Planning a European holiday should feel like plotting a grand heist — all excitement, all anticipation, every detail loaded with possibility. Europe isn’t just a destination; it’s a collection of stories waiting for you to stumble into them. You’ll want to be ready for anything. To really soak it all in you’ll need a few important things in your corner.

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A Versatile Travel Backpack

You might think you can get away with a regular suitcase. Maybe you’re picturing yourself wheeling it across Parisian boulevards with a baguette tucked under your arm. Reality check: you’ll mostly be dragging it over uneven stones, fighting your way through crowds at train stations, or running for a last-minute flight at a sleepy regional airport. A backpack changes everything. It keeps your hands free. It lets you move quicker. It fits just enough without weighing you down. And on the days when you miss a bus or spot a market you hadn’t planned for? You’ll be thankful you can just sling your life over your shoulders and go.

A Reliable Smartphone

Let’s be honest, a smartphone on holiday isn’t about doom scrolling Instagram. It’s your ticket to survival. Google Maps when you’re lost down some tiny Venetian calle. Translation apps when you’re desperately trying to order food and all you can remember is “ciao.” Booking train tickets, navigating metro systems, finding the nearest cash point — it’s endless. Even if its a reconditioned iphone, if it works well and holds a charge, it’s going to be one of your most important travel companions. Keep it close. Treat it kindly. And stash a portable charger too.

A Quality Pair Of Walking Shoes

You will walk. And then you’ll walk some more. You’ll think you’ve seen enough for the day and then you’ll spot a little street you didn’t notice before, or a distant hilltop view calling your name. A cheap pair of shoes will betray you faster than you can say “where’s the nearest pharmacy.” The right shoes — broken in, loved, ready — turn walking into wandering, and wandering is where the real magic hides. Trust me: no one’s looking at your footwear when you’re standing in the shadow of the Colosseum.

A Flexible Itinerary

Plans are great, until they aren’t. You’ll mean to visit the Louvre at ten sharp, but then you’ll find yourself sipping the best coffee of your life by the Seine, and suddenly… the museum can wait. A flexible itinerary leaves room for real life to happen. The missed trains, the new friends, the street performers who are better than any concert you could have bought tickets for. Rigidity is the enemy of wonder. Leave space to breathe, to get lost, to be surprised.

A Good Travel Insurance Policy

It’s boring. No one wants to think about it. You buy it hoping you’ll never use it. But when you find yourself stranded in Munich with a broken ankle, or your backpack decides it prefers Copenhagen to travelling with you, you’ll want to be covered. It’s the difference between disaster and just a slightly annoying story you’ll laugh about one day.

The best European holidays aren’t built on perfection. They’re messy, loud, beautiful things stitched together by moments you can’t plan for. Pack well, plan lightly, say yes often. The memories you’ll bring back won’t be from the things you ticked off a list — they’ll be from the stories you never saw coming.