Traditional Europe (End Paris) — Self-Launched

Fly or train into Amsterdam and check into a hostel near Sloterdijk or in the Jordaan. Spend the afternoon walking the canal belt — Dam Square, Bloemenmarkt, the Nine Streets. In the evening do what the coach tour charges a welcome cruise for, but cheaper: a 1-hour canal cruise booked on GetYourGuide from about £12–16, or hire a paddle boat from Canal Motorboats for around £8/hour if you've got a travel buddy.

🚌Schiphol to Centraal by NS train, ~£5.50, 17 minutes. Buy an OV-chipkaart or use contactless.

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, Jordaan/Sloterdijk (~£25–35)

• →Self-guided canal belt walk
• →Canal cruise (GetYourGuide, ~£14)
• →Albert Cuyp Market snacks

Take an ICE train Amsterdam–Cologne (about 2h40, £25–40 booked in advance), stash bags, and see Cologne Cathedral for free. Continue on a regional train down the left bank of the Rhine to Bacharach or St. Goar (~1h30, £15). The Rhine gorge cruise the tour includes is easy to DIY: KD Line boats run St. Goar–Boppard or Bacharach–St. Goar for £10–15 and pass the Lorelei rock. Sleep in a Rhine guesthouse.

🚌ICE Amsterdam–Cologne ~£30, regional train Cologne–Bacharach ~£15, ferry ~£13

🛏Rhine Valley guesthouse or hostel, Bacharach/St. Goar (~£30–38)

• →Cologne Cathedral (free entry)
• →KD Line Rhine cruise through the Lorelei gorge (~£13)
• →Rhine-side wine tasting in Bacharach (~£10)

Cross into Alsace by train via Strasbourg or Offenburg. Spend a few hours in Colmar — the Little Venice quarter, the Unterlinden Museum if you're into the Isenheim Altarpiece — then taste your way along the Alsace wine route on foot. Late afternoon, take the train to Basel (~45 min, £12) or straight through to Lucerne (~2h, £25–35). The tour bases itself in Engelberg; a cheaper and better-connected choice is a Lucerne hostel or a guesthouse in Engelberg if you want the mountain setting.

🚌Regional trains Colmar–Basel–Lucerne, ~£35 total

🛏Hostel or guesthouse, Lucerne or Engelberg (~£38–48)

• →Colmar old town and Little Venice walk
• →Alsace wine route tasting (~£10)
• →Unterlinden Museum (~£11, optional)

Morning in Lucerne: Chapel Bridge, Lion Monument, the medieval ramparts — all free. The tour's optional Alpine excursion is best done yourself: the Pilatus Golden Round trip (boat + cogwheel railway + gondola) is around £85–100 with a half-fare card, or go cheaper with a return cable car to Stanserhorn (~£55). Alternatively hike the Rigi for £40–50 on the railway. Swiss food is brutal on the budget — self-cater from Coop or Migros.

🚌Local buses/trains ~£8; mountain excursion transport included in ticket price

🛏Same hostel/guesthouse (~£38–48)

• →Chapel Bridge and Lion Monument
• →Pilatus Golden Round trip or Stanserhorn cable car
• →Lake Lucerne lakeside walk

A long but scenic travel day. Train Lucerne–Sargans, then bus or train into Vaduz for a passport stamp at the Liechtenstein tourist office (~£3) and a look at the castle from below. Carry on via Feldkirch to Innsbruck (~4h total, £30–40 if booked ahead). Evening in the Altstadt: the Golden Roof, Maria-Theresien-Strasse. Swap the tour's Tyrolean 'Be My Guest' lunch for a Gasthaus plate of Käsespätzle and a Stiegl (~£13).

🚌Train Lucerne–Innsbruck via Sargans/Feldkirch, ~£35. Buy a Sparschiene ticket well in advance.

🛏Hostel dorm, Innsbruck (~£28–35)

• →Vaduz and Liechtenstein passport stamp
• →Innsbruck old town and Golden Roof
• →Tyrolean dinner in a Gasthaus

Take the regional or Railjet train over the Brenner Pass to Verona or straight to Venezia Santa Lucia (~4h, £25–35 with a Sparschiene fare). The Europa Bridge and Brenner Pass views come free with the window seat. Dump bags in Mestre or on the Lido — both far cheaper than central Venice — and go for a first wander, ending with an evening spritz in Campo Santa Margherita (~£4) instead of a gondola (£80 shared, optional).

🚌Train Innsbruck–Venezia Santa Lucia, ~£30; vaporetto 24h pass ~£18

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Mestre/Lido (~£25–35)

• →Brenner Pass rail journey
• →Evening wander through Cannaregio
• →Spritz and cicchetti in Campo Santa Margherita (~£12)

Get up early for St Mark's Square before the crowds, and book the Doge's Palace + St Mark's Basilica combo on GetYourGuide (~£30–35, skip-the-line). Take vaporetto line 1 or 2 out to Murano for the glass furnaces — free to visit, and you can watch demonstrations without the tour's set-piece workshop. Afternoon on Burano's coloured houses. Come back via the Rialto and the Erbaria food market.

🚌Vaporetto day pass ~£18

🛏Same Mestre/Lido base (~£25–35)

• →Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica (pre-booked combo, ~£33)
• →Murano glass workshops
• →Burano island
• →Rialto Market

Frecciarossa or Italo from Venezia Mestre to Roma Termini, 3h45–4h30, £30–50 if booked a month or two out (walk-up fares are £80+). Check into a hostel in Monti or near Termini. Late afternoon: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon (€5 entry, book a slot), Spanish Steps, and gelato at a proper gelateria (~£3).

🚌Frecciarossa Venice–Rome ~£40; local metro/bus ~£6

🛏Hostel dorm, Monti/Termini (~£25–35)

• →High-speed train to Rome
• →Pantheon (€5, pre-book)
• →Piazza Navona and Spanish Steps
• →Gelato crawl

Book the Colosseum + Roman Forum + Palatine Hill combined ticket direct on the official CoopCulture site (~£16–20) or a small-group guided version on GetYourGuide (£35–45). Two to three hours inside. Afternoon: Circus Maximus, the Capitoline, and a walk through Trastevere for dinner. Skip the Vatican today unless you're staying longer — pre-booked Vatican Museums entry is £18–22 and needs half a day.

🚌Metro/bus ~£6

🛏Same Rome hostel (~£25–35)

• →Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill (official ticket ~£18)
• →Circus Maximus and Capitoline Hill
• →Trastevere dinner (~£12)

Regional train Rome–Naples (~1h10, £15–25 on Italo/Trenitalia), then the Circumvesuviana commuter line Naples–Sorrento (~1h, £4). Drop bags, then ferry from Sorrento to Capri (~£18–22 return, 20 min) and take the funicular up to Capri Town (£2). Walk to the Faraglioni viewpoint and the Gardens of Augustus (£2). Ferries stop running mid-evening — check times, or stay flexible and do Capri as a morning trip the next day.

🚌Train Rome–Naples ~£20, Circumvesuviana ~£4, Capri ferry ~£20, funicular ~£2

🛏Hostel or budget B&B, Sorrento (~£30–40)

• →Ferry to Capri and funicular to Capri Town
• →Gardens of Augustus and Faraglioni viewpoints
• →Marina Grande swim

Circumvesuviana to Pompeii Scavi (~30 min, £3), and pre-book a Pompeii entry ticket (£15) plus an audio guide or a 2-hour small-group tour on GetYourGuide (£25–35). Three hours is plenty. Back to Naples, then high-speed train to Florence (~3h, £30–45). The tour's Monte Cassino stop is a long detour by public transport — leave it out and get to Florence in time for dinner.

🚌Circumvesuviana ~£3, Naples–Florence Frecciarossa ~£38, local bus ~£3

🛏Hostel dorm, Santa Maria Novella/Oltrarno (~£25–35)

• →Pompeii archaeological site with audio guide (~£28)
• →Naples street-food stop (sfogliatella, ~£5)
• →Evening in Oltrarno

Book the Brunelleschi Pass for the Duomo dome climb and baptistery (~£25–30) — timed slot, sell-out in summer. Walk to Piazza della Signoria, the Uffizi exterior, Ponte Vecchio. A free walking tour (tip-based, £8–10 in tips) covers the Renaissance history a coach guide would give you. Afternoon in Santa Croce and the San Lorenzo leather market, or an actual leather workshop visit in Santo Spirito — largely free to browse. Gallery lovers: Accademia for David, £15, pre-booked.

🚌On foot; a couple of buses ~£4

🛏Same Florence hostel (~£25–35)

• →Duomo dome climb with Brunelleschi Pass (~£28)
• →Free walking tour (tip ~£9)
• →San Lorenzo leather market
• →Piazzale Michelangelo sunset (free)

Early regional train to Pisa (~1h, £8) — the Leaning Tower and Baptistery are free to look at; climbing the tower is £18 and needs booking. Store bags at the station. Then train Pisa–Genoa–Ventimiglia–Nice (~4–5h, £25–35 on regional trains; a direct Frecciabianca/Intercity is faster). Base yourself near Nice's old town or in a hostel in the port quarter, not the airport strip the coach tour uses.

🚌Pisa train ~£8, Pisa–Nice regional trains ~£30, Nice tram ~£1.70

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, Nice old town/port (~£30–42)

• →Pisa Leaning Tower and Baptistery
• →Regional rail along the Ligurian coast
• →Promenade des Anglais evening walk

Bus 400 from Nice's Gare Routière to Saint-Paul-de-Vence (~50 min, £1.70) — a hilltop walled artists' village that's free to wander. On the way back, stop at Grasse for the Fragonard perfumery, which offers free guided tours (book online). Or stay coastal: Villefranche-sur-Mer and Èze village on the same bus route. End the day with a £2 Monaco hop — TER train Nice–Monaco is 25 minutes and £3.50, and the palace square is free.

🚌Lignes d'Azur buses ~£5 total, TER train to Monaco ~£3.50

🛏Same Nice base (~£30–42)

• →Saint-Paul-de-Vence village walk
• →Fragonard perfumery tour in Grasse (free)
• →Monaco by TER train (~£4 return leg)

Train Nice–Avignon (~2h45 TGV, £30–45 booked ahead). Palais des Papes entry is about £13 and includes a Histopad tablet — book on the official site. Free views of the Pont d'Avignon and the cathedral. Late afternoon train Avignon–Lyon (~1h10, £20–30). Evening in Lyon's Vieux Lyon traboules and a bouchon if the budget stretches (£18–22) — or a Croix-Rousse market picnic for £8.

🚌TGV Nice–Avignon ~£38, Avignon–Lyon ~£25, local transport ~£5

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, Presqu'île/Guillotière (~£28–38)

• →Palais des Papes with Histopad (~£13)
• →Pont d'Avignon and Rocher des Doms
• →Vieux Lyon traboule walk

TGV Lyon–Paris in 2 hours, £25–45 with an early booking (Ouigo can be as low as £10 if you're flexible). Check into a hostel in the 10th/11th or Montmartre. Afternoon: a free tip-based walking tour of central Paris (~£9 in tips) or DIY the route — Latin Quarter, Île de la Cité, Notre-Dame exterior, the Seine bridges. Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro is free; going up starts at £25 and needs booking weeks ahead.

🚌TGV Lyon–Paris ~£32; Paris metro carnet ~£8

🛏Hostel dorm, 10th/11th arrondissement or Montmartre (~£30–40)

• →TGV to Paris
• →Free walking tour of central Paris (tip ~£9)
• →Latin Quarter and Seine bridges
• →Trocadéro Eiffel Tower view

Pick your own Paris. Budget option: the Louvre is free on the first Friday evening of the month after 6pm, otherwise £19 pre-booked — book a timed slot online. Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur are free; Père Lachaise too. Versailles by RER C is £18 return plus £18 to the palace — a full half-day. Otherwise Champs-Élysées, a canal-side picnic on the Canal Saint-Martin, and an evening Seine river cruise at £14–17 booked online (much cheaper than the tour's optional).

🚌Metro/RER ~£8

🛏Same Paris hostel (~£30–40)

• →Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur
• →Louvre with timed ticket (~£19)
• →Seine river cruise (~£15)
• →Canal Saint-Martin picnic

Last croissant, then off. CDG is £11 by RER B, Orly is £15 by Orlybus or via the T7 tram. If you're flying home early, keep the previous night light — the tour's own day 18 is just a coach transfer, so you're not losing anything by doing it yourself. Trains back to London via Eurostar start at £40 if booked in advance.

🚌RER B to CDG ~£11, or Orlybus ~£15; Eurostar Paris–London from £40 booked ahead

🛏None (departure day)

• →Last breakfast in Paris
• →Travel to airport or Eurostar