How to plan a trip to Europe: a practical guide
- Aimee Boudreaux MacIver
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
Things I didn’t have the first time I planned trips to Europe: Internet. Cell phones (much less a smart phone). Tap to pay. Apps for trains, maps, and metros. Websites for the places I wanted to visit. I didn’t have digital boarding passes, curated lists of hotels with starred reviews, or online dining reservation systems. I was in my early 20s, armed with nothing but wads of paper money (remember that?) and a thick book of Eurorail schedules. I would tear out a page, hop aboard a train, and figure out where to sleep when I arrived. And guess what? I still found food and shelter. I saw what I came to see. I made incredible memories rich with adventure, beauty, and grace. (That's me above the first time I ever set foot in France.)
How to plan a trip to Europe
As a travel and pilgrimage planner, I often hear people sigh, I would love to go to Europe but it’s just so overwhelming, I don’t know where to start! Yes, big travel planning can feel daunting. But you’re smart, capable, and—if I could plan trips to Europe with nothing but a backpack—you can do it, too.
Here’s a practical guide for how to plan a trip to Europe.
1. The best time to visit Europe: Aim for shoulder seasons.
Shoulder season travel can save you thousands. Rates for airfare and lodging (as well as heavy crowds) peak in June, July, and August. You’ll enjoy beautiful mild weather and more breathing room in March or April and September or October. And while deep fall is not as popular as summer, I love visiting Europe then—there’s something magical about ducking out of the cold into the intimate lights of brasseries and cafés.
2. Planning a trip to Europe: flights come first.
Start with your flight itinerary—the flight is your single greatest commitment. Be sure to reserve adequate connection times. Unlike domestic flights, international flights begin boarding an hour before takeoff. Try to allow connections for at least two hours if possible. Once you have flights booked, you can start the fun of planning each day.
Tip: If you’re planning to visit a few major cities, consider multi-city flights. For example, you could land in Paris and depart from Rome to save a day of backtracking.
Tip: Generally, aim to depart and return on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Thursdays to benefit from significantly lower fares.
Tip: Set flight alerts to snag low fares when they pop up. I’ve captured fares under $500 for European destinations. Such fares are usually kind of random dates and often have restrictive rules (no seat selection, no changes, etc), but you may find something too good to pass up.
3. Where to go in Europe: Limit your itinerary to two to three major destinations.
Imagine trying to take a 10-day trip to New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and New Orleans. Sounds crazy and exhausting, no? A classic mistake many travelers make is trying to cram multiple European destinations into one trip. Europe is compact, but deep. You don’t want entire precious days consumed on transit. And please, please don’t believe an algorithm’s AI-generated itinerary for hitting multiple major cities in a week. The point of travel isn’t to rush by and check off lists; it’s to be present so you can encounter beauty and truth. (Plus: unlike AI bots, you need time to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom.)
Tip: Choose three major locations and give them two to three days each, especially if transport requires flights or long train rides. You want to spend more time in a city than getting there. This tip also applies to far-flung cities within the same country.
4. Practice the “one + one” rule to leave room for wonder.
Europe shines when you give yourself time to wander winding cobblestone alleys and explore hidden neighborhoods. If you over-schedule, you risk exhaustion instead of restoration. Plan one major site or activity for the morning and one for the afternoon. Connect your big activities with praying in quiet churches, browsing shops, popping into cafes, and savoring slow meals.
Tip: Use map apps to plot routes between activities that minimize backtracking and integrate special sites along the way. For example, you can walk through the Tuileries on your way to the Louvre, or stroll through the Palatino on your way to the Roman Forum.
Tip: Combine sites strategically. For example, you can flow from the Vatican Museum into the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica, saving yourself from a totally separate entry and security line.
5. Use official websites to pre-book major activities (even the free ones!).
Unless you want to spend most of your time in line, pre-booking sites like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, and even St Peter’s Basilica or Notre Dame Cathedral is non-negotiable. Use official site websites rather than third parties or random Google search results. Most official sites post tickets online weeks in advance. Don’t worry if you can’t speak the language of the native website—all browsers have translate features that college me would have killed for.
Tip: Official websites also have the best rates and most accurate opening hours. Use these to book more intentionally. For example, the Louvre closes on Tuesdays, but don’t swap in the Musée d’Orsay because it will be even more crowded.
6. How to use Europe's trains: Plan day trips.
Did you know St Therese’s Lisieux is a two-hour ride from Paris? Or that St Francis’ Assisi is about the same distance from Rome? You can access so many incredible places with Europe’s world-class rail system. Take advantage of high-speed rides, scenic routes, and central locations to maximize your trip.
Tip: Trains get more expensive closer to departure and sell out. Buy early and add inexpensive trip protection in case you need to alter the plans later.
Tip: Most train stations are walking distance or a short metro, bus, or taxi ride from city centers.
7. Grocery shopping in Europe: plan meals like a local.
One of my favorite activities in Europe is grocery shopping at stores or fresh markets. You get a fascinating peek into local culture, plus the fun of discovering new and delicious products. Groceries and fresh markets both offer high-quality food and beverages that make wonderful breakfasts and picnic lunches. (Grocery shopping will also save you tons of money on dining out.)
Tip: On arrival day when you’re jetlagged, a low-pressure, fun “welcome” is stopping by a grocery for snacks and treats.
Tip: Search your map app for parks and plazas to sit and eat. Use the local-language word to search: parc, piazza, platz.
Related: My favorite souvenir store in Paris
8. Check local holidays, special events, sunrise, and sunset to minimize frustration and maximize delight.
Every city has local holidays, feasts, and special events that affect opening hours, road closures, and other logistics. For example, France shuts down for a long weekend after Ascension Thursday. Rome’s parks are packed on the national “birthday” holiday in April. Ireland coffee shops rarely open before 9 a.m. Check special events from concert series to sports to quirky seasonal traditions like turning the Seine riverbanks into temporary sandy beaches.
Also give attention to the time of day you visit each site. For example, Sacre Coeur on Montmartre glows most beautifully at sunset. Visit Saint-Chapelle in mid-morning or mid-afternoon when the light pours through the stained glass at the best angles. To hear the famed trumpeter of Krakow, make sure you’re there at the turn of the hour.
Tip: European customer service norms and business hours differ from American. Many services like rental cars and deliveries are not widely available on weekends. Long lunch breaks are common at midday. Be sure to account for these differences to avoid frustration.
9. How to communicate in Europe: Learn the three most important phrases.
Far more important than fluency is respect. Instead of trying to memorize miscellaneous vocab words, focus your language efforts on these most important relational phrases. Hello, please, and thank you change you from a tourist to a guest.
Tip: Use that long flight to practice these phrases. Mental image to enjoy: me on the flight to Krakow whispering Dziękuję, Dzień dobry, Proszę.
10. Packing light for Europe: make a packing sketch.
Overpacking adds stress and surprising costs to your Europe trip. Save yourself from dragging overstuffed suitcases over ancient cobblestones and up narrow, steep stairs. I make packing sketches for our trips instead of packing lists. Draw your potential packing list and then draw all the outfits you can make with those pieces (it doesn't matter how well you draw; this is just for you!). I always end up taking several things out of my bags when I realize how little I need to make lots of great combinations. You can save hundreds per passenger on baggage fees. Bonus: your packing sketch will be a sweet souvenir.
11. Think about how you want to feel.
Do you want to feel energized and busy, or quiet and contemplative? Your itinerary should serve your soul, not someone else’s checklist. It’s okay not to do something just because everyone else says you should. (I rarely take time in the Louvre to visit the Mona Lisa, for example.)
Tip: This applies to accommodations. If you want to totally avoid any hint of housework, choose a hotel. If you want to feel like “I live here,” rentals offer immersion.
Related: How to choose an Airbnb or a hotel in Europe
12. Plan your visits to sites as “enter” or “external.”
Remember that you don’t have to take time to go inside every site and landmark. Planning gets simpler when you think about sites as “enter” or “external.” Decide which ones are non-negotiable to experience deeply and which ones are perfectly fine as external sites where a good view, a selfie, and a moment of appreciation from the street are enough. Give yourself permission to skip the two-hour line for the inside of the Colosseum if what your heart really wants is to sit across the street with a gelato and just marvel at its scale.
And some lagniappe: Remember: people in Europe are doing exactly the same things you do at home.
When you feel overwhelmed with the unknowns of a foreign country, remember: the people in Europe are living their lives just like you. They are grocery shopping, scrolling on their phones, navigating GPS to find a new hardware store, and handling children at restaurants and churches.
Tip: Honestly, I love picking up ordinary toiletries and items from local shops. It's the sheer fun of bringing home regular items, but make them French/ Italian/ Polish/ Spanish/ whatever.
Tip: It’s almost impossible to get genuinely lost in any major city with famous landmarks. Even if your phone dies, just head toward something famous and rework your steps from there. Plus, most tourist sites are staffed by English speakers.
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