I will be going on a three week trip to Europe during the end of September through the beginning of October. My itinerary is as follows: Paris, Munich, Venice, Florence, Rome, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Barcelona. Would you recommend that I make advance hotel reservations at these locations? Also can you recommend good hotels at this location (reasonably priced three star hotels). <BR> <BR>Thanks!

There are many ways to find rooms. Sandra Gustafson has several "Cheap Sleep" books for London Paris and Italy and I think she has added Vienna and Prague, maybe Madrid and Barcelona too. I never head into Paris or Rome without reservations just to avoid the hassle. We arrived in Barcelona last summer without and found plenty of good options at the tourist center. <BR> <BR>I have never traveled in the fall, but from what I have read I assume lodging would be easy to find. <BR> <BR>I hate to recommend specific hotels - we are one star travelers - but if you want more info, send an e-mail.

In Paris I always stay at the Republique (which is in the heart of the Republic Sqaure) the train is 100 paces from the hotel which makes getting around all of Paris delightful. <BR> <BR>In Munchen, I would definitely advise making advance reservations. I found it very hard to find 3* accomodations without advance notice, which then "forced" me to stay at 4 or 5 star accomodations that weren't at all charming in the least. <BR> <BR>As for Venice, I would only stay on the island (another poster suggested staying outside, say near Padua) and in the most quaint, subtle accomodations I could find. Blending in with the people that live in one of the most historied places in Europe is a MUST. To open the shutters in your room to look down upon the well dressed citizens on their way to work was for me to really have co-existed in their world. <BR> <BR>Florence is much like Munich in that I would definitely have advance reservations prior to arrival. Both in Florence and in Milano I have experienced "negotiating" for a room. If you arrive late at night (and I'm sure this applies in many cities in many countries) the night counter person knows you need a room, are sick of driving everywhere, and probably have some extra cash budgeted for "other than lodging". Some people at the counter will try to take advantage of your desparteness and gouge the room rate. NEGOTIATE if that happens. <BR> <BR>As for the rest of your tour, I cannot comment except to wish you a safe and pleasant trip. <BR> <BR>TIM

That's quite a few places to get to in three weeks. Do you have to fly into Paris and out of Barcelona? If not, I'd suggest that you re-order your itinerary slightly as follows: Paris, Munich, Florence, Rome, Venice, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid. You can eliminate a lot of wasted travel time (as well as saving on hotel accommodations) by taking night trains. You can do this for Paris to Munich, Munich to Florence, Rome to Venice, Venice to Nice (for Monte Carlo), Nice to Cerbere (on the Spanish border, a short train ride from Barcelona), and Barcelona to Madrid.

I see the trains from Venice and to Cerbere stop directly at Monte Carlo--no need to change at Nice.