3 week trip to western europe, need advice

I have a list of cities I would like to visit. I think I may be overambitious but I'd like to see as much as I possibly could in a three week period. I plan on buying a Eurailpass to get around. The cities and countries I plan on visiting are:
flying into Madrid, Spain
Barcelona, Spain - travel around the coast and possibly visit Nice, France and Pisa, Italy until i get to
Rome, Italy
Florence, Italy
Venice, Italy
Paris, France
(maybe somewhere in Switzerland)
Munich, Germany
Berlin, Germany
From any avid travelers - do you think this is too long a list for a three week period? I'd like to know more about the Eurail trips (and if I should schedule overnight trips), and how long I should plan to spend in each city. I'd like to have atleast 3 days in some of the more popular places, spots like Pisa, Nice and Florence I might need to either cancel plans or allow only a day in.
PLEASE Any advice is more than welcome.
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Have you decided how to travel train, bus or air?
Recent deregulation within the European Union came into effect several years ago that has set the ball in motion for lower European airfares. With new low fares, flying can be cheaper than taking the bus. It is possible to fly for less than the price of the return bus fare on popular short-haul routes from London to Ireland, Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands. On longer European flights there isn't really much difference in price between the bus, train or plane. If you're going from London to Barcelona, Munich, Rome or Athens you would be crazy not to fly.

Look for a websites, that have travel planners and ticket comparisons. That why you can quickly get an idea about price variations. For flights I usually use www.lessno.com because of its multi-city search.
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Be aware that in Italy and Switzerland you may have to pay supplements to your rail pass. Try and get a book called the Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable which is fantastic. Available from www.thomascookpublishing.com or look up flights on Ryan Air, Easy Jet for some budget airline tickets. Munich in Germany is fantastic and try to get out into the Alps, its not far and well worth it. Some excellent advice on www.gapyear.com/gaplasses/lasses_guide_to_europe.html

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It does seem like a tall order, but I'd plan on the main highlights with alternet filler locations inbetween. You'll need to be flexible and have train schedules, etc, printed and ready to make quick decisions and not waste time. The german rail page lets you create personal timetables to email or print. You ought to check out exploreglobe.net as it has links to the most useful transportation sites and even has downloads for placemarkers in google earth showing you all the sights in the countries you are visiting, as well as transport links, locations of train stations, etc. It's pretty cool. Anyway, good luck with your trip. Reply to this

I have to agree to message 8:

If you do all these cities, just because everybody thinks they are must-do´s, you´ll miss out on a real travel experience. What do you want to see or do? Do you like getting in touch with the locals? Do you intend to find "your spot" somewhere and take the time to enjoy yourself for more than just one day at this place? Then you have to give it a chance, and don´t rush from one point to the other.

About flying: There are discounted airlins flying out of all kinds of places all over Germany that I know about. Small planes, but very safe and cheap, e.g. 10 bucks for a return trip Frankfurt-London from/into local airports outside of the city. If you need some serious advice of how to get the best deals, I have books here (unfortunately in German) with maps of all airports and their destinations, schedules etc. I can look something up for you, some pages I know about are only in German, but I can find the best deal and forward it to you.

And here are my fav´s in Europe:
1) Florence: 2 days are good (combine it with Pisa, but don´t stay in Pisa for a whole day or more)
2) Rome at least 3 days, still not enough
3) Trier, Germany: totally underrated!!! The oldest city of Germany, Rome in small and affordable. I live very close to that one and can give you lots of advice on where to go and what to do, also in the area. Very close to one of these cheap airline hubs. Germany in general: Bavaria with all its nice castles (Neuschwanstein is overrated, rather visit "Linderhof" and "Herrenchiemsee" on the Chiemsee-Lake), Rothenburg, Cologne is overrated as well but really ask me for a 2 or 3day-itinerary startin at Trier goin down the Moselle river. That one is awesome, every little town has it´s own castle and the scenery is breathtaking. I know some quiet affordable places to stay (at historical buildings even!) so go for it!!
4) Barcelona (combine it with Sitges, a lovely little town 30 min away, use local train www.renfe.es)
5) Amsterdam: stay away from the red-light and ask some frequent travellers for hidden spots. If someone tells you the city isn´t great, they´ve been to the wrong places. It´s nice, trust me

Well, I have to go for now, but it´d be nice to hear from you. My email is moonlightgirl80@aol.com and don´t hesitate to contact me. I give you a free city tour in Trier if you make it here. Promise!

See you!
Silke Reply to this