I always dream of traveling to Europe. My husband and I went on our first trip to Europe around New Year 2019. We celebrated Christmas in Paris and the New Year in Milan. It was a very unique and unforgettable experience.
We took two weeks for our first trip to Europe. In that time we covered three countries, France, Italy, and Switzerland, and seven cities. We made sure to see some well-known big cities, such as Paris, Milan, Geneva, and Zurich. We also visited some small cities: Lyon, Nyon, and Yvoire. I’d love to share our itinerary before I start writing travel guides for each individual city. The total travel time, including international flights, was 14 days but the itinerary covers 12 days. We were flying or in airports for the remaining two days. I will write more detailed travel tips in later articles, including the places we visited together and the places I visited before, just by myself. For now I want to give you the overview on how we planned our itinerary for our first trip to Europe.
Day 1 Paris, France
We arrived Paris in the afternoon on the day before Christmas. After checking into our hotel and taking a little time to rest, we started our first European journey.
| Late Afternoon | Walk in the Tuileries Garden. There was a carnival on site for the holidays. |
| Evening | Walk the Avenue Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, see the Eiffel Tower |
| Midnight | Walk along the Left Bank to see Notre-Dame and attend Christmas Midnight Mass at Notre-Dame |
Day 2 Paris, France
| Morning | Have breakfast at Café de Flore and tour the Luxembourg Garden |
| Afternoon | Take a metro to Montmartre and visit Sacre-Coeur |
| Evening | Christmas Dinner at L’Aprege, a Michelin Three Star restaurant |
Day 3 Lyon, France
| Morning | Take a train from Paris to Lyon, arriving around noon |
| Noon | Tour Vieux Lyon (Old City) and have lunch there |
| Afternoon | Explore Lyon Cathedral, Place des Terreaux, and Lyon City Hall Visited Basilica Notre-Dame Lyon and Museum of Fine Arts |
| Evening | Dinner back in Vieux Lyon |
Day 4 Lyon, France – Geneva, Switzerland
| Morning | Tour the Roman Theater (amphitheater), and visit the Lugdunum Museum at the amphitheater in Lyon |
| Afternoon | Take a train from Lyon to Geneva |
| Evening | Dinner at Geneva |
Day 5 Nyon, Switzerland & Yovire, France
Yovire is a small medieval town in France, located on the shore of Lake Geneva. It takes only a 20-min ferry to get from Nyon to Yovire.
| Morning | Take a train to Nyon and take a ferry to Yovire (France). Tour part of Nyon while waiting for the ferry |
| Afternoon | Explore Yovrie |
| Evening | Come back to Geneva |
Day 6 Geneva, Switzerland
| Morning | Tour the iconic symbols in Geneva: United Nations, Broken Chair L’horloge Fleurie, and Lake Geneva (Jetd’Eau) |
| Afternoon | Visit Patek Philippe Museum |
| Evening | Take a train from Geneva to Milan |
Day 7 Milan, Italy
| Morning | Tour inside of the Duomo Church and climb up to the roof |
| Afternoon | Walk the Piazza del Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and continue on to the Piazza Della Scala, Teatro alla Scala and Castello-Brera |
| Evening | Enjoy the lights in the Piazza del Duomo |
Day 8 Milan, Italy
| Morning | Explore the Castello Sforzesco and visit the Brera Picture Gallery, |
| Afternoon | Explore the Sempione Park and see the Arco della Pace |
| Evening | Have New Year’s Eve dinner at Innocenti Evasioni, a Michelin One Star restaurant |
| The Brera Picture Gallery was closed on New Year’s Eve, so we could only see the outside of the Brera Picture Gallery. |
Day 9 Zurich, Switzerland
| Morning | Take a train from Milan to Zurich, arriving around lunch time |
| Afternoon | Explore St. Peter’s church, the Fraumunster church, and the Grossmunster church. Climb up of the tower of the Grossmunster church for a fantastic city view |
| Evening | Dinner in Zurich and enjoy the lights in the Old Town |
Day 10 Zurich, Switzerland – Paris, France
| Morning | Tour Zurich Town Hall and see Lake Zurich |
| Afternoon | Take a train from Zurich to Paris |
| Evening | Dinner in Paris |
Day 11 Paris, France
| Morning | Visit the Louvre Museum |
| Afternoon | Have lunch in the Louvre Museum and continue |
| Evening | How could you avoid shopping when you come to Paris |
| It is impossible to see everything in the Louvre, but you can find the world’s most famous exhibitions there. Take a tourist guide from the information desk at the entrance of the museum, and that will tell you what the most precious exhibitions are. |
Day 12 Versailles, France
| Morning | Spend as long time as you want at the Palace of Versailles |
| Afternoon | Explore the Gardens at the Palace of Versailles, have lunch there |
| Evening | Come back to Paris and dinner in Paris |
Below is our itinerary in Word document format, so you can download it and make changes as you want to. I will see you in my later posts on Europe!
