France too Much?
 

Hello, <BR> <BR>My wife, two y.o. and I are traveling to Germany and Austria this fall. We have two weeks and are going by car. Would like to see France, esp. Paris but am wondering if this is too much. This is our first trip to Europe. Please advise. Thanks!

With only two weeks, I would skip Paris and check out Strasbourg, which is not all that far from Baden-Baden and te Schwarzwald. Strasbourg is an outstanding city! <BR>

Hi Gretchen - <BR> <BR>This is all a matter of travel style and personality. Paris requires lots of time. I've been there twice for 6 days each time and still haven't seen all I want yet. However, if all I had was a couple of days, I would not hesitate to go for it. Better some than none and you can see if you like it and want to go back in the future. <BR> <BR>One word of caution; if you are people that like to take it slow, don't bother with Paris. You may get frustrated and feel that you are trying to fit too much in. If you are up for some adventure and want to make the most of your plane ticket, I'd go for it. <BR> <BR>My advice, see the cities you want in Germany and Austria and then head to Paris for a couple of days. <BR> <BR>One word of caution. If you go, turn in the car for the time you will be in Paris and take the train. You will go crazy trying to drive and park in Paris. If you still need the car, just re-rent it when you go back. <BR> <BR>Happy Traveling :-)

Paris is my favorite city in the world, but I have to agree with other posters.. <BR>it's too much to try to squeeze in Paris. The travel time would be too long compared to the amount of time you have for your vacation, and you would only get a glimpse of the city. Depending on where in Germany, or where in Austria, you could make a detour into eastern France (Alsace-Lorraine) or northern Italy (Lake Como, Trevino, etc.) without spending too much time on the road. <BR>Not having been to Austria or Germany for many years, I'm not sure what all to see...but I do believe there are several good zoos, amusement parks, etc. for the little one.

On 1 of our Europe trips, we used Frankfurt to fly in & out of. We did not want to exclude Paris. (I have been to Paris before & after this trip, but it was the first trip for my wife, & I wanted to show her Paris.) As soon as we got to Frankfurt, we took a train to Paris, about 6-7 hrs. Stayed there 5 days. Then took a train to Munich, about 8 hrs. Where we stayed 7 days, & took a number of day trips from there, including going to Salzburg. Even though Paris is 1 of my favorite cities, after seeing Salzburg, I wished we had more time to visit other places in Austria. & then from Munich back to Frankfurt to fly back to the States. If you are traveling by car, it will probably take longer than my train times to travel between cities. & with a 2y.o. you may be pushing it. I would never want to discourage anybody from going to Paris, it is a fantastic city, IMO, but in your situation I would stick to Germany & Austria. You can save Paris for another trip. I am sure that after your first trip to Europe, like most of us, you will be hooked, & will go back a number of times. <BR>

Paris is for another trip. Assuming you're arriving Frankfurt, I'd do the Romantic Road, Wurzburg to Fussen, into Austria and the Salz and Danube rivers to Vienna, north to the Czech Republic (try to visit Cesky Krumlov and of course Prague) and back to Frankfurt. If you haven't already hired a car, contact Autoeurope, they have a great map of Europe with driving times between major cities.