Donna1185

Hi,
Thinkin of going to Europe for my 50th.
Was thinking Italy or London & Paris.
Would like some suggestions, would like to go for one week.
If going to Italy I would only like to spend 2 nights in Rome and from there I am clueless, maybe Tuscany or at the coast.
How does one get around? Should I do a tauk tours type of thing? Any suggestions to get me started is greatly appreciated.
Thanks....

Danna

For your first time? One Week. I think for your first trip the ability to read the signs is a big plus. (Not that this means you will understand announcements in train stations.) This points to the England,Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.

SCOTLAND! Edinburgh and then a day trip will more than fill up your week. Scotland is an amazing place. Trust me, I've been on a public bus with teen-age school children and still look forward to traveling like that in Scotland.

tuscanlifeedit

My first trip was to London, then on to other spots with relatives, but I found I could get around London pretty well on my own. A lot of fun.

London and Paris is a nice trip.

If Italy, Rome and just one other place, perhaps? How about Rome and Assisi, with trips to Perugia and Spello? That sounds easy and fun to me.

You can take the train to Assisi, then a taxi or bus into the town. Or a train to Perugia. There will be train service between Assisi and Perugia, but the Assisi station isn't in town, just so you know. Spello can be reached by taxi or bus from Assisi. Lots of people think Assisi is too touristy, but I find it holy, moving, and with lots of places to see that aren't tourist shops.

tuscanlifeedit

More thoughts: London and Paris: fly into one and out of the other. Take the train between the two. Very easy to do by public transportation all the way around. No need for any taxis at all if you don't want to use them.

StCirq

Europe is huge. What appeals to you? It's not as though it's all the same? Have you read up on different countries?

I wouldn't do a tour for my 50th birthday - I'd plan every minute so that it were the most special trip ever just as you'd like it.

L84SKY

Happy 50th!
The first thing you might want to do is try the search function. All questions will be answered: Transportation, cost, hotels etc. Heck, there are endless threads about what to wear and how to pack it.
Just type in "Rome" or "Hotels in Rome" etc. Or scroll through the list of countries.
Click on your name to keep up with anyone other postings you may have done.
I agree with St. Cirq about tours. Half the fun of taking the trip is planning.

What do you want to see? Art & Architecture? Shopping? Huge cities or outdoor? What time of year?
Will you be going with a friend?

Have fun.

ira

Hi D,

>..would like to go for one week.

1. Paris
2. Paris
or
3. Paris.

Enjoy your B'day.

Vttraveler

With one week I would stay in one major city and do some side trips. Probably of all of them I would choose Paris.
Not sure why you would only want to spend 2 nights in Rome. I would do a whole week there if you go, or split a week between Rome and Florence.

Nikki

If you do go to more than one city, such as London and Paris, you will want to fly into one and out of the other so you don't double back and waste time. This is called flying open jaw. If you look up flights on one of the search engines, look under multiple destinations. It usually is no more expensive to fly this way than round trip to a single city.

To find the flights, I usually start with www.kayak.com. This will list flights on many airlines for your dates. When I have identified flights I am interested in, I check the web site for the individual airlines, and see whether the fare is better there.

Between London and Paris, you can take the Eurostar train from city to city without getting to and from the airports, which are located out in the suburbs and take a lot of time and some expense to reach.

If you do decide on Italy, I would urge you to consider spending more than two nights in Rome. There is more of interest to see in Rome than any other place I have ever been.

SusanP

I agree, two nights in Rome isn't nearly enough, especially since one would be your arrival day. With only a week, here's another vote for choosing one city. I would go to either Paris or Rome. If you really want a change from the city, you can do one or two daytrips. But either city could keep you happily busy for much longer than a week.

Donna1185

Hi,
Thank you for all of the suggestions. Always wanted to go to Paris, but Italy sounds so wonderful too. The London to Paris trip sounds nice also. Decisions, descisions...
Some asked questions, answers below:
We want to go in September.
My husband and I like to go exploring and like the country side, ocean and wine and great food.. I hope this doesn't sound horrible but if I go to Rome I don't want to spend my time going from church to church which someone told me they do on tours. Don't get me wrong, I do like and appreciate the beautiful architecture but after awhile..
Thanks for all your help... Gotta get the passports renewed, if I don't do them this week, I'll be going no where!!!

ciaolaura

Go Italia!

The Amalfi Coast is a sight to be seen - there is nothing like it in the world! Driving is out of the question though, unless you are VERY brave and adventurous. Tuscany is also beautiful -Florence if you love art but the smaller towns of Lucca, Viareggio,San Giagmango, Pietrasanta are wonderful and are filled with great little restaurants and of course, wineries. Eurostar trains transport you between Rome and Florence or a private car can be hired - which is nice for traveling with luggage.

Buon Viaggio and Buon Compleanno (Happy Birthday!)

Ciao Laura!

Vttraveler

Hi, Donna
I was one of the people who asked why you were saying you only wanted to spend two nights in rome, so i thought I would respond to your explanation
You say "I hope this doesn't sound horrible but if I go to Rome I don't want to spend my time going from church to church which someone told me they do on tours."

You certainly don't sound horrible; you are just expressing your goals for the trip. It is your trip and your birthday. We went to Rome earlier this year with our 16 year old son who expressed a similar sentiment about seeing churches and also didn't have much interest in art museums. He was very interested in the ancient Roman ruins.
we spent 7 1/2 days in Rome including a day trip to Ostia Antica. We compromised with our son on going to St. Peter's and the Vatican museums and some smaller churches that were close to our apartment and other places we were visiting. My husband and I also went off a few times to see churches that were not so convenient.
By touring on our own we could see what we all wanted and agreed on. If you and your husband are interested in ancient Roman sights, there are many things to see beyond the Forum, Palatine and Colosseum. The streets and piazzas of Rome are wonderful to explore. (our son actually found he liked this as much as touring the ruins)
I know you can find tours of Ancient rome if you are more comfortable taking a guided tour. the wandering around part is very easy to do on your own with a good guide book and map. Going on a tour to churches doesn't make sense if you wouldn't enjoy what you are seeing. there are several hop on/hop off buses that travel in a loop to major tourist sites and let you explore the ones you want to see at your own pace.

As someone who has been to rome 3 times, recently spent a week in Rome and still has a long list of things I would like to see (not all of them churches--
although there are quite a few of those)
I would encourage you to spend more than 2 nights there if you go to Italy.

wherever you decide to go, I hope you have a great trip.