I would do Paris after London or Amsterdam since it is geographically closer to these two countries.

My first trip to Europe is taking shape. Some itinerary advice would be greatly appreciated. cruise vacation I m planning on staying 8/9 weeks. I ve removed Spain/Portugal, and added Italy/Czech Republic, but I still have room to space to fill in maybe Spain again.
cruise vacation Fyi, a little cruise vacation about myself, I m a 26y/o male; never been out of the states, and giving up a good job in a city/state I despise. Fulfilling my life goal of backpacking thru Europe will be liberating! I ll be traveling solo. I m a musician, and an art and history lover. cruise vacation Along with seeing sights, I m going to get out of my comfort cruise vacation zone and meet new people.
cruise vacation Should I of chose another city to begin/end my trip? I choose flying into London cruise vacation because I know English best. I planned ending and booking Easyjet flight from Rome to London. But now should I just go to Spain/Portugal, and fly from Lisbon to London? cruise vacation Or should I spend more time in the cities above. I also plan on getting a Eurorail.
I might start another way and look for easy to access public parties. So Novemeber 5th, if you are in UK, the whole country becomes covered with smoke from public cruise vacation fireworks (celebrating the saving of parliament from religious cruise vacation fanatics..)
I would go from London to Amsterdam, from Rome to Paris and return to the States from Paris. Or follow the same circuit but simply return to the States from Rome. If there is an extra cost to an open jaw ticket, it probably is no more than the cost of flying from Rome to London.
Munich should probably take 3 nights. There are some important museums there, plus Nymphenburg. Take one of the nights eliminated from your final days in London. Berlin cruise vacation could probably take an extra day.
For loads of great stuff on European cruise vacation trains and passes (and alternatives to them) I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sources cruise vacation - www.budgeteuropetravel.com ; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com - the latter has good advice about online cruise vacation discounted tickets which can be cheaper sometimes than a pass if you are willing to lock yourself in stone to a specific train at a specific time on a specific date weeks in advance cruise vacation (because those discounted tickets are often sold in limited numbers and can sell out quickly. For flexibility to hop any train anytime or to decide which trains to take as you go along then the pass will probably be a better deal as fully flexible fares can cost a ton of money.
And. . . I can't believe I am suggesting this because you hadn't mentioned it and I am not fond of Ireland, especially in winter, but you might consider Dublin for a few days, either as your first stop or your last. Don't know what kind of music you like, but you might enjoy the pubs and friendly people - the best part of Ireland, IMHO.
So depending on best deals on flights - they always differ even from one day to another -(besides Easyjet, Ryanair also does many low cost flights in Europe) I would divide cruise vacation the holiday cruise vacation as follows, cruise vacation not necessarily in the same order but according to flight deals - always of course considering your personal preferences:
cruise vacation 5 nights Florence or any other town or city in central Tuscany - :you can visit so many historical towns and cities in this region like San Gimignano, Lucca, Volterra, Siena, Pisa etc) not to mention the beautiful countryside
Considering the time of year you are traveling, and the 3.5 weeks you still have to fill, I would probably put Spain back in. It would be nice to be somewhere a little warmer in late November/early December.
Halloween is really a US holiday. Not celebrated much outside of here - nothing like the NYC Halloween Parade with many thousands of marchers. Have been in paris on Halloween and there were a few witchy decorations - but it seemed to be a couple of restaurants pushing special events - locals didn't seem familiar with it. Like Thanksgiving cruise vacation - not really something they have.
Thanks for all the responses. It s a great help. Since I m depending on the weather I do want to work my way north to south. cruise vacation And in being in London cruise vacation for Nov. 5th sounds like a fun time. So I m trying to work that in, but it feels i'm burning days to make it happen. Is it worth it? A Eurorail cruise vacation pass will be vital, and thanks for the other useful links.
Tentatively, I m thinking of flying into Edinburgh, to visit Loch Ness (for the inner child) and then heading to London so I ll be there around the 5th, for the fireworks and such. Another option would to begin in Paris, and then London, Amsterdam, ect. I m just a little intimidated about flying into Paris to begin my trip because I ve just started learning French, and then with customs and all.
I think 7 nights in London gives you a great amount of time...there is so much to see and you won't be rushed. I would highly recommended a day trip as well...check out www.walks.com for some great, affordable day trips.
The best pass mya be a 7-day Eurail Select Saverpass - 7 rail travel cruise vacation days - or long ones that is - Select pass good in 5 countries if you take the train back to Paris in the daytime (Eurail passes not valid on the new Thello overnight trains - so in that case a 6-day pass) - Select pass for 5 countries - Benelux - Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as one 'country' for pass purposes cruise vacation and Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy and France (or a 4-country pass if not needed cruise vacation in France).
If over 26 it will be a first class pass and IME of decades of touring around with railpasses the benefits of first class IMO are well well worth the cost - when comparing pass prices to regular tickets keep in mind if over 26 this is a first class pass so could compare against cost of first class tickets.
I would do Paris after London or Amsterdam since it is geographically closer to these two countries. Then fly back home from Rome (or Barcelona if you ultimately decide to fit it in as well. So even to save some travel time I do agree with you that it makes more sense that you work your way southwards.
Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, is a national holiday. There are celebrations throughout Italy and churches cruise vacation hold special masses. You'll find parades, feasts, and music in many places. In the Abruzzo region, it is often celebrated with bonfires and traditional singing. Rome celebrates with floral wreaths and a ceremony at the Spanish Steps presided cruise vacation over by the Pope. Although government offices and banks are closed, many stores stay open for holiday shopping. Schedules for public transport would probably cruise vacation be like that of public holidays, so check them out beforehand. It is certainly a nice time to be in Italy during this season.