Honeymoon in Europe, late March
Feb 13th, 2006, 08:00 PM
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Honeymoon in Europe, late March
hi everyone, I've been reading a lot of reviews on this forum, and going back and forth on where we should go for our honeymoon in late March. We are planning to fly out on March 24th (Friday) to Europe, landing Sat morning. We will spend six nights in city(ies) of our choice, and then on March 31st, we have to head up to Frankfurt for business. Neither of us has been to Italy before and I've always wanted to go there for my honeymoon. We love art, culture, history... and we also would like to have a couple days to relax, unwind, and do something romantic.
I can't decide on where to spend the 6 days. Here are the areas I'm considering:
1) Rome/Positano - 3 nights each.. but from what I've read late March is not the best time to visit AC
2) Rome/Venice - 3 nights each.. not sure if this is enough to do justice to either city
3) Rome only
4) Venice only - weather concerns
5) Rome/Florence
6) Paris - I'm throwing this in there b/c I love that city, I just don't know if I want to be there in March.. I hate rain!
I'm hoping the seasoned travelers on this board can help me make a decision. Thanks in advance!
I can't decide on where to spend the 6 days. Here are the areas I'm considering:
1) Rome/Positano - 3 nights each.. but from what I've read late March is not the best time to visit AC
2) Rome/Venice - 3 nights each.. not sure if this is enough to do justice to either city
3) Rome only
4) Venice only - weather concerns
5) Rome/Florence
6) Paris - I'm throwing this in there b/c I love that city, I just don't know if I want to be there in March.. I hate rain!
I'm hoping the seasoned travelers on this board can help me make a decision. Thanks in advance!
Feb 14th, 2006, 04:14 AM
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Because of the time of year, I'm throwing out something totally different that you hadn't considered at all. Have you thought about Andalucia in Spain or Portugal? These places are equally interesting and you will have much nicer weather. Seville is charming and romantic and you could do some other things in the vicinity or even go over to Granada and see the Alhambra. We were there in March a few years ago and were able to sit around in the cafes on the street at night having tapas with nothing more than a light jacket or sweater on.
I haven't been to Lisbon but I also understand that this is quite nice and there is a very romantic sounding area just north of the city called Sintra which is supposed to be fabulous and near the ocean. With cheap flights all over these days you coulod just as easily visit one of these places.
We're going to Paris next month and preparing for miserable weather.
I haven't been to Lisbon but I also understand that this is quite nice and there is a very romantic sounding area just north of the city called Sintra which is supposed to be fabulous and near the ocean. With cheap flights all over these days you coulod just as easily visit one of these places.
We're going to Paris next month and preparing for miserable weather.
Feb 14th, 2006, 04:36 AM
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Hi Sarah,
If it's Italy you want for a honeymoon, I suggest the whole time in Venice.
Even (or especially?)in a foggy drizzle it is achingly romantic.
You can also visit Verona, Padua, Ravenna or Bologna for daytrips.
If it's Italy you want for a honeymoon, I suggest the whole time in Venice.
Even (or especially?)in a foggy drizzle it is achingly romantic.
You can also visit Verona, Padua, Ravenna or Bologna for daytrips.
Feb 14th, 2006, 06:29 AM
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If you hate rain, then March in Europe is going to be a bit of disappointment to you, because it will be hard to get away from it. Take a look at weatherbase.com for historical rainfall. It is not that there is a lot in terms of the amount or rain, what you will find is grey skies on many days with a little rain falling for a bit each day.
That being said, it can still be wonderful and if you do it right, relaxing. It is not crowded so you can get into museums without waiting in massive lines and restaurants will be much less crowded, and walking on the wet cobblestone streets with the bare trees is actually quite romantic in my view.
In general, I would stick to the cities where there is more to do inside if the weather turns bad, and lots of sidewalk cafes and restaurants if the weather is sunny and pleasant.
As you should be able to get pretty good prices on hotels in March, you might want to try to pick larger hotels with indoor pools or spas where you can do treatments, take a steam or swim as a way to relax in lieu of being able to get outdoors to a beach. The Hotel del Russie in Rome has a great spa and is a wonderful hotel, take a look at hotelderussie.it. Great hotel, great location. You can walk to everything. The staff is wonderful. You have not mentioned a budget, so I don't know if this is in it.
Rome goes without saying is great in all weather, as there is so much to see and do. I would definitely choose that and then decide where else, if anywhere, you want to go. With 6 days on the ground (i.e you arrive the morning of the 25th and leave for Frankfurt the morning of the 31st) I think I would be do 4 days/3 nights in Rome and 2 days/3 nights in Florence. I would go up to Florence on an afternoon train on Tuesday, the 28 in daylight so you can see the countryside and arrive before dark, but late enough so you still have time in Rome. Go to sunrisesunset.com for daylight hours in Florence in March. The reason for this split is (i) you may not get a whole lot in on your first day and (ii) to go anywhere else for the remaining few days means you may not get to do justice to them.
You might be able to leave your hotel in Florence flexible as to your arrival date so if you want to go a day earlier from Rome you could.
I think Florence is a great choice, again lots to do in the city if weather is bad, and if the weather turns nice, you can get into the countryside in a moment's notice (even by foot and bike). Consider the Villa La Massa outside town which has a very good spa, go to villalamassa.com or lhw.com I would have to think about hotels in town with a spa, I will do so, perhaps others can make reccos, the Westin may have a pool or spa.
You need to look into flights from Florence to Frankfurt. There are many non-stop flights on Lufthansa airlines from Pisa, which is about 90 minutes by train from Florence, flight time to Frankfurt is about an hour, so all in all you need about half a day to make the journey. I don't know if there are any non-stops from Florence Airport, and I think Florence Airport may be closing for renovations for a few months shortly anyway, so Pisa may be the only option. You should look into flight info if you want to go out of Florence Airport. Website for Florence Airport is http://www.aeroporto.firenze.it
Of course, I think Paris is great, even in the rain, so you could blow off Italy and go to France. The wonderful little Renaissance Vendome Hotel has a small indoor pool and steam room and is in a great location.
I agree that Venice is really beautiful at any time, even in the rain, but if you really hate rain, and if it is cool and a wind is blowing off the sea, then I can see that walking around the town and taking a gondola right might not be what you think of as a great experience. Although there are many museums and churches, a lot of Venice is about walking the little streets and piazzas, IMO a bit more so than even Florence and certainly Rome where you can get lost for hours in a place like the Vatican Museums or the Borghese.
I would avoid the Amalfi coast in March, too cold, too rainy, too windy, ferries won't or can't run. Save for another trip, mabye do in late Septmeber with Venice some other year.
I have been to Lisbon and Sintra and agree they would be a great place for a honeymoon; I just don't think you would find massively different weather in March than Italy (they are basically on the same latitude and Portugal has the colder Atlantic to deal with), and it is certainly not warm enough for beach weather then. There is a ton of history in both Lisbon and Portugal and that of course you sound like you would be interested in, but then of course Rome, Florence and Venice have that too. Take a look at the temps on weatherbase.com. The Ritz Four Season in Lisbon is one of my all time favourite hotels, has an indoor pool and a great spa.
That being said, it can still be wonderful and if you do it right, relaxing. It is not crowded so you can get into museums without waiting in massive lines and restaurants will be much less crowded, and walking on the wet cobblestone streets with the bare trees is actually quite romantic in my view.
In general, I would stick to the cities where there is more to do inside if the weather turns bad, and lots of sidewalk cafes and restaurants if the weather is sunny and pleasant.
As you should be able to get pretty good prices on hotels in March, you might want to try to pick larger hotels with indoor pools or spas where you can do treatments, take a steam or swim as a way to relax in lieu of being able to get outdoors to a beach. The Hotel del Russie in Rome has a great spa and is a wonderful hotel, take a look at hotelderussie.it. Great hotel, great location. You can walk to everything. The staff is wonderful. You have not mentioned a budget, so I don't know if this is in it.
Rome goes without saying is great in all weather, as there is so much to see and do. I would definitely choose that and then decide where else, if anywhere, you want to go. With 6 days on the ground (i.e you arrive the morning of the 25th and leave for Frankfurt the morning of the 31st) I think I would be do 4 days/3 nights in Rome and 2 days/3 nights in Florence. I would go up to Florence on an afternoon train on Tuesday, the 28 in daylight so you can see the countryside and arrive before dark, but late enough so you still have time in Rome. Go to sunrisesunset.com for daylight hours in Florence in March. The reason for this split is (i) you may not get a whole lot in on your first day and (ii) to go anywhere else for the remaining few days means you may not get to do justice to them.
You might be able to leave your hotel in Florence flexible as to your arrival date so if you want to go a day earlier from Rome you could.
I think Florence is a great choice, again lots to do in the city if weather is bad, and if the weather turns nice, you can get into the countryside in a moment's notice (even by foot and bike). Consider the Villa La Massa outside town which has a very good spa, go to villalamassa.com or lhw.com I would have to think about hotels in town with a spa, I will do so, perhaps others can make reccos, the Westin may have a pool or spa.
You need to look into flights from Florence to Frankfurt. There are many non-stop flights on Lufthansa airlines from Pisa, which is about 90 minutes by train from Florence, flight time to Frankfurt is about an hour, so all in all you need about half a day to make the journey. I don't know if there are any non-stops from Florence Airport, and I think Florence Airport may be closing for renovations for a few months shortly anyway, so Pisa may be the only option. You should look into flight info if you want to go out of Florence Airport. Website for Florence Airport is http://www.aeroporto.firenze.it
Of course, I think Paris is great, even in the rain, so you could blow off Italy and go to France. The wonderful little Renaissance Vendome Hotel has a small indoor pool and steam room and is in a great location.
I agree that Venice is really beautiful at any time, even in the rain, but if you really hate rain, and if it is cool and a wind is blowing off the sea, then I can see that walking around the town and taking a gondola right might not be what you think of as a great experience. Although there are many museums and churches, a lot of Venice is about walking the little streets and piazzas, IMO a bit more so than even Florence and certainly Rome where you can get lost for hours in a place like the Vatican Museums or the Borghese.
I would avoid the Amalfi coast in March, too cold, too rainy, too windy, ferries won't or can't run. Save for another trip, mabye do in late Septmeber with Venice some other year.
I have been to Lisbon and Sintra and agree they would be a great place for a honeymoon; I just don't think you would find massively different weather in March than Italy (they are basically on the same latitude and Portugal has the colder Atlantic to deal with), and it is certainly not warm enough for beach weather then. There is a ton of history in both Lisbon and Portugal and that of course you sound like you would be interested in, but then of course Rome, Florence and Venice have that too. Take a look at the temps on weatherbase.com. The Ritz Four Season in Lisbon is one of my all time favourite hotels, has an indoor pool and a great spa.
Feb 14th, 2006, 08:02 AM
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wow, thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I did look at Spain first for our trip because the weather was nicer, but it's a long flight to Frankfurt so I thought I'd save it for another trip. jules, if we were to go to Spain in March, would you suggest Sevilla or Barcelona for 5 nights? I was thinking we could hit an island off Barcelona as well if we went there.
Venice sounds really nice, but I don't really fancy walking in rain. I love walking around and taking in the scenery, but I've always pictured it under blue skies in mild temperatures. Rome/Florence sound like great cities in any weather - probably especially in off-season. The only question is should I spend split with Florence or just stick with Rome alone? I would probably head out on Thursday evening to Frankfurt if we just stay in Rome the entire time (5 nights). It's also easier to fly out of Rome than from Florence.
Thanks Cicerone for the hotel suggestions. Definitely looking for a spa in our hotel - we'd like to be pampered on our honeymoon. I am booked at the Westin Excelsior in Rome, but I will look into the other places you mentioned.
Venice sounds really nice, but I don't really fancy walking in rain. I love walking around and taking in the scenery, but I've always pictured it under blue skies in mild temperatures. Rome/Florence sound like great cities in any weather - probably especially in off-season. The only question is should I spend split with Florence or just stick with Rome alone? I would probably head out on Thursday evening to Frankfurt if we just stay in Rome the entire time (5 nights). It's also easier to fly out of Rome than from Florence.
Thanks Cicerone for the hotel suggestions. Definitely looking for a spa in our hotel - we'd like to be pampered on our honeymoon. I am booked at the Westin Excelsior in Rome, but I will look into the other places you mentioned.
Feb 14th, 2006, 08:06 AM
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I think ROme is a good choice. We were there late March '01. It was sunny and in the 70-80s during the day. Earlier during the same trip, we were in Venice, it was 50s a most and drizzly. While in Rome maybe take a day trip or even spend a night in a small town for a change of pace. Orvieto is very nice.
Feb 14th, 2006, 08:15 AM
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Hi S,
>Venice sounds really nice, but I don't really fancy walking in rain.<
It's not as if it will be continual downpours. It's only 2.3 in for the month.
In fact, it is less likely to rain in March than in May through Oct. Daytime temps will be in the 50s.
>Rome/Florence sound like great cities in any weather -<
Florence and Rome will be marginally warmer and more likely to be rainy than Venice.
See www.weather.com
>Venice sounds really nice, but I don't really fancy walking in rain.<
It's not as if it will be continual downpours. It's only 2.3 in for the month.
In fact, it is less likely to rain in March than in May through Oct. Daytime temps will be in the 50s.
>Rome/Florence sound like great cities in any weather -<
Florence and Rome will be marginally warmer and more likely to be rainy than Venice.
See www.weather.com
