Hi, So I am thinking on taking my family to Europe. (My four children, 27, 26, 20, and 15 years old. We take the plane Saturday June 1st, arriving in Paris Monday June 3rd. We will be staying 4 nights in Paris (Jone 3rd till the 7th, 2013) then, we will be taking the train to Venice, perhaps spend 3 nights in Venice, and 4 nights in Rome? Does this itinerary sounds okay? Do I need to stay two nights in Venice instead? I have heard Venice can get quite expensive, is that true. Also, any recommendations of hotel stay outside Venice to make it more affordable? Perhaps an hour away from Venice. Could you recommend any place we could stay at? We are doing this trip for my daughters 15th birthday. We want to make it special for her and the whole family. I really appreciate any input or suggestions on this. Gracias

If you click on your screen name you will see your other thread in which you asked a similar question and have a dozen answers.

Do not stay outside Venice. You will lose the magic of Venice such as the late night walks, vaporetto ride looking at the lights along the grand canal, listening to the bands in Piazza San Marco. Big mistake to stay outside Venice. If you can afford the trip then you can afford to stay in Venice. It doesn't have to be any more expensive than Rome or Paris. Are you staying outside those cities to save money?

And you want to stay not just outside Venice but an hour away from Venice? Why go to Venice at all? Plus you have to pay for 5 train tickets back and forth? I think it's crazy to stay half way to Florence when you're visiting Venice. This won't be special at all for your daughter.

You need to specify a budget amount. Otherwise hotel suggestions are pointless.

I would stay in Venice 3 nights - 2 days.

Thank you very much for all your responses. They will be very helpful to us. For Adrienne, I have heard Venice is really expensive, but you are right, I think all Europe is pretty much the same. As you described Venice I think is worth to stay there. Sounds like is going to be fum. Budget wise, we are okay. Just stretch the Dollar amount whenever we can. Thank you guys.

If you have any more suggestions, feel free to let me know.

I've been to all three cities and I don't think Venice is any more expensive than Paris or Rome. I do agree that in order to really experience any of these cities it is imperative to stay in them and not outside of them. Part of their beauty and charm is walking around in the evenings. With the lights and fountains...just breath taking. All of these are beautiful cities. It sounds like a memory making trip in the planning.

In Venice, do not sit in Piazza San Marco at night because the restaurants/cafes there are very very expensive. You can buy an ice cream and stand and listen to the music for free.

As in any large city, if you go a couple of blocks away from main tourist attractions you'll pay less for food. Don't order soft drinks which are very expensive. Take out is cheaper than eating in, standing at the bar is cheaper than sitting at a table and the most expensive is sitting at an outside table. So there are 4 tiers of pricing (food and drink) in Italy.

If you're from the US, bars in Italy are not the same as bars at home. They are places to get quick food and drink such as pizza slices or sandwiches and perfectly acceptable for your 15 year old.

to cut costs in Venice head to the nearby Lido for hotels - as low as 30-40 euros a room for doubles my friends go during the off season - still rather off-season in early June - just a short boat ride from San Marcos.

consider taking the overnight train Paris to Venice - otherwise it is a long long trip during daytime. An overnight train can also be quite an adventure if never done it before (score cheap tickets at www.thello.com - the company that runs the train. Other sites for learning lots about European trains - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

check www.trenitalia.com for online discount tickets Venice to Rome - after years of traveling on Italian trains I would recommend highly first class as being more relaxed. but have no worry about ever getting on trains in Italy - so so many you can just show up and buy a ticket (which comes with the mandated seat reservation).

instead of listening to what other people say about how expensive venice is, look at the hotel consolidation websites for the dates that you are travelling to see what it will really cost for 5-6 people. venere.com or booking.com are good places to start - you can specify that you want, for example, 1x twin-bedded room, and one triple. [probably easier to find that one with 5 beds].

alternatively, look at apartments - though they are probably better if you were just doing Paris and Venice or Paris and Rome.

finally, you might also think about staying in convents - they often have multi-bedded rooms.

http://www.monasterystays.com/

there are others - try googling "convent stays in italy".