I apologize for not being more explicit; my generalization seems to have gone over everyone's head. Here's the point, for those who missed it: open jaw fares are not applied to the cheapest fare classes.

So you can't take the average of (for example) a $400 and a $500 r/t, because those are rock-bottom rates that aren't eligible for open-jaw.

Give it up already. We get the point - now let's quit beating the poor dead horse.

As so often happens on here, some minor point gets kicked to death - "I must have the last word" - and the whole thread goes off in a ditch.

I definitely agree that three cities is too many for 10 days. We recently spent 4 nights in Paris and 4 nights in London, and it wasn't enough time in either for our first visit to each.
For recommendations on hotels in those cities that would suit a family, click on my screen name above and find my trip report of London-Paris-Amsterdam, with specific tips on places to stay and eat.
It worked great to fly into London, and take the EuroStar to Paris. I think it would be a waste of time to backtrack to the same city for departure. Regardless of whether or not it's slightly more expensive to fly open-jaw, it's worth it for the valuable time you will save IMHO.
Have a wonderful trip! Lucky son.

I think this is a useful distinction. If you don't, too bad. Just stuff a sock in it.

Actually everyone is right. Depending on where you are flying to and from and when you are going, sometimes open jaw tickets aren't much different in price than round trips, and other times they are grotesquely more expensive. Like renting cars, you have to shop around.

Hi molly,

With 10 days my choices would be:

Paris and vicintiy

London and Paris

London and Rome

See www.whichbudget.com for cheap fares between cities.

See www.eurostar.com for trains between London and Paris. The cheapest fare is the one-day RT. Don't use the return.

See http://airtravelcenter.com/onetrav.htm
for open-jaw flights.

Have a nice trip.

((I))

Visit the site go-today.com. They have air+hotel packages 6 days Paris-London or 6 days London-Rome, starting at $599/pp for February 2006. Travel price inclusive of the transport bteween both cties. Definitely something to consider.

Hi Molly:
Originally we created a 14 day trip with 3 bases:London,Normandy,Paris.
When we had to shorten it to 10 days,
we decided on 2: London & Paris.

In regards to what Janis says,
we'll lose over half a day going
from London-Paris on the eurostar.
My research shows it's cheaper to
fly from London to Paris but takes
much longer.

My recent search on airfare for
this November shows RT London to
be cheaper as Robespierre stated.

However,we've decided to do an
open jaw into LHR & out of CDG
for 2 reasons:(1)enjoy our stay
in Paris by not losing another
part of a day (2)packing,
transferring,unpacking and losing
more valuable time on the trip.

Travel mindset is that we will
return to Europe again & then
see Normandy.

The people on the forum here are
just wonderful. They're well
traveled and give honest advice
and plenty to think about in
planning a trip.

Because of their experiences,
we're still undecided about
flying same day from Boston into
LHR or doing the traditional
overnight flight.

Best wishes on your trip and with
your decision making!

PS:
How did the smileys get into my post?
Di

DiG: Yeah - those pesky smileys crop up even when you don't intend them.

Be carefull when using punctuation. i.e the :L was because of a colon followed by an L. Always leave a space after a colon or you'll often get the sneaky things.

and parentheses are always iffy. the :( was because of colon parentheses . . . .

If you want a list check here www.fodors.com/forums/smileys/

You do NOT have to lose half a day going from London to Paris. On your last day, check out of your hotel, check your gear at Waterloo (or stash it at the hotel if it's close by), and enjoy a full day of sightseeing before getting on the <u>last</u> Eurostar (arriving Gare du Nord shortly before midnight).

Since evenings are typically down time anyway, and you can have your evening meal on the train, the time doesn't <i>seem</i> to come out of your sightseeing budget.

Robespierre:
I do not obviously have your energy level to be on my feet all day in London &amp; arrive in Paris at midnight.
We are considering enjoying an additional morning &amp; taking a later
eurostar.

Also, as I have posted before, this
is our first visit to both London
and Paris. I would not be comfortable arriving that late at night until I have the pleasure of a return trip to Paris.

We are trying to divide our time equally between the two cities to
allow for orientation to each to
have a better experience.