aanwar

We plan to tour europe as per the following itinerary, arriving into rome and leaving out from london, total 12 nights:
2 nights each in rome, florence and venice.
from venice travel by overnight train to a destination in switzerland (don't know pls guide), spend 2 nights and then travel to paris for 2 nights and finally in london for 2 nights:
This is our first overseas trip and
we need to travel in the most economical way staying in budget hotels. your valuable suggestions / comments will be helpful. pls also comment on self guided tours in these places with names of important places to visit during this short stay.

RufusTFirefly

I think that with only 2 nights in these places and lots of travel between places, your problem isn't figuring out the names of important places to visit, but the names of which important places you won't have time to visit.

I'd just go online or to the library and get sightseeing info for each place. Read up on the sights, and then decide which ones to eliminate or which ones interest you the most.

You'll probably actually have about 1-1/2 sightseeing days in each location, so, for example, in Venice the most famous sights are Piazza San Marco (with Basilica San Marco, the campanile, the Doges' Palace, and the piazza itself) and the Grand Canal. If you aren't a detail person, you could do this in half a day. Then with your full day you'd have to decide among the many other sights which ones interest you the most--various museums like the Accademia, the Guggenheim, the Correr, the Naval Museum, etc.; numerous churches that have unique architectural features and/or art treasures; various palaces and residences; other islands in the lagoon like Murano, Burano, Torcello, San Michele, the Lido; sights like the Ghetto, the gondola yard; etc.

Similarly for the other cities--you'll just have to prioritize based on your interests.

What is a budget hotel to you? How much can you spend a night for a double room?

aanwar

Thanks Rufus for the reply. Budget per night is 50-75 USD for double occupancy.

RufusTFirefly

For hotels in Venice, go here:
http://turismo.regione.veneto.it/en/...rghi/index.php

Click on Venezia outline on the left map, then the little Venezia on the next map. (Or Venezia outline on the right map, and then "VENEZIA CENTRO STORICO" in the city list). You'll get a long list of hotels.

Go to the one star (and maybe some of the two star) properties at the bottom. This will give you some ideas on the hotels in your general price range. You'll see that prices can have a wide range for one hotel--a lot depends on the time of year you travel and demand for rooms.

Most of the hotels have email addresses shown, many have website links. If you find one or more that look promising, then you can post here and ask if anyone has experience with that hotel.

EnglishOne

aanwar - when we went to Rome earlier this year, we did not do any arranged tours. Rome is so easy to 'navigate' and most of the sights in the historical part are very close so we walked from one to another. The Metro, although not too clean, we found to be very efficient. We stayed at a hotel in the Termini Station area, which was in an area where you needed to get the Metro into the historical part. Once there, we walked.

Visit the Trevi Fountain, St Peters and the Vatican. To view these stunning sights is free, and to go inside St Peters Cathedral.

We wanted to see the Sistene Chapel, but the queue was absolutely enormous (You have to pay to see this along with the Vatican Museums).

Other lovely places to see here are the various Piazzas, such as Piazza Navona. They, of course, are free to view, although to sit in one of the al fresco cafes is pretty expensive if ordering even coffee.

ira

Dear aanwar,

I agree with Rufus. You are doing an "If it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium".

Please reconsider. You can do a week in Rome and a week in London and actually feel where you are. As you are doing it, you trip will just be a blur of packing, unpacking and train travel.

Have you looked at discount airlines for Rome/London? www.europebyair.com has a $99 pass that will permit you to go from Rome to Venice and on to Lonadon by way of Brussels.

Remember, you will be back.

HowardR

I agree with some of the previous posters: Too many destinations for that period of time.
You say it's your first trip, and I infer that perhaps it won't be your last. With that in mind, I would definitely cut out at least one destination. London seems the most logical (and practical) to eliminate. With a budget of $50-75 per night for hotels, you're obviously on a tight budget. That would be one more reason to cut down on the number of destinations, i.e., cutting down on the transportation costs.
For two weeks, I'd pick a maximum of four bases.

ira

Hi aanwar,

In my previous post I had assumed you already had your plane tickets, if not I suggest that you either do Italy (Rome Florence and Venice) or Rome and Paris.

crazymina

I'm all for fly by travel, but agree this will be tiring for 12 days.

If you have purchased your tickets already, can you cut something out? You can surely do Rome, Florence and Venice, but maybe take a overnight (and very long journey) to Paris? That would leave more time for both Paris and London...

If you don't particulary care about staying in hostels, you can sometimes book a double room for very cheap. Unfortunately though, your destinations are the most expensive as far as the hostelling gig goes, and most popular, so book in advance if you are going in the summer.

judyp

Dear aanwar:

I agree with several of the previous responds about too many destinations - I took my husband on a similar trip several years ago and it just wore both of us out. Since then we have visited one city per one-week trip and found that perfect. The joy of visiting Europe is in wandering leisurely in these magical cities, not in standing on line to crowd into the most popular sights. You need time to absorb and appreciate each place for what makes it unique.

My recommendation: pick 3 destinations and save the rest for the next trip. My choice would be 3 days in Venice, 3 in Saltzburg, Austria and the rest of the time in Paris, unless your flights are already booked. In that case I would do 4 in Rome, 3 in Venice, 4 in Paris and 1 in London (not my favorite destination - too big - visit the Tower for a half-day and sign up for a walking tour.)

With a tight budget consult Rick Steve's website (www.ricksteves.com) for hotels and restaurants, as well as things to do that don't cost much.

Paris would be your most expensive but well worth the extra money - it is spectacular. Just walking around is such a pleasure that we almost never rode the metro (though good and cheap.) Save your money for a splurge on a really good dinner - I recommend Les Fontaines, Le Mediterrannee or La Cote Bastide, all on the left bank in the St Germaine district.

If you plan to visit museums in Paris, buy a multi-day pass at the first museum you visit - it is good for most other museums and lets you avoid the very long lines for tickets as there is a separate entrance for pass holders in most cases (you may have to look for the pass-holder's entrance but it's well worth it - especially when you want to save time.)

Many of Rome's best sights are outdoors and much of the art is in churches. There used to be a great cheap bus tour of the basilicas that ran continuously and you could hop on and off where ever you like.

The city of Venice itself is it's most spectacular sight. Gondola rides down the canals are very overpriced but you can catch a gondola that is crossing a canal and ride it standing for very little - ask around for the locations. Except for short trips on the vaporetti you will walk everywhere so transportation is cheap. And there are several very nice small inexpensive hotels tucked throughout the city.

All over Italy, drink your espresso standing at the bar - they charge more if you sit at a table.

I didn't see any reference to what time of year you will be travelling. If you have not decided, go in Oct-Nov when there are few crowds (you can walk through the Piazza San Marco at night and be one of a few dozen visitors instead of one of a few thousand in summer!) At that time of year there is often pleasant weather and cheaper hotel rates all over Europe.

Rest assured that if you take it easy on this first trip there will be many more to come!

aanwar

Thanks for all the responses. It is evident that I have made a wrong planning to travel more cities in few days. I have decided to do Italy only in 7-8 days. I will be traveling in early october. Any other advice and / or suggestions are welcome.
Thanks again to all for you time.

mjs

I think that Italy for your first trip to Europe is a good choice but 7 to 8 days is not that much time. Venice/Florence/Rome would be a good start and if you had more time some smaller towns would also be nice. Remember you will be tired your first day. Also remember you lose at least a half day everytime you move cities/places. Therefore 7 to 8 days only gives you about two days for each of the above cities which is not much time. If you could do 10 to 12 days you could see the major Italian cities and some of the countryside. Since cost is an issue it is logical to maximize the cost and time of your airfare/flight from overseas to Europe over more time in Italy. You might also save on you airfare if you went in November instead of October and probably on hotels as well although the weather is better in early October. Good luck!