My husband and I are traveling to Europe for the first time. We got round trip tickets to Paris. I regret not having booked multicity tickets, but now it's too late to change them. We will be there end of September and beginning of October, a total of 12 days all together including travel days. We decided that it's best to visit only 2 countries, 3 tops. What recommendations would you give us as to which countries to visit as a first taste in Europe?

On our first trip we spent a week in Germany on business and really enjoyed the Bavaria area. Muncih is rich with history, beautiful public gardens and good food. However we recetnly traveled to Italy and I fell in love! I'd say Rome and Florence and Barcelona Spain are now my favorite cities (next to Munich). There is so much to see in France you could easily spend your entire trip there! Try looking at Ryan Air, Easy Jet and other discount airlines to get inexpensive rates to other cities (save travel time).

please do some research.

We will be in Paris the first two and a half weeks of October, and we are going to spend the whole time right there. Oh, we will take a few day trips to nearby attractions, but we know there will be more than enough to keep us busy and entertained.

I would suggest that you had better get hopping if you have not booked hotels. The combination of the trade shows and the World Soccer Cup matches will have most rooms filled for some time.

Enjoy your stay, whatever you decide.

Limit travel

Paris 5 days
Bruge 1 day
Amsterdam 3 days
Maybe Luxembourg city or the Moselle valley for the rest. Gives you loads of museums, fine eating, wineries, monestries, opera, plus old Bruges takes you back to about 1450. But note that in Paris you can see the Roman walls so that is more like 100AD

Hi J,

>What recommendations would you give us as to which countries to visit as a first taste in Europe?<

Since you are flying in/out of Paris - I think a week in Paris might be a good idea.

You could combine that with a week in London - always a good choice for 1st timers.

See www.eurostar.com for travel between the two cities.

You might want to start looking for hotels STAT.

Given you very limited time I would reco either all Paris - with a couple of day trips - or no more than one more city.

We always try to do cultures that are different when we do 2 countries - for instance one latin and one germanic.

I would tend to do Paris and Amsterdam as a second city - very easy transit between the 2 by train.

Or - you could do Paris and Strasbourg (also French, but with a strong Germanic flavor and a charming wine road you can easily tour).

But - I'm just giving my opinions. What you should do is pick up a whole pack of travel brochures and look at them - to see what things you feel you really cannot miss. Then - pick the top 2/3 and organize into a trip.

I think you can certainly do more than just Paris in 12 days -- I would. I think you should just choose from the closest -- Paris with possibly London and maybe Belgium or Amsterdam if you really want to, but Paris and London would be a good choice. The thing is I think you could take the train to London, spend a few days there, but it's backtracking to take the train back to Amsterdam or Brussels. There are flights that are quick between London and Amsterdam, and then you could take the train back to Paris from there.

But I think that's a little much, so I'd say Paris+London or Paris+Amsterdam and you could throw in a day or two of Belgium to that one.

Paris-Brussels/Bruges-Amsterdam would be extremely simple by train.

And what about renting a car for a few days? Out of the question?

For our first trip, we had flights in and out of Munich and were faced with a similar situation - where to go, how much to see, want to see everything, don't want to go on a death-march of a trip - LOL.

We chose to stay in Bavaria to limit travel time and maximize sightseeing time - we picked 3 areas as bases and then did a few day trips along the way. It worked out well. We saw a lot, weren't rushed, and felt like we really got to experience the places we went.

I would recommend something similar, but with Paris as your beginning and end point - maybe make a loop through France, or as others have suggested, add Amsterdam as your second main city.

I really like exploring one country only per Europe trip. 12 days is not that long. I would spend time in Paris and then head out to the French countryside. I think if you spend the time in one country you get more used to the customs, language, and really feel that you've seen it by the time you leave.

If you like beer this is an opportunity to stop in for Oktoberfest in Munich.

London good idea, Amsterdam ditto. I also like the idea of renting a car. You could go to the Loire Valley for a couple of days, then Chartres, then Giverny (I did this route, but as a Loire-focused vacation). Nice combo of city/countryside.

Note...you will not bored in Paris, even after 12 days (probably more like 10, since Day 1 is airport/hotel/jet lag day, Day 12 is leaving day). I've been 9/10 times, I'm going back next year. Thrown in a day trip to Versailles, maybe Vaux le Vicomte, or even St Michel...

A TGV could even quickly get you to Provence for a couple of days.

Many possibilities...

Hi, javi -

What do yu and your husband like to do? What are you hoping to experience on this trip?

I would combine the big city experience (Paris) with some small towns. You could take a train to Interlaken, Switzerland and explore the Bernese Oberland region. This would give you a taste of the Alps. Alternatively you could rent a car and explore small towns in France. At that time of year I doubt you would need any hotel reservations, just get in a car and explore. But I would not stay the whole time in Paris.

"please do some research."

Isn't that what she is doing by posting this question? I'm sure this thread will help her narrow it down quickly.