Computing the optimal road trip across Europe
Published on March 11, 2015 by Dr. Randal S. Olson
Europe genetic algorithm machine learning optimization road trip traveling salesman problem
2 min READ
As a follow-up to my post about computing optimal road trips across the U.S., I thought it'd be fun to make a road trip map for Europe as well. If you'd like to get into the nitty-gritty of how these road trips are created, check out the first post.
Europe is a massive continent with a diverse mix of cultures, so there's no way I'm going to pick a set of stops that will please everyone. However, last year Business Insider published a nice article listing "50 Places In Europe You Need To Visit In Your Lifetime." These stops seemed like a nice mix of inner city exploration and outdoorsy fun from an eclectic collection of countries, so I made a map showing what an epic road trip across Europe hitting most of these spots would look like. (Some of the locations couldn't be reached by car, so I had to exclude them.)
In total, the trip covers 16,287 miles (26,211 km) and 14 days of driving, so expect to dedicate at least 3 months if you're going to take on this road trip. You may notice that eastern Europe is somewhat underrepresented in this road trip, so if you want the full taste of Europe, it'll be worthwhile to add some stops between Poland and Estonia.
Here's the full list of stops in order:
- Innsbruck, Austria
- Munich, Germany
- Pag, Croatia
- Venice, Italy
- Tuscany, Italy
- Florence, Italy
- Rome, Italy
- Vatican City
- Amalfi, Italy
- Gozo, Malta
- Dubrovnik, Croatia
- Santorini, Thira, Greece
- Rila Monastery, Rilski manastir, Bulgaria
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Sighisoara, Mures County, Romania
- Budapest, Hungary
- Vienna, Austria
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Krakow, Poland
- Jägala Waterfall, 74205 Harjumaa, Estonia
- Lapland, Finland
- ICEBAR, Marknadsvägen, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
- Bergen, Norway
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Berlin, Germany
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Keukenhof, Stationsweg, Lisse, Netherlands
- Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Inverness, United Kingdom
- Ballybunion, Ireland
- Cliffs of Moher, Clare, Ireland
- Cornwall, England
- Stonehenge, Amesbury, United Kingdom
- London, United Kingdom
- Brussels, Belgium
- Paris, France
- Pamplona, Spain
- Lagos, Portugal
- Granada, Spain
- Ibiza, Spain
- Barcelona, Spain
- Luberone, Bonnieux, France
- Nice, France
- Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Interlaken, Switzerland
Make your own road trip
If you'd like to customize your own road trip, I've released the Python code I used in this project with an open source license and instructions for how to optimize your custom road trip. You can find the code here.
Happy road tripping!