Europe February Travel
 

Hello. I am planning to go to europe in february 2016 from 1/2/2016 until 18/2/2016.
My plan is going to London for 5 day until 7/2/2016. Then to Paris for 4 days until 11/2/2016 and then i am planning to go to swizerland and italy until 18/2/2016. Should i ditch switzerland and go to milan venice rome instead? or this seems too exhausting. And what places best to visit in february there.?
and what hotel is the best for in central paris?

Just a reminder. In Paris and London, the sun sets really early and it will be chilly, rainy and cold. We went to Paris and London two years ago, over Christmas and the above held true. I cannot address Venice or Switzerland. Never been there in Winter. Milan I have been to and was not really impressed. Spent a week there and probably will not go back.

For Paris, if available, we stayed in a studio that we have been using for the past 14 years. Look at: Nadine Giblin
Studio 30 sqm Paris 9e near Montmartre
E-mail : [email protected]
Website : http://locationparis9.canalblog.com

The studio is a 20-25 minute walk from Gare du Norde, where the Eurostar stops in Paris.

In London we stayed in the Tune hotel,Kings Cross which is close to St. Pancras and the Eurostar. See: [email protected]

It was clean and had a nice shower and bed. 10-15 minute walk to the Eurostar terminal. British Museum was a 20 minute walk.

If it is not to late, I would really suggest that you book the Eurostar from London to Paris. It is a wonderful experience. When you log into the site, do not tell them you are from US. The server will kick you to another site that charges more and does not list all available trains. Tell the site you are from UK, you then get it in English and all available trains.

Close to the Tunes Hotel is a street called Leather Lane. On Sat. it has a nice market. The market has a lot of clothes.

>>In Paris and London, the sun sets really early<<

Actually by Feb the days have lengthened a fair bit. You visited in late Dec which is different. Just picking Feb 10 . . . sunset in London is @ 5PM, in Paris @ 6PM and in New York city 5:30PM. So basically the days are just as long as many places in the States.

drmsms: hi again :) Glad your questions were legit.

You only have a week to play with so I personally would forget about Switzerland and spend that time in Italy. Even that will be a little rushed, but much better than trying to 'do' two countries. I might even ditch Milan and do Florence and Rome plus maybe Venice (winter in Venice can be damp but you can still have a nice visit)

Where are you staying in London? And how much is your budget in Paris?

It really depends on what you want to see and do. If you would be more excited to see Switzerland's fantastic mountains and snow than be walking around very cold cities with art in Italy, you might want to see some of Switzerland but then head straight to Rome (where it will be warmer for outdoor sightseeing). On the other hand, if you really enjoy visiting museums and churches, you might not want to miss Florence. Whether it is terrible weather or not, some people love Venice, some people don't care for it, but some people end up skipping it compltely because of the expense.

If yuo want other people to tell you want to do, they will, but better I think to be honest with yourself about what you dream of seeing, and how you like to spend your time, and do that.

IMHO you are trying to do a lot of different places in what is really only 2 weeks. You can easily do London and Paris and a couple of places in italy. But when you start adding in multiple places in Italy PLUS Switz you are now starting to spend a lot of your limited time in transit. And don;t forget that the weather can easily slow things down and the fairly short daylight hours wil limit the htings that you can see.

If it were me I would try to focus a little more and actually see more than the top 3 or 4 sights in each place.

As for hotels - for people to help you you really need to give a specific amount per night in euros or pounds or francs.

There are a gazillion hotels in central Paris but how much will you spend, what are you expecting - and is this just for you or will you have companion(s).

thank you guys so much. much apppreciated. i'll ditch switzerland now.

i will be travelling with both my parents. so it is very different than travelling with friends. more city sightseeing and shopping and less adventure.

i'm trying to find cheap hotel near central paris . maybe 100-200 usd per night. or less. since it will be rainy and stuff, i want a hotel near central paris so it is within walking distance to go to attractions and for shopping.

as in london, i'll be staying at bayswater area. trying to find affordable hotel there with price range between 50-60 pounds per night.

In February days lengthen but can be cold. Real cold. This year I'll be in Caribbean at that exact period.
Switzerland at that time is all about ski. Fabulous.
I also have never been impressed by Milano. Last visit in Venice was in November and we loved it.

as in london, i'll be staying at bayswater area. trying to find affordable hotel there with price range between 50-60 pounds per night.

Unlikely.

That is not really a price for a decent place to stay for 3 people in London, since places in London are typically more than most other places in europe. Wherever you stay b sure you are near a tube station since you will be using it a lot.

As for Paris - a very central pleasant place for $100 is not very likely although you should find something for $200.

Check the various discount websites, again looking for places near Metro stops.

First of all is that budget for all three of you?

£50-£60 is not at all realistic for London. Even a dormitory room (sharing with 4-8 strangers) in a hostel can cost more than £16-£20 per person a night. If you do find a hotel anywhere near your budget I would be VERY nervous. Why are you budgeting more per night in Paris than in London? That really doesn't make sense to me.

Also why Bayswater specifically?

Here is an inexpensive hotel where we stayed in Paris. It's in the 5th arrondissement, although on the southern edge. We walked to many places from there, including Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Musée d'Orsay, and other museums and parks.

http://www.port-royal-hotel.fr/

The rooms are very simple and rather small, but the whole hotel is very clean and the staff are most helpful. A double with private bath (shower) is €95 per night. If you're willing to share a bath in the hall, the rooms are much cheaper. (In that case you have to buy little tokens for the shower.) You could maybe get one room with private bath, and one without, and you and your parents could share the private bath.

We didn't get the breakfast, but it didn't sound worth the €8 they charge for it.

We loved the neighborhhood, which was just far enough from the tourist mobs, and yet close enough to walk to most things we wanted to see. The hotel is on a tree-lined boulevard. There's a metro stop very near for those things that are too far to walk.

There's a good Indian restaurant next store, but I can't recommend the small French restaurant across the street. After eating there I spent the next day in bed with a violent case of something or other.

havana128 : ermm not helping.

janisj: my budget per room per night is between 100 usd to 150 usd for 3 persons. in london paris and italy. as for bayswater, my friends suggested to stay there because they say that area is less hectic and the hotel is more cheaper than in central london.
may i ask you where do you usually stay there.

$100 is approx £65 and $150 = almost £100 so your budget is higher than you stated -- by a fair bit.

£100 is still fairly low but not impossible like £50 would be.

Bayswater is OK but as for 'less hectic' - it is about the same as many parts of central London. Your main problem is needing a triple room. Trying to get a double room and a single room inside your budget would be REALLY tough.

I just did a search on Londontown.com for Feb 2-6 for a triple room and the cheapest was £118 @ the Lancaster Gate Hotel (which is close to Bayswater but IMO a slightly nicer area). I would JUMP on that ASAP. £118 = about $180 which is inside what you are willing to pay in Paris. Hotels of the same quality do generally cost more in London so you really should consider that.

BUT - the higher hotels costs is made up by the saving with all the free museums and galleries. You won't be paying £15 or £20 pp to visit the British Museum, National Gallery, V&A, Imperial War Museum or many others.

thank you so much for your effort. that hotel look very nice.
the free museums and galleries are definitely helpful.

since you said that bayswater is nearly the same as hectic with nearby place near central london, what other area is nicer to stay?and easy to go to and fro?

There are many areas - but you are limited by your budget. There are some budget hotels near Victoria Station and in nearby Pimlico - but a triple room would probably be over your budget (and none came up in my search). There are also budget hotels near the British Museum but again they may be booked up for your dates since none came up on Londontown.

The best budget accommodations do book up early because they are relatively few and far between.

I'd maybe try booking.com since they sometimes can locate discounted rates. The site will only let you search fro double and single rooms but once you get into the different hotels listings you can often find triples. They quote in US$

I just did a 'quick and dirty' search and there are 3 or 4 with doubles around $100 but they are hostels. And it quickly jumps up to $150+ for pretty sad properties.

I would REALLY consider that Lancaster Gate hotel w/ the Triple for $180/£118. That is a very good price.

thank you again janisj for your help. i very much appreciate it. i will get to you again if i need more help.

Drmsms, regarding accommodation in London or anywhere, for many on a tight budget Airbnb is the way to go. You must register on the site in advance to book, and you must read listings carefully to make sure you're getting what you want, but I believe you'll do better renting a private room for the equivalent of £50 that you will at a hotel.

I've done a search for 3 people for $75US, about £50, for London and this is the result. Put in your dates to narrow the search and any other search options you like:

https://www.airbnb.com/s/London--Uni...ss_id=f3logwrg

thank you mmeperdu for that suggestion. but i am really not a fan of airbnb. i'll try to adjust my overall budget and find a way to deal with this matter. thank you again.

I'm not a fan of airbnb either after reading this story on the BBC. Every reason to assume same problems are occurring in Europe, with different victims:

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35077448

Look at booking.com.

I sleep most of the time for about 100 euros.
One night one person one room no breakfast.

For low budget that I recommend
Hotel de l Europe on magenta 10 close to Gare du Nord.
Hotel bien etre also 10 probably magenta too right in front of bonsergent.

These two are ok. Europe is even nice.

Mvg