First trips to Europe usually try to cover too much ground. These are the adjustments that make the biggest difference between an exhausting itinerary and a good one.
Three Cities in Two Weeks, Not Seven
Every city change costs you the better part of a day in packing, transit and reorientation. Fewer bases, more day trips.::Trains Beat Flights Under Five Hours::City-centre to city-centre, rail usually wins on total door-to-door time once airport transfers and security are counted, and it is far more pleasant.::Book the Famous Things, Wander the Rest::Timed entry for the two or three landmarks you genuinely care about, and nothing scheduled around them. Over-planning is the most common first-trip mistake.::Cash Still Matters in Places::Card acceptance is near universal in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, patchier in parts of Italy, Greece and Eastern Europe. Carry a small reserve.