thename1000

Hi! I have 8 days, March 5th - March 12th (6 nights including travel time).

I'm limited by where AA flies from RDU, but most European cities are available.

I know this is a dumb question as it depends on my interests but I'm just looking for suggestions. I guess I can say I'm not looking for nightlife if it helps lol

Next month will be the first time I'm going to Europe, and I'm going to Iceland/Paris/Amsterdam/Belgium so for this March trip I don't want to go to any of those places.

I like the idea of going to two cities that are 3-4 hours apart, as that would leave two full days and two half days in each city. But I'm open to anything.

Currently I'm thinking about Vienna/Prague, Lisbon/Madrid, Rome/other Italian city, or even Dublin/London (via airplane).

If you had already been to the places I've been, where would you want to go for this amount of time? Thanks in advance!

Kathie

If you have 6 nights, you have 5 full days, not 8. And if you choose two cities 3/4 hours apart, you will have just two days in each city as your travel day in the middle will eat up almost the whole day (you have to figure from checking out of your lodgings in one place until checking in at the next). My recommendation is to choose one city and enjoy that city. You will arrive jet-lagged and won't get to do as much as you would like on your first day. If you choose one city, you would have 5 full days after that before you fly home. If it was me - and it isn't - I'd probably choose London.

I don't know about your March trip, but you've listed two whole countries and two cities. Unless you have the whole month, you won't have much time in any of those places, so might even like to go back to, say, Paris for a week.

jinz

Hello, I am not an expert other than having traveled to Europe often in March and a few times to the UK late March/Early April. I agree with the above poster that you will be better off basing yourself in one place. I can share that our favourite place over this time is Switzerland and Florence. Florence - we base ourselves there and do all kinds of wonderful day trips (leaning tower of Pisa, Cinque Terre, small Italian towns) and of course Florence is exciting and there is so much to do. We have flown into Milan (we have tried to do this city justice but it is really not on our must do list), catch the train to Florence and then fly home. Once we did catch the train really late one night from Florence, checked in a hotel near the main attractions and had a day in Rome and flew home the next day. It was not ideal but it gave us a taste of Rome. Other cities we have enjoyed over this time - Bern (so different), we have flown into Zurich and visited Lucerne. Gorgeous. If I had to rate my travels I put Switzerland at the top of the list followed by the Florence area. There are wonderful people on the individual country sites so when you have narrowed it down do ask them. Enjoy planning.

inspiredexplorer

I think you could do three nights in two cities: it depends on your own speed and what/how you like to see things. If you love museums and plan to spend 3-4 hours in each museum, then you'll have less overall time and may want to spend all your time in a single location.

In early March, if weather is important, you're likely to have warmer temps and slightly more daylight the further south you look. Barcelona and Madrid could be a nice split with three nights in each city, take the high speed rail in between, either could also fill up 6 nights by itself. Or maybe look into Andalusia: maybe a split between Seville and Córdoba (4 and 2 nights respectively) for the best weather?

In Italy, Rome has a lot going on, so it would likely need the full 6 nights by itself. But you could look at a Venice / Florence split (3 each or maybe 2 Venice 4 Florence depending on your interests).

London is great for six nights and I likely would recommend staying in the city the whole time. Only caveat is that the weather is probably not going to be great - rain, chilly, cloudy - which while fine for the city itself, would make some of the daytrip options with more focus on the outdoors or natural beauty (Bath, Cambridge) less appealing.

TDudette

If you base in Rome, you can take, stamina allowing, a long day trip to Pompei or to Florence. Shorter trips to Tivoli, Ostia Antica or Orvieta (killer church). Here's a link for ideas:

http://www.viator.com/Rome-tours/Day...rsions/d511-g5

I agree with above also--stay in London. Google day trips from London and see trips. Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge, and Windsor Castle to name but a few.

Please report back!

mamcalice

I would choose either London or Rome and stick to one city, perhaps with a day trip. These are both incredibly interesting cities with plenty to do for 5 or 6 days. If you can't make up your mind, choose London for the shorter flight or Rome for the possibility of warmer weather.