KitKat85

Hi, my parents would like to go to western Europe for the first time in fall 2013, but can only go for a week. They want to see at least two cities, but in different countries, but they don't want to fly, they would rather take a train. My mom really wants to go to Rome, but any suggestions are good. They want to experience great food and plenty of sight seeing.

adrienne

Why does it have to be different countries. It will be a long train ride from Rome to a city in another country. It's 7.5 to 8.5 hours from Rome to Lucerne.

They could take an overnight train and see Rome and Paris. Fly into Rome and home from Paris.

It's a shame to be in Italy and not see Venice as the second city.

KitKat85

My mom didnt want to visit just one country. I will have to talk to her again.

MmePerdu

The obvious duo with so little time and easily gotten between by train is London and Paris. They're also easy cities for first time visitors.

Rome takes longer to get to by train from a lot of other choices and with so few days you might try extolling the virtues of London & Paris.

dunia123

For something a little different, Vienna & Prague (looks like ~5 hours by train) or Vienna & Budapest (~2 hours by train) would be possibilities. My parents did all three recently (they are in their late 60s/early 70s), with trains between all three and loved the trip. With that said, they've been to other western European locations (London, Paris, Munich, Rome, etc.), so this may not be an intro trip.

I tend to agree that if Rome is a favorite, it might make more sense to combine it with another Italian city. Florence would be an option too) with only ~1.5 hours in transit. The London-Paris combo, if two countries are a must, would be lovely and accessible in a week.

adrienne

<< My mom didnt want to visit just one country >>

Why not? Perhaps one day someone will explain the need to visit multiple countries in a short time. I could understand wanting to visit two cities that happen to be in different countries but without a desire to see a particular place it doesn't make sense to me. Your mother is not the first person to want this and won't be the last. People who want to do this never have a reason. Oh well...one of life's mysteries.

<< Vienna & Prague >>

Great options but Prague is not in Western Europe.

I agree the obvious is London and Paris. Short distance between them, lots of great sightseeing and two countries.

Sassafrass

The difference between cities within a country can be as great as those between countries, so two countries is not necessary to have variety in the trip.

If she must do two countries. . .
London and Paris and connect by train.

If Rome is a must. . .
Rome with another Italian city: Venice or Florence, connect by train.

Both plans are easy and make a great first trip.

Any other combination of two cities, two countries is probably best done by air. Your Mom is flying to Europe anyway (I assume), so why not fly within Europe? I wouldn't - too much time wasted, but she could do three days London and four Rome, though travel actually eats up most of one day. She could do the same with Paris and Rome - same eating up of time. Other possibility: night train from Paris to Rome, but I would not do it on a first trip to Europe - might not be as restful as they need, etc.

Any way they can add two days for a less rushed trip?

emily71

I would ask Mom if she really wants to go to Rome than Rome and environs are enough for a week. She could see Pompeii if she really wanted to get away. I always like to get out a bit in the countryside when visiting a city because it's usually closer to how Italians actually live than Rome.

For me personally, Rome has enough sights to cover a whole week.

bob_brown

If "2" is the magic number, then London and Paris.
Given that travel will take most of one day, then out of 7 you have 6 left. Three days is not enough for either London or Paris.

I went to Paris for 5 days in 1999, and that was NOT enough time. Since that trip in 1999 I have been back two more times, and I still need another trip.

London, counting what I did in my youth, I have been there 6 times. We spent a whole week there once and still left stones unturned.

There are numerous combinations of cities. Berlin and Copenhagen for example. Vienna and Prague. Munich and Salzburg. Paris and Amsterdam.

The "no flying" constraint eats up time in travel I might add, particularly where Rome is concerned. Paris to Rome is a 12 hour train trip at best, with two changes.

suze

Paris/Geneva gets you France/Switzerland and is not a terribly long train ride between.

Paris/Amsterdam is another option.

charnees

Amsterdam-Paris is another option. Lots of English-speaking Dutch there. But you could do a night train from Paris to Rome if Rome is a must.

Your parents need to understand that a week is a very short time to do this. Their first day will be lost in a fog of jet lag, transfer by train to the second city will eat up most of another day. That leaves only five days for two huge amazing cities. I would recommend five days for each. If the week has to include travel to-from Europe, forget it. If they can make it two weeks, that is much more doable.

dunia123

I agree that 3 days in any of these places isn't enough, but if that's what you've got, I'd take it over not any days... Let's face it, if the poster's mom has a week to see a couple places, and she wants to see more than one country, and this might be her only trip, why discourage? If someone came to me and said I could have a week, and I had to go to two cities, I'd still go!

adrienne - good point re: western Europe - forgot that point. (Of course, we all decided to revise the other requirement re: two countries!)

jgg

I agree with all the other posters. Paris/London if two countries required otherwise Rome and Venice/orFlorence (my pick would be Venice). But honestly, with only one week I would consider just one of those cities and do a daytrip or two out into the countryside. If she wants to see Rome the most than she should just do Rome. As someone else mentioned they could do a daytrip to Pompeii, or even to Florence (just 1.5 hrs by train) or find a guide to take them to someplaces in Tuscany.
I suggest your parents look through some guidebooks and read some of the trip reports on this site and get a feel for which places they would like to see the most.

Here are some links to my trip reports along with pictures.
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/2012/05/london/
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/2012/05/a-week-in-paris/
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/2012/05/rome-2005/

smithgardner

I don't understand why so many people take issue with the OP's request to include 2 countries. Isn't that why he or she posted on here to begin with, because they wanted advice on how to include 2 cities in 2 different countries, linked by a train. If YOU wanted to spend the entire week in one place, that's fine, but this person wants to see 2 different places, which is also fine.

With that being said, some of my favorite options would be:
1) Paris and Amsterdam (I think Paris and London might be too overwhelming!)
2) Paris and Brussels with a Bruges side trip
3) Paris and Switzerland, if you would like a change of scenery, plus Switzerland has 2 great international airports for flights home.
Enjoy your trip!