Returning from my first-ever long-distance adventure in Europe—a 15-day fully independent journey with my wife and two large suitcases—I’m thrilled to share our experience. Without the luxury of a private car or taxi, we relied entirely on trains and public transportation, successfully completing every stop on our carefully planned itinerary.
We wrapped up this European escapade safely and smoothly. Excluding shopping expenses, the total cost came to around 40,000 RMB, making it an affordable version of a European trip. In this article, I’ll walk you through the entire itinerary and my impressions of each city. Given its length, I’ll present this as a series of posts, using this one as the foundation.
Links to updates for each city will be added progressively. Packed with details, I recommend following and bookmarking this series, as updates will roll out gradually. For beginners, replicating this itinerary can help you effortlessly plan your own independent European adventure.
A first trip to Europe is all about broad exploration—seeing as much as possible to form your own impressions. This way, when you return to Europe next time, you can focus more selectively on specific regions. Following this philosophy, our route traced a sweeping arc from Île-de-France down to the Mediterranean (see Figure 2). Here’s the detailed breakdown:
1. Shanghai to Paris, staying 2 nights in Paris.
2. Paris to Lucerne via Mulhouse and Basel, staying 1 night in Lucerne.
3. Lucerne to Como, staying 1 night in Como and visiting Bellagio (Lake Como).
4. Como to Milan, staying 1 night in Milan.
5. Milan to Venice, staying 1 night in Venice.
6. Venice to Florence, staying 2 nights in Florence.
7. Florence to Rome, staying 2 nights in Rome.
8. Rome to Sardinia, staying 2 nights in Sardinia.
9. Sardinia back to Rome, staying 1 night in Rome.
10. Returning from Rome to Shanghai (note: the LV store at Rome’s airport is worth checking out).
You’ll notice that if you omit Lake Como and Sardinia and redistribute those three nights among other cities, this becomes almost a textbook itinerary for a beginner’s European trip. Some friends opt for a 12-day version, which works perfectly by skipping these three days. The detailed schedule is outlined in Figure 3, with both pros and cons to be explored in future posts.
Here’s a breakdown of the total costs:
1. Round-trip airfare from Shanghai to Europe: 8,780 RMB for two people.
2. Accommodation in Europe: A total of 13 nights, but we stayed two nights at my boss’s place in Sardinia, so we only paid for 11 nights. Including city taxes, the average cost per night was 1,200 RMB, totaling approximately 13,000 RMB for hotels.
3. Meals: At least one substantial meal per day, plus groceries, water, gelato, etc., averaging about 50 euros per person per day. Excluding the three days in Sardinia where our meals were hosted by our boss, the remaining 12 days cost roughly 50 * 2 * 12 = 1,200 euros, or about 9,500 RMB.
4. Local transportation in Europe: Entirely by public transport, train tickets for two totaled approximately 640 euros, while metro/bus fares within cities came to around 80 euros.
That’s a combined total of 720 euros, or about 5,700 RMB. Adding the round-trip flights to Sardinia for two people, costing 2,500 RMB, brings the grand total to 8,200 RMB.
5. Attraction tickets: Approximately 240 euros, or about 1,900 RMB.
Grand Total: 41,380 RMB
This budget-friendly yet fulfilling European adventure proves that with careful planning, exploring the continent doesn’t have to break the bank. Stay tuned for deeper insights into each destination!
Coming up next, delve deeper into the enchanting world of Paris. Give us a follow and keep your eyes peeled for exciting updates!
