European Itinerary
 

We will be traveling to Paris during mid May. This will be our first time to Europe, and need suggestions on what to do. We love shopping, intermixed with sightseeing and will only go as far as Versailles for a day trip. We thought about going to the Côte d'Azur and seeing Nice or Monte-Carlo for a couple of days. What is the recommended amount of time to spend in Paris? We thought 7-9 days, and then we would travel abroad. Should we visit London? We could also fly from Paris or Nice to one of the major cities in Italy (Rome, Milan, Venice), should we see one of those? Also anywhere in Switzerland would be fun to see.

no one can really give useful advice w/o knowing how long the whole trip is . . . and what sorts of things you enjoy.

lhenry - 7-9 days would be a good length of time to spend in and around Paris, followed by the same amount of time on the cote d'azur - it's not worth going all that way for just a couple of days, and once you are there you will find loads to do and see - or you could just laze around for a few days.

Switzerland is very different of course, as is Italy - but they are both lovely.

however, it all rather depends, as jj says, on how long you've got.

I don't know if I would want to spend that much time on the Riviera, maybe 5 days tops. Then we would fly out of Nice and into Milan? The whole trip is going to be 16 days.

Is the French Riviera somewhere that you can lay around the pool all day sipping drinks on the beach? Or is it a little more on the move?

With the fantastic train system in France and neighboring countries it is easy to say mix a visit to France - Switzerland would be great if you love high Alps dotted with dreamy little villages with family-run hotels with balconies in view of glaciers and majestic snow-capped peaks - the Interlaken area (a k a Berner Oberland or Jungfrau Region) to me is the high point of Switzerland, both literally and figuratively - the dreamy Alpine wonderland etched in our minds' eyes when we think of Switzerland - base there for some days as there is so so much varied things to do.

Trains are a great way to get around Switzerland - even in the mountains on toy-like trains that climb prodigious inclines - great sources of info on European and Swiss trains (and Swiss Passes which are IMO great bargains) check out these sites - www.ricksteves.com; www.swisstravelsystem.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html - for ideas on other countries or places to go check out these latter site's free online and superb IMO European Planning & Rail Guide -
http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/si...s/rg011210.pdf. London is also a natural component to Paris, being just a few hours away by Chunnel train. Do an open-jaw flight - into say Paris and out of Zurich or London or Italy, etc.

Is the French Riviera somewhere that you can lay around the pool all day sipping drinks on the beach? Or is it a little more on the move?>>

it can be as much or as little lazing about as you like. that said, in May the med won't really be warm enough for swimming, though hotel pools should be.

you can have both of course - bracing coastal walks or sightseeing in the morning, long lunches in the sun looking out to sea, a lazy afternoon round the pool and shopping followed by supper in the evening.

in 16 days, I'd suggest staying in 3 places - Paris, the Cote d'Azur and Switzerland [Lucerne?], or Paris, Lucerne and Venice, or....do you have any idea of where you would like to go in Italy?

I was thinking of going to Milan and Lake Como in Italy.

terrific. scrub lucerne, do Paris, Nice, Como and Milan.

do you know what you would like to see in Milan?

In Milan I want to mostly shop and definitely go and see the Duomo

How long would you suggest staying in MIlan

Lake Stresa is also very nice and is right on a main rail line (Stresa) from Switzerland to Milan - if coming from Paris via Switzerland - even without stopping you can see what Switzerland looks like - awesome baby!

Will london be worth visiting?

London is very much worth visiting. It is a fabulous city with much to see and do. However, it would be best to choose London and Paris and perhaps the Riviera. Or Paris, the Riviera, Milan and Lake Como. Or Paris, Lucerne and Milan/Como. With 16 days, three stops is about all you can expect to visit and still do each justice especially since the options are rather far apart and will require significan travel time.

Lake Stresa is also very nice and is right on a main rail line (Stresa) from Switzerland to Milan - if coming from Paris via Switzerland - even without stopping you can see what Switzerland looks like - awesome baby!

Pal - you're having a bad day.

it's lago maggiore not Stresa; Stresa is a town on the lake.

really, ihenry, do you really need to ask if London is worth visiting? it's a 2000 year old capital city with castles, palaces, ancient abbeys and many other old and beautiful things to see. the question is, are YOU interested in visiting it?

it sounds as if you are more keen on Milan, which is a terrific place too.

perhaps save London for the next trip.

oh -- annhig wasn't being rude to you !!!!! . . .

She left off the quotes -- and was commenting about an error that <B>Pal</B>enQ posted.

"<i>Lake Stresa is also very nice and is right on a main rail line (Stresa) from Switzerland to Milan - if coming from Paris via Switzerland - even without stopping you can see what Switzerland looks like - awesome baby!</i>" . . . is what PalenQ posted

and annhig commented >><i>Pal - you're having a bad day.

it's lago maggiore not Stresa; Stresa is a town on the lake.</i><<

She calls PalenQ "Pal" . . . I cal him PQ . . . everyone has their own nickname for Palenque/PalenQ

oh -- annhig wasn't being rude to you !!!!! . . .>>

jj - I never thought that you were! [though I think that the comment that suggested that has been removed, as I can't see any other that refers to it].

Comment was made by OP and I think it was meant for annhig. I thought it rude, and I usually tolerate a lot on this forum.

<<Will london be worth visiting?>>

No. Nothing to see in London. Everything there is fake: there is no Tower, no Abbey, no cathedral named for the (stated) author of 40% of the New Testament, no large clock, no iconic seat of government, no excellent museums (the vast majority of which do not charge an entry fee), no easy day trips filled with history, and of course no shopping on some of the most famous shopping streets of the world. Instead, London is a large cardboard cut out created on a Hollywood studio lot like the moon landing.

Good gosh.

London is the largest city in Western Europe and one of the great cities of the world. If you're not interested in it, that says more about you than about London (statement also applies to moppy-headed travel geek from Pacific northwest who's made a mint thanks to public TV).

annhig: To clarify-- I was responding to the deleted post. You probably didn't see it. It was by the OP (my guess it was deleted at the OP's own request) and it told you not to be rude and called you a rude name. But I'm sure it was all a just a misunderstanding. Now I wish my post was gone because it just muddies the waters.