Two nights in Prague is only one full day.

We really enjoyed Prague, so I'd probably stay there the five full days before heading to Paris, maybe take a day trip or two.

Train is a great way to get around Europe. Definitely look in to the prices of that first.

"I'd love to fly to Amsterdam and take train to Paris but is that crazy??"

By asking this question, I think you've also answered it!

There's a big country known as Germany between Prague and France You should check out some interesting places on your way to Paris. The area known as Franconia is just across the Czech border. Bamberg is a beautiful, well-preserved old Bavarian city that's famous for its smoke-beer and brew pubs; it's not far from Nuremberg, which has an attractive old town and several WW II sites. Nearby Rothenburg, one of the most heavily visited destinations in Germany, is an old walled town that is worth a visit as well. The history of the area is on display at the Franconian Open-Air museum in Bad Windsheim, between Rothenburg and Nuremberg:

http://www.stripes.com/military-life/travel/bad-windsheim-time-travel-at-franconian-open-air-museum-1.102354

4 adults can get from Prague to Nuremberg for 76€ on the 8:38 am bus; kids may be discounted or free depending on age. Look for discounted advance-sale tickets 92 days out at the following German Railways page:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

The same page will give you discounted tickets to Paris. But buy them 92 days out to get the best price - discount tix are available in limited numbers.

To get between Nuremberg and the other cities and towns mentioned above, a daypass called the "Tagesticket Plus" will cost your family 15.60€; you can ride trains (and buses) at will with this pass, and you can inform yourself on the details at this page:

http://www.vgn.de/tickets/?Edition=en

To get some impressions of Franconia, have a look at Bavaria Ben's accommodations pages in/near Nuremberg/Rothenburg by scrolling towards the bottom at this page:

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommodationsbavaria.html

You might want to do the same for the Rhine/Mosel area, closer to the French border, especially if you might be interested in medieval castles:

http://www.bensbauernhof.com/accommodationsrhinemosel.html
http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=318&L=3

I think you are totaly short-changing Prague. I would spend the time there rather than boncing around to yet another place in so few days.

you are missing out on a lot in Berlin and Dresden by spending so little time in each place, and after only 2 nights in each of those places, i think I would want to linger in Prague.

after that, possibly return to Berlin for a few days before heading to Paris.

I think you should spend a couple more days in Prague, also, as long as you are there. Any reason why you want to leave so early? You don't have anywhere to go, it sounds like.

But if you want to leave, I don't see why flying to Amsterdam and then taking a train to Paris would be crazy. Sounds okay if you want to do that and see Amsterdam, the train to Paris from Amsterdam is fairly quick and easy. Assuming there is a reasonable cheap flight to Amsterdam, I have no idea. It sounds like you don't want to see more of Germany or you would have thought of it yourself.

As long as you check out airfare, look at Switzerland. Becuase that would be nice in July and you can easily take a train from Lausanne or Geneva to Paris, also.

BUt if you'd love to go to amsterdam, why not. I think this airline flies that route www.transavia.com

And of course I'm sure you could fly to London and then take the Eurostar to Paris, also.

Although there are a ton of great places to see between Prague and Paris, I agree that you are seriously short-changing Prague. I would spend the time between Prague and Paris IN Prague, and then take a flight to Paris.

Or you could spend a whole week in Paris instead of 4 days.

Sorry, just saw your comment about already having done Paris enough. How about Belgium?

I love Amsterdam and have only been there once for about 3 days 17 yrs ago. On that trip DH and I also spent a nice 3 days in Brugge, on our way to Paris. So with this trip, just trying to figure out if we return to Amsterdam now, or put it off until another time. Hmmm. Maybe a nice Netherlands and Scandanavia trip... But back to the trip at hand.

Would like a bit more time in Berlin, but not sure it fits. Can't leave until Tuesday from US west coast and need to be in Dresden by Friday night.

Russ - thanks for the great ideas! And for the links. I am looking forward to reading through them soon. I now recall that my parents visited Rothenburg and that I saw their photos. The Franconian outdoor museum sounds interesting, too. I'll check out the German Railway schedules again and see what would work best for getting down to Paris, if we spent a bit of time in Franconia.

Thanks to others for ideas, too. Sounds like staying in Prague a bit longer gets a thumbs up.
I'll check out Prague links on the forum for what folks have enjoyed there. And others' ideas of going directly from Prague to Paris by air has merit, too. I did look a little bit a flights between the two cities previously, and know little about some of the carriers. Do you have any favorites that fly out of Prague? Or are they all okay and just go for price?

Don't think I can even think of Switzerland for this trip. Would love to see the Alps and northern Italy. Yet another trip. Perhaps when the kids are done with college...

TIme for some more homework. Thanks for food for thought.

I wouldn't worry about flights being dangerous, if that's what you mean by okay. I don't know of any dangerous airlines in Europe, although some in other countries might be dicey. I would buy by schedule and price, that's all. I like Czech Air, I'm sure they would fly between PRG and CDG, as I've flown them (they codeshare with AF, also).

I'm a bit late to comment here but hope you are still checking Suz24. We split a two week vacation between Prague and Paris in October. It was our first trip to Prague and thought it was beautiful and easy to get around. We took the tram a few times to the Castle area and walked everywhere else. We flew Smart Wings from Prague to Paris and although departure was delayed an hour the flight was fine. We chose the flight for convenient mid-day flight time and price although I hesitated to book and missed an even lower price.

We liked staying at the Hotel Unitas in Prague. It is not on a picturesque street but the room and bathroom were huge, clean and comfortable. Price ranged from 109 to 150 euros for 2 adults with buffet breakfast. Tesco department store and tram stop were just two blocks away and there are lots of restaurants in the area.