lss1

I am getting ready to head to Europe for the first time this summer with my 19 year old son who just graduated high school. I have many questions!! I will be going to London, Edinburgh, Paris, Rome, and Italy in 14 days. Question of the day: Are the museum passes that offer "skip the lines" and admission to the museums a good bet? So far, I have booked in London at Westminster City Inn, Marriott in EDI and in Paris at Oceania-Versailles. I know the Oceania is a little out of the city centre, but I am hoping it will be okay with transports nearby. Also, I am still looking for a place to stay in Rome and Florence. Any ideas and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

dina4

We loved the musuem passes, and i think you will to if you're travelling to Paris in the summer. They help you skip the lines, and they also encourage you to pop into places you might not otherwise if you had to pay. You can just buy them when you arrive.

I would also recommend staying IN Paris if you can.

You might want to let people know what your budget is in order to get appropriate hotel recommendations.

have a great trip!
dina

fmpden

You didn't ask but that is a lot of traveling for just 14 days. Even if your travel to and from the US is outside of the 14 days. Going to spend a lot of time checking and out of hotels, etc.

lss1

Thanks for your reply! I guess my budget is mid-range. Always looking for a bargain, but not at the expense of a miserable accomodations. Right now, I have booked at Oceania-Versailles. It looks nice, but may be a little far out. Now I am also looking for recommendations for hotels/Apts. in Rome for 3 nights.

sandi_travelnut

You may have a problem finding an apt too rent for only 3 days. I think most of them are for a full week.

StCirq

How long will you be in Paris? Doesn't sound to me like you could be there long enough to justify a museum pass (or possibly anywhere else). That's a load of places to be visiting in 14 days and a whole lot of time spent on transport instead of actually seeing things.

jsmith

We bought the 2 day museum pass in Paris while there for 8 days. Bought the pass at an uncrowded line in the Pompidou and visited that and the Orangerie on the same day. Next day used it for Orsay and Louvre. It saved waiting in long lines at the latter three.

We did pay extra for the Galerie Vollard exhibit at the Orsay. Painfully crowded but enjoyable none the less.

lss1

Okay, everyone I get the idea that I am going to a lot of places in a short amount of time. My first intention was to limit to 3, but since I am there...I want to see Italy. My son and I are pretty good at the switching hotels...packing up kind of thing...we have taken road trips in the US.
Here's my plan so far...
Day 1 -Arrive in London 7:00 AM
Day 2 - London-
Day 3 -morning in London-
train to Liverpool Area
Evening in Liverpool with UK friends
Day 4 - Liverpool with Friends
Day 5 - train to EDI
Day 6 EDI
Day 7 - fly from EDI to Paris
Day 7 arrive early in Paris
Day 8 Paris
Day 9 Paris morning- late evening flight to Rome
Day 10 Rome
Day 11 Rome
Day 12 Rome/ train to Florence
Day 13 Florence
Day 14 Florence/ train to Pisa/ fly out of Pisa in the evening going to London
Day 15 fly out of London to US

SO the schedule looks daunting?? I don't think it means we will not have enough time to see anything.

amamax2

Many people on this forum feel it is more enjoyable to choose just a few spots and stay longer in each area, but it is your trip and you should decide what you want to do.

20+ years ago, my husband and I went to Europe for 28 days for our honeymoon. We had eurail passes and eveything seemed so accessible! We hit multiple cities in 7 countries, never staying more than two days! And it was a wonderful, memorable trip, giving us a taste of many places.

We are finally heading back this fall, albeit with children this time, and are basing ourselves in just a few places so that we can really soak up the atmosphere.

However you choose to do it, you will have a marvelous time.

Mimar

If I had been planning this trip, I would have flown directly to Edinburgh. Then trained south. (Is there an overnight train Edinburgh to Liverpool?) And traveled from London to Paris by Eurostar through the chunnel.

I have to agree you're doing a lot of traveling (and changing hotels) for not much time in each place. Especially flying which requires transporting yourself to an airport somewhere out of town 2 hours before the actual flight.

Look for VERY centrally located hotels, so the location itself is part of the experience, and you don't spend precious time travelling in and out of the suburbs.

lss1

Yes, my first thoughts for this summer were to rent a villa in Spain and stay for 3 weeks. Then as my son got on board we decided for London, Scotland, and Paris. Then things kept adding up, and we found family in Liverpool...and Italy was a last minute add-on. So yes, I know one way to do Europe would be to stay in one or two places for nice, long visits. But this will be our cursory tour of many places. So at first I planned to fly into EDI and then head south. But I got a good deal into Heathrow on BA, and my family members want to show me Liverpool and EDI, so therefore some changes. Anyway has anyone ever stayed at the Visconti Palace in Rome. Again I may be staying in the wrong location, but I am a newbie. So any of you regulars that would like to check out Oceania-Versailles in Paris and Visconti in Rome and tell me just how hard my traveling into the city will be, I would actually appreciate it.
And though I'm a newbie to Europe, if anyone needs help with trips in the US...I might actually be able to contribute.
Thanks for the replies!

Christina

I don't know hotels to recommend in Italy, but really would completely forget the apartment idea. You don't need to add more work on top of this itinerary (I mean work by the extra requirements of an apt. in booking, deposits, etc). It really doesn't matter since you aren't in these cities much time, anyway.

As for Paris, that hotel is on the very edge of the city at Porte de Versailles which is right next to a huge exposition park. It's right on the highway surrounding Paris, practically. It is far out (and will not be in a very interesting or scenic area), but isn't too terribly far from a metro stop, although you could do better. It's about 350 meters to the closest one.

YOu don't say what museums you want to visit in Paris, but I wouldn't get a museum pass as the shortest one is two days now at 30 euro. YOu may only want to go to one museum given you are only there a day or so.