MelissaHI

I am trying to convince my niece to go to Paris & London. I have been many times and have a good itinerary planned out. Not counting flying to & from, we have a total of 10 days to see both cities. She thinks it is too rushed. (It would be more ideal to have 3 weeks, of course, but she needs to be back home for summer school.) What would you tell her if this were your niece?

rex

I think that the follow-up question is: are you saying you would rather not go? or go to one country only?<BR><BR>Ten days in either city might be too rushed for some people, and others would shoehorn in Belgium, Holland and Scotland!<BR><BR>The question is, what is her real concern?<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

mitchrc

I hope it's not too rushed. I'm doing London/Paris in ten in March.

Eric

I don't think it is too rushed at all. We try to do three or four days in Paris at the beginning of every trip we take. I would think that 10 days for both cities is just about perfect.

Flyboy

IMHO, it really is NOT too rushed at all. As you know since you've been to both places, you can get a very decent look at both cities and have a wonderful time, catching many highlights. Even the travel day between them won't consume the entire day. But as I think Rex is indicating, you must be sure that you understand the true basis of her objection. It may simply be that she is not going to be the best travel partner for this particular adventure.

Bree

Ten days would be too rushed only if you approached the trip with the idea that you had to see everything there is to see in Paris and London in ten days. But if you approach the trip with the idea that it's only one of many trips you'll be taking to Paris and London over the course of your life, then (as the other posters have already said) ten days is ample time to see many wonderful things in both cities. Besides, missing something on one trip to Paris or London gives you an excuse (as if one were really needed) to go back again.<BR><BR>My last trip to Paris lasted four days, and my last trip to London lasted six days. Was either of those trips long enough? Not nearly. Does that make me wish I hadn't gone? Don't be silly.

bob_brown

My first reaction was GO!!<BR>Does it really matter if she sees one and not the other? She is after all the one having the trip.<BR><BR>Personally, I am with Bree and her evaluation. Both places are bottomless pits. I don't think you will ever see all of either, because they keep changing. <BR><BR>I think one's enjoyment of Paris is somewhat dependent on his or her knowledge of French. The more you understand, the more you will be able to do. <BR><BR>I have been to Paris 3 times since 1999 and there is no other place quite like it. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes irritating, but never boring or lacking in interest. <BR><BR>I think back to my first trips to these cities some 46 years ago. Even then, I knew I would return. It was a little longer than I had hoped for before I returned. Strangely enough, I did not like Paris when I first visited, but I was at the end of 7 weeks of wandering about Europe, broke, and sick.<BR><BR>Each trip added to my knowledge, and let to new objectives on subsequent trips.<BR><BR>My advice would be to sample both cities. More adventures await.<BR>I would be dead if I did not plan on returning.

erinb

hi melissah,<BR><BR>just out of curiousity what is your schedule and how are you flying in and out. and are those 10 full days or including fly in/fly out days?<BR><BR>We did 12 days london and paris and that included 2 extra days on the end in london. we started out 5 day london, then 5 day to paris, then back to london 2 days. those extra 2 days were so that we could fly out of london and shop. <BR><BR>both cities are extremely do able with 4 or 5 days each. one thing to consider, how are you getting from city to city? and how are you flying in and out?<BR><BR>as far as an itinerary goes, we set up to do light stuff the 1st day, museums and monuments the 2nd and part of the 3rd day(so that you only have to buy a one or 2 day museum pass) then shopping and odds and ends the 4 and 5th day. the evenings we did special things, like shows or dinner cruises etc.<BR><BR>just so you know, you could spend a month in each city and still find stuff to do. I am going back to london for a third trip in april.<BR><BR>erinb <BR><BR>

ira

Hi Melissa,<BR> You asked, &gt;What would you tell her if this were your niece? &lt;<BR> <BR> Look, you little twit, if you don't want to go just say so and I will go by myself.<BR><BR> However, I am not known for being overly tactful.<BR>

Christina

I think a lot of this depends on things which weren't stated in the post -- such as the age of this niece. If she is a grown adult and knows her personality, taste, interests, and travel desires, then I don't think you say anything to her because it's her decision--go by yourself or find someone else. A lot of people may simply find the idea of a 10 day trip to two major capitals in Europe (and who knows how long a flight or how many hours that would take -- another thing we don't know) just before having to enter school not particularly interesting. Maybe she has other plans for her time and money and doesn't think that is the best use of them.<BR><BR>There are a lot of very judgmental posts on her, but the fact is -- nobody on here knows this person or her reasons, time, budget or other commitments. Nowhere is it mentioned that this is a free trip for her, that is a trip that is going to cost a lot of money. <BR><BR>I suppose the mention of school is supposed to imply she's very young -- well, perhaps she is but I was going to summer school when I was in graduate school and 30 years old, so that doesn't mean anything. <BR><BR>YOu don't know her personality or considerations, either. Maybe she wants to save her time and money to go another time or just isn't in the mood to do a big vacation at that time, who knows. If this is a free trip for her as a gift, then that does change things, but I think no one can say what you should say to her unless they know exactly what her concerns are. Why force people to do something they don't want to do which is their own choice. Why not just go yourself, anyway?

Budman

I've been to Paris several times (years ago), but my wife has never been. We are going next week for 4 days. Will we see everything? No, but I'm hoping she will want to go back.

MelissaHI

Thanks, I think I was just looking for more justification for my argument. Actually I have 2 nieces who initially wanted the trip, one is 23 (who wants to go bad) and the other is 24 (the one who is hedging on the time constraint). Her father will pay the full trip, so other than shopping it is a free ride for her. it will be her second trip to Europe; the first WAS rushed as she visited 4 countries in 2 weeks and only 1.5 days in Paris (which of course was too short). I keep telling her that, being so young, she should expect that she will return to all these cities--maybe multiple times--in the next 10 years.<BR><BR>I have already done the solo travelling....if I were doing it myself, I would be going to Barcelona next month instead! I think she may be a little flipped out about travelling due to the pending war situation.