Yocastabarrett

1st off my dad works for an airline and is able to get free tickets for him and my brother. But he has to fly into london gatwick. I will be flying seperatly from the usa straight to paris. Since his flight gets into london in the morning Should he take a train or short flight to cdg later that day? Or should he spend the night a take an early flight the following day? If he does that than we would arrive in paris on the same day not aure which is best.


We were going to start off in paris since we arrive early in the morning we thought to go to hotel leave luggage and start sightseeing. Our hotel is across the street from the louvre.

On day 2 full day to sightsee in latine quarter notre dame

On day 3 we wanted to do an early morning half day visit to versaille. When thats done do a little more afternoon sightseeing in paris. My dad has been to paris before i have not.

On day 4 flight from paris to venice. Evening stroll around venice.

Day 5 full day in venice.

Day 6 early morning train to florence. Our hotel is in piazza de la reppublica. We wanted to leave luggage at hotel and sightsee around the city visit the duomo, ponte vecchio, piazza della signoria we will not visit uffizi gallery.

Day 7 full day san gimigano amd siena tour

Day 8 early morning train to rome. Afternoon sightsee our hotel is a block away from the spanish steps.1 of those night after hours toura to the vatican museum and sistine chapel are catching my eye not sure if we will do it yet.

Day 9 visit the vatican ( or jaut st. Peters basilica if we do the night tour on day 8) and colloseum and if we have time after that perhaps a little more sightseeing.

Day 10 full day tour to assisi and orvieto.

I am not sure if we should xome home on day 11 or stay an extra day in rome on day 11 to sightsee some more.

After that i take my flight home. My dad has to fly back to london spend the night and then fly home to the usa the following day from gatwick. Our time is limited due to work and we want to see as much as we can we plan to hit the ground running. And we like to walk allot and see as much as we can.

So is this itinerary doable? Thoughts any tips for me?

Nikki

I vote for an extra day in Rome on day 11 since you appear to have an extra day to play around with. I would rather spend the full time in Rome without the day trip even if you do add a day. There is more to see in Rome than any place I have ever been.

neckervd

Everything is feasible. I would rather go by plane from LGW to either CDG (plus RER up to Chatelet - Les Halles) or ORY (plus Orlybus to Denfert Rochereau and taxi to the hotel.

You may loose the whole morning (and the breakfast too) with your "early train to Florence". I usually vote for a evening train (leave your luggage at the hotel reception).

Yocastabarrett

Should i take an evening train from venice to florence ? So that i can have a full day in florence and cut a venice to 1 night instead of 2?

annhig

I can't see any point in your dad leaving LGW, getting a train London, and another train to Paris when he can fly from LGW [where he arrives] to CDG or Orly.

Definitely opt for the extra day in Rome, and as for excursions, they can be don'e by public transport so no need to decide on them in advance - if you want to go, go, but you may find that there is more than enough to do where you are.

if you can afford an out of hours tour I would go for it - being able to see the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel without hordes of other people must be a real joy. if not, I would go elsewhere. On your arrival day in Rome you can easily do a self guided tour of the centre - most guide books will have ideas of how to route yourselves so you don't end up criss-crossing the city.

In contrast to Neckervd I prefer early morning travelling - I hate to spend a day clock-watching and you have to go back to your accommodation to collect your luggage. Much better IMO to get to where you are going, leave your luggage at the hotel [to which you will have to return in any event] and spend the day moving at your own pace without having to worry about how much time you need to leave to get back to the hotel and then to the station.

bilboburgler

It depends on if you want to see a lot of very good old art in a city with some amazing old buildings or hang aorund a small city that is built over water.

For me the choice would be stay longer in Venice and catch the early train to Florence. Your trip is very fast paced so either way you are going to miss stuff.

Rome, stay another day, or even stay another day in Florence and then keep Rome as is.

The Vatican is well, more a spritiual thing for me, I might try and get out and see the great sites in Rome proper, than hang around all the money.

Yocastabarrett

My dad would be flying from lgw to cdg no taking a train. Were only taking trains within italy.

I did think about the evening train idea i wouldnt want to be worried all day that im going to be late for it.

Im wondering if i should spend an extra day in paris because on our arrival day flights get in around 1:50pm

Kathie

You really don't have enough time in any of these places. I'd certainly add a day to Paris, since you won't get much (if any) sightseeing done that first day. If you flight arrives CDG at 2 pm, it will be 4 pm or 5 pm by the time you get to your hotel. And I'd nix the idea of a "half day visit to versailles" as it isn't enough time to see Versailles, and you are cutting time form Paris to do it.

Your day in the Latin Quarter - do make a stop at the Cluny Museum to see the unicorn tapestries.

Do you have good guidebooks for all of your destinations? If not, do invest in some. They will give you more complete information than we can give you here and will tell you about things you didn't know to ask.

Frankly, I think you are trying to cover too many places in too little time and I fear you will go home with it all a blur.

justineparis

Yes.. have you done some research on the actual time allowances needed to do sights.

Versailles in not really a quick morning trip.. unless you just want to see the palace only, or just the gardens.. but to do both the palace, gardens and outer grounds ( like Marie Antionettes Hamlet which most folks love ) .. you will end up trying to rush through part of Versailles and then complaining it was croweded or the lines too long and you were rushed.

This itinerary reeks of rush rush rush..

Your dad should best fly from Gatwick to either CDG or ORly ( not Beauvais.. too inconvenient.. ) .. you should look at a flight later in afternoon on some cheapo airline like Easyjet ( not Ryanair as they only fly into Beauvais ) . Make sure they allow enough time.. at least 3-4 hours between flights in case they are delayed or luggage is etc.. your dad will know about that I guess.

Both Rome and Paris deserve extra time, both need at least 4 full days to me.. ideally 7.

PalenQ

On day 4 flight from paris to venice. Evening stroll around venice.>

There is also an overnight train (www.thello.com) on that route - save daytime travel time and cost of a hotel night -get a private compartment and bring any food or drink aboard.

Night trains are an adventure for many but if you have sleeping problems should avoid - there is always some noise from outside and inside the train. I've taken literally hundreds and rarely have any trouble sleeping but others cannot.

For Italy book train tickets at www.trenitalia.com - early birds get nice discounts- can always get on trains with walk-up fares but you'll pay a ton more. Discounted tickets are largely unrefundable non-changeable I think however so be sure of your times and don't miss the train.

and yeh flying Gatwick to Paris makes total sense - Orly is closer to Paris.

familythattravels

Venice is amazing. We were there for 4 nights this past June and it flooded while we were there which was interesting to see as that is rare in June. We took a free walking tour while we were there and it was one of the highlights of a 3 week trip through Italy. http://venicefreewalkingtour.com/

It has been a long time since I have been to Paris. One of my favorite places was the Musee D'orsay and Musee Rodin. I went to Versailles as well for a palace tour and I would skip that in favor of the Paris museums - everyone has their own preferences.

I would add a day to Rome as there are so many sites to see. The Trastevere neighborhood is worth a visit for dinner if you want something different from the traditional sites.

Have a fantastic time with your father and safe travels.

Leely2

Your trip is too rushed, in my middle-aged-lady opinion. Add a day or more to Rome if you can. You need more time everywhere, but Rome especially has much to see and is far more enjoyable when not rush-rush-rush.

I love your screen name. I've not known anyone named Jocasta or Yocasta in real life.

PalenQ

am not sure if we should xome home on day 11 or stay an extra day in rome on day 11 to sightsee some more.>

Agree definitely one more day in Rome or more!

Huitres

Yes, echoing the others, add an extra day in Rome! There's so much to see you there and such a large city that you need to give it proper justice.