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London Paris Rome Venice London best route to travel?

London Paris Rome Venice London best route to travel?

Old Feb 28th, 2010, 04:50 PM
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London Paris Rome Venice London best route to travel?

THis trip has been on/off and is now back on so I have less than 1 month to book everything. As the title suggests we (2) are travelling from London to Paris Rome Venice and then back to London for the flight home. Can anyone advise what is the best route to take? I haven't looked at the cost of flights yet but time is an issue but budget is also an issue. I thought we would take the tunnel to Paris and fly from there unless you have a better idea? Any thoughts would be appreciated, bearing mind that we will be taking our luggage with us everywhere we go. We are travelling between the 15th and 24th April. Also is it better to book the flights from Australia or wait til we get there and book as we go? What are the best airlines and are there ones we should avoid? THanks
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Old Feb 28th, 2010, 05:54 PM
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Seeing 4 major cities in 10 days - including travel really won;t work. You will spend way too much time in train stations and airports and way too little time seeing much of anything. And doing that much travel will not be inexpensive. I know you're traveling a long way - but in the time you have I really reco you do either London and Paris or Rome and Venice - it you want to actually see more than 2 main sights per city.
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Old Feb 28th, 2010, 07:01 PM
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First of all, I agree with nytraveler - you are trying to pack four major cities into 2.5 days each, including travel in between, and that's assuming the 15th-24th do not include your travel to/from London. I'd do three of those at most, and two would definitely be more relaxed. I'm very sympathetic to wanting to pack a lot into a trip when you have to travel so far, but you also want to really see the places you're paying and putting in effort to get to!

Second, it sounds like you haven't booked any of your flights yet, including to/from Australia. If that's the case, definitely look into open-jaw tickets, meaning you fly into London and leave from Paris (for example). Unless you're restricted to airline points or something, no reason at all to backtrack to London.

If I were going to do what you originally suggested, I'd take the Eurostar from London to Paris, fly to Rome, take the train to Venice and fly back to London. The Eurostar takes several hours plus checkin time in London. Flying anywhere takes flight time plus checkin and security time at the airport, plus time getting *to* the airport. Don't forget to add those things in when you're planning your trip.
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Old Feb 28th, 2010, 10:25 PM
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Eurostar takes about 3 hours - it's probably the easiest trip you'd do all holiday

If you can't book open jaw then I'd fly to Rome as soon as you can after arrival in the UK then work your way back to London so that you aren't left in the situation of being a couple of thousand miles from your flight home on your day of departure.

So it would be fly to Rome (DON'T change London airports unless you have an overnight stay) then train to Venice, fly to Paris with Easyjet then Eurostar to the UK.
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 02:13 AM
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I am so sorry I didn't make myself very clear and I apologise for that. The flights Sydney/Heathrow are booked. I have 10 days in London/Glasgow/Edinburgh to visit relatives then to Paris etc. Judging by your replies it would seem that I would do better with just two stops, Paris is a must so should it be Rome or Venice? I am leaning towards Rome unless any one has definate views on Venice?
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 07:33 AM
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Ah, so your ten days does not include any sightseeing in London - you're just starting from and returning there? In that case you could do something like this, if I'm interpreting correctly:

15th April - train to Paris
16th, 17th, 18th April - Paris
19th April - fly to Rome
20th, 21st, 22nd April - Rome
23rd April - fly back to London for flight home on 24th

That gives you 3.5 days in both Paris and Rome. Venice is beautiful, but I would choose Rome first, personally. To fit in even a full day in Venice, you'd have to cut at least a day off Paris or Rome, and there's so much to see in both that that would be hard.

As far as when to book your flights (and Eurostar tickets), generally speaking, the earlier you book the less you pay. I would not wait until you get to the UK. Budget airlines like Easyjet or Ryanair are cheap (often, not always) and popular, but have a LOT of extra fees and restrictions you need to be aware of. For example, if you're planning to take a lot of luggage, they may not be the best choice; they have tight weight restrictions on both checked and carry-on bags, and you have to pay to check (though that's not that unusual now!). Just make yourself aware of what you're signing up for, and don't restrict yourself to the budget airlines.
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 09:46 AM
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london to paris (eurostar),
paris to venezia (easyjet from orly or cdg)
Venezia to roma (vueleng)

avoid ryanair for paris - you arrive in beauvais (40km north)
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 10:10 AM
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I'm sorry - it may just be me -- but it still isn't clear how long you have . . .

"I have 10 days in London/Glasgow/Edinburgh to visit relatives then to Paris etc."

Is the "Paris etc" April 15-24 - or is that the whole trip including the UK bits?

In any case (and assuming you are talking about 10 days on the continent) since you'll need to be back in London on April 23 before flying home - you are only talking 9 days. Subtracting travel time you are looking at about 8 days which is (barely) enough for Paris and one other place. You pick whichever one you want -- For me it would be 5+ days in Paris and 3 in Venice.
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 04:39 PM
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We arrive on the 9th April staying in London that weekend to see one lot of rels then to Edinburgh/Glasgow. Back London on the 16th to spend that week end with another lot of relatives. Looking to head to Paris on the 19th then to Rome on the 23rd back to London on the 27th to fly home to Sydney on the 29th. Sorry for the confusion, I guess its because I am in such a panic about everything I don't have it quite straight in my head yet. We go to Bali for a week on Monday, something that was planned last June, and I am stressing because it means I lose a weeks planning time.

So from the above posts I take it that it is Eurostar to Paris then Easyjet to Rome and then fly back to London? I really want to see Venice but I think my 18 year old daughter would have a better time in Rome, do you agree?
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 07:29 PM
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Not necessarily; it depends on what she likes. However, there is more to "do" in Rome, and it's probably a safer bet as far as that goes. Don't lock yourself into Easyjet; you might find something on a major airline for the same price with fewer restrictions. But yes, that's the basic idea.

Just curious - have you been to London before? There's a LOT to see there as well, but most of your London time so far sounds like it's dedicated family time.
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 08:13 PM
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I think that if you are travelling with an 18 year old, then Venice might be a better bet than Rome. We've spent a while there and love it.
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Old Mar 1st, 2010, 09:11 PM
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I am out of step with the other posters here...but based on what our daughter liked on her first trip to Europe, I would do all three...Paris, Venice and Rome! Sounds like you will be back at some time with family in England.

We took two of our children to Europe when they turned 18...they both liked being on the move and seeing as much as possible. Actually after two to three days they were ready for the next adventure.

We do both land trips and cruise trips in Europe. Naturally on cruises you only have one day...but you can see a lot with just a full day in Venice or Rome and a plan of what is important to you. I know, we have done it.

Of course, you can't see it all even with 4 or 5 days in each city, but most definitely you will see the highlights with two days in each...that would be my pick with an 18yo, especially a girl...she will love the romance of Venice and the shopping in Rome plus all the great sights in each city!

I just booked our flight to Paris for Nov 6, we will spend Nov 7 & 8 in Paris (two full days early, arrival from States...we don't suffer from jet lag fortunately). Fly to Venice (AF; $124ppUSD; 2hrs air time) on Nov 9 for three nights (two+ full days). We then will take the train to Rome on Nov 12 ($288USD for 1st class; $218 2nd class for two; 3hrs,45min currently on the website)and spend three nights (two plus full days). From there we fly on Nov 15 to Athens to meet a cruise that will take back to the states.

There is no right or wrong way, if you want to visit all three cities do it. No, you won't see every thing, but you can see the most important things to you and have some great food and people watching!

Enjoy your trip!
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