Birthday trip for Mom in May 2015
 

My mom is turning 63 this Spring and I want to take her on a trip. She lived in England before she had children and has not been back to Europe since. Three weeks in the springtime would be lovely. Some input and suggestions greatly appreciated! She is not a planner so it's up to me to arrange and make sure she comes home relaxed and happy.

So far I have London so she can show me her old stomping grounds, train to Paris so I can show her mine, then train to Provence. I like to stay a while in one place but she's a mover so around 3-4 days in London would be enough, 4 or 5 in Paris then maybe 5-6 days in the riviera where she has not been and always wanted to see. That leaves us with about 7-8 days to go somewhere else excluding travel days. Somewhere we both have not been would be ideal with typically good weather. Maybe Vienna, Amalfi, Greece? She is in great shape with no physical limitations, enjoys fine dining, wine, beautiful scenery and particularly for her birthday...getting pampered! My younger sister might come along too but since she's planning a wedding it might just be us two. There are so many places to choose from, need to start brainstorming some possibilities. Thanks so much!

Cheers

I'd look at Rome, Florence or Venice from the Riviera.

Are you planning on flying from one country to the next? If not, be sure to factor in travel time. And do not count on getting anything done on your arrival day in London, i.e., budget 4-5 days instead of 3-4.

Have you thought about visiting another city in England?

Are you flying in/out of Europe via London?

at what age and how physically fit is your mom?

Well, from reading the OP she is 63 years young and "She is in great shape with no physical limitations".

I would add Venice for a couple of days for something different than the other places on your itinerary and because I find it to be magical and relaxed. Then fly to either Vienna or Prague, again for something different.

Hi all, thanks so much for the suggestions and my apologies for the delayed response.

sparkchaser - I didn't consider other cities in England as it would be neat to see where she used to live in London, etc. but we are open to everything right now. Flying out from the last city to avoid back tracking. Thanks for the reminder about not getting anything done the first day, totally with you on this! I usually just walk around on the first day resisting the urge to sleep until bedtime. Travel time is excluded so total days would be around 24-25.

adrienne & bilboburgler - Venice is indeed magical. I like your Venice and Vienna idea and will consider this for mom.

Will post more as the planning progresses. In the meantime, any other suggestions are most welcome! Thank you again.

From the French Riviera, I'd get across to Rome, then Florence and fly home from Venice. Vice versa would work too depending on availability of flights from your home airport.

However, with only 7/8 days, you might want to miss one of those three. Maybe fly into Pisa for Florence then Venice. In any case, I'd certainly go to Italy.