Bindery

My wife and I are going to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to Europe in May. I already have the plane tickets. Here is our plan; I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Arrive London May 4th
Take the Eurostar to Paris morning of May 7th
Take the train to Montreux, Switzerland morning of May 10th.
Take the night train to Rome leaving night of May 11th arrive morning of May 12.
May 16 fly back to US
These are some of the things we have planned to see:
In London:
Westminster Abbey-Tower of London-British Museum and Library-London Eye-Harrods.
In Paris:
Eiffel Tower-Notre Dame-The Louvre-Arc de Triomphe-walk the Chmps-Elysees
In Montreux:
Chilton Castle and take the train to Rochers-De-Naye. Maybe check out the Casino
In Rome:
Vatican tour-Scavi tour-Audience with the Pope-Coliseum-Pantheon-Roman Forum-Trevi Fountain

My wife and I also really enjoy just walking around and seeing the different architecture and the local culture.

ira

Hi B,

What is drawing you to Montreus that you would give up a night i either Paris or Rome?

Your logistics would be a lot easier if you
A: Flew Paris Ory to Venice VCE on www.myair.com and then trained to Rome the next evening
B: Flew directly to Rome
www.whichbudget.com

Bindery

I thought taking the train would be fun, let us relax a bit, and I would like to see a Castle and go up in the Alps. It would be different than the older cities we will be staying in longer. I had thought of going to Venice, but I think Switzerland would be a change of pace.

isabel

I think it's "doable" and I traveled at that pace when I first started going to Europe and enjoyed my self. But now when I look back on those trips I do regret moving so fast. You are going all the way to Switzerland for a day and a half. I love trains in Europe, but you will be spending quite a lot of hours on them, it may not be as relaxing as you anticipate. It might be more tiresome and boring than you think. I try to keep my train trips to 3-4 hours, if it's going to be longer I fly (and usually save money). For that trip I would definitly skip Switzerland, then if you added a day to Paris or Rome you could probably do a day trip to a smaller town nearby that would be a change from the large cities. Although you really have just the minimum in each city. You can probably do all the things you have listed, but you won't have any time "to enjoy just walking around". Which in my opinion is the best part.

swandav2000

Hi Bindery,

Unfortunately, Montreux is not your typical little Alpine destination. It is a city, full of all the city things: traffic, smog, bustling folks, and lots of buildings. It lies in a flat and temperate zone, so you'll see palm trees and flowers ringing the lake. You can see the mountains, but they are some distance away. Also, Montreux is in the French section of the country, so the architecture is Belle Epoque and Edwardian, not brown-wood chalet. It looks more like the French Riviera than it does an Alpine village (in fact, its nickname is the "Pearl of the Swiss Riviera&quot.

Yes, you can go up to the Rochers-de-Naye to get a mountain perspective, but I have to tell you that, after numerous visits to Montreux, I've never been tempted to do it. I guess I think that, if I want to see mountains, I'll go to the high Alps. I go to Lake Geneva for its warmth.

I'm not suggesting that you don't go, but I just want you to really know what you'll see. You shouldn't be expecting an Alpine village, and you shouldn't think that you've seen "the Alps."

s

Bindery

isabel
Its 4 hours from Paris to Montreux on the train, so I don't think thats too bad. The train from Montreux to Rome is a night train leaving about 10pm and arriving Rome about 9am.
I've been on planes, and if you take the train you can go from city center to city center. With airports you have to travel out of the city, go through security, and hang out there because you have to get there so early. In Paris we can take a bus to the train station, and we can walk from the Rome train station to our hotel.

swandav2000
I chose Montreux because of the night train to Rome and Chillon Castle. I believe Montreux will be something different that I have seen.

JoyC

You seem to be pretty set and firm with your itinerary because the way I see it, whatever suggestions other posters have, you counter it with a reason why you want/have to do it.

I concur with other posters here about your point in going all the way to Switzerland just to stay for a day and a half. Why not add a day to either London or Paris? Have you been to either cities before?

Bindery

We have not been to Europe before.
We wanted to see London-Paris-Rome.
I got a great airfare going into London and flying home from Rome.
We have to get from Paris to Rome someway, and I thought the train would be something different. I planned the stop in Switzerland to break up the trip. Again, we could spend and extra day in a city and fly, but it seems to me to be more of an adventure to take the train.
I have been planning this trip for awhile and have looked at many options. I do appreciate all the feedback I get from the message boards. I take it in to make an informed decision.

dawnnoelm

Hi Bindery,

Happy Anniversary - I guess I will be the only one who says go to Montreux! We went to Paris, Montruex, Florence, Rome last summer. Montreux was a high-light - we loved the castle!

The train ride we liked most though was from Montreux to Florence. It was lovely. You are doing a night train so you will miss that.

I will say that the pace that we were on was too much. By the time we got to Rome I was pretty tired, but that could have been because it included my two girls ages 10 and 14.

janisj

Congratulations on your anniversary!

Now - for some "tough love":

You have not been to Europe before but are sure your plan is the way to go. IMHO it is a crazy plan. &quot;<i>It would be different than the older cities we will be staying in longer</i>&quot;. I would hardly call 2+ day in London, 2+ days in Paris and 4 days in Rome &quot;longer&quot;.

London really needs more time - day 1 at least one of you will be jetlagged and you really won't have the time nor energy to visit more than one major site. Most folks just plan lazy walking/light eating their arrival day after an over night flight. So in the 2 days left to you you want to squeeze in Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, British Museum, British Library, the Eye and Harrods. That is a LOT.

Same for Paris - by the time you get to your hotel it will be nearly noon and you will be leaving 2.5 days later. Barely long enough time to even learn your way around.

If it were me I would either do London May 4 - 8, Paris May 8- 12, Rome May 12 - 16. Train London &gt; Paris, and fly Paris &gt; Rome.

OR

London May 4 - 10, Rome May 10 - 16 - flying between the two.

Luisah

Hi Bindery,

Happy Anniversary. I like train travel in Europe and do think it's far more relaxing than air travel. Even for a short flight within Europe you have to consider the time it takes to get to and from the airports, security, check-in getting luggage etc., so a four hour train ride doesn't sound wasteful to me.

I would add Ste Chappelle to your Paris itinerary; it's close to Notre Dame and you could also visit the flower market and stroll around Ile St. Louis and stop at Amorino or Berthillon for gelato or ice cream. Allow time for a leisurly walk beside the Seine, especially at night when the lights reflect in the water.

You could take the hop-on, hop-off bus tour to get an overview and perhaps see a play. The British Museum is a must visit.

Have fun.

dallen03

My husband and I are also celebrating our 25th anniversary. Congrats to you. We are flying into nice for one night, flying to paris via easyjet.com for 3 days, then flying to rome via ryanair.com. The biggest pain for me is that we will have to take a 45 minute bus ride to airport beauville. But as you stated I figured it would be an opportunity to sit back, relax and take in the sights. easyjet and ryanair have very reasonable rates and we won't have to sit on the train for so long.

SusanP

I have to agree with skipping Switzerland, but you seem to have made up your mind before asking for input. With 12 nights to work with, I would do 4 each in London, Paris and Rome. With the travel time inbetween, even that will only give you enough to do the highlights in each city. Train from London to Paris and fly from Paris to Rome.

bobthenavigator

I agree with Susan---3 destinations of that importance.

Bindery

This isn’t the first time in my life that I have gone against conventional wisdom.
Yes, we are doing the travel buffet and not a long sit down dinner. Again, I have been planning this for a long time, getting feedback from travel message boards, and reading a lot of guide books. We do only have 2 full days in London and Paris, but really 4 in Rome. I do consider the train trip an experience worth doing.

bobthenavigator

OK---so you really wanted validation not expereinced advice---so be it.

Bindery

I appreciate experienced advice that I can consider and then decide what I believe is best.

Cowboy1968

I would concur with swandav that Montreux will not be that much &quot;different&quot;. Besides the scenery, the lifestyle is much more French than alpine villages, yodling, and people in funny costumes.
If the weather is nice, you can also opt for a ride with the big steam peddlers on Lake Geneva.

When in London and Paris, you will probably know better if the two major museums are what you want to see. But I'd also check the local TI websites to see if there will be some special exhibitions that may be more interesting than the regular museums.
In London, I'd usually prefer the Tate(s) over the BM, and in Paris the Mus&eacute;e d'Orsay over the Louvre, and I'd also add the Ste Chapelle to Notre Dame -- but that is pure personal taste of mine.

If it's your first time in all of these places, you will probably have to find out yourself if those sights meet your expectations. I'd not be excited to walk the Champs-Elys&eacute;es but rather stroll through the Marais, but I'd hesitate to say that everyone will share my preferences.

I would never hop from one place to another in the first place, but go on 3 individual trips and stay at least 1 week in one place. But that may be an unfair comparison since I only need 60-90 minutes to each of those cities ;-)

janisj

&quot;<i>I appreciate experienced advice that I can consider and then decide what I believe is best.</i>&quot;

Its more like &quot;I know darn well what I want to do so please don't give me any advice. Just tell me it will be a lovely trip&quot;

It IS your trip and you should do what you want to do. But I can't for the life of me figure out why you posted. You did say you would &quot;appreciate any comments or suggestions&quot; but that really doesn't appear to be the case . . . . .

JoyC

Yep janis, that's what I figured out.... he just wants us to say
&quot; great itinerary, go for it!!&quot;