Firsthand Trip
2025 Europe + Mediterranean Cruise
A multi-city Europe trip built around a Mediterranean cruise, starting in Rome and Venice before continuing through the Adriatic, Mediterranean, Barcelona, Paris, and London.
We are building this trip stop by stop from our original travel notes. Rome and Venice are complete, and the remaining stops will be added as we work through the trip library.
Route
Venice→
Trieste→
Split→
Dubrovnik→
Corfu→
Messina→
Naples / Amalfi→
Florence→
Cannes→
Mallorca→
Barcelona→
Paris→
London
What this Trip page is for
This is the trip-level record: the route, how the pieces connected, where we stayed, how we moved between cities, and the lessons that applied across more than one stop. Each destination also gets its own dated Visit page so the actual experience does not get flattened into a generic itinerary.
Detailed Visits
Rome | Oct 5–7, 2025Two nights at The Tribune, Vatican and Colosseum visits, an early run, and the Appian Way before the train to Venice.
Trip-wide lessons already emerging
- Be strict about luggage on European rail trips. More than roughly one suitcase plus one carry-on per person can turn stations, platforms, bridges, stairs, and stone streets into a logistical project.
- Consider the better train class when the upgrade is reasonable. On longer rides, the extra space and more separated seating can be worth it.
- Do not judge European walking time by the map alone. Venice made this especially obvious, but timed reservations deserve a real route check.
Related Locations
RomeWhat we’ve learned from returning to Rome, including our highlights and practical travel tips.
Planning a similar trip?
We can help compare routing, hotels, cruise logistics, and the pieces that make a multi-city itinerary actually work.