4 cities in 2 weeks, a good idea?
 

Me and my wife planning a trip to europe. I am thinking about all the big cities since it's our first time to Europe. London > Paris > Amsterdam > Rome. I travel often enough to know that short stops in one city is never a good idea. But we don't have lots time. So I was thinking 3 nights each in London, Paris and Amsterdam, and 5 nights in Rome because its the city I fancy the most :)

Theres an option to drop 1 of them and spend more time in 1 place. Which one you would suggest skipping and which to spend more time on? And also, how hot will it be for Rome during august? Can we still walk around and see stuff during the day?

Thanks a lot!

hi mich,

yes 4 cities are quite doable in two weeks, but europe is not all cities, and you risk overload if that's all you do.

you prefer Rome- yes it will be hot, but museums etc have AC and you can surely find a hotel/apartment with it too, as it can be the cheapest time to visit - ditto Paris. but you might like to consider the beach/coast too as a foil. why not think of, say, London, eurostar train to Paris, then TGV train to the south of France, finally Rome?

Drop 1 for sure... 2 would be better.

Rome is the one I'd drop as the other 3 are short train rides apart. In your case, as Rome is the most important I'd look into flying into London,
train to Paris, fly to Rome (Easyjet for example) and fly home out of Rome.

Doing your choice of 2 would be better though... you lose most of day 1 due to jetlag, the last day is flying home and you'll lose the best part of a day traveling between cities each time you move. So your 2 weeks is down to just 11 days with 2 cities... 10 days for 3...

I agree that you might want to spend a couple of day trips outside the cities. To do that, you need to drop at least one of the cities. I would drop Amsterdam even though Rome is the logistical outlier. But Rome is not to be missed, IMHO.

Drop Amsterdam. Do 5-5-4 nights London-Paris-Rome or 5-4-5. That first day will be a waste due to jet lag. If you're from the Midwest or Northwest, you'll think Rome is really hot. If you're from the South or Southwest, you won't.

Drop Amsterdam. Since Rome is a must-do. And London-Paris make sense together. I enjoyed Amsterdam myself but think it is the least "exciting" of the four cities.

Drop Amsterdam? Not a chance. Do all four. We spent five days in Rome and loved it. Buy four would have been okay.

coldie~ What was it you loved so much about Amsterdam? It just didn't wow me.

Suze - the canals, museums and drugs.

Well OK then I agree, if smokin a doobie is of importance to the OP then by all means don't miss Amsterdam.

I also get a kick out of the Dutch. How can they speak better English than I do?

Hello Mich,

I have been to each of these cities and have travelled to Europe over 15 times, so although I'm only 20 years old, I have a rather good understanding of your dilemma :-)

First off, unless your involved in drugs, DROP AMSTERDAM. Although I agree Amsterdam is unique and has pleasant sights, it could never compare to the other cities you listed. Amsterdam is pretty but rather bland without anything too impressive. Yes, it does have nice canals, but if you're looking for canals than go to Venice (One of my favorite cities in Europe). If you MUST do Amsterdam, then do it at the beginning because it will look so boring after seeing London and Paris.

Secondly, Paris and London are MUCH larger than Rome and offer much more to see. Although Rome is also one of my favorite cities in Europe, you can see everything rather quickly if short on time. I would say you could see everything in two FULL days but would need much more time in Paris and London. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE Rome but if i were in a hurry, I would cut it a little short. Merely traveling to the monuments in Paris and London will already absorb much time walking and using public transportation while everything in Rome is rather centralized and accessible by foot. In addition, Paris and London will require you spend lots of time INSIDE the buildings instead of just looking at them.

I also agree that too many cities in such a short time REALLY diminishes the grandeur of them. After my 6th day in Paris I was over all the cathedrals and monuments considering that they were beginning to seem more normal. It was rather disappointing considering how much I love history and grand architecture.This is why i also recommend spending some time at the beach if possible, preferably on the French Revierra or Italian coast as a relaxing refresher. This would be a nice stop en route to Rome. I can recommend Nice, France or Laigueglia, Italy (although much smaller than Nice). Or, if you're not too tired of winter, you could see the Alps. They are beautiful, weather permitting.


Tip: try and figure out what you really need to see. Lots of tourist books and wedsites give you the most ridiculous stuff. For instance, one post recommended the handbag museum in Rome..... Not sure about you but i do not fly 4,000 miles to see handbags :-) Hope this helps

I did enjoy Amsterdam, but I didn't get there until my 4th or 5th trip to Europe. It is a reasonably interesting city certainly but I don't think of it as a must-do for a 1st timer like I would Paris or Venice (or Rome).

Thank you all for the valuable advices! We will skip amsterdam and spend more days in the other 3. I will save that for our next trip. And no, I dont do drugs :)

I am from Florida, so I guess the heat in Rome is bearable? And is there any good day trips out of London? Or what's in the city will be more than enough to keep us occupied for 5days? Any one used www.europeandestinations.com ? I've been checking prices through that website for the past few weeks and seemed to be quite reasonable. Any other good sites offering similar services?

Thanks again for all the help!!

There are tons of interesting day trips surrounding London. Lots of half-day or all-day bus tours that visit 3 - 4 sites. Some we've done include Canterbury - Dover - Leeds Castle, Cotswolds - Oxford - Warwick Castle. The countryside is lovely and relaxing.

Check the brochures in your hotel, or with the concierge.

Check out www.walks.com they offer some really great and enjoyable day trips as well as good walks in London.