Land at Brussels Airport (BRU) and a direct train has you at Brussels-Central in under 25 minutes flat. Fly into Brussels South Charleroi (CRL) instead, the budget-carrier hub about an hour south, and you are on the Flibco shuttle bus to Brussels-Midi/Zuid for a fare that is worth booking online ahead of time. Either way you land in the euro zone, and ETIAS pre-registration is still not live as of 2026, having slipped toward an April 2027 launch, so a valid passport at the border is all a US or UK traveler needs right now.

Three days is enough to fall for Belgium hard, and the move is to treat Brussels as your launchpad, not your whole trip. Day one covers the capital: Grand-Place, Manneken Pis, the Atomium. Day two rides the train an hour to Bruges and stays the night there, because Bruges after the tour buses roll out is a genuinely different, better place. Day three pushes 35 minutes further to Ghent, the loop’s real value pick: same medieval canals, a fraction of the crowds, lower prices.

Four days is a genuinely great first Belgium trip, and you don’t need a car or a new hotel each night to pull it off. Base yourself in Brussels the whole time and ride the train out to Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp, each under an hour and a half away. Tighter on time? The 2-day version covers Brussels plus one city. Got a full week? The 7-day itinerary adds Leuven and a Wallonia-or-Ypres day.

Five days is enough to run the whole classic Flemish loop, not just sample it. Base yourself in Brussels, add one overnight in Bruges to see it after the tour buses leave, then day-trip the rest: Ghent, Antwerp, and Leuven, each under an hour away by train. No rental car, no repacking every night, just SNCB doing the work. Shorter trip? The 3-day version covers Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent. Have more time?

Six days gets you the whole classic Flemish loop plus one extra day to spend, and that’s the trip worth taking: Brussels as your base, single day trips to Ghent and Antwerp and Leuven, one overnight in Bruges to beat the day-trip crowds, then a final day out on the rails to Namur and Dinant in the Ardennes. Everything runs on euros, nobody needs a car, and the trains do the heavy lifting.

Seven days in Belgium is the version where you finally get the whole loop instead of a rushed preview: Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, and Leuven, all inside an hour of each other by train, plus a bonus day into the Ardennes and a bonus day at Ypres. You barely need a car. Base yourself in Brussels, day-trip almost everything, and unpack once. Doing a shorter version? Jump to the 2-day , 3-day , 4-day , 5-day , or 6-day itinerary; this is the same route, just with room to breathe.

Two days in Portugal means Lisbon only, full stop, not a rushed stab at Porto or the Algarve too. Everything runs on euros, spring and autumn beat summer’s crowds, and Lisbon’s overtourism friction is real enough to plan around honestly. Going longer? Step up to 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , or 7 days . Book these before you go Hotel in Alfama or Baixa: compare rates on Booking.

Three days adds Sintra to a Lisbon base, still all in euros, still no train longer than 40 minutes. It’s the natural first step up once a Lisbon weekend stops being enough, and Sintra’s the busiest, most overtouristed sight on this whole route, so book its ticket before anything else. Shorter trip? See 2 days . Going longer? Check 4 , 5 , 6 , or 7 days . Book these before you go

Four days is where Portugal actually becomes a two-city trip: Lisbon and Sintra first, then the Alfa Pendular north to Porto for a genuine, if brief, taste of the Ribeira. Everything runs on euros, and the train alone covers about 332km in roughly 2h35. Shorter trip? See 2 or 3 days . Going longer? Check 5 , 6 , or 7 days . Book these before you go Hotel in Alfama or Baixa: compare rates on Booking.

Five days gives Porto the full day it deserves, port lodges across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia and Livraria Lello’s paid entry, on top of the Lisbon-Sintra base. Still all euros, still one train ride of any real length. Shorter trip? See 2 , 3 , or 4 days . Going longer? Check 6 or 7 days . Book these before you go Hotel in Alfama or Baixa: compare rates on Booking.

Six days completes the wine country: Lisbon, Sintra, and Porto, plus a full Douro Valley day trip out to Pinhao by train. Still all euros, still no rental car needed anywhere on this route. That’s deliberate, the Algarve genuinely needs its own extra day, covered in the 7-day version instead of squeezed in here. Shorter trip? See 2 , 3 , 4 , or 5 days . Book these before you go

Seven days is genuinely the minimum for the full Lisbon, Porto, and Algarve loop, and it’s the first length on this list honest enough to include all three. Everything runs on euros, the Alfa Pendular covers Lisbon to Porto in roughly 2h35, and the Algarve’s A22 motorway is now fully toll-free for cars. Shorter trip? See 4 , 5 , or 6 days . Book these before you go Hotel in Alfama or Baixa: compare rates on Booking.

Two days is not enough for Austria as a country, and this route says so upfront: it’s a Vienna-only plan, and a genuinely great one. Currency is the euro throughout, no borders to cross, no vignette to buy since you won’t touch a motorway. What you get instead is a tight, high-energy loop through the Hofburg, St Stephen’s, and Schonbrunn Palace, run on the U-Bahn, not a rental car. Come back for the 3-day or 7-day version once Vienna hooks you, and it will.

Three days builds on the honest 2-day Vienna plan by adding a genuine day trip: the Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey, about an hour from Wien Westbahnhof and one of the easiest, most rewarding add-ons in the country. Still no car needed, still all euros, still no vignette. For a longer loop that pushes on to Salzburg, see the 4-day version. Book these before you go Schonbrunn Palace timed slot: browse Schonbrunn tickets on GetYourGuide A guided Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey day trip if you’d rather skip the seasonal boat-schedule guesswork: browse Wachau Valley tours The OBB Wachau-Ticket bundling train, abbey admission, and a seasonal river-boat leg: kombitickets.

Four days is where Austria stops being a Vienna trip and starts being a country trip. This route keeps the 3-day plan’s Vienna-and-Wachau spine, then adds Salzburg as a real overnight, not a rushed day trip, a 2h22 Railjet ride away. Everything runs on OBB rail; no car, no vignette needed yet. Push on to a 6-day plan once Salzburg has you wanting the Alps too. Book these before you go

Five days keeps the 4-day Vienna-Wachau-Salzburg spine and adds the payoff day: Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut lakes, a train-plus-ferry hop from Salzburg. This is also the day the itinerary gets honest about crowds, since Hallstatt is genuinely the most overtouristed stop on this whole route. Still all euros, still no vignette, still every leg on OBB rail. Ready for the Alps too? See the 6-day version. Book these before you go

Six days is where this itinerary finally leaves the Vienna-Salzburg corridor for the Alps. It keeps the 5-day plan’s Vienna, Wachau, Salzburg, and Hallstatt days intact, then adds a Railjet run to Innsbruck for the Nordkette cable car and a genuine taste of the Tyrol. Every leg still runs on OBB rail, euro throughout, no vignette needed unless you’re driving. The full loop closes out in the 7-day version. Book these before you go

Seven days is the realistic whole-country loop: the 6-day plan’s Vienna, Wachau, Salzburg, and Hallstatt days, plus a second full Innsbruck day for the Tyrol instead of rushing straight back out. Every leg connects by OBB Railjet, no domestic flight needed, euro throughout, no vignette unless you add a rental car for the Alpine roads a train can’t reach. Book these before you go An Innsbruck hotel near the Altstadt, walking distance to the Hungerburgbahn: check rates on Booking.

Two days in Germany means Berlin, full stop, this itinerary does not pretend to cover a country that runs roughly 850km north to south on an ICE network built for hopping between cities, not one fast lap. Berlin has been the reunified capital since 1990, not Frankfurt or Munich, and it alone earns two full days: the Brandenburg Gate, a free Reichstag dome slot if you book it now, the East Side Gallery, and Museum Island, minus the still-closed Pergamon.

Three days in Germany buys you Berlin plus one real day trip: Dresden by ICE, about two hours each way. It is still a taste of the country, not the whole thing, Munich, the Rhine, and the Romantic Road all sit further down this family. Berlin has been the reunified capital since 1990, not Frankfurt or Munich, and this plan opens there: the Brandenburg Gate, a free Reichstag dome slot, the East Side Gallery, and Museum Island.

Four days in Germany is Berlin, a Dresden afternoon, and a fast push into Munich, honest warning: one of these four days is mostly spent on trains. Berlin opens the trip, capital since 1990, not Frankfurt or Munich, Dresden gets an afternoon, and you land in Bavaria late on day four with just enough daylight for Marienplatz. Budget roughly EUR 90-160 a day depending on the leg. Shorter trip? Try 2 or 3 days .

Five days in Germany gets you Berlin, a Dresden afternoon, and a real Munich stretch with Neuschwanstein Castle added on as its own day, still a first-timer sprint, not a leisurely trip, but the country’s two biggest names both make the cut. Budget roughly EUR 100-170 a day depending on the leg; Neuschwanstein alone adds a train, a bus, and a EUR 21 ticket to one of those days. Shorter trip?

Six days in Germany covers Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Neuschwanstein, and the Romantic Road’s best stop, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, everything except the Rhine and Cologne, that is the 7-day upgrade. Budget roughly EUR 100-170 a day; the Munich-to-Rothenburg leg has no direct train, plan a change or book a dedicated Romantic Road bus instead. Shorter trip? Try 4 or 5 days . Want the full route? Go to 7 days .

Seven days is the full route this family builds toward: Berlin, Dresden, Munich plus Neuschwanstein, the Romantic Road, the Rhine Valley, and Cologne. Honestly, it is a sprint, the same loop at a comfortable pace really wants 10 to 12 days, but every stop here is real and reachable by rail. Budget roughly EUR 100-180 a day depending on the leg. Shorter trip? See 5 or 6 days . Book these before you go

Two days in Czechia means Prague and only Prague, and that’s genuinely enough to hit the Castle, Charles Bridge, and Old Town’s Astronomical Clock without sprinting. Skip the day trips this time; save Kutna Hora and Cesky Krumlov for our 3-day or 7-day Czechia itinerary, or read the full Czechia travel guide for the country-level picture. Book these before you go: a Prague Old Town or Mala Strana hotel (this town sells out fast on summer weekends, check rates on Booking.

Three days buys you two full days in Prague plus one genuine day trip, and Kutna Hora is the easiest, cheapest one to bolt on: under an hour each way by train for a bone church nothing else in Europe quite matches. Want the shorter or longer version instead? Check our 2-day Czechia itinerary , the 7-day version that pushes on to Cesky Krumlov and Brno, or the Czechia travel guide for the country overview.

Four days gets you two Prague days, the Kutna Hora bone church, and a first taste of Cesky Krumlov, the fairytale UNESCO town that genuinely deserves the overnight it eats into your schedule. Need less time, or want to push all the way to Brno? See our 3-day Czechia itinerary , the 7-day version , or the Czechia travel guide for the full country picture. Book these before you go: the Sedlec Ossuary timed ticket (mandatory, sells out 2-3 weeks ahead in season), a Cesky Krumlov hotel for the overnight (check rates on Booking.

Five days is the sweet spot for Prague plus a proper, unrushed Cesky Krumlov overnight: two Prague days, a Kutna Hora bone-church day trip, and a full castle morning in the fairytale south before heading home. Want to keep pushing into Moravia instead? Our 7-day Czechia itinerary adds Brno and a wine day trip; the shorter 4-day version drops the second Cesky Krumlov morning; or read the Czechia travel guide for the country-level picture.

Six days is where this stops being a Prague trip and becomes a genuine Czechia trip: two Prague days, Kutna Hora, an overnight in Cesky Krumlov, and a full day in Brno, Moravia’s capital, for the modernist villa most Prague-only visitors never even hear about. Want the Moravian wine day trip too? See our 7-day Czechia itinerary ; need less time, try the 5-day version ; or start with the Czechia travel guide for the country overview.

Seven days is the realistic minimum for the whole country at an unhurried pace: two Prague days, Kutna Hora, an overnight in Cesky Krumlov, a full day in Brno, and a Moravian wine day trip most Prague-only visitors never even know exists. Short on time? Our 6-day Czechia itinerary drops the wine day trip; the 3-day version sticks to Prague plus Kutna Hora; or start with the Czechia travel guide for the country-level picture.

Czechia runs on the koruna (CZK), not the euro, even though it sits inside both the EU and the Schengen zone. Get that straight before you land and the rest of the trip budgets itself correctly, especially once you realize a half-litre of world-class Pilsner here can cost less than the bottled water next to it. Prague anchors the west (Bohemia) with a Castle skyline that genuinely stops conversation, Brno anchors the east (Moravia), and a direct train links them in under three hours.

Two square kilometers doesn’t sound like much of a trip, and honestly, it isn’t, past two days. Day 1 covers Le Rocher’s palace and aquarium, Day 2 covers the Casino quarter and the coast. That’s the whole country, seen properly rather than rushed. Want more days out of a Monaco trip? Our 3-day version adds a full Riviera day trip on top of this exact plan. Book these before you go

Monaco itself is a two-day country. Day 3 of this plan is where it gets genuinely interesting: a full day in Eze, the clifftop village that’s the classic single Riviera add-on. Prefer just the essentials? Our 2-day itinerary covers Days 1-2 alone. Want two Riviera day trips instead of one? Jump to the 4-day version . Book these before you go Check Monaco or Nice hotel rates early, prices triple during the 5-7 June 2026 Grand Prix Reserve Oceanographic Museum tickets ahead during any event week Book an Eze and Monaco day tour to skip solving Eze’s infrequent connecting bus yourself Day 1: Le Rocher and the old town Arrive on the 22-minute train from Nice, roughly EUR 5-7 in advance, into Monaco-Monte-Carlo station, fully underground since 1999 inside a 466-meter tunnel.

Days 1-3 of this plan are the same ground as our 3-day itinerary : Monaco itself, then Eze. Day 4 adds Menton, the gentler, flatter Riviera town on the Italian side of Monaco, easily done as a single extra day. Want even more coast? The 5-day version pushes on into Italy. Book these before you go Check Monaco or Nice hotel rates early, prices triple during the 5-7 June 2026 Grand Prix Reserve Oceanographic Museum tickets ahead during any event week Book an Eze and Monaco day tour to skip solving Eze’s infrequent connecting bus yourself Day 1: Le Rocher and the old town Arrive on the 22-minute train from Nice, roughly EUR 5-7, into Monaco-Monte-Carlo station, fully underground since 1999.

Days 1-4 of this plan match our 4-day itinerary : Monaco, then Eze, then Menton. Day 5 crosses an actual border into Italy for the Ventimiglia market, which changes one thing about how you should plan this trip: read the Friday note below before you assign your days. Need a longer trip still? The 6-day version adds Cannes and Antibes. Book these before you go Check Monaco or Nice hotel rates early, prices triple during the 5-7 June 2026 Grand Prix Reserve Oceanographic Museum tickets ahead during any event week Book an Eze and Monaco day tour to skip solving Eze’s infrequent connecting bus yourself Day 1: Le Rocher and the old town Arrive on the 22-minute train from Nice, roughly EUR 5-7, into Monaco-Monte-Carlo station, underground since 1999.

Days 1-5 of this plan match our 5-day itinerary : Monaco, Eze, Menton, then Ventimiglia’s Friday market. Day 6 goes further west to Cannes and Antibes, the biggest single-day commitment of any Riviera add-on here. Doing the full week? The 7-day version closes with an actual day in Nice. Book these before you go Check Monaco or Nice hotel rates early, prices triple during the 5-7 June 2026 Grand Prix Reserve Oceanographic Museum tickets ahead during any event week Book an Eze and Monaco day tour to skip solving Eze’s infrequent connecting bus yourself Book a Cannes and Antibes day tour if six days of DIY train transfers is starting to wear thin Day 1: Le Rocher and the old town Arrive on the 22-minute train from Nice, roughly EUR 5-7.

Days 1-6 of this plan match our 6-day itinerary : Monaco, Eze, Menton, Ventimiglia, then Cannes and Antibes. Day 7 closes the loop with the one place most Monaco trips only ever see from a train window: Nice itself, properly, for a full day. This is the longest version of this itinerary; the 2-day plan covers just Monaco if a week is more than you need. Book these before you go

Monaco crams a sovereign palace, a working Grand Prix circuit and a cliff-face aquarium into two square kilometers you can cross end to end on foot in under an hour. It isn’t part of France, isn’t in the EU, and isn’t duty-free, though it spends euros and reads like a richer extension of the Riviera next door. One to two days covers Monaco itself properly. Stay longer and you’re using the principality as a base for genuine day trips up the coast, because there isn’t a third day of Monaco-only sights waiting to be found.

Six sights carry Monaco, and none of them need more than half a day each. The Oceanographic Museum earns top billing, the Palace and the Casino split the postcard duty between them, and the free stuff, the Changing of the Guard, the Casino Atrium, Larvotto Beach, is genuinely as good as some of the paid tickets. Here’s the full lineup ranked, with what each one actually costs in 2026 and how long to budget.

Two days buys you Ljubljana and Lake Bled, full stop, and that is genuinely enough to fall for Slovenia (EUR, EU, Schengen, an easy 45-50 minute drive between the two; see slovenia.info for the country-wide picture). It is not enough for the Vrsic Pass or the Soca Valley, so this plan does not pretend otherwise. Want the full loop? See the 4 day or 7 day versions. Go May, June or September if you can; July and August pack Bled’s lakefront by mid-morning.

Three days keeps you in the Julian Alps lakes region and skips the rest of the country entirely, on purpose. Slovenia runs on the euro (EU, Schengen since 2007; see slovenia.info for the country-wide picture), Ljubljana and Bled are 45-50 minutes apart, and Bohinj is another 25-40 minutes past that, so this is a genuinely relaxed pace, not a rushed one. Ready for the Vrsic Pass and the Soca Valley too?

Four days is where Slovenia stops being a lakes weekend and turns into an actual road trip. This plan runs Ljubljana to Bled to Bohinj (EUR, EU, Schengen; see slovenia.info for the country-wide picture) and then over the Vrsic Pass into the Soca Valley, Slovenia’s most dramatic drive and the leg most first-timers regret cutting. Need the caves and Piran too? See the 6 or 7 day versions. Tight on time?

Five days is the point where the Soca Valley stops being a drive-through and becomes an actual stop. This plan runs Ljubljana to Bled to Bohinj, over the Vrsic Pass, and gives Bovec a full second day for rafting on that unreal emerald water (EUR, EU, Schengen throughout; see slovenia.info for the country-wide picture). Want the caves and Piran added on too? Go to the 7 day itinerary . Only have 4 days?

Six days gets you almost the whole country loop: Ljubljana, Bled, Bohinj, the Vrsic Pass, the Soca Valley, a Karst cave and an evening in Piran (EUR, EU, Schengen; see slovenia.info for the country-wide picture). Only the full leisurely coast day gets cut. Want that too? See the 7 day itinerary . Only want the Alps half? The 5 day version stops in the Soca Valley. Book these before you go: Postojna Cave runs EUR 34.

Seven days is the whole Slovenia loop, done properly: Ljubljana, both lakes, the Vrsic Pass, a full day in the Soca Valley, the Karst caves, and a real day in Piran rather than a rushed evening (EUR, EU, Schengen throughout, and nothing on this route is more than 3.5 hours from Ljubljana; see slovenia.info for the country-wide picture). Only have 6 days? The 6 day version folds Piran into the caves day instead.

Two days in Albania means Tirana plus one great day trip, not the whole country, and that’s genuinely fine once you know it going in. Pay in LEK, not euros: businesses round the exchange rate, so paying in euros routinely costs about 5% more. It’s a cash economy (furgons, byrek stalls, and castle tickets all want cash), and Tirana International Airport (TIA) is the only real 2026 gateway. A furgon gets you to Berat and back for a few euros; skip the rental car at this length.

Three days in Albania buys you Tirana plus a real overnight in Berat, long enough to actually sleep in the City of a Thousand Windows instead of just day-tripping through it. Same ground rules the whole trip: pay in LEK (euros cost roughly 5% more almost everywhere), carry cash for furgons and byrek stalls, and fly into Tirana International Airport (TIA), the only real 2026 gateway. Furgons and scheduled buses cover Tirana-Berat for under EUR 5 one way in 2-2.

Four days is where an Albania trip starts feeling like a real loop: Tirana, a night in Berat, and a full day and night in Gjirokaster’s Ottoman stone old town before the drive back. Pay in LEK, not euros (euros cost roughly 5% more almost everywhere you’d use them), keep cash on hand for furgons and castle tickets, and fly into Tirana International Airport (TIA), the only real 2026 gateway. Renting a car starts paying off at this length, roughly EUR 10-25/day off-peak, since it turns the Berat-Gjirokaster leg into a flexible 2.

Five days pushes the loop all the way to the coast: Tirana, Berat, Gjirokaster, then down to Saranda and Ksamil for Butrint’s Greco-Roman ruins before a long drive back. Pay in LEK, carry cash (Butrint, the Blue Eye, and every furgon are cash-only), fly into TIA, and rent a car for this one, roughly EUR 10-25/day off-peak climbing to EUR 25-80+ in July-August, because the Saranda leg alone adds well over 250km of driving to the loop.

Six days means Saranda and Ksamil finally get more than a rushed afternoon: Tirana, Berat, Gjirokaster, then two full nights on the coast with Butrint, the Blue Eye, and Ksamil’s islands spread across separate days instead of crammed into one. Pay in LEK, keep cash for the Blue Eye’s 50-LEK entry and Butrint’s 1,000-LEK ticket, fly into TIA, and rent a car (roughly EUR 10-25/day off-peak) since this loop covers close to 500km round trip.

Seven days closes the full southern loop: Tirana, Berat, Gjirokaster, Saranda and Ksamil with Butrint and the Blue Eye, then north up the Riviera to Dhermi or Himare before the Llogara Pass drive back to Tirana. Pay in LEK, carry cash for the coast’s smaller guesthouses and every castle ticket, fly into TIA, and rent a car, this route alone covers over 600km. Want the northern mountains and the Komani Lake ferry too?