Spending a longer amount of time exploring Europe is a dream I think a lot of people have, so when we decided to make that a reality, we had to figure out what we really wanted to feasibly do. Our original itinerary was not plausible because we wanted to see everything is still only 19 days. So we had to narrow it down into our top choices that were also closest together so we wouldn’t have to fly everywhere. We focused on Western Europe, partly because our ancestry is German and I had taken some German in college. This post is an overview of what we actually did. I wouldn’t say it’s the best itinerary – it’s still pretty ambitious, and we didn’t plan for rest days which were needed. If I could do it again I might do things differently, but I don’t regret anything about our trip. We saw amazing things and had the time of our lives. I always knew there would be more I wanted to see, and that just leaves room for more trips right?
Table of Contents
- Day 1 – Travel Day
- Day 2 – Paris and Colmar
- Day 3 – Colmar
- Day 4 – Interlaken (home base for 2 days)
- Day 5 – Day trip to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald
- Day 6 – Train Day
- Day 7 – Castle Day
- Day 8 – Munich
- Day 9 – Salzburg
- Day 10 – Salzburg
- Day 11 – Day trip to Hallstatt
- Day 12 – Verona
- Day 13 – Verona
- Day 14 – London (home base for 5 days)
- Day 15 – London
- Day 16 – London museums
- Day 17 – London
- Day 18 – Harry Potter Studio tour
- Day 19 – Last of London and return home
Day 1 – Travel Day
Fly from Chicago – Paris
Depending on time of day go out and sightsee. We had time to go see the Eiffel tower and eat some crepes.
Where we stayed – Woodstock Montmaitre (doesn’t look like it’s there anymore)
Read more about our time in Paris here!
Day 2 – Paris and Colmar
Walk to the Notre Dame – Take the tour if time allows
Grab lunch from a street vendor (yum baguettes). Walk to the train station, enjoying the scenery along the way.
Take a train from Paris-Colmar (about 3 hours with 1 train change)
Take a river boat tour
Where we stayed – Hotel Saint Martin
Read more about our time in Colmar here!
Day 3 – Colmar
Walk around Colmar, taking in all the amazing architecture.
Shop for some souvenirs.
Take a train from Colmar – Interlaken (3.5 hours with 1 train change)
Go grocery shopping so we can make a few meals ourselves using the hostels shared kitchen.
Where we stayed – Balmers Party Hostel
Day 4 – Interlaken (home base for 2 days)
Make breakfast at hostel before exploring the little town of Interlaken.
Either hike or take the tram up to Harder Kulm where you get an amazing view of Interlaken.
Read more about our time in Switzerland here!
Day 5 – Day trip to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald
Take the train from Interlaken up into the mountain town of Lauterbrunnen.
Take the train even further up to the dreamy mountain town of Grindelwald.
Head back to Interlaken for the night
Read more about our time in Switzerland here!
Day 6 – Train day and Fussen
Take train from Interlaken-Fussen (7 hours with 4 train changes)
Explore Fussen and get something to eat (many places don’t accept credit cards here, so make sure you have cash in the local currency)
Where we stayed – Bavaria City Hostel
Day 7 – Castle Day
Take the bus to Neuschwanstein castle for your tour, which includes guided tours of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles
Take a train from Fussen-Munich (2 hours)
Where we stayed – 4You Hostel Munich
Day 8 – Munich
Marvel at the richness in the Munich Residence museum
Have a stein of bier (or two) at the Bavarian Bierhaus
Day 9 – Salzburg
Take a train from Munich-Salzburg (1 hr 40 min)
Start exploring Salzburg, there are so many lovely shops, churches, flowers, and there’s music on almost every corner. This is such a walkable city!
Where we stayed – Yoho International Youth Hostel
Read more about our time in Salzburg here!
Day 10 – Salzburg
Get in the musical spirit on the Sound of Music tour.
Read more about our experience on The Sound of Music tour here!
Stand on top of Salzburg at the Hohensalzburg Fortress – you can either walk all the way up (which we did) or you can take a tram. There are amazing views of the city from the top – you can have dinner with a view!
Read more about our time in Salzburg here!
Day 11 – Day trip to Hallstatt
Take a bus to the Hallstatt ferry and take the ferry across (this place is pretty touristy so get there early before tour groups come – we didn’t and it ruined it a bit)
Take a night train from Salzburg-Verona (8.5 hours)
Day 12 – Verona
Be entranced at the famed Romeo/Juliet balcony
Walk around the city to see different piazzas
Eat gelato as much as you can
Where we stayed – Airbnb that has since been deleted!
Day 13 – Verona
Tour the Verona Arena
Walk up St. Peter’s Hill for amazing city views
Day 14 – London (home base for 5 days)
Fly from Verona-London
We had a long travel day, so we didn’t venture out too much this day, just rested up for some hardcore sightseeing the next few days. Just a note on London: we tried to break up the days by areas of London, so we didn’t have to backtrack across the city.
Where we stayed – Rest Up London (doesn’t look like it’s available anymore)
Day 15 – Classic London
See the iconic Tower Bridge
Take a step back in time and see the Crown Jewels in a tour of the Tower of London
Stop at Konditor (multiple locations) for the most amazing brownies and desserts ever
See the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace
Stand in awe of the architecture of Westminster Abbey
Visit Covent Garden Market
Day 16 – London museums
Freshen up on your history at the British Museum – this museum hold some incredible history, including the Rosetta Stone
Hyde Park
Kensington Gardens
Imperial War Museum
Day 17 – London
Borough Market
Millennium Bridge
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Leadenhall Market
Eat Fish and Chips and Drink a Pimm’s on the Thames
Day 18 – Harry Potter Studio Tour
Embrace your nerdiness on the WB Harry Potter Studio tour
Day 19 – Last of London and return home
Fly from London-Chicago in the afternoon
I hope this helps you plan your own European backpacking adventure!
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