nizzle

Hello Everyone,
First time poster, and excited to plan for my honeymoon trip. My fiancée and I are both 30, and we are looking to have an adventurous and romantic honeymoon trip. We love to go sight seeing, museum, eating, and enjoy experiencing different culture. It's really easy for us to have fun anywhere we go. We both are pretty energetic, and would like to see as many places as possible (open to taking train, plane, etc). Who knows when I'll get a chance to come back to Europe again, so I would like to get the best bang for my bucks for 17 days. Some friends have suggested I scale back on visiting too many countries and stick to one or two places. I'm trying to figure out the right balance of seeing many places, and not feeling rushed. Paris (a must) is our number one destination, and we are flying directly into Paris (cdg) and arrive March 12 @ 12 pm. I have been flip flopping back and forth of staying in one country (France), or seeing 3 countries in 17 days.

Paris (4-5 days suggested by a few friends) March 12-March 16
versailles
Eiffel Tower
musee de orsey
louve
Catacomb

Middle of trip (this is where i need help) ??? March 17-23


1)I thought about taking the train from Paris to Geneva, train to Zurich, fly to prague. I thought about ending in Prague because I have been hearing it's a very romantic place to explore. I was told 4 days was enough for Prague.

2)My second Plan was to fly to Paris and take the train to Brodeaux, Toulouse,Carcassonne, Aix-en-Provence, Nice , and than fly to Prague

3)Paris fly to prague, train to berlin?


Anyways, I would like to hear what you guys have to say. If my thought process doesn't make any sense, you can go ahead and tell me where it's flawed.(I will not get offended) Thank you for your time, and look forward to hearing from the community.

StCirq

To be brief and succinct, this sounds frenetic and random. I trust it's just a first throw-a-bunch-of-ideas-on-the-dartboard effort, but you do need to focus, because 17 days, once you're on the ground, isn't that much time.

1. Paris - at least 5 days, especially if going to Versailles
2. Skip Geneva and Zurich - neither is particularly romantic
3. Skip Bordeaux, and even then allow 5 days for the south of France portion

Pick 2, 3 at most places. Every single place you've listed, except for Carcasssonne, could easily keep you busy for a couple of weeks. Fly into one place and out of another to avoid backtracking. Think about including some countryside in your plans instead of city after city.

It's a honeymoon. No matter how energetic you are, downtime in Europe is always a good thing.

nizzle

Yes you're right, it's all over the place. I've been reading in many threads to skip Geneva and Zurich for honeymoon.(That will be eliminated) What did you mean allow 5 days for South of France portion. Did you mean 5 days total for Toulouse,Carcassonne, Aix-en-Provence, and Nice? We agree including the country side for the trip is a must.

StCirq

<< Did you mean 5 days total for Toulouse,Carcassonne, Aix-en-Provence, and Nice?>>

Yes, and if you're planning to use trains to get between them, even with 5 days you'll barely have 1/2 or 2/3 of a day in any one of them. Remember, you've got to pack, get to a train station, take the train ride, get off and find your way to your accommodations, unpack...and eat and take care of basic necessities in between.

Frankly, with 17 days, I'd rent an apartment in Paris for a week, then take the TGV to Toulouse, rent a car and drive around the SW, then the SE, end in Nice or Marseilles or Avignon, drop the car, and go back to Paris for your last night. There are SO many things to see and do in the south of France, and with 9 more days you could do a great mix of cities and countryside and see a lot of completely different "cultures." Toulouse and Nice, for example, are completely different worlds.

Aramis

There is no need for you to remain in France because it is place someone else thinks they could endlessly explore. If you aren't sure if you will be able to get back to Europe, you should see at lease a few places that intrigue. Paris and Prague are both "romantic" cities and you seem very interested in that backdrop for your honeymoon, so make it happen.

I would agree that Geneva and Zurich are not romantic, but the Swiss Alps certainly are. However, they are somewhat less so in late March. Berlin, as well, is not what most people would call romantic.

If you spent 5 days in each of Paris and Prague, that would give you about 6 days to fill in between them. If you want to include some of the country, or smaller towns, then 3 days in 2 separate places would be reasonable. Germany and Belgium are right "in the way" between them and Brugge, Belgium, or the Harz mountain area of Germany (Quedlinburg, Wernigerode, Goslar), or northern Franconia (Bamberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber) would all be candidates for fitting into a route to Prague.

Given the time of year, and the unpredictable nature of what you might expect with respect to the weather in north central Europe in early spring, you could also consider improving your weather odds by flying into Florence from Paris and spending your 6 days in any number of Tuscan hill towns, flying on to Prague from Florence, Milan, Bologna, or Venice, etc..

nytraveler

Have you considered the weather. You are at the very beginning of spring - and wether can stil be quite cold - and in Swtiz snowy.

Fine if you are doing primarily indoor - or some outdoor city things. Or if you want to go skiing in Switz.

Agree that you need to focus - remembering what time of year it is. (Versailles the palace will be fine - the gardens - nothing to see.)

So I think you have some decisions to make.

Geneva has a cute old town but is dominated by the UN and Zurich is strictly a business city. If you are going to Swtiz you should head for the mountains (skiing) or the valley tourist towns (Lucerne et al) but be prepared for winter cold.

Prague can also be early spring or late winter. A fascinating city with a wonderful music scene and the only sizable authentic old town left from before WWII. But don;t expect gorgeous flowers etc.

nizzle

@StCirq Would you say Toulouse or Aix-en-Provence would be a great place to just relax in the country side for 5 days. If I end up going south, i'll just take the flight out of Marseilles to Prague. I'm gonna go ahead and just focus on one city in the south to visit. I appreciate all of the info.

@Aramis My fiancee and I agree we should just go ahead and make sure we hit both Paris and Prague no matter what since we don't think we'll be back in europe for a while. We will go ahead and eliminate switzerland, and just try to focus on a nice country side where we can spend a week with some down time. I plan to just see one place in the south of France, and take a flight directly to Prague. If not, I'll do more research on some of the country side you listed above en route directly toward Prague.

@nytraveler Yes we're aware it's going to be 40-50 degrees in march. I was in Brussels last April, so I know how cold it can get. It's all towards the end of winter/early spring, so we wont get to see the nice flowers, etc..

ira

Hi N,

>Who knows when I'll get a chance to come back to Europe again<

If you each put away $10 per week, you will be able to visit Europe every 4 years.

Re: your honeymoon trip:
It is just as easy to chill out in a city as it is in the country, especially in early spring, when the the greenery will be sparse and hardly anything will be in bloom.

Have you considered
Paris --> Venice--> Prague,
Paris --> Munich --> Vienna
Florence--> Venice --> Paris
and, as much as I love Paris,
Venice, Florence and Rome?

You've got a year to enjoy your planning.


PS: I think that the gardens are the best thing about Versailles.

ira

PPS,
Skip " as much as I love Paris,
Venice, Florence and Rome?

You've got a year to enjoy your planning."

I let my mind wander.

> I was told 4 days was enough for Prague. <
I agree.

mamcalice

While 4 days is enough for Prague, 5 days (IMHO) is not enough for Paris. I think Ira has some good suggestions. In March Italy will be a bit warmer than other destinations such as Berlin, etc. So... think about Paris for a week, Prague for 4 days, leaving you 6 days for Aix and Nice or Venice and Florence or Rome.

All of these suggestions are a bit far-flung but would work with a good flight schedule. They would give you a good sense of Europe especially if you think you won't return for a while. Fly into Paris and out of your last destination.

high_plains_drifter

You said > so I would like to get the best bang for my bucks for 17 days.

Lots of good advice here, and I have one simple piece of advice. Paris, Berlin, Venice, are very expensive. Prague is very Inexpensive. I have spent time in all of these cities. Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Spend more time in Prague (Praha) and less time in Paris, etc.

Christina

Lots of folks on Fodors think people should stay endless days in Paris and ignore every other place in Europe, I don't get it. 5 days is enough for any city, realistically, that's not too short.

I love Prague and I think Paris and Prague would be great. You don't seem to know that Toulouse is a major city, it isn't the countryside. There is country around it, sure, but that's true of about anywhere.

The big problem is you are doing this in March. So where would that be so great a time to spend in the countryside? I don't know frankly. It was even rainy and cool about half the time when I was in Seville in late March, but not too bad.

Nice is maybe the best idea or southern France, if you can easily fly from Nice to Prague. It's still not going to be tropical, that's for sure. I don't see why Switzerland is such a bad idea myself. I think it is a better idea than going to Bordeaux, Toulouse, etc., and maybe makes more sense logitically. It is beautiful and easy to get around and a place where you could maybe relax and see the countryside.

jamikins

I would agree that March is not the best time to go to the countryside - it is just the end of winter and the greenery woudl not have had a change to bloom yet so it will likely be sparse. The weather is also unlikely to be the kind where you can sit outside and enjoy dinner or lunch in most places - if that is what you want to do you might need to consider that.

I would look at other cities like mentioned above, that provide things to do in the rain and cold.

nizzle

wow, thanks so much for the valuable advice everyone. I need to do more research. I know march is not an ideal time, but we prefer to go right after our wedding.