My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe (my first, his second) in late September/early October. We're leaning toward flying into Paris, spending a few days there, then taking the train down to Rome, possibly stopping somewhere on the way there, spending a few days in Rome and flying out of Rome. Does this sound doable? Is it a good idea? <BR><BR>And since it's my first trip to Europe, should we instead stick to London/Paris/Amsterdam and somewhere in Germany route?<BR>

I think it sounds like a great idea. Maybe stop in Switzerland or in northern Italy for at least a night or two on your way to Rome. Otherwise think about flying to Rome from Paris or taking an overnight train, otherwise it's a really long ride.

Our first trip to Europe (well over 20 years ago) consisted of 3 days in Paris, 3 in Switzerland and then 1 back in Paris.<BR><BR>Since I planned in myself (no internet in those days) we remember everything and every place.<BR><BR>Different people count days differently. Some tours count a 10 day trip that includes the day you leave going each day. I only count the arrival day if it's before noon and the departue day if it is after 5PM.<BR><BR>If you're trip is 10 days and you count the way I do then I would allow 3-4 days in each place. That allows about 3 days en route.<BR><BR>I agree with John. Switzerland and Northern Italy are beautiful.<BR><BR>For Switzerland I would suggest Luzern for a nice town and the Interlaken area for the mountains. You should be able to do both on day trips. The only problem is I don't like the train connection from Luzern to Interlaken. I much prefer Bern. Bern is very good as you can see it and the train to Luzern and Interlaken are each about an hour. From Luzern to Interlaken is over 2 hours. Also, you have a non-change sleeper from Bern to Rome.<BR><BR>For Italy I would suggest Como. You can do a day trip to Belaggion, Lugano and Como itself is nice.<BR><BR>Check train schedules if Venice is a possibility instead.<BR>

I've lived in Europe for almost 4 years now. My advice is to stick to just these 2 wonderful cities. You will find plenty to do and most likely after your vacation you will realize you could have spent even more time in each city. I would suggest Rome first and Paris second. Rome gets rainier and rainer as the Autumn continues, but Paris stays the same, and Paris has many business people come in September which makes it harder to get lodging. Rome 5 days, Paris 5 days. Rome 7 days, Paris 7 days would be even better if you could swing it.

Thanks for everyone's replies -- yes we are talking about spending 10 days in Europe, plus two days to travel. Great suggestion about doing rome first. Northern Italy and Switzerland are wonderful ideas -- i think the train goes two ways from paris to rome, one that is relative a straight shot, and the other goes along the coast.