canuck101

Hi Everyone!

My cousin and I are planning our first trip to Europe in July. We have 19 days and would like to plan a trip such that we can enjoy the culture of each city! So far we are thinking of this:

Fly from Vancouver to Paris - Spend 5/6 days in Paris
Fly Paris to Venice - Spend 4 days in Venice
Venice to Florence by Train - Spend 3 days in Florence
Florence to Rome by train - Spend 6/7 days in Rome
Fly from Rome to Vancouver

We would really appreciate some input! What do you think about the days allocated for each? Any ideas of where to stay, tips on which flights to take (ie. several airports in each city), and any hidden gems we should visit!

We are hoping to find hotels in each city from which the majority of the attraction we can walk to. so any advice on where to stay would be great!

Thank you for all your help!

adrienne

The number of days in each city looks good.

In Paris stay in arrondissements 4, 5, 6, or 7. Venice - somewhere between St. Marks and Rialto. Florence, anywhere in the center. Rome - near Piazza Navona or Campo dei Fiori.

Other than Florence and Venice it will take a lot of time to walk to all or most sightseeing attractions. You might want to rethink this plan and use public transportation or taxis at times. Why is it so important to be able to walk? Is it to save money? I wouldn't base a hotel choice on being able to walk to most sights but on your budget, if you like the decor, and on being centrally located.

For instance, if you stay in the 5th in Paris you'll probably not want to walk to the Eiffel Tower or to Montmartre. And you certainly would not be able to walk to Versailles.

The hidden gems in these cities have been discovered long ago.

nytraveler

Agree you have enough time in each city.

Venice is small and you can walk to everywhere except the outer islands and you get to them by boat. Florence is small and the historic center of Rome is close to many sights - but the Vatican is across the river and you might well want to take a cab or bus to get there - since there is a huge amount of walking on site. Be sure to order Scavi tickets (underground area with stone coffins of many popes, etc) well in advance - now if you can - since admittance is very limited.

Sights in Paris, however, are much more spread out and while you can walk to many sights from the 4th, 5th or 6th arrondisements - there are a lot of places you will need to use the Metro to get to (very easy).

Strongly encourage you to get good guidebooks and decent maps now - so you can find the sights you want to see and also locate possible lodgings.

To help with that we really need a specific budget in euros and what you are looking for (hostel, budget hotel or ?)

canuck101

Thank you very much for the replies above!

Sorry I forgot to mention that both of us are students and are on a budget, trying to get most for our buck .

adrienne

I would stay in hostels. Many of them have double rooms so you don't have to share with others. They're all rated and have comments from people who have stayed there.

In Paris, my niece stayed at Aloha Hostel in Montparnasse a couple of times and liked it.

Public transportation is cheap and will save you time. It will also allow you to stay at hostels/hotels that may be just a bit farther out and save money that way.

Read the Let's Go guide books for advice on traveling in general and on a student budget.

Look at the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum which caters to young people.

kja

I agree that your plans sounds great -- and it is REALLY good for first time planners! Kudos!

The only part of the plan that I see that might merit a second look is your time in Florence. My impression is that the "ideal" time in Florence really depends on your interests. I love art and architecture, and so thought 5 full days in Florence barely enough. Others visit Florence as a day trip. So, depending on your interest in art/architecture, you might want to shift a day from either Venice or Rome to Florence. You don't have a bad choice here -- your current plan is very good and I'm sure you will enjoy yourselves whether you consider this tweak or not.

For these areas, I recommend guide books by the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet. Many people think these guide books are particularly good for young people traveling on a budget; they are still my "go-to" sources even now that I am no longer young or seeking to minimize costs wherever possible.

You might look into lodging options on booking.com -- you'll find a range of options, many of which can be booked and cancelled up to 24 hours in advance. DO pay attention to the cancellation policies, as they do differ from place to place!

Enjoy!

Sassafrass

Your times are fine. It might change if you desire to do any particular day trips from any of your bases.

Look into the cost and logistics of flying into Venice, seeing Venice, Florence and Rome, flying from Rome to Paris and home from Paris.
I suggest this only because Venice is a great city to start in and get over any jet lag you may experience.

bilboburgler

I might pull a day from Rome and put it in Florence, maybe use the time for day trip to Siena or Lucca if not already in your plan.

The cheaper areas to stay (and in this case dodgier) are around Termini in Rome. I'd avoid this area and look instead at appartments near Vatican. We used St. Peters Rooms
Via della Stazione di San Pietro 34 | Vaticano Prati, 00165 Rome, Italy (Trastevere)

Just within view of St Peters, but one road back from a local railway station and bus points so it is easy to get about. There are restaurants just down the road but out of the tourist area.

I've stayed before near the Vatican and it is just calmer than the busy centre.

ssander

Love your list of cities...you'll have a blast.

Since building a sight list within each city depends so much on your personal interests (art, history, the club scene, outdoor activities?), it's hard for me to make recommendations.

You are students on a budget, so start by going to the library and taking out a couple of tourist guides for each city.

Make an A-list and a B-list of sights, keeping in mind cost and opening hours (very important!).

Then get back to us for special insights, deals, procedures and recommendations. The folks here are very, very knowledgeable.

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One bit of train advice...buy your train tickets as soon as possible between Venice-Florence and Florence-Rome...you can get incredibly low fares on the fast trains 3 months out...as little as 19€ each. But you have to book SOON...they disappear quickly.

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SS

ssander

Re: Transporation

As stated earlier, Venice and Florence are pretty much completely walkable -- except, perhaps for the walk from the train station to your hotel in Venice...lots of little bridges with steps.

You're young...Rome probably won't require more than a few bus tickets to have in case you get tired. At your age, even a walk to the Vatican from the historic core should be no problem. My wife and I are in our mid-60s and we just did it twice in our December trip.

Paris, however, is another story. Depending on your location, you'll be able to walk to many sights, but not all. You'll need some public transport tickets. Buy a few carnets (10-packs) of t+ tickets. A t+ ticket will get you around by bus and Metro to nearly all the most desirable sights.

SS

bvlenci

I find it impossible to give advice about the number of nights you should spend in a city without knowing at least in a broad way what they want to see and do there.

Hostels usually charge by the bed, whereas hotels charge by the room. For this reason, two people traveling together can often get a better deal at a hotel. Booking.com , mentioned above, has all sorts of lodging, including hostels, but there are also sites that specialize in hostels. I also find that laterooms.com covers the budget end of the lodging world well, although their web site is definitely user-surly.

Booking.com has an excellent facility for managing your reservations, which makes it easy to change or cancel bookings. Be aware that there are often two prices for a room: a higher price to pay on checkout and be able to make changes without penalty, up to a certain date (which varies by hotel); and a cheaper price if you pay in advance and give up the right to make changes. Be sure to read the hotel's specific policies. Also pay close attention to the guest ratings, and read the reviews.

I do know a good budget hotel in Paris, the Hotel Port Royal. It's in a very nice part of Paris, with convenient transportation options, but also in walking distance (unless you're a couch potato) of Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Jardins des Plantes. We walked for hours while staying there. I think it would be a fairly easy walk to the Eiffel Tower, too, but we didn't go there.

The Hotel Port Royal is listed on booking.com , but we found it in Le Guide Routard, which is an excellent French guide series for budget travelers. We have the Italian editions for both Spain and France. I don't know if it's available in English, but I think that for budget travel it runs rings around Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide, which in my opinion both try to cover all bases, and are spread too thin. The Rough Guide tends to be very outdated, and some of their guides I've had seem to have been written by someone who looked everything up on the internet and never left home.

In Venice, we once stayed in the budget hotel Minerva e Nettuno, but it was some time ago, so I would look for recent reviews. (It's probably on booking.com as well.) I also know a good budget hotel in Florence, but I can't remember the name. In Rome, my favorite budget hotel has always been the Hotel Lucia, which is near Termini station, so not walking distance to many places. However, friends of mine told me that the Lucia has changed hands, so until I stay there again, I'm reluctant to recommend it.

BigRuss

<<We are hoping to find hotels in each city from which the majority of the attraction we can walk to.>>

Not possible in Rome or Paris, each of which is far larger than Vancouver. Just do the best you can.

Highly possible for Florence and Venice. Just be aware that Venice is about 30% more expensive than Florence for the same amenities.