newtoallthistravel

Hi All,

I would be interested in your experience and advice.
We are planning a trip for two people to Europe in Aug 2013. We have 11 days and would like to see Paris and some of Italy if possible. We will be coming from London and flying out of Paris.

How much time should we allocate to Paris?
What would be the best way to make the most of the time we have? We are considering driving but I'm not sure if that is the best option (for price and time). Should we be considering trains?

What are your 'must see' locations in France and Italy?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Andrew

This is really an open question. Why do you want to go to Paris? Why do you want to go to Italy? Museums? History? Wine? Scenery? You may go to these countries for different reasons than I do, so you and I may have different answers.

11 days isn't much time to see Paris plus + "some of Italy" (not a tiny country). Driving sounds like it would eat up too much time when it is so limited so I would definitely fly to Italy and back to Paris.

You might fly from London to Venice, train to Florence, fly to Paris and home from there. Or, if you're more interested in Rome, do Rome - Florence - Paris - or just Rome and Paris. Those would be my very general suggestions, without knowing more about your interests.

newtoallthistravel

Sorry Andrew, i forgot to mention our interests (rookie mistake). We are interested in food,culture, history, wine and also to tick off the general tourist spots. I'm not too interested in bars or too many museums. I haven't travelled to either France or Italy before.

adrienne

In Italy, bars are where you can get good, inexpensive food for lunch or snacks and coffee. Lots of Italians stop in bars for a morning espresso on their way to work. Bars also sometimes sell bus tickets. They are part of the Italian culture so I wouldn't dismiss them.

If you want to "tick off the general tourist spots" you'll need to be more specific as to region/city/town in Italy as there are thousands of these and many are museums.

I'd give 5 days to Paris.

How to get to Italy from Paris? It depends on where in Italy you're going. If Venice or Rome then fly. If elsewhere then either train or airplane or perhaps car.

willit

As you are already doing London( I presume this is part of the trip, and you don't live there) and Paris then complete the trio and do Rome.

I would split 6 days in one, five in the other, it doesn't matter which as there is more than enough in both cities to keep you occupied for 5 or 6 weeks, let alone days.

You can easily "tick the boxes" in Rome: Colosseum, Forum, Vatican etc. One Museum (I'd do the Vatican Museum or Capitoline), even a say trip (possibly Ostia Antica or Tivoli)

Personally, I think you get far more out of doing two places well, than trying the "town a day" approach.

bilboburgler

August can get pretty hot in Rome

I'd take the train to Paris from London (unless you are already at one of the main London airports). I'd fly Paris to Rome using one of the cheap airlines. I'd give more time to Paris than Rome.

The alternative for me when visiting Italy in Mid August would be to go and enjoy the countryside. So rather than say hitting the lakes or Tuscany go somewhere like Bologna and use the trains or hired bicycles to visit the nearby cities. This keeps you away from the tourist crowds and gives you a good five days in the smaller smarter cities.

Venice and Florence will be crowded in August

I'd book my hotels now as they are filling up.

bilboburgler

flying out of Paris (just noticed this) well then do Italy first, fly London to Venice/Rome, fly Italy to Paris (there are two airports)

RonZ

Yes, flying out of Paris do Italy first. I also agree that visiting smaller towns would avoid the crowds at major tourist destinations, but these involve a time problem.

Many cheap to Paris go to Paris Beauvais, a small remote airport. There is a shuttle [75 min.] to Porte Maillot in the city, where you can a cab or use the underground [Metro]. Most of these are found here:

www.whichbudget.com

There are various flights to Paris Orly, which provides easier transit to the city.

Train schedules here:

Many cheap to Paris go to Paris Beauvais, a little remote airport. There is a shuttle [75 min.] to Porte Maillot in the city, where you can a cab or use the underground [Metro]. Most of these are found here:

www.whichbudget.com

There are various flights to Paris Orly, providing transit to the city.

Train schedules here [see "intermediate stops" on some routes]:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?

Overnight trains above and here [these save a hotel stay]:

http://www.seat61.com/thello-train-f...m#.UV3Fa_uvdc8