Ashley09

Hi everyone! I've never been to Europe and we are planning our honeymoon for May 2017.

We're debating on a few options! I'm hoping I can get some feedback and recommendations!

Option 1:
Thursday, Arrive in Paris: stay 4 nights
Monday, Fly to Roam: stay 2 nights
Wednesday, Train to Venice: stay 3 nights
Saturday: Depart

Option 2:
Thursday, Arrive in Paris: stay 4 nights
Monday, Fly to Venice: stay 5 nights
Take a day trip to Roam (by train) on either Wednesday or Thursday
Saturday: Depart

Option 3:
Instead of going to Roam/Venice on the second half of our trip, we are also debating Barcelona. Thoughts??

Bedar

Option 1 is best. Forget Barcelona. It's not honeymoon material.

whitehall

All wonderful cities. What do you like to do? Not sure what you mean by "day trip" to Rome. That's about 4 hours each way on the train. We did a blog last October 16countriesin30days.wordpress.com that includes time in Barcelona, Venice, Rome and Paris. You can quickly browse the titles if you have an interest. It included 2 nights Venice, 4 nights Rome, 2 nights Barcelona, and 3 nights Paris. It will give you an idea of what you might see in those time frames, but we were quickly showing a family member Europe and had been to all of these places before.

There are many discount airlines in Europe, allowing for inexpensive movement. We also have successfully used airbnb to give us more space and kitchen facilities for prices lower than hotels and the owners typically provide a lot of nice local guidance.

Ashley09

Oh I read that train is 2 hours each way from Venice to Roam... my mistake! Scratch that idea.

Another question is whether we stay in Paris for 4 nights and Venice for 3 OR Paris for 3 nights and Venice for 4? We'd still stay in Roam for 2 nights either way!

Kathie

I'd opt for more time in Paris than in Venice. Rome with two nights means you just have one full day there. Since you are flying into Paris and out of Venice, I'd skip Rome so you have time to get a real flavor for Paris and Venice and waste less time in transit. You could have 5 nights in Paris and 4 nights in Venice, giving you 4 full days in Paris and three full days in Venice.

Happy Honeymoon!

jscarbary

When we went to Venice the flights out of the city were very early morning flights. You may want to check that first, before you think you will have three full days in Venice.

Sassafrass

If you were doing places closer together with short train rides (an hour or so), you could do three places because trains are city center to city center without the hassle of security, etc.

Even if flights are short, you have all the time getting to the airports (all are outside the cities and require taxi, shuttle or tram), the time through security, etc., so cities further apart eat up even more time and money. All of your locations are nice, especially in May, but I too would cut Barcelona unless you are a big Gaudi fan and are going specifically for his architecture.

All that time and cost of Rome for one day is not a good idea. It will be rushed and you will see so little of what is there. If Rome were a small town or city, you could do it, but it is not!

So, it would be Paris and Venice or Rome and Venice or Rome and Paris.

Both Paris and Rome offer a lot of everything: great food, beautiful cathedrals, all kinds of art, etc. just more of some and less of others and different on all counts. For Italian food, the Renaissance and ancient Roman history and architecture, go for Rome. For Romantic cafes, French culture and food, parks, chateaus and more impressionist art, go for Paris. I know that is kind of general so could be picked at, but just to give you an idea. Google pictures and research for yourself.

If you did Rome and Venice, you could include a day in Florence and even a day trip to one of the beautiful hill towns in Tuscany. That is because it is a very small city with a very, very small central walking area and right on the train line between Rome and Venice, so no backtracking or loss of time.

If you could get a good flight from Paris to Florence, you could even add Florence with Paris and Venice, though I think it is not as good. Better, if Paris is a must and Venice is a must (both great honeymoon destinations), just do those and plan on some wonderful "short distance" day trips. Spend less time traveling, more time experiencing places. The islands, like Burano, of Venice are gorgeous. Little nearby towns are wonderful. Paris has Versailles, which for a first timer can be quite romantic if you stroll the grounds and visit the town itself, which has lovely cafes and a fabulous food market.

Would be nice to reverse your trip and start in Venice, end in Paris.

annhig

I agree - pick two and enjoy them. you will lose a disproportionate amount of time moving between each destination, and you will not run out of things to do and see whichever two you choose.

WoinParis

Where do I get the impression from that OP didn't open a lot of guidebooks ? The way Rome is spelled, maybe ?

On a short honeymoon, I would do Paris and Venice.

annhig

WoinP - Ashley hasn't put anything in his/her profile to tell us where s/he does from - perhaps it's just a dodgy spell-check.

WoinParis

That is what I meant when I say you are nice ;-)

annhig

That is what I meant when I say you are nice>>

you should see the posts I delete!

Macross

Annhig is nice, my phone drives me crazy respelling words. I correct and then it goes back anyway.
I would give yourself plenty of time in Paris, May is such a great time to be there and you will wish you had stayed longer.
We stayed four days once and I had to drag myself on the train. Last trip we stayed seven nights and I still didn't want to leave.
I also like Florence more than Rome but Venice would be very romantic. Maybe fly into Venice and out of Paris. I hate those early morning flights. Play around with flights and get yourself a mid morning one at least.

uhoh_busted

Another good pair of cities is Paris and Amsterdam. You can fly in to one, take the train to the other and fly home from there. We've gone mid- to late May and always enjoyed near perfect weather. That said, our first trip to Europe was to Paris for 8 nights (again, in May). We did daytrips to Giverny, Versailles and Chartres. It was romantic, and absolutely wonderful. We've been back to enjoy more of France 4 times since then, but always try to end a trip with a couple nights in a city we've gotten to know and enjoy every single time.

Sue81

Hi, I'd do Venice and Paris. Venice is such a unique place, and it is sinking a bit, so go now. Maybe longer in Paris and a tad less in Venice. I'd limit to two cities to really enjoy them and get to see them without a frantic pace. My two cents. I noticed Amsterdam above and it also is great city, easier to get around in than Paris, I think, and much to see. Go in one city and back out another to cut travel time. Sue