Paris & Rome- 10 days in February
 

Hi All-
My husband and I are looking to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary with a trip to Paris & Rome. Looking at spending 4 days in Paris and 4 days in Rome. Both of us have not been to either. We are planning to travel in February (this is not our preferred time, but due to schedules, its the only month that will work). Is 4 days/ea too little in each city? Or will it provide enough time to serve as an introductory to each city? Also, is February going to be miserable weather wise? Where I live it gets to be in the 30's F, so wondering if we are going to freeze and not enjoy ourselves. From what I read, it obviously will not be warm, but I feel like being prepared with great clothing choices, we will be just fine. Is this true? For the most part we plan to wander in/around the cities, except maybe doing a long day tour to Normandy from Paris one day. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

We can only give personal feelings about the questions you ask, of course, and if it were my trip and it must be in February I'd opt for a warm place, plan to go to Europe in late spring, summer or early fall another time. There's no way to know if you'll enjoy the cold or how cold it will be. But if you're committed to the trip then our opinion is moot.

And the time frame is a similar issue. Generally speaking I wouldn't bother going for such a short time. But if I wanted to celebrate as you do and felt like a jaunt I'd spend the entire time in 1 place in a nice apartment and really feel as though I'd been somewhere. That's my idea of a good "introduction".

I think you have a fine plan. Four days will give you a nice taste of each city. Weather, of course, could be anything, but if you bring the right clothes you'll be fine. The good news is you will experience very few crowds and can get some good deals on hotels.

I was in Rome last Feb and we walked right in to major sites like the Vatican with no line at all. We enjoyed beautiful sunny weather in the 50s and 60s F, though that is certainly no guarantee of what you'll experience. Paris will likely be colder... they had a lot of snow there last winter, so hopefully that means a warmer winter this year. There are tons of great things to do indoors in both cities, so you won't be bored even if the weather is bad. Go and enjoy!

I've not been to Rome (yet; it's under serious consideration for 2015), but four days in Paris wouldn't be nearly enough for me. But I love Paris. I never tire of it. But perhaps more to the point, if I only had eight days, I wouldn't want to lose a day to travel. I have been to Paris in February. I had a good time, but I'm glad my first, second and fourth visits were in June, September (my favorite) and May, respectively. Paris is best enjoyed on foot, preferably with long stretches of wandering. It's doable in the cold but not nearly as fun or pretty. For that reason, I have to wonder if Rome might be a bit more comfortable. I doubt it will be warm per se, but perhaps not quite as cold. Plus, for as crowded as I read Rome is during the high season, perhaps there will be a benefit to be had from going in the low season.

We go to Europe in February regularly. I find that airfare is less, more accommodations are available, sometimes at reduced prices, and there are less crowds.

So my personal feelings are in favor of a trip at this time. That said, 4 days in each place just seems rushed. I'm hoping that those 8 days don't include your major flights. Even then, one day will be compromised by flying from Paris to Rome.

IMO, restrict yourself to one or the other. Even 8 days in Rome can be separated into 3 in Florence and 5 in Rome. Quick train ride between cities.

I like MmePerdu's idea of saving money by not flying from one country to another, and using the dough to enhance your visit to either.

I would take a full week in a nice apartment in Paris any time. Or Rome.

About the freezing: I personally would rather be cold than hot. That's just my preference.

Your time there will be just enough to get a quick view of the cities - and know how much you want to go back.

As far as weather - you might be lucky and get 50 and sunny - or you can get cold and snow - yes, even in Rome. For Paris I would expect high 30's/40s with rain more likely than snow,

Global warming seems to be making european winters more severe

First, how many nights are you staying? 4 days in Paris and 4 days in Rome can be interpreted to be as little as 6 nights total or as much as 10 nights total. A big difference.

I do not believe the issue is not framed in a relevant way if you are looking at "4 days" being too little. Too little for what? For some people "0 days" in Rome is more than enough while others may say at least 2 weeks. It all depends on what you are intending to get out of the visits.

Look at different scenarios. If you have spent all your time in Paris, what can you do? If you have spent all your time in Rome, what can you do? If you split your visit, what are possible? Which scenarios do you like better as your anniversary celebration? Only you can answer this question.

I think whether a visit is rushed or not is a mismatch between the scope and the constraint = time. I do not believe in less than so many days automatically means a rushed visit. If your scope of the visit fit within your "4 days" visit, it would not be rushed. If the scope of your visit requires 10 days and you try to fit it within "8 days", it would be a rushed visit.

We did a similar trip in January and had a great time. The weather in Rome was cool but nice, Paris was colder but we just wore layers. We thought it was enough time. Yes you can't to do everything but we saw a lot and really enjoyed ourselves. I wrote a trip report if you click on my name. We found there was almost no lines any where we went and prices were definitely better for accommodations.

Paris and Rome are good choices for winter travel. Lots to see and do.

Is it really 4 days in each city? Or 4 nights/3 days minus the time to travel in between? Also are you arriving after a long overnight flight? If so, you will be jet-lagged and sleepy the first day or two. And therefore lose touristing time.

If you really have 4 full days for each city, then go for it. This is the perfect itinerary for an open-jaws ticket, into Paris out of Rome or vice versa. (For open-jaws click multi-city on airline websites. Should cost about the same as round-trip. And you can do it with FF miles.)

Fly Easyjet from Paris Orly to Rome. Orly is easy to get to by public transportation, nearer than CDG, and less crowded.

But if you don't really have this much time, then stay in one place. You can do daytrips out of the city picking days with good weather. Let us know if you're interested in daytrip options for Rome or Paris.

Enjoy the palm trees in Rome, snow or not!

Many of the things we like to do are indoors, so going to Paris in Feb was not a hardship. Fewer lines and you can actually see the bones of the buildings.
On the downside, no foliage to cover up the bones of the buildings, no fountains.

Dress warm, have fun. The cafes are still open and everyone is less stressed.

you can certainly have fun in Paris and Rome in Feb, but both places can be cold and wet at that time of year; they can also be warm and sunny.

if you want a chance of decent weather, Sicily and Andalucia would be better bets. or Athens.

Thank you annhig. I so dislike being cold when there are alternatives.

Despite it being cold, there are many positives, fewer crowds, etc. However, I would consider picking only one, as there is just so much to do. If you luck out and get good weather, there are numerous day trips to take.
As greg said, I would make a list of what I wanted to see and do in each and see if 4 days would cut it. I would also worry about bad weather disrupting my plan to get from one city to the other.

Thank you annhig. I so dislike being cold when there are alternatives>>

Cornwall would definitely not suit you then MmePerdu.

we liked Rome in February; even on the day it snowed [so hard we couldn't see the dome of St. Peter's even when we were only 100 yards away from it] it was fun watching all the priests taking pictures of the snow. and when the sun came out it melted quickly and we were all sitting outside again. I think the worse weather is the cold and wet sort which is quite possible in both cities in Feb.

"Cornwall would definitely not suit you then MmePerdu."

In February, no. But in May it was lovely.

yes, MmePerdu - i meant that living here would not suit you. too many cold wet days, but as you say, lovely when the sun is shining.

I have plenty of cold/wet in the winter here in N. CA but also my granddaughters which makes all the difference. Otherwise, England in spring/fall, SE Asia in winter.

If you have 4 full days for each city, I think it would work. You can see and do enough that you will definitely want to return.

You mentioned a day trip to Normandy. I definitely recommend against that idea. Normandy will be cold, possibly wet and windy and, at that time of year, the days are short. Save Normandy for sometime when you can return in the spring.

Haven't visited either in February but don't let the cold scare you away. I might choose one city over the other rather than splitting the time but I understand wanting to go to both.

Both have so much to offer and to me are quite different. You will have plenty to do indoors and outdoors, so visit a museum or church when you are cold or warm up with hot chocoalte.

Take layers, make sure you have a travel umbrella, a great scarf, hat and gloves and use those hand warmers you get at outdoor stores when you will outside. I also recommend water resistant or water proof boots, also. We survived Paris at Christmas several years ago with snow and sleet...and we are headed back this year.

I hope you enjoy your trip.