Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

OK, DH and I want to plan a trip in the next two years (the longest) and the soonest would be late this coming summer - this is for my 30th birthday which is not this April, it is next April, so no rush, but it requires a good amount of research and booking...

We want to travel to Paris and then in Italy: Venice, Florence/Tuscany, and Rome.

We are thinking we would fly JFK to Paris, spend five days there, then take the overnight EuroRail to Venice, then take the train to Florence/Tuscany, and then take the train to Rome and come home from Rome to JFK.

Does this sound reasonable/normal? We'd stay at least one or two nights in each city. I've never been to Europe so I feel like I'm out of my element - DH has been many times but he's DH lol so it's like trying to get good, vivid details and info. out of him is a joke Men!

Has anyone been to any of the above places? Can you recommend the traveling in between the locations? We kind of have to go over the summer because of work schedules. I guess that's high season and most $??

Any recs for Italy? If we were to take a city off the list, what would it be?

I'll take any advice or input at this point! HELP!

Message edited 11/25/2012 7:28:17 PM.

Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

Travel agent. For this type of trip I would definitely utilize one. They can help with the details. I always book my own flights as I am a flight stalker but for trips like this I would recommend a travel agent. Sounds like an awesome trip.

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

Sounds good - I would do at least 2-3 nights in each location. I just think by the time you travel, check in to the hotel, 1 night is not enough. You will only have a partial day to sight see and maybe a partial part of hte next day, but checkout might be early and then you have to deal with luggage. Remember to factor in lost time for traveling, getting to/from train station to hotel, checking in,/checking out, maybe room isn't ready and you have to kill an hour, need for naps, etc.

Also, you want to consider if you are taking a red-eye to Europe and how you and DH will do with the time change. You may not feel up to a big first day in Paris if you took a red-eye, so just factor that in KWIM. Same thing if you do an overnight train. My DH is not good without normal sleep, not sure how you and your DH do.

Look into the Paris Museum pass - It saved us a ton of money. Also, the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay are open 1 night during the week and they are not crowded at all. It's a fantastic way to see these popular spots without the crowds and chaos. We aren't huge museum people and this was like a godsend for us.

You may want to look into what you want to do in each city before setting a # of nights, which is why I mentioned the above - you may have more interest in one place or the other.

I have never been to Venice but I have heard there isn't too much to do there. Florence is small, you can walk the whole city in a day but there are tons of museums and things to do in the surrounding area (Tuscany) so you may want to do a few day trips/excursions. Rome is huge and so is Paris with a million things to do. You could spend 2 weeks each in each city and not run out. So just look into what you would want to do in each place and base your itinerary around that.

Edited to add: We went to Paris the first week in May and it was so incredible. Flowers everywhere, high 70's every day. Beautiful weather and it was just the most perfect time to go. I'm jealous and wish I could do it all over again!!!!

FM if you have questions on Paris, Florence, or Rome. I can't help with Venice.

Message edited 12/1/2012 8:32:29 PM.

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

I definitely agree you need to stay at least 2 nights to get one full day in.

I think flying to/from Paris/Rome is good since those are major markets.

Go to the library and pick up some guide books and see what appeals to you - or use their online counterparts - I like using Frommers. They will also have recommendations on hotels.

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

A travel agent may be best. Has your DH been to these cities before? If not, you may want to set up some tours/tour guides.

I agree with PPs 2 - 3 nights at least in Florence and Rome. I really liked Venice, not everyone does, but 1 night (2 days) should be fine there. If that's out of the way, you may want to skip it on this trip to get more time in the other places (again though, I really liked Venice, but it is also pricey).

Have fun - sounds like a wonderful trip!

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

We did a private tour in Rome since we only had one day thereis it was excellent. My FIL handled it all, so I don't know the company or price, but your travel agent should be able to set that up.

It was helpful to have someone fluent in Italian & English to help us with cabs & things & she planed a good route to get in everything we wanted.

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

I have a great travel agent if you want.

I didn't go to france but I went all over Italy (all the places you mentioned and then more) plus all over Greece, Turkey, Monaco, and Spain.

All through a cruise line plus adding some days.

A cruise might be a nice thing to look into also - it was nice being able to unpack in 1 location and not having to worry about traveling with a months worth of clothes plus souvenirs and things.

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

I don't think I would do so many places because in those cities I'm not sure 2 days is enough. In Rome alone I could do 4-5 days. I've never been to Paris but have been to all the Italy spots you mentioned and they are all sooooooo different. Def keep Rome and then decide between Florence and Venice. Fm if you have any questions about specifics

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

I recently planned my whole trip to europe.. it can be done without a travel agent! And can be done cheaply and stayed in four star hotels

It seems overwhelming but if you break it down step by step it can be done. Of course where ever you travel it will never be enough time but you can pick and choose what you want to see and always come back later.

I flew from JFK to Paris, spent 5 nights there, took the rail to Belguim, and spend 2 days in Brussels, and took the train again to Amsterdam and spent 4 nights there and then flew home from Amsterdam to JFK.

The first step is to book flights. I used the website vayama.com.

I knew where I wanted to start (in Paris) and end (in Amsterdam), and I knew i had 11 days so I just booked the flights.

Once I had the flights I started on hotels. I used priceline and bid on hotel rooms (using negotiator)and got 4 star hotels 1/2 off. I did some research on which neighborhoods I wanted to stay in.

Once I planned that out I came on here and got recommendations for day trips, museums, etc. Viator.com is a good website for that. I also bought a europe traveling book. I also booked the train tickets online.

If you need any help feel free to FM me!

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

I have been to Europe many times but I think for longer trips like that you are better with a good TA. They will be able to find you best flight deals, direct you to hotels in safer areas, etc. I always do my own planning but I just find that that type of trip is usually better planned with a TA unless you have beento these cities yourself before. If you were doing one city or two I might say do it yourself but since you are talking about 2 countries and multiple cities I would use the TA.

Btw I love your itinerary! All amazing cities. But not a lot of time to see them. I was an art history major. Loved Rome but there is something about Florence and Venice that was more exciting. I spent 6 weeks studying in Florence and it was my 4th trip there and there are still things I didn't see. Doing 2-3 days will give you a taste of the cities so you can see where you would like to return to.

Re: Europe - Paris and Italy and I have no idea what I'm doing:

must see Florenece!
try trip advisor.com to make your lists of must sees in short amount of time. Click on top things to do section and even browse thru the restaurants.
Remember also that Summer will be VERY crowded