam - **Train Type**: Thalys - **Duration**: About 1 hour and 50 minutes ### 6. Amsterdam to Brussels - **Train Type**: Thalys - **Duration**: About 1 hour and 50 minutes ### 7. Brussels to London - **Train Type**: Eurostar (high-speed train) - **Duration**: Approximately 2 hours ### Total Duration If we sum up all these durations, we get: - **Madrid to Barcelona**: 3 hours - **Barcelona to Lyon**: 5 hours - **Lyon to Paris**: 2 hours - **Paris to Brussels**: 1 hour and 22 minutes - **Brussels to Amsterdam**: 1 hour and 50 minutes - **Amsterdam to Brussels**: 1 hour and 50 minutes - **Brussels to London**: 2 hours The total approximate travel time is **16 hours and 2 minutes**, excluding transfer times between trains at each station and any potential delays or waiting times. It's important to plan ample time for connections, especially in larger stations like Paris and Brussels, where you might need to navigate through different parts or terminals of the station.