The apex of our World History In-Depth study was our historical tour in Europe for 3 weeks. Our custom itinerary was created after getting input from my three sons of places they had encountered during our world history study that they would like to visit and my own experience having lived and traveling in Europe. Our trip was history focused, and that drove much of the decision-making in where we went and what we did.
Some items on our itinerary were considered MUST SEE (★), others we WANTED TO SEE (✔︎), and others we would SEE IF HAVE TIME (?). By prioritizing the items, we ensured that we didn’t miss any must-sees. In reality, we were able to see almost everything. We could easily have stayed longer and enjoyed even more of the rich culture and history in Europe, but we were constrained by obligations in the States both before and after our trip.
In creating the itinerary, I kept in mind the ages of my kids. Everywhere we went, museums abounded – spending our trip in museums was not going to work for our family. So I picked a couple from each location and made sure there was plenty of variety in our itinerary.
All of our lodging was centrally-located, close to train/subway stations, and in easy walking distance of many historic sites. Our lodging varied from apartments through AirBnB to hostels to bed-and-breakfasts ~ I wanted a variety of experiences.
This itinerary was on my iPhone and also kept in hard copy (a miniaturized version) in the guidebook I was carrying at the time – it served as my bookmark (see European Historical Tour ~ Helpful Tips).
One final note – any train times on this itinerary are only examples of what we did. If you do a similar trip, you must check the train schedules for the day and time you are wanting to travel. I found Railplanner app helpful in scheduling train travel. Please feel free to use this itinerary for ideas and inspiration only ~ I cannot guarantee the current availability of lodgings we used or accuracy of the itinerary information (e.g., Notre Dame fire occurred after we went to Europe – it may or may not be open now), nor do I accept liability for any misinformation.
Day 1: Travel to Europe
FLIGHT from United States to London Heathrow
Leave afternoon of Day 1 — Arrive morning of Day 2
ENGLAND: London (Day 2 – 5)
Day 2: London
(Arrived morning. Took train from airport to lodging. Settled into lodging. Spent afternoon at sites.)
★ British Museum
✔︎ British Library
(LODGING: London Central Youth Hostel 4-person private room ensuite)
Day 3: London
⇒ Self-guided Westminster Walk (Rick Steves audio tour)
★ Big Ben
★ Westminster Abbey
★ Houses of Parliament (royal residence for 500 years)
✔︎ Buckingham Palace
? Churchill War Rooms
✔︎ National Gallery Museum
(LODGING: London Central Youth Hostel 4-person private room ensuite)
Day 4: Windsor Castle
★ Windsor Castle
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- William the Conqueror’s residence
- Largest and oldest continually-inhabited castle in the world
- One-hour train ride from London
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(LODGING: London Central Youth Hostel 4-person private room ensuite)
Day 5: London / to Paris
★ Tower of London
★ Tower Bridge (ate fish & chips lunch here)
★ St. Paul’s Cathedral
? Globe Theater (replica of Shakespearean theater)
(Day 5 afternoon: Eurostar train from London St. Pancras International train station to Paris Gare de Nord station)
(LODGING: AirBnB central Paris – “Apartment plain centre M. Louve”)
FRANCE: Paris, Normandy, Versailles, Chartres (Days 5-10)
Day 6: Paris
★ Louvre
★ Eiffel Tower (ate picnic lunch here)
★ Champs Elysees ~ Arc de Triomphe
(LODGING: AirBnB central Paris – “Apartment plain centre M. Louve”)
Day 7: Versailles
★ Versailles Palace
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- palace of King Louis XIV
- trains run frequently from Paris to Versailles
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(LODGING: AirBnB central Paris – “Apartment plain centre M. Louve”)
Day 8: Paris
✔︎ Historic Park Walk (Rick Steves audio tour)
★ Notre Dame
★ Sainte-Chapelle (13th century Gothic church, one of most extensive stained-glass collections in the world)
✔︎ Bastille (site of French Revolution ~ just a marker)
★ Sacre Coeur
(LODGING: AirBnB central Paris – “Apartment plain centre M. Louve”)
Day 9: Normandy
(Train to Normandy: Depart St. Lazare station 8:55, Arrive Bayeax station 11:20)
★ Tapestry Museum & Museum of Battle of Normandy
(LUNCH)
★ Private Tour of Normandy (company “Overlord”):
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- Longues-Sur-Mer
- Omaha Beach
- American Cemetery
- Pointe du Hoc
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(Train to Paris: Depart Bayeax 7:35 (19:35), Arrive St. Lazare station 9:40 (21:40)
(LODGING: AirBnB central Paris – “Apartment plain centre M. Louve”)
Day 10: Chartres/Paris
(Trains leave Montparnasse station in Paris every hour to Chartres)
★ Chartres Cathedral ~ (Lunch in Chartres)
(Train back to Paris)
RELAX in afternoon ~ it’s been an exciting but very busy 10 days! Do laundry, go to market.
(LODGING: AirBnB central Paris – “Apartment plain centre M. Louve”)
GERMANY: Berlin (Day 11-13)
Day 11: travel to Berlin
INTERNATIONAL TRAIN (need advance reservations):
Leave: Paris Est station 9:06
Arrive: Mannheim, Germany 12:16
Leave: Mannheim, Germany 12:32
Arrive: Berlin Haupbanhof station 5:26 (17:26)
(LODGING: “Menninger Berlin Mitte Humboldthaus” 4-person private room ensuite)
Day 12: Berlin
✔︎ Best of Berlin Walking Tour (Rick Steves audio tour)
✔︎ Reichstag
✔︎ Berlin Wall Victims Memorial
★ Brandenbrg Gate
★ Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
? Hitler’s Bunker
(LUNCH at Unter den Linden)
★ Topography of Terror (SS & Gestapo; Berlin wall)
? Museum of the Wall at Checkpoint Charlie
(LODGING: “Menninger Berlin Mitte Humboldthaus” 4-person private room ensuite)
Day 13: Berlin
★ Berlin Wall Victims Memorial (if didn’t do yesterday)
✔︎ Museums:
★ Pergamon museum (contains Ancient Babylon’s Ishtar Gate)
★ Neues Museum (contains bust of Queen Nefertiti from ancient Egypt)
✔︎ DDR Museum (shows life in Communist East Germany)
? German History Museum
(LODGING: “Menninger Berlin Mitte Humboldthaus” 4-person private room ensuite)
GERMANY: Rothenburg & Munich/Dachau (Days 14-16)
Day 14: Rothenburg (preserved medieval town)
(Morning: Train from Berlin to Rothenburg (~5 hrs))
★ Rothenburg Town Walk (Rick Steves audio tour)
★ St. Jakob’s Church
(SUPPER at German restaurant)
★ Wall walk — meet at market square for Night Watchman’s Tour at 20:00 (8:00 p.m.)
(LODGING: Rothenberg – “Gastehaus Raidel” Triple with Extra Bed ~ includes Breakfast)
Day 15: Rothenburg / Munich
✔︎ Medieval Crime & Punishment Museum
Afternoon: Train to Munich (~3 hours)
✔︎ SUPPER at Haufbrauhaus (world-famous beer hall)
(LODGING: Munich – Euro Youth Hostel (next to train station)
*historic building that survived WWII bombings
Day 16: Dachau (close to Munich)
★ Dachau Concentration Camp
(Overnight direct train from Munich to Rome ~~ 4-bed private couchette)
**must reserve in advance**
ITALY: Rome & Pompeii (Days 17-20)
Day 17: Rome
★ Ancient Ruins: (side note: our lodging was right next to the ruins)
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- Colosseum
- Arch of Constantine
- Roman Forum
- Palatine Hill
- Trajan’s Column
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? Mamertine Museum (St. Paul’s jail cell – next to Roman Forum)
★ Pantheon
✔︎ Heart of Rome Walk ~ best in evening (Rick Steves audio tour)
(LODGING: “Hotel Rosetta” – Quad room with Breakfast (next to Colosseum))
Day 18: Vatican
★ St. Peter’s Basilica
★ Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
(LODGING: “Hotel Rosetta” – Quad room with Breakfast (next to Colosseum))
Day 19: Rome / Naples
✔︎ National Museum of Rome (greatest collection of Roman sculpture)
OR
✔︎ Capitoline Museums (world’s oldest national museum)
(Afternoon: Train to Naples (~ 1.5 hours))
★ Eat pizza for supper at Antica Pizzeria Port ‘Alba (very first pizzeria)
(LODGING: Naples – “Hotel Ideal” – 4-bed private ensuite (by train station))
Day 20: Pompeii / Naples
★ Pompeii ruins (we started with self-guided tour, but ended up hiring a private tutor)
(LODGING: Naples – “Hotel Ideal” – 4-bed private ensuite (by train station))
ITALY: Pisa & Florence (Day 21-23)
Day 21: Pisa
(Morning: Train to Pisa 9:15-1:30 (4 h 13 min-1x change)
(In PISA)
★ Leaning Tower
★ Cathedral
(Train to Florence 17:32-18:26 (54 min-0x change)
(5:32-6:26 p.m.)
(LODGING: Florence AIrBnB – “Cozy apartment two steps from Duomo”)
Day 22: Florence
★ Uffizi Gallery * need reservations
? Renaissance Walk (Rick Steves audio tour)
(LUNCH)
★ Santa Croce Church (famous people buried here)
✔︎ Academia (Michaelangelo’s David housed here)
? Medici Chapels (tombs of the Medici families)
(LODGING: Florence AIrBnB – “Cozy apartment two steps from Duomo”)
Day 23: Florence / Rome
★ MASS at Duomo Cathedral
★ Duomo Museum
(LUNCH)
(Afternoon: Train to Rome then to airport/hotel)
(LODGING: Best Western Hotel Riviera – by airport & next to Mediterranean Sea/beach)
(SUPPER on the Mediterranean Sea)
Day 24: Back to the United States
FLIGHT from Rome (Fiumicino) to United States