Beginning to plan next trip - Paris, London, Amsterdam, Venice
Mar 10th, 2006, 05:33 PM
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Beginning to plan next trip - Paris, London, Amsterdam, Venice
We're looking at going in late-May to mid-June. We're thinking of 2-3 weeks. If we had 2 weeks only, we would probably do Paris (where we've been before), London, and Venice. With 3 weeks, we would add Amsterdam and have more time in each city. The two week plan would look something like this:
Fly into Paris on May 27; Spend 28, 29, 30, 31 - leave for London.
London: arrive on the 31, Spend 1, 2, 3, 4 in London. Leave on 5th for Venice
Venice: arrive on the 5th, Spend 6, 7, 8, 9,
Leave on June 10 for home with open-jaw flight.
First question: is this do-able?
Second question: What would be the best order to see these cities in? I was thinking London-Amsterdam-Paris-Venice.
Third question: How much should I budget for food/lodging? We're not really budget travelers, but I don't want to blow the bank either. For example, last time we were in Paris, in January, we spent around 140 USD/night for lodging at the 3* Relais Bosquet and around 120 USD for food per day. I'm guessing the food cost would stay the same in summer (at least for Paris - are the other cities more expensive?), but what about lodging? Can I find nice places for 160-180USD/night in all of the cities listed?
Fourth question, related to above: I know London and Paris are expensive cities. How are Amsterdam and Venice in comparison?
Fifth question: If DH and I dislike seafood, will we have a not-so-easy time finding great food in Venice?
THANK YOU ALL FOR ANY ADVICE YOU CAN OFFER!!! Our trip to Paris wouldn't have been half so nice if I hadn't discovered this forum. You guys are the best!
Fly into Paris on May 27; Spend 28, 29, 30, 31 - leave for London.
London: arrive on the 31, Spend 1, 2, 3, 4 in London. Leave on 5th for Venice
Venice: arrive on the 5th, Spend 6, 7, 8, 9,
Leave on June 10 for home with open-jaw flight.
First question: is this do-able?
Second question: What would be the best order to see these cities in? I was thinking London-Amsterdam-Paris-Venice.
Third question: How much should I budget for food/lodging? We're not really budget travelers, but I don't want to blow the bank either. For example, last time we were in Paris, in January, we spent around 140 USD/night for lodging at the 3* Relais Bosquet and around 120 USD for food per day. I'm guessing the food cost would stay the same in summer (at least for Paris - are the other cities more expensive?), but what about lodging? Can I find nice places for 160-180USD/night in all of the cities listed?
Fourth question, related to above: I know London and Paris are expensive cities. How are Amsterdam and Venice in comparison?
Fifth question: If DH and I dislike seafood, will we have a not-so-easy time finding great food in Venice?
THANK YOU ALL FOR ANY ADVICE YOU CAN OFFER!!! Our trip to Paris wouldn't have been half so nice if I hadn't discovered this forum. You guys are the best!
Mar 10th, 2006, 07:04 PM
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Sorry if you said this and I missed it but: Are you flying between any of these cities? If so, would it make more sense to find out the most economical flights, and then set the order of which cities you are visiting? It hardly matters what direction you fly.
If you plan on taking trains everywhere, the itininerary with only 3 cities doesn't make sense to me at all. And I might toy with the idea of flying to Amsterdam (since it's the shortest flight and a snap to get from the airport to the middle of town), then include a night in Brussells, just to enjoy the food, "chunnel" to London, then "chunnel" to Paris. Fly to Venice.
If you stick to B&Bs in Amsterdam, which can be charming and very well located, your budget will get you nice places. Venice is just a budget buster, although I think London at this point may be worse. For Venice, you are going to have to dig around, but 180USD is probably doable. Try the reviews on www.tripadvisor.com for Venice hotels AND bed-and-breakfasts.
There are enough restaurants in Venice that offer meat dishes, as well as pastas and pizzas without seafood, to get you by for 5 nights. The Slow Travel website has an extensive section of reviews of Venice restaurants (and budget hotels) -- although good budget food options are hard to come by in Venice as budget hotels, and restaurant reviews for there, alas, are often wildly unreliable. It is often best to ask your hotel conceierge for restaurant recommendations, specifying you want meat or meatless.
Hope that helps. I love Amsterdam and your time frame for going sounds wonderful. Of all the places you're visiting, it's the one I most look forward to spending time in again.
If you plan on taking trains everywhere, the itininerary with only 3 cities doesn't make sense to me at all. And I might toy with the idea of flying to Amsterdam (since it's the shortest flight and a snap to get from the airport to the middle of town), then include a night in Brussells, just to enjoy the food, "chunnel" to London, then "chunnel" to Paris. Fly to Venice.
If you stick to B&Bs in Amsterdam, which can be charming and very well located, your budget will get you nice places. Venice is just a budget buster, although I think London at this point may be worse. For Venice, you are going to have to dig around, but 180USD is probably doable. Try the reviews on www.tripadvisor.com for Venice hotels AND bed-and-breakfasts.
There are enough restaurants in Venice that offer meat dishes, as well as pastas and pizzas without seafood, to get you by for 5 nights. The Slow Travel website has an extensive section of reviews of Venice restaurants (and budget hotels) -- although good budget food options are hard to come by in Venice as budget hotels, and restaurant reviews for there, alas, are often wildly unreliable. It is often best to ask your hotel conceierge for restaurant recommendations, specifying you want meat or meatless.
Hope that helps. I love Amsterdam and your time frame for going sounds wonderful. Of all the places you're visiting, it's the one I most look forward to spending time in again.
Mar 11th, 2006, 09:06 AM
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I didn't find Paris particularly expensive. I know London is. I'd call Paris, Venice, and Amsterdam comparable.
Are you flying between cities? Or train? Or a combination?
Yes, you can find places in that price range, it will probably get you a bit nicer hotel in Paris, Amsterdam, Venice than in London for example.
I don't remember eating any seafood in two trips to Venice, so I'm going to guess you'll do just fine.
Are you flying between cities? Or train? Or a combination?
Yes, you can find places in that price range, it will probably get you a bit nicer hotel in Paris, Amsterdam, Venice than in London for example.
I don't remember eating any seafood in two trips to Venice, so I'm going to guess you'll do just fine.
Mar 11th, 2006, 09:48 AM
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If you plan to do this trip this year, you'd better get cracking. Venice in particular tends to fill up. And it's expensive. But worth it. And London is very expensive, definitely more than Paris, which I find moderate.
Your itinerary is workable, assuming you're flying from London to Venice. If you add Amsterdam, it gets a little more awkward. Maybe London/Amsterdam/Paris/Venice.
You will not starve in Venice.
Your itinerary is workable, assuming you're flying from London to Venice. If you add Amsterdam, it gets a little more awkward. Maybe London/Amsterdam/Paris/Venice.
You will not starve in Venice.
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