thetw7

There are two of us heading to Europe in October and time is ticking away. We have booked our flights but that's it. Seeing that neither of us have visited these places before, we need some advice.

We will be flying into Paris (early in the am) and flying out of Rome (mid day on our 10th day). We have 9 nights and I was thinking 3 in Paris and 3 in Rome but we are not for sure where else. For the days inbetween, We have played with the idea of Switzerland (either Wengen or Zurich) and Venice or Venice and Florence.

We would definitely love advice on must see places. We definitely do not feel we need to jam pack our days with touristy things to do, but are excited to what these places are best known for. We also need transportation advice from places.

Since nothing but our flights are booked, we are pretty open. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!!!

annhig

Paris and Rome are both full of great things to see - more than enough for 10 days.

I would stick to those 2 - 5 nights in Paris [to give you a day to recover from jetlag] and 4 in Rome.

a good guidebook [i like the michelin green guides] wlll give you ideas on what to see.

Wekiva

If I had 9 nights I would do the following:
paris
paris
paris
train to Wengen/Murren
Wengen/Murren
Wengen/Murren
train to Rome (leave early-arrive 3pm)
Rome
Rome
fly home

But I tend to like to move around a bit. I would not want to spend 5 days in each city unless I'd been on many European trips before and was wanting to settle down and see these cities a 2nd or 3rd time.

Each time we've gone to Europe we always stick a slow, relaxing mountain stop in the middle for a change of pace. There is no better (or more beautiful) place to do this than the Lauterbrunnen valley.

But maybe you're from a mountainous region and don't crave mountains like this Floridian. It all depends on what you want to do. If the Swiss alps aren't your thing then my next thought would be to swap Wengen for Venice or Florence. Then you'd have one long train day and one short train day to split up your trip.

Gretchen

I think Ann has it right, and see if you can take an ovenight train to Rome--or fly. But more days in Paris than Rome.

mamcalice

WIth only 9 nights and the need to move quite a distance in between cities, I would visit Paris and Rome. As it is, you will barely have time to scratch the surface in each.

ira

Hi T,

With T days and already booked to fly into Paris and out of Rome, I would

Fly into Paris, 4 nights,
fly to Venice - 3 nights
train to Rome - 3 nights.

You can stop in Florence and leave your luggage at the train station for a quick visit.

Are you planning on sleeping in the streets?

suze

I'd do Ira's plan. That's exactly what I was coming to post after reading the question.

Switzerland is great but I'd save it for a separate trip when you have more time. While 3 days would be perfect to fit in Venice, between Paris and Rome.

Anna_Galea

Ira's plan would also suit me.

However, I think it would be a bit too much to fit in Florence as well, stopping for a quick visit. Too much hassle just to stay in Florence for a couple of hours. If it would be the case that you absolutely want to fit in Florence as well, , then I would lessen 1 night in Venice or Paris and stay 1 night in Florence.

bilboburgler

miss out on Switzerland and do Ira's tour

Anna_Galea

Another thought - if it is your wish to visit Switzerland, another option might be that you do 4 nights in Paris, 3 nights on the northern shores of Lake Maggiore (taking flight to Milan Malpensa from Paris) - from Lake Maggiore you can do day trips to several towns in Switzerland by ferry, and then last 3 nights in Rome, taking the express train from Milan to central station in Rome.

nytraveler

IMHO in the very limited time you have - and never having been t these places - definitely limit yourself to Paris and Rome. You could easily spend all 10 days in each - but 5 nights in each will give you a reasonable taste of what they are like. Look for flights between the two.

If you insist on doing something in between you will end up spending a lot of time in transit - versus actually seeing/doing things. Plus, while Switzerland is lovely it is incredibly expensive (and I'm used to NYC prices).

thetw7

Thank you all for the great feedback. Here is what we have decided. We are spending 3.5 days in Paris then flying to Florence the evening of our full fourth day. Booked two cheap flights on Vueling Airlines for $167 all together. Hope we won't regret that choice, as I normally am a Delta flyer here in the states and even over to Europe for this trip, but at such a great price ...

I know Florence offers a lot to see so should we devote two additional nights or the next full day and a half and head to Rome? And what about the train from Florence to Rome ... Any insight there? Should we stop in Pisa on our way as well? Are there any tours we should book now? Last question ... Is Pompeii a great day visit from Rome with the time we will have left in our trip?

annhig

swift - if you are not here to advertise Rudy, then i apologise to you. this may shock you, but some people just join boards like this in order to promote themselves - amazing isn't it?

when someone's only post ever doesn't actually address any of the OP's questions and only mentions a commercial enterprise and not a lot else, perhaps you can understand why another poster, like me, might be a tad suspicious.

thetw - if you are going to Florence, then you might as well stay long enough to enjoy it! but forget about Pisa [it's not on the way to Rome, anyway] and IMHO you should forget Pompeii for this trip - with only 3 days in Rome you won't have time for excursions.

things to book: [if these are things you are interested in]

in Paris - buy a museum card for at least part of your stay,

in Florence - pre-book the Uffizi and the Accademia

in Rome - pre-book the Galleria Borghese and the Vatican museums.

gh21

And by all means, book your accommodations ASAP.

thetw7

We are booking hotels tonight ... Have been looking at St. Regis, Four Seasons, etc. in the cities but are there hotels that any of you would recommend more than those chains?

As with pre-booking tickets ... Thank you Annhig. It's definitely something we want and plan, as well as we do not mind getting off the normal tourist path. We are hoping to book everything by the end of the week, even our train from Florence to Rome. Are there any special tours we should look into ? Is it necessary to rent a car or will public transportation be sufficient?

Anna_Galea

As annhig suggested, I would skip Pompeii, - it is in southern Italy, and you already have more than enough places that you may want to visit, IMO you do not have the time to visit another region of Italy.

I would suggest that you stay 3 nights in Florence, which might make it possible to do a visit to Pisa (since you mention you would like to include it - it is about an hour's drive by car). You might manage to do it in half a day's visit, or else you might combine it with a visit to Lucca. Alternatively, if you feel you have some spare time in Florence, you might go and visit San Gimignano.

But do stay at least 3 nights in Rome.

annhig

thetw - if you are looking at the Four Seasons, you're in a different league to me! that said if you are in Florence on a sunday, the four Seasons does a great sunday lunch which I did enjoy - you should reserve though. you could try looking at laterooms.com for some late bargains.

you won't need a car on this trip - trains and buses are fine. you can get the RER B line into and out of Paris to CDG, and in florence i suggest getting a cab to your hotel - after that you'll probably find yourselves walking. in Rome, you'll probably walk a lot as well, though the buses can be useful; again, a cab from the station to your hotel is the way to go.

regarding your train from Florence to Rome, you are probably too late to get any decent discounts, so I would suggest waiting til you are there to book your train when you have a better idea of which train you want to catch. up to you of course.

have a great trip!

charnees

If you will spend three full days in Rome and want to visit several of the historic and art sites, buy a RomaPass at a tourist information office, and get free entry to two places ( the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill count as one if you go on the same day), plus free bus transportation for those days. You will be able to pass the lines at the ticket offices, especially the Colosseum where that line is very long, although you still have to make a reservation at Galleria Borghese. The pass also covers Ostia Antica, an ancient Roman town that was the port at one time, although the month of the Tiber River has silted up and moved seaward a mile or so since then. It's a good substitute for Pompeii and is only a short train ride away from central Rome.

If you are staying at the Four Seasons, you probably can get the concierge to make the Borghese reservation for you.

thetw7

Thank you again for the advice ... We have not decided on hotels yet ... I'm leaving that up to him anyways . And sadly @Annhig, we will not be in Florence on Sunday. We will arrive late Monday evening. With that being said, we have concluded to skip Pompeii and Pisa for this trip. Also, Rome will get 4 nights and 3 full days before we fly out on that Sunday.

@Charness I have not heard of the RomaPass until now, so I will definitely look into that.

If anyone has favorite restaurants, places etc., (preferably not super touristy) ... I'd love to hear about them.

Anna_Galea

In Rome try and find accommodation in the centre, so that many sites would be easily walkable - maybe the Pantheon, Spanish Steps or Navona area.