Traveling in Europe

[Occhidiangela]

Hi everyone!

I'll be traveling through Europe for most of May and am looking for advice either from locals or other travelers for things I should be sure not to miss. I'll be seeing the following:

London*
Amsterdam
Rhine Valley (St. Goar)
Lucerne
Innsbruck
Venice
Rome
Florence
French Riviera
Monaco
Lyon
Paris*

*This is predominantly a group tour, though there will be plenty of free time for exploring. My girlfriend and I will be spending extra time on our own at the start and end of the tour in London and Paris, respectively. I'll be receiving a detailed itinerary in the next week or so for the tour portion.

We'll have a little under a week in London and Paris and one to two days in each of the other cities. We're focusing on planning our time alone, since we'll want to remain as flexible as possible when we're on tour with other people.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Venice: not sure how much time you'll have, but the Doge's palace is an eye opener. Also, the Murano glass factory. Your budget may or may not support that.

Rome: I suspect your tour group will hit the high points, but IMO Rome takes a week on its own.

Firenza/Florence: the bread sucks. The rest of the food and wine is delightful. See David, if you can. The Ufizi is, IMO, a bloody bore as a guided tour, but on the other hand, if you are into art, it's overwhelming in its inventory.

Your trip looks to be a great one, I hope you enjoy it to the max.

Occhi