European Cavalcade: The Self-Launched Version (Amsterdam to Paris)

Land and make your way from Schiphol to a hostel near the city centre (the train to Amsterdam Centraal takes 15-20 minutes and costs about £5). Spend the afternoon wandering the canal ring and the Jordaan on foot — it's free and better than any orientation walk. In the evening, instead of a paid coach 'Taste of Amsterdam' excursion, join a small-group canal cruise booked direct on GetYourGuide or Klook (roughly £15-20), or simply grab a beer at a brown café and watch the boats go by.

🚌Schiphol Airport train to Centraal ~£5; everything else on foot or by tram day ticket ~£7

🛏Hostel dorm (e.g. near Museumplein or Nieuwmarkt), £20-30

• →Canal ring and Jordaan self-guided walk
• →Evening canal cruise booked via GetYourGuide/Klook (£15-20)

Take an early ICE/IC train from Amsterdam Centraal to Cologne (about 2h40, £20-35 booked ahead on bahn.de). Walk 10 minutes from the Hauptbahnhof to the Gothic cathedral — it's free to enter the nave and the view of it from the Domplatte is the classic shot. After lunch, take a regional train down the Rhine (RE or MRB, roughly 1h20 to St. Goar, ~£10), then hop on one of the KD Rhine passenger ferries through the gorge past the castles (short hops from ~£8, or use your train pass and walk the riverbank path instead). Sleep in a guesthouse in St. Goar, Bacharach or Boppard.

🚌Amsterdam–Cologne IC/ICE ~£25; Cologne–St. Goar regional train ~£10; ferry hop ~£8

🛏Rhine Valley guesthouse/pension, £30-40 (shared twin)

• →Cologne Cathedral (free entry)
• →Rhine Gorge castle views from the riverbank or KD ferry

Train to Strasbourg or Offenburg, then a regional TER train into Colmar (total about 2.5-3h, £20-30). Drop your bag and walk the old town: the Little Venice canal quarter, the half-timbered Maison des Têtes and the Unterlinden museum area are all free to wander, and a tarte flambée lunch costs £8-10. In the late afternoon take the train Colmar → Basel → Lucerne (about 2h15 with a change, £25-35 with a Sparpreis/Saver ticket). Haus Alma or a hostel near the old town makes a good base.

🚌Rhine Valley–Colmar regional trains ~£25; Colmar–Lucerne via Basel ~£30

🛏Lucerne hostel or budget guesthouse, £30-40

• →Colmar Little Venice and old town walk
• →Unterlinden quarter stroll

Do the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, the Lion Monument and the medieval ramparts (Museggmauer) on foot — all free. If you want an alpine day, skip the expensive private cable-car excursion and instead take the public boat across Lake Lucerne to Stansstad/Stans (~£12 with a Saver Day Pass or half-fare card) and ride the Stanserhorn or Pilatus cable cars yourself, or take the cheap Rigi Bahn from Vitznau. Swiss prices bite, so buy picnic supplies at Coop or Migros and eat dinner at a self-service spot rather than a lakeside fondue restaurant.

🚌Public lake boat/rail ~£12-25 depending on mountain chosen

🛏Lucerne hostel or budget guesthouse, £30-40

• →Chapel Bridge and Lion Monument (free)
• →Lake Lucerne public boat + self-booked mountain railway

This is the big transfer of the trip — book it early on Trenitalia/Omio: Lucerne → Milan (EuroCity through the Gotthard, ~3h30) then Milan → Venezia Mestre (Frecciarossa, ~2h30), around £45-70 total if booked a month ahead. Arrive in the evening, check into a hostel in Mestre (far cheaper than Venice itself, and buses/trains into the lagoon take 10-15 minutes). Eat at a neighbourhood trattoria in Mestre where a plate of bigoli costs £8-10.

🚌Lucerne–Milan–Venezia Mestre train ~£45-70

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Mestre, £20-30

• →Scenic Gotthard rail route
• →Evening wander in Mestre

Take the regional train or bus into Santa Lucia/ Piazzale Roma (€1.50-2). Walk to St. Mark's Square via the Rialto Bridge, see the Doge's Palace and Basilica from outside (free) and pay only the €3-5 basilica entry if you want inside. Skip the coach 'private launch' and use the vaporetto Line 1 down the Grand Canal (€9.50 single, or a 24h pass ~£20) for the same views. For a glassblowing fix, the free Murano glass factory demonstrations are reachable on vaporetto line 3/4. A gondola shared ride via a GetYourGuide small-group booking is ~£30-35 versus £60+ private; or just take the €2 traghetto ferry across the canal like a local.

🚌Mestre–Venice train/bus ~£2; vaporetto day pass ~£20; traghetto €2

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Mestre, £20-30

• →St. Mark's Square and Rialto walk (free)
• →Vaporetto Grand Canal ride
• →Murano glass demonstration (free)

Frecciarossa from Venezia Mestre to Roma Termini takes about 4h and costs £30-50 booked ahead. Check into a hostel around Termini, Monti or Trastevere (£22-30 dorm). Spend the evening strolling Trastevere's lanes and eating at a bakery or pizza al taglio spot (£8-10). Rome sightseeing is best done yourself — most of it is free — and a Roma Pass (£30ish) covers public transport plus two museums if you plan to go inside the Colosseum.

🚌Venice–Rome high-speed train ~£40; Rome metro/bus day ticket ~£6

🛏Hostel dorm in Monti/Trastevere, £22-30

• →Trastevere evening wander

Start early at the Colosseum and Roman Forum — book skip-the-line combo direct on CoopCulture or GetYourGuide (£18-25) to avoid the queue. Walk to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon (€5 entry) and Piazza Navona, then cross to St. Peter's Square; the basilica itself is free to enter (dress code applies). If you want the Sistine Chapel, book the Vatican Museums directly (€20 plus €5 booking) and go at opening time. A self-guided walking route covers everything the tour's local guide did, at your own pace and with no group schedule.

🚌On foot plus metro/bus day ticket ~£6

🛏Hostel dorm in Monti/Trastevere, £22-30

• →Colosseum and Roman Forum (skip-the-line £18-25)
• →Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona (free/€5)
• →St. Peter's Basilica (free)

Regional train Rome → Naples (Frecciarossa ~1h10, £15-25) then the Circumvesuviana local train Naples → Sorrento (~1h, €4.50) — the same route the coach took, but you can stop off at Monte Cassino on the way if you like (Rome–Cassino regional train ~£6, then continue south). Base yourself in a Sorrento hostel or the cheaper Sant'Agnello/Piano di Sorrento area (£25-35). Late afternoon, walk down to the Marina Grande fishing harbour for a cheap seafood plate.

🚌Rome–Naples train ~£20; Circumvesuviana ~£4

🛏Sorrento/Sant'Agnello hostel or guesthouse, £25-35

• →Marina Grande harbour walk
• →Optional Monte Cassino stop

Ride the SITA Sud bus from Sorrento to Positano and Amalfi (single ~£2-3, day pass ~£8) — the same coastal road the coach tour drove, but you get off whenever you want rather than having one hour in Positano. Swim at Fornillo beach, walk the Path of the Gods trail from Bomerano to Nocelle if you're up for it (free, 2-3h), or take a short ferry hop back along the coast. Return to Sorrento in the evening.

🚌SITA bus day pass ~£8; optional ferry hop ~£8

🛏Sorrento/Sant'Agnello hostel or guesthouse, £25-35

• →Positano and Fornillo beach
• →Path of the Gods hike (free)
• →Amalfi town and cathedral square

Leave early and take the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii Scavi (~£4); entry to the ruins is €18 (or €22 with Herculaneum) and audio guides are about £5 — far cheaper than the tour's €49 optional. Budget 3 hours to see the forum, the baths and the Villa of the Mysteries. In the afternoon, Circumvesuviana back to Naples, then a Frecciarossa Naples → Florence (about 3h, £25-40 booked ahead). Check into a hostel in Santa Croce or near the station (£25-30).

🚌Circumvesuviana ~£4; Naples–Florence high-speed ~£30

🛏Florence hostel dorm, £25-30

• →Pompeii archaeological site (€18 entry)

Walk the historic centre yourself: the Duomo exterior and baptistery doors are free to see, and you can climb the cupola by booking the Brunelleschi Pass direct (€30) instead of paying a guide. Cross the Ponte Vecchio, browse Piazza della Signoria, and finish with the free uphill walk to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset over the city. If you want Michelangelo's David, book the Accademia direct (€16 plus €4 booking) online in advance rather than the tour's €47 version. For dinner, the Mercato Centrale upstairs food hall is excellent value (£10-12).

🚌On foot; city bus if needed ~£2

🛏Florence hostel dorm, £25-30

• →Duomo exterior and baptistery (free)
• →Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria walk
• →Piazzale Michelangelo sunset (free)
• →Optional Accademia/David (£16-20 direct)

Morning train Florence → Pisa Centrale (~1h, £8) and a 20-minute walk to the Square of Miracles to see the Leaning Tower, cathedral and baptistery from outside (free; tower climb is €20 if you want it). Then take the train up the coast: Pisa → Ventimiglia (~3h, £15-20) and change onto a French TER to Cannes or Nice (~1h, £8). Base yourself in Nice or Cannes hostel (Cannes Mandelieu is cheaper but far from the beach). Evening walk along the Croisette.

🚌Florence–Pisa ~£8; Pisa–Ventimiglia–Cannes ~£25

🛏Nice or Cannes hostel dorm, £25-35

• →Square of Miracles and Leaning Tower (free exterior)
• →Croisette evening walk

Use the cheap coastal TER train (£4-6) to hop between Nice, Villefranche, Èze-sur-Mer and Monaco in one day — Monaco's old town, the palace square and the casino exterior are all free to look at. For Saint-Paul-de-Vence, take bus 400 from Nice (~£1.50, 45 min) and wander the medieval ramparts and galleries. Rather than a paid corniche drive, ride bus 100 along the Moyenne Corniche for the same cliff views for pocket change.

🚌TER coastal trains ~£6; local buses ~£3

🛏Nice or Cannes hostel dorm, £25-35

• →Monaco old town and palace square (free)
• →Saint-Paul-de-Vence village walk
• →Bus 100 Moyenne Corniche views

Train Nice/Cannes → Avignon TGV (~2h30, £25-35 booked on SNCF Connect). Drop bags and walk into the walled old town: the Palace of the Popes exterior and the famous Pont d'Avignon (Pont Saint-Bénezet) can be seen from the riverbank and the Rocher des Doms gardens for free — the combined ticket to go inside is about £14 if you're keen. Continue by TER to Beaune (~2h, £15-20), the heart of Burgundy, and check into a small guesthouse or hostel (£30-40).

🚌Riviera–Avignon TGV ~£30; Avignon–Beaune TER ~£18

🛏Beaune guesthouse or hostel, £30-40

• →Avignon old town and Pont d'Avignon views
• →Beaune evening wander within the ramparts

Spend the morning at the free-to-enter Hospices de Beaune courtyard (museum entry ~£10) and taste Burgundy at a cellar door in town or at the Marché aux Vins (~£15-20 for a tasting flight). Then take a TER to Dijon and a TGV to Paris Gare de Lyon (total ~2h30, £25-40 booked ahead). Check into a hostel in the 11th/12th or Montmartre (£25-35) and eat dinner at a boulangerie-plus-cheese-shop picnic by the Canal Saint-Martin.

🚌Beaune–Dijon TER ~£8; Dijon–Paris TGV ~£30

🛏Paris hostel dorm, £25-35

• →Hospices de Beaune (exterior free, museum ~£10)
• →Burgundy wine tasting ~£15-20

Ride the metro (£2.15 a ticket, or a carnet/day pass) and walk the classic route yourself: Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées down to the Eiffel Tower (free to see from the Trocadéro; lift to the second floor ~£18 if you want it). Head up to Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur for free city views, then stroll the Latin Quarter and Shakespeare & Co. In the evening, a one-hour Seine cruise booked on GetYourGuide or Klook costs about £15 versus the tour's £38 combination — then watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour from the Champ de Mars for nothing.

🚌Metro day pass ~£8

🛏Paris hostel dorm, £25-35

• →Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, Trocadéro (free)
• →Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur (free)
• →Seine cruise via GetYourGuide/Klook ~£15

Final morning: buy pastries and coffee, revisit a favourite neighbourhood, or use the RER B to Charles de Gaulle (~£10, 35 min) for your flight home. If you have a late departure, the free Père Lachaise cemetery or the Marché d'Aligre food market are good low-cost ways to fill the time.

🚌RER B to CDG ~£10

🛏None (departure day)

• →Neighbourhood farewell walk