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Europe Itinerary- Paris, Venice, Belgium, Amsterdam

Europe Itinerary- Paris, Venice, Belgium, Amsterdam

Old Apr 6th, 2014, 09:37 AM
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Europe Itinerary- Paris, Venice, Belgium, Amsterdam

I'm planning a trip for my parents in July to Paris, Venice, Amsterdam and Belgium. They will be flying from India, I'd like to have inputs on the following points:

1. The best route to follow
2. The no. of days that might be suitable at each location, they can spare 15 days for this holiday as of now
3. How might the route if we were to include Munich/Vienna in the itinerary

Thanks in advance
nandshah is offline  
Old Apr 6th, 2014, 09:44 AM
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Sorry, but 15 days is very short for these 4 destinations. W/ the very long flights from India and return, and travel within Europe they will really only have about 11 days free to see and do things.

Pick three - whichever three they most want to visit. And even that will be a bit rushed.
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 09:55 AM
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Also be sure to look at open-jaw flights to avoid wasting one of their very few days returning to where they started. For instance, perhaps fly into Venice, get a discount flight to Paris and then train to either Belgium or Amsterdan and take a return flight from Brussels or Am.

(I would not stay in Brussels which I find very boring - it's primarily the seat of european government - but instead visit Brugge, Ghent or one of hte other charming towns.
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 09:57 AM
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Hi janisj,

Thanks for your feedback, we can probably extend the number of days, but I'd appreciate your feedback on the rest of the points-do suggest the number of days for each location
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 10:01 AM
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1. I would fly into Venice and home from Paris. Fly Venice to Amsterdam and then take a train to Paris.

If you only have 15 days for this trip, at least 2 of them will be travel days, leaving only 13 days. Three locations are good since you'll have travel time between locations.

2. Venice - 3 days; Amsterdam - 3 days; Paris - 7 days (you can add some day trips outside Paris if you want).

3. Insane. In 13 days you want your parents to travel to 5 cities and 1 country. Please do the math on this.
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 10:03 AM
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To accurately choose the number of days for each location, first decide what to see. You will then easily be able to figure out how much time in each city/town. Everyone is different and has different sightseeing needs. I would spend the entire time in Paris.
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 10:07 AM
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Hi Adrienne,

Thanks for your suggestions, I will certainly encourage them to extend the number of days. As far as Paris is concerned, will 5 days be good enough? They might also be interested to stay at a wineyard, may be in Boudeaux?
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 11:48 AM
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Hi nandshah,

One of the happiest trips I ever took in my life was London, Paris, Brussels and Berlin in 2 weeks -- but I had been in Paris before and while I enjoyed the Grand Place, I would never return to Brussels again. I would pick Antwerp or Ghent over Brussels, and some people like Brugge. However, if your parents are interested in heading out to the countryside for a winery stay, it might be best to take out Belgium altogether to make room for that.

I have to say that I think at some point you may need to enlist the help of a travel agent to figure out logistics, especially since they are flying from India.

I also think you should convey to your parents that longer time in each place and fewer destinations might work better for them but if they tell you they would prefer some variety and are up for the hotel switches and plane flights, I can understand that too.
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 01:10 PM
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5 days in Paris is good for a first visit.

About the winery - they should go to one that reflects their taste in wine. If they like Bordeaux wines then that's fine but perhaps they prefer other types of wines.
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 01:18 PM
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I, too, would cut Belgium unless your parents have a strong pull to that country.

Paris (with day trips or a brief side trip), Venice and Amsterdam would be plenty. Remember that you lose much of one day traveling between places. Also, your parents are likely to be tired when they land so much of the first day or two might be spent quite fatigued. While I am of the belief you can never have enough time in Paris, 5 days should give them plenty of time to see the main sights and enjoy their stay.
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Old Apr 6th, 2014, 01:57 PM
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the number of days in any big tourist mecca like Paris is a subjective question and you'll get wildly ranging answers - I say for the average tourist three full days is enough - it was my first time in Paris and I was eager to see something esle - of course the whole trip could be spent there, depending on their interests, etc.

Paris (min 3 days)
Venice (min 2 full days)
Amsterdam (min 3 full days)
and Belgium - well Belgium could take weeks but I'd steer them to Bruges - one of the loveliest cities in Europe and a perpetual favorite with Americans - 2 nights there -

So possible itinerary with minimum amounts of time would be fly into Amsterdam - 3 nights

Take train to Bruges (via Antwerp)- 2 nights

Bruges to Paris (two routes via Lille then French TGV or to Brussels and Thalys train - both routes same time but one may be much cheaper than the other depending on availability of discounted tickets on Thalys). Paris 4 nights.

Overnight train to Venice direct from Paris (2-3 nights) - for a total of 12-23 nights. Ad days in as they can though to me for the average first time tourist this is a real possible scanrio - others will have different opinions so ask a lot of different folk and get a consensus.

Fly out of Venice.

I assume they are going by train - if by much slower car add days to each stop. For lots of great info on European trains check out these superb IMO sites: www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - lots on preparing for and doing a train trip around Europe on Europe's fantastic trains - which go up to about 200 mph many times.
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Old Apr 7th, 2014, 05:19 AM
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. How might the route if we were to include Munich/Vienna in the itinerary>

You could take a train - long day train or overnight train Venice to Munich or Vienna - stay there a few days and fly home. But would have to add days - or drop some other place.
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Old Apr 7th, 2014, 09:24 AM
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Hi PalenQ,

Thanks for your detailed response, much appreciated
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Old Apr 7th, 2014, 09:52 AM
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I would forget Bordeaux. There's wine around every corner in France, and they don't have to go anywhere near that far from Paris to see a vineyard. Five days in Paris sounds like a good start.
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Old Apr 7th, 2014, 11:20 AM
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Though there are no vast vineyards in the immediate vicinity of Paris to get to a proper wine district you'd have to spend a few days to really appreciate it - stick with Paris - however if staying in Paris 5 days a day trip to Reims and its Champagne wine region is a great option - tour the lavish wine houses and caves - ending in the tasting room of course.

Reims is also a vibrant regional city - with a great cathedral, where kings and queens of France were crowned I believe - and a neat city center with a Les Hallesesque wrought iron open-air market sheds - Reims is less than an hour from Paris by train.
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