Europe 20-Day Itinerary

In 20 days (excluding the two days required to fly into and out of Europe), we were able to explore 6 countries and multiple cities. This post will compile the destinations in the order of how we traveled. Please click on the links for individual blogposts on each city.

Click on a pin in the map to read the blog post or scroll down for travel itineraries. Happy travels!

Germany: Munich 3-Day Itinerary

Read Day 1 here - BMW Welt and Olympic Park

Read Day 2 here - Neuschwanstein Castle

Read Day 3 here - Nymphenburg Palace and Deustche Museum

Neuschwanstein Castle

Nymphenburg Palace

Austria: Salzburg 1-Day Itinerary

Munich --> Salzburg

Read about Salzburg here - Mirabell Palace and Gardens, Salzburg Old Town, Mozart's birthplace, Fortress Hohensalzburg

Salzburg Old Town

Austria: Vienna 1-Day Itinerary

Salzburg --> Vienna

Read about Vienna here - Sch�nbrunn Palace, Vienna Old Town, Naschmarkt

Schonbrunn Palace

Hungary: Budapest 3-Day Itinerary

Vienna --> Budapest

Read Day 1 here - Rose Gelato and House of Terror
Read Day 2 here - Buda Castle
Read Day 3 here - Gell�rt Hill

Budapest Parliament Building

St. Stephen's Basilica

Czech Republic: Prague 3-Day Itinerary

Budapest --> Prague

Read Day 1 here - Prague Castle
Read Day 2 here - Staropramen Tour and Old Town
Read Day 3 here - Wenceslas Square and Kampa

View from Prague Castle

Wenceslas Square

Germany: Berlin 2-Day Itinerary

Prague --> Berlin

Read about Berlin here - Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, German Bundestag, Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin Wall Memorial, Berlin Cathedral

Berlin Wall Memorial

Berlin Cathedral

England: London 4-Day Itinerary

Berlin --> London

Read Day 1 here - British Museum and River Thames
Read Day 2 here - Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge
Read Day 3 here - Warner Brothers Studio Tour
Read Day 4 here - King's Cross and Harrod's

Kensington Palace

Warner Brothers Studio Tour

France: Paris 3-Day Itinerary

London --> Paris

Read Day 1 here - Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe
Read Day 2 here - Mus�e de Louvre, Sacr�-C�ur, Galeries Lafayette
Read Day 3 here - Mus�e d'Orsay, River Seine, Champs-�lys�es

Eiffel Tower

Sacre-coeur

Berlin 2-Day Itinerary

Day 1

Prague --> Berlin

We took the 8:30am train from Prague to Berlin which took a little less than 5 hours. It cost CAD$160 for three tickets. Since we were only taking one metro trip, we bought a day pass for the second day in Berlin but only a single journey ticket to our hotel. Single journey tickets cost EUR 2,70.

Hello Berlin!

We walked to Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church which was damaged from a bomb raid in 1943. There is a memorial hall inside with a small gift shop section. Across from this original church is a modern octagonal structure.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Octagonal structure

Day 2

For Day 2 we purchased an all day group pass to use the metro (EUR 16,90 in total.)

The German Bundestag is a traditional looking building with a modern twist at the top. The glass dome houses a roof terrace and garden restaurant. We only walked around outside and didn't go in. There were many school tour groups in the area.

German Bundestag

It was about a 10-15 minute walk from the Bundestag to the Brandenburg Gate. On each side of the gates were embassies with important partnerships with Germany. It was interesting to see all the embassies and international organization offices along the way.

Brandenburg Gate

The following photo is the Jewish memorial. Sadly, many people did not bother to read the sign on the sidewalk about what this was and thought it was some type of public art that they could step on. There were people posted at each corner of the sight reminding the public to not step on the stone rectangles but they couldn't catch everyone.

Jewish memorial

Berlin is a metropolis and it really shows that modernity is more valued than old architecture as compared to the previous cities we went to on this trip. Potsdamer Platz was an important square that was growing before the Berlin Wall was erected and it flourished again after the wall came down.

Potsdamer Platz

My main goal for coming to Berlin was to see the Berlin Wall because I had studied the Cold War quite a bit in university and wanted to see the wall for myself. I spent a long time reading the signs at the Berlin Wall Memorial. If it is too cold to stand outside, the signs with the same information are located inside the grey building in the left of the photo below.

Berlin Wall Memorial

Other than the Berlin Wall Memorial, at the East Side Gallery there were more pieces of the original wall still standing. Though it felt less "authentic" here with the art covering its surface.

East Side Gallery

In day two we also visited the TV Tower, Berlin Cathedral, Alte Nationalgalerie and Olympic park of 1936.

TV Tower

Berlin Cathedral

Alte Nationalgalerie

Olympic park

Munich 3-Day Itinerary: Day Three

Read Day 1 here - BMW Welt and Olympic Park

Read Day 2 here - Neuschwanstein Castle

Read Day 3 here - Nymphenburg Palace and Deustche Museum

Nymphenburg Palace

Today's plan is a city tour of Munich. We purchased a group ticket for all day use of the S and U Bahn trains in the inner zone for up to five adults which cost EUR 11,70 in total. From Munich Hbf we took tram 17 to Nymphenburg Palace (Schloss Nymphenburg on the sign) which took about 15 minutes. 

Garden of Nymphenburg Palace

There were morning runners there already and the garden of the palace was free of admission. I had heard that buying water can add up in Europe but at the garden there was a fountain with drinkable water where all the runners filled their bottles so we did, too. The cool water was great in the hot summer heat. As well, the gift shop has free WiFi which is convenient for tourists.

Outside Odeonplatz

We took tram 17 back to Munich Hbf and then a few stops on the train to Odeonplatz station to see Residence Palace. Entrance was EUR 7 for adults and EUR 6 for students. We had to check in our bags and were given a device for the audio tour. The place was so large that it took us 45 minutes to walk through all the rooms and we didn't even stop to read everything.

Residence Palace

Residence Palace

Our next stop was to the Deustche Museum after we alighted from the Isator stop. The museum cost EUR 11 for adults and EUR 4 for students. It was packed with exhibitions including ones on planes, space, electrics, paper and more.

Exterior of Deustche Museum

Interior of museum

For dinner, we took the train to Marienplatz and found a German restaurant there. It was a tourist area so all the servers wore the traditional German dress but I'm not sure they do that for local restaurants. We had roast duck, crispy pork hock and fried mildewurst with potatoes.

Dinner

Read Day 1 here - BMW Welt and Olympic Park

Read Day 2 here - Neuschwanstein Castle

Read Day 3 here - Nymphenburg Palace and Deustche Museum

Munich 3-Day Itinerary: Day Two

Read Day 1 here - BMW Welt and Olympic Park

Read Day 2 here - Neuschwanstein Castle

Read Day 3 here - Nymphenburg Palace and Deustche Museum

Neuschwanstein Castle

In the morning at Munich Hbf we bought a train ticket to F�ssen to Neuschwanstein Castle. The train ticket cost EUR 43,10 for three people and included the bus ride up to the castle. Departure wasn't until 8:53am and I used the free WiFi at the station after a simple registration with T-Mobile. The train ride was two hours long with beautiful scenery of rolling green fields, blue skies and red tiled roofs along the way.

Munich Hbf

A few weeks prior to the trip, I ordered tickets for the castle online here. We arrived around 11am and there were long lines of tour groups and individuals waiting to buy a ticket. It will make your life much easier if you just order online ahead of time (EUR 12 per person.) Furthermore you don't have to pay until you reach the counter and show them your printed reservation. Of course, if you don't show up then they will charge your credit card which is required for the reservation.

Hohenschwangau Castle

Our guided tour of the castle wasn't until 1:55pm but there were other things to do in the area so we weren't bored waiting. We went to the smaller Hohenschwangau Castle, then queued for a bus up to the Marien-Brucke (bridge) which was above a waterfall and across from the Neushwanstein Castle so that there was a gorgeous view. Neuschwanstein Castle was about a 15-20 minute walk uphill so we took the bus which cost a few euros.

View from Marien-Brucke

The tour itself was about half an hour and a guide took us through the various rooms. No photographs were allowed inside. The king only lived in the castle for 172 days before he died. It was then opened for the public just six weeks after his death. Each room was elaborately decorated with wooden carved poles and many wall art. Only a third of the rooms in the castle were finished before the king died of mysterious causes.

View surrounding the castle

At the end of the tour, we walked downhill leisurely for about 15 minutes back to the bus stop to take the bus to F�ssen train station. Our train ticket had a specific departure time from Munich Hbf but flexible return departure time from F�ssen. 

Fussen train station

Our last stop of the day was to Marien Platz which was the central square of Munich with Viktualienmarkt nearby.

Marien Platz

Read Day 1 here - BMW Welt and Olympic Park

Read Day 2 here - Neuschwanstein Castle

Read Day 3 here - Nymphenburg Palace and Deustche Museum

Munich 3-Day Itinerary: Day One

Read Day 1 here - BMW Welt and Olympic Park

Read Day 2 here - Neuschwanstein Castle

Read Day 3 here - Nymphenburg Palace and Deustche Museum

The Munich International Airport is connected to a sizable underground mall with a supermarket, restaurants, shops and car rental. We bought a group ticket (EUR 22,80 for up to 5 adults or 10 children) for the S Bahn train from the airport to city centre. The ticket included unlimited use until 6am the next day. The 45-minute ride took us to Munich's main train station, M�nchen Hauptbahnhof.

S Bahn platform

We stayed at Hotel Cristal which was less than a 10 minute walk from the station. The location was convenient and the hotel had all the basics we needed except WiFi which was charged per day even for use in the lobby. 

A short U Bahn train ride to Olympiazentrum station brought us to the Olympic park and the BMW Welt. The Olympic park was huge and we were only able to explore a small part.

BMW Welt

Interior of BMW Welt

Olympic park

Read Day 1 here - BMW Welt and Olympic Park

Read Day 2 here - Neuschwanstein Castle

Read Day 3 here - Nymphenburg Palace and Deustche Museum