European Whirl: Self-Launched 15-Day London–Paris Grand Tour
15 days · Western & Central Europe (London to Paris)
Trafalgar charges £3,180
No-markup version: ~£2,395 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
A self-launched version of Trafalgar's coach-based "European Whirl" — same nine countries, same headline sights (Big Ben, Amsterdam canals, the Rhine's Lorelei, Munich's Marienplatz, Venice's St Mark's, the Vatican, Florence's Duomo, Lucerne's Chapel Bridge, the Champs-Élysées), but stitched together with Eurostar, budget flights/trains, regional buses and ferries. You book each leg yourself, stay in hostels and simple guesthouses, and join small-group or self-guided city walks instead of a 48-person coach tour. It's fast-paced by design — pack light walking shoes — but you keep the freedom (and roughly two-thirds of the money) that the group tour takes. All costs are rough per-person backpacker estimates in GBP, excluding international flights.
Day-by-day
Arrive London — Tower Bridge & the Thames
London, England
Land at Heathrow or Gatwick and take the tube (Piccadilly line, ~£5.60 with contactless, ~50 min) or the Elizabeth line to the centre. Check into a hostel or budget hotel near Tower Bridge / London Bridge — the equivalent of the tour's Tower Hotel but at a hostel price. Spend the afternoon walking the South Bank from Tower Bridge to the Tate Modern, then cross to St Paul's at dusk. Grab dinner from Borough Market or a cheap pie-and-mash spot.
🚌Tube/Elizabeth line from airport ~£5.60
🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel near London Bridge (£28–40)
- →Walk Tower Bridge to South Bank
- →Tate Modern (free)
- →Borough Market food stalls
London Icons on Foot
London, England
Do the tour's 'Local Specialist' London loop yourself with a free/cheap walking route: Westminster (Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey exterior), through St James's Park to Buckingham Palace, then up to Trafalgar Square. Book a 'Westminster & Royal London' guided walk on GetYourGuide (~£15) if you want the storytelling. Afternoon: either a free museum (British Museum, National Gallery) or wander Carnaby Street and Soho. Evening: cheap eats in Chinatown or a pub meal.
🚌Walk + occasional bus/Oyster hop £3–5
🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel near London Bridge (£28–40)
- →Self-guided Westminster walk
- →Optional GetYourGuide Westminster walking tour ~£15
- →British Museum (free)
Eurostar to Brussels, on to Amsterdam
London → Brussels → Amsterdam
Book a Eurostar ticket London St Pancras–Brussels Midi in advance (from ~£39–55 one way, cheaper booked 2–3 months out). Store bags at Brussels Midi, walk 20 minutes to the Grand Place and eat a waffle and frites lunch, then take the hourly IC train Brussels–Amsterdam Centraal (~£25, 2h45). Check into a hostel in the Jordaan or near Leidseplein. In the evening do the canal cruise independently — a 1-hour evening cruise booked on GetYourGuide/Klook costs ~£15–18 (the tour charges far more for its dinner cruise).
🚌Eurostar London–Brussels ~£45 + IC Brussels–Amsterdam ~£25
🛏Amsterdam hostel dorm or budget guesthouse (£30–45)
- →Grand Place Brussels
- →Evening canal cruise ~£16
Amsterdam to the Rhine Valley (Boppard)
Amsterdam → Boppard / St Goar, Germany
Morning free for the Rijksmuseum or a bike hire loop through Vondelpark. Midday take the IC train Amsterdam–Koblenz (~£35–45, 4h) and the local train down the Rhine to Boppard or St Goar. Check into a family-run Gasthaus on the riverside (the budget equivalent of the tour's hotel stay). Afternoon: ride the Rhine KD ferry Boppard–St Goar (~£12) past the Lorelei rock, walk up to Burg Rheinfels or the Lorelei viewpoint, and finish with a glass of Riesling at a Weinstube.
🚌IC train Amsterdam–Koblenz ~£40 + local train ~£6 + KD ferry ~£12
🛏Rhine Valley Gasthaus/pension (£25–35)
- →KD Rhine ferry Boppard–St Goar
- →Lorelei viewpoint
- →Burg Rheinfels
Rhine to Munich & Innsbruck
Rhine Valley → Munich → Innsbruck, Austria
Take the train Boppard–Koblenz then IC to Munich (~£30–40 with a Sparpreis ticket, ~5h). Drop bags at Munich Hbf lockers, walk 10 minutes to Marienplatz for the Glockenspiel and lunch at the Hofbräuhaus or a cheaper beer garden (Augustiner). Then take the scenic regional train or a FlixBus Munich–Innsbruck (~£12–20, 1h45) and check into a hostel in the old town. Evening: stroll the Golden Roof and the Inn riverbank; a Tyrolean folk evening in a Gasthaus is a cheap substitute for the tour's optional show.
🚌Train to Munich ~£35 + FlixBus/train Munich–Innsbruck ~£15
🛏Innsbruck hostel dorm (£25–35)
- →Marienplatz & Glockenspiel
- →Golden Roof
- →Optional Tyrolean folk evening ~£20
Innsbruck to Venice
Innsbruck → Venice, Italy
Take the scenic Brenner Pass train Innsbruck–Verona (~£15–20) and change for Venice Santa Lucia (~£10), or a direct FlixBus (~£20–25, 5h30). Stay in Mestre or the Cannaregio sestiere in a hostel (the tour's Novotel Mestre equivalent, but a dorm). Afternoon: walk from Santa Lucia across the Rialto, see St Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace exterior and the Bridge of Sighs. Book a small-group gondola or a vaporetto day pass (~£9 for a 24h pass) instead of the private launch. Optional: a Murano glass demonstration at a workshop booked direct (~£5–10).
🚌Brenner train Innsbruck–Verona–Venice ~£30 + vaporetto pass ~£9
🛏Venice Mestre/Cannaregio hostel (£28–40)
- →St Mark's Square & Doge's Palace exterior
- →Bridge of Sighs
- →Murano glass demo ~£8
Venice to Rome via Chianti-style countryside lunch
Venice → Rome
Take the Frecciarossa/Italo high-speed train Venice–Florence (~£25–35 if booked early, 2h) then Florence–Rome (~£20–30). To mimic the 'Be My Guest' Chianti lunch, either break the journey for a few hours in Florence and take a cheap Chianti wine-tasting tour from Florence (~£35, GetYourGuide) or do a food-market lunch at Florence's Mercato Centrale (~£12). Arrive Rome in the evening and check into a hostel near Termini or Monti.
🚌High-speed trains Venice–Florence ~£30 + Florence–Rome ~£25
🛏Rome hostel dorm near Termini/Monti (£25–35)
- →Optional Chianti wine tasting from Florence ~£35
- →Mercato Centrale lunch
- →Monti evening wander
Rome: Vatican & Ancient Sights
Rome, Italy / Vatican City
Book a skip-the-line Vatican Museums + Sistine Chapel entry direct on the Vatican website (~£18) or a GetYourGuide small-group tour (~£40). Afternoon: walk the Colosseum exterior, Circus Maximus and the Roman Forum viewpoints (Colosseum ticket ~£16 direct if you want to go inside). Evening: gelato at the Spanish Steps, window-shop Via Condotti, and a cheap trattoria dinner in Trastevere or the Jewish Ghetto (carciofi alla giudia ~£10).
🚌Metro/bus day ticket ~£6
🛏Rome hostel dorm near Termini/Monti (£25–35)
- →Vatican Museums + Sistine Chapel ~£18–40
- →Colosseum ticket ~£16 (optional)
- →Trastevere evening walk
Rome to Florence
Florence, Italy
Morning high-speed train Rome–Florence (~£20–30, 1h30). Check into a hostel near Santa Maria Novella. Do the Medici/Florence highlights on a self-guided loop: Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo exterior and Brunelleschi's dome (climb ~£25 booked direct, or just admire from the square), the Baptistery bronze doors, and the Ponte Vecchio at sunset. A GetYourGuide 'Florence walking tour' costs ~£20 if you want the Medici stories. Dinner: a lampredotto sandwich from a street stall (~£5) or a trattoria in Oltrarno.
🚌High-speed train Rome–Florence ~£25
🛏Florence hostel dorm (£25–35)
- →Duomo & Baptistery squares
- →Optional dome climb ~£25
- →Sunset at Ponte Vecchio
Florence to Lucerne
Florence → Lucerne, Switzerland
This is the longest leg — the tour does it by coach. Cheapest independent option: a budget flight Florence–Zurich (easyJet, ~£30–60 if booked early) then the direct train Zurich–Lucerne (~£22, 45 min), or a full-day train via Milan and the Gotthard (~£55–75). Arrive Lucerne in the late afternoon, check into a hostel or Backpacker Lucerne (budget equivalent of the Grand Europe). Evening walk: the Chapel Bridge and Lion Monument are free and best at dusk.
🚌Budget flight ~£45 + Zurich–Lucerne train ~£22
🛏Lucerne hostel (Backpackers Lucerne area) (£35–48)
- →Chapel Bridge
- →Lion Monument
- →Lake Lucerne waterfront
Lucerne: a Swiss peak day
Lucerne, Switzerland
Do the tour's optional 'surrounding peaks' experience yourself for less. Mt Pilatus via the cogwheel railway and gondola round-trip is ~£65 booked direct (or Mt Rigi ~£45 with a Tell Pass/Rigi day ticket). Pack a supermarket picnic — Swiss restaurants are brutal on a budget. Afternoon: browse the Old Town and buy chocolate at Läderach or a Coop for a fraction of tourist-shop prices. Cheap dinner: Coop/Migros takeaway or a hostel kitchen night.
🚌Local bus/boat to cable car base ~£8
🛏Lucerne hostel (£35–48)
- →Mt Pilatus round trip ~£65 (or Mt Rigi ~£45)
- →Old Town walk
- →Chocolate shopping
Lucerne to Paris
Lucerne → Paris, France
Take the train Lucerne–Basel (~£22) then TGV Basel–Paris Gare de Lyon (~£35–55 if booked in advance; ~4h30 total). Check into a hostel in the 10th/11th arrondissement or a Montmartre budget guesthouse (the tour's La Défense hotel equivalent). Evening: stroll the Seine and the grand boulevards, then a cheap bistro dinner — a plat du jour is ~£14. A cabaret show at Moulin Rouge (~£90+) is optional; a cheaper alternative is a neighbourhood jazz bar in the Marais (~£10 entry).
🚌Lucerne–Basel ~£22 + TGV Basel–Paris ~£45
🛏Paris hostel dorm or budget guesthouse (£30–45)
- →Seine evening walk
- →Optional jazz bar ~£10
- →Optional cabaret ~£90
Paris: Icons & Latin Quarter
Paris, France
Self-guided Paris loop (or a ~£18 GetYourGuide walking tour): Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre-Dame from the outside (reopened interior, free entry). Afternoon in the Latin Quarter — Shakespeare & Company, the Panthéon exterior, cheap crêpes. Evening: picnic on the Seine or a bistro dinner in the 11th, then watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour from Trocadéro (free).
🚌Metro carnet/day pass ~£8
🛏Paris hostel dorm or budget guesthouse (£30–45)
- →Arc de Triomphe & Champs-Élysées
- →Notre-Dame
- →Latin Quarter
- →Eiffel Tower sparkle from Trocadéro
Eurostar Paris to London
Paris → London, England
Book the Eurostar Paris Gare du Nord–London St Pancras in advance (from ~£39–60, 2h20). Check back into a London hostel near Tower Bridge. Afternoon: free time for anything you missed — Sky Garden (free, book ahead), Camden, or the South Bank. Evening: a final pub dinner or a cheap curry on Brick Lane.
🚌Eurostar Paris–London ~£50 + tube ~£4
🛏London hostel dorm or budget hotel near London Bridge (£28–40)
- →Sky Garden (free, book ahead)
- →Camden or South Bank wander
London departure
London, England
A proper English breakfast at a greasy spoon or the hostel (~£8), then tube or Elizabeth line back to Heathrow/Gatwick for your flight home. If you have a late flight, the Tower of London exterior and a last Thames walk fill the morning nicely.
🚌Tube/Elizabeth line to airport ~£5.60
🛏—
- →English breakfast
- →Final Thames walk
Self-launched vs. Trafalgar
| This itinerary (self-launched) | Trafalgar | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£2,395 | £3,180 |
| Duration | 15 days | 15 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £785 per person (25%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more Trafalgar-style trips? Check them out here.~£2,395
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
Customise with Tour BusterCreated by
Travel Crew
0 trips
Frequently asked questions
How much does European Whirl: Self-Launched 15-Day London–Paris Grand Tour cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £2,395 per person for 15 days in Western & Central Europe (London to Paris). This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with Trafalgar?+
Yes — Trafalgar charges around £3,180 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £2,395 — a saving of roughly £785 (25%) per person.
How long is the Western & Central Europe (London to Paris) trip?+
This itinerary runs 15 days, covering 15 day-by-day stops through Western & Central Europe (London to Paris).
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a culture, city-breaks, budget trip through Western & Central Europe (London to Paris), self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
Drop your comment below — if you've done a similar route, tell us what worked, what you'd add, or what you'd skip.
No comments yet — be the first to share your take.
Sign in to leave a comment.