The Europe packing list

Clothes - one week, temperate

• 6 tops, mostly casual, one or two smarter for dinner
• 3 bottoms - dark colors hide a day's walking better
• 7 sets of underwear and socks
• 1 mid-layer - fleece or merino sweater
• 1 waterproof shell - not optional in any season
• 1 set of sleepwear
• 2 pairs of shoes, and the main pair must be genuinely walkable
• A scarf - warmth on a train, shoulder cover for churches, a blanket on a flight

The Europe-specific additions

• A universal plug adapter. One good one, not a set of country plugs.
• A reusable water bottle. Public fountains are common across much of Europe and bottled water is a needless expense.
• A zipped crossbody or money belt for busy areas. Pickpocketing in tourist districts is real and mundane rather than dramatic.
• A day bag that is not your main luggage.
• Blister plasters. The most useful thing in this list, and the one people wish they had on day two.
• Offline maps downloaded before you go, plus your bookings saved offline.

Eight to twelve miles a day on cobbles, setts and worn stone is a completely different demand from an American city with sidewalks and a car. Shoes that are fine for a US weekend will cause blisters by day two in Europe, and a blistered foot ruins a trip more comprehensively than a lost bag does.

• Break them in at home. New shoes on day one is the single most reliable way to ruin a European trip.
• Cushioning over style. Nobody is looking at your shoes; you are the one walking in them.
• Wear the heavier pair on the plane. They take the most space and none at all on your feet.
• Second pair should be different, not similar. Sandals in summer, something smarter in winter - not a second pair of trainers.
• Bring blister plasters regardless. Even broken-in shoes rub differently after ten miles on stone.

Hotter than people expect, particularly in southern Europe, and air conditioning is far less universal than in the US - many older hotels and apartments have none at all. Pack for heat you cannot escape indoors.

• Linen and light cotton over synthetics, which do not breathe in real heat
• A hat and sunglasses - shade is scarcer in old stone cities than you would think
• Shoulder and knee cover for churches and religious sites, which is enforced at major ones. A scarf does the job
• Sunscreen, counted in the quart bag
• Still bring the waterproof shell - a summer thunderstorm is a real thing
• Swimwear even for a city trip; European cities have lidos and rivers

September is arguably the best month to go and the trickiest to pack for, because it can genuinely be 80°F at midday and 50°F by evening in the same city. Layers are not a style preference here, they are the solution to a real problem.

• A merino base layer - it weighs nothing, packs to nothing and makes a cool evening comfortable
• A mid-layer fleece or sweater
• A waterproof shell over both - October onward, this gets used most days
• Closed shoes rather than sandals; evenings are cold on stone
• A scarf, which does more work in this season than any other item
• Slightly darker clothes, because wet weather and city walking show on light fabric

The three-layer system - base, mid, shell - covers roughly 40°F to 75°F with the same packing. That range is what makes a shoulder-season carry-on trip work.

• Shoulder and knee cover is enforced at major churches including St Peter's and the Duomo. A scarf and long trousers or a midi skirt solve it. People are turned away for this daily.
• Cobbles are severe, particularly in Rome and older hill towns. Wheeled bags struggle badly - this is the country that most argues for a travel backpack.
• Summer heat is serious and air conditioning is patchy in older buildings. Pack lighter than you think for July and August.
• Trains are excellent and the luggage racks are small. Cabin-sized bags fit; large checked cases do not.
• Many fountains are drinkable - Rome's nasoni in particular. A reusable bottle pays for itself in a day.

Entirely doable, and the mechanism is not packing more - it is one sink wash around day six. Ten days of clothes does not fit a 40-liter bag; seven days plus one wash does, comfortably.

1. Pack the seven-day list above, unchanged.
2. Add detergent sheets, which are solid and so do not touch your quart bag.
3. Add a travel clothesline. Drying is the part that fails, not washing.
4. Plan the wash for a night you are staying put - laundry and a travel day do not combine.
5. Choose merino and synthetic tops over cotton, because they wash and dry overnight and cotton frequently does not.

That fabric choice is the part people miss. A merino t-shirt washed at 9pm is dry by 7am; a cotton one often is not, and a damp shirt packed into a bag on a travel morning is how a suitcase starts to smell.

• A voltage converter, unless you are bringing a single-voltage heating appliance. Your electronics are dual voltage - check the label for 100-240V.
• A hairdryer. Almost every hotel has one, and a US single-voltage dryer will not work anyway.
• A money belt worn outside your clothes. It advertises exactly what it is hiding. A zipped inside pocket or a crossbody works better.
• Large checked luggage for a multi-city trip. It fails on stairs, on cobbles and on train racks.
• Too many smart clothes. European cities are more casual than the stereotype suggests, outside of specific restaurants.
• A full first aid kit. Pharmacies are excellent and everywhere. Bring blister plasters and your own prescriptions.