I have one extra day in my FIRST TIME EUROPE trip, where should I spend it?
 

Hi everyone,
My 7y/o son (very adaptable traveler) and I are arriving early Monday morning (June) in Paris from the US. My husband will be arriving a few hours later. 16 days later we leave from Rome to India.
Here is my rough itinerary. It seems to leave one day too many in Rome, and I'm wondering if I should spend that "extra" day in one of the other cities I'm visiting, or spend on a side trip off these same cities, or do another stop. Keep in mind that my son and I will be spending an extra 3 days in Paris in route from India back to the US later on in our trip.
Monday, arrive early morning in Paris (2.5 days)
Thursday morning take a flight to Vienna (2.5 days)
Sunday morning take a train to Salzburg (1.5+days)
Monday night take a night train to Venice (2 days)
Thursday Morning take a train to Florence (2 days)
Saturday take a train to Rome (3.5 days)
Wednesday take a flight to India
Later on the trip in the way back to the US son and I will spend 3 full days in Paris.
So what do you think?
Thank you for your advice in advance!

Since you're already doing a fair amount of traveling, I wouldn't recommend a side trip.

I guess it's a matter of opinion, but I don't know why you'd consider 3.5 days in Rome as one day too many, if I'm understanding you correctly. But for me, if you wanted to chop one day from Rome and add another somewhere else, it would be Venice.

3.5 days in Rome are too few, not too many. Rome has a limited metro system, so slow to navigate. Lots of walking and taxis and so many sights. I'd not shortened your stay there.

I agree with above. Just spend more time in Rome. If you want to start new thread of things for a 7-yr-old in Rome, I bet people will respond quickly.

You don't have an 'extra' day - you have about 10 too few days for your planned itinerary.

You have built in NO time to see or do much anywhere. So spend that day anywhere you want - you won't see anything there either.

Your time in Paris is woefully inadequate since you will likely be very jet lagged at least a day or two. And then you have a series of quick stops and a LOT of travel. I'd reconsider the whole thing and especially add more time to both Paris and Rome.

Maybe ditch the Austria loop and add those days to Paris/Venice/Rome.

Oh missed the extra days in Paris at the end. In that case you could add the days to Venice/Florence/Rome.

Definitely not too many days in Rome. And you do not have time for a side trip IMO.

Why are you trying to cram in so.many.places in so.little.time? You haven't left enough time for any of these places...I would add additional time in Italy (3.5 days in Rome is not even close to 'too many') and delete Austria entirely.

I agree with the consensus that you're trying to pack too much into too short a time, especially with a 7-year old. You will be spending a lot of time just travelling from place-to-place.

Having done this type of thing with a 7-year old boy, you need time for him to let off steam and enjoy kid stuff--playgrounds, games, running around, whatever you can find.

I would drop at least two cities--perhaps Vienna and Salzburg, or perhaps even Venice, depending on your preference. More time in Rome, Florence and/or Paris would be good.

What are your plans for Florence? It isn't a city the screams "kid-friendly" to me, no matter how "adaptable" the kid may be. Unless your child is really interested in Renaissance religious art? Yes, there are some kid-friendly things to do, but for the most part the focus on this city is, well, Renaissance art.

Overall, I agree with the others--you're cramming way too much in. And your split time in Paris confuses me...why don't you fly home directly from India and add those 3 days in the beginning? You'll be spending a lot of time transferring to and from airports (and train stations for that matter) on this trip.

I was thinking the same thing about Florence--museum time is going to be a bit limited, isn't it?