Paris/Florence
 

Hi....My mom and I are planning our first trip to Europe - this will probably be her only chance to make it over there - hopefully my husband and I will return some day - but I want to make this special for her. Here's what I have planned so far - but I need some help and hoping some of you can help.

We are flying from Cleveland to Paris on May 14 (Thurs) and will arrive the morning of the 15th (Fri). We will be in Paris for the day of the 15th. We need someplace to put our luggage for the day so we don't have to lug it all around with us. We have planned a tour of pastry shops and chocolate shops for that day as we only need to pass the time until we catch our train that evening to Florence. We go by train to Florence and will arrive on Saturday morning. We will spend the next 4 days in Florence and am pretty sure we are ok with the arrangements in Florence so far. We then head back to Paris Tuesday night on the night train and arrive back in Paris on Wednesday morning.

We want to spend three days sightseeing in Paris catching the best sights we can. A must for us will be the catacombs, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. Of course there are other things I would love to see - but I'm realistic that we only have three days - so I am not sure what all we can possibly get done. That's where I need help. Taking into account those three things - how much more can we expect to see - and what could those things be? I've tried to research online - but I'm getting confused on how far things are apart from each other and just how much time you really need for each place. We are planning to buy a tour pass that will allow us to skip the lines at over 60 locations and it also includes the admission and metro passes - but I'm really just looking for suggestions of an iternary for three days - Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. Also, any suggestions of what we can do with our luggage on Friday when we arrive in Paris for the day. The station our train departs from is Bercy.

Any suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm sure you have a good reason for flying to Paris and then that same day taking a 12 1/2 hr train to Florence that is a night train. Then returning on a night train. I would be exhausted !!! Have you ever tried to sleep on a night train???

Store your bags at the hotel where you plan to stay on your return to Paris.

Stu Dudley

Hi tk,

Your Mom will remember that day from Cleveland to Florence the rest of her life, if it doesn't kill her.

Why not fly between Paris and Florence?
See www.whichbudget.com.

Is there a particular reason for cramming these two cities into one week?

Your mother will love a week in either, and will be much more rested.

((I))

why not fly into Paris and out of Florence?

I agree with the others. You need to rethink this. Flying into Paris, stowing your luggage, and then killing the day to take a night train to Florence will be exhausting beyond belief. You won't even have a hotel room to freshen up, take a nap, or take a shower. You'll be forced to spend the say wondering around no matter how you feel after your flight before getting on the 12 hour night train. I would never do that in a million years.

First, I agree with ira. Have you thought about spending your entire week in either Paris or Florence? There is so much to see in both of those cities, plus many options for taking daytrips (you could go to London for the day from Paris, for example, if your mom wanted to see something different) You could rent an apartment which can save you money and give you some extra space. It would just be a more relaxing and enjoyable trip, imo.

If both Paris and Florence are a must for this trip, then you need to look into an open jaws flight. Can you fly into one city and out of the other? That would save you a lot of time and energy.

If you are locked into flying in to and out of Paris, well again I would say think hard about spending the week in Paris because you will lose so much time getting to Florence and back. If you fly between them, you lose a day. If you take a night train, you very well might lose a good night's sleep. One overnight train might be okay but I couldn't imagine taking 2 in the space of a week, especially right after an overnight flight.

My sister and I have taken the overnight train from Paris to Venice and it wasnt that restful..

I agree that the flight over and the immediate train trip will be tough - but she wanted to do Italy first - and we got a great deal to fly into France business class - so that's why we are flying into Paris first. And, we have to fly back out of Paris as the airlines we are flying doesn't fly out of Florence.

I think what I'll do is rent an inexpensive hotel room close to the train station the day we arrive in Paris so we can take a shower and take a nap if we want - keep our luggage there until our train leaves tha night - and then we can walk around a little if we like or not if we don't. That will solve the issue of the first day... but if anyone has any advice on what the must see things in Paris would be for 3 days.... if the Eiffel Tower, Catacombs and Louvre are already on the list....

Running around Paris to pastry and chocolate shops is a complete waste of time (you can get food anywhere - and frankly better chocolates in Belgium and better pastry in Austria).

I agree your trip is way too much getting from one place to another (esp by night train, which is not only expensive, but also incredibly tiring). I too, would suggest staying in one city or another - or - if you must travel, hop a plane instead os spending all those hours on trains.


Also, I think you need to do a lot more work on Paris - catacombs are not a major sight. You should be look at Monmarte, Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay and a host of other unique sights.

KT - hate to be blunt - but your first day is ridiculous. Just stay at CDG and catch a flight ASAP to Florence, so you can have a good sleep the first night you arrive.

I'm guessing that you may not have traveled to Europe before, and perhaps have not experience serious jet lag before. What if you don't sleep on the plane. What if you don't sleep during your nap/freshen-up time in Paris, you probably will not sleep on the train. Then What - will you enjoy Florence at all if you have to recover from several days of no sleep???

This is something that might work for a 20YO college student on a tight budget. But if you are married, I'm guessing that your mom is near 50, and it will likely be a real problem for her.

BTW, when my wife & I first went to Europe 32 years ago when we were in our late 20s, my mom & sister traveled with us. They "bailed out" after about 4 days - they were exhausted from our schedule. Been there, done that.

Stu Dudley

tknechtges,

Are you on The Amazing Race or something? Your intended schedule isn't going to be a vacation and it certainly won't be restful. Pick one city or the other and enjoy yourselves.

This is the one chance she'll ever have to get to Europe - so she's cramming as much in as she can. She sleep when we get home - She's a chef - and we have a catering business together - so that's why we are interested in the chocolate/cooking. We are used to staying up hours upon hours cooking. The days we arrive in Florence and Paris after the overnight trains aren't planned yet - so if we crash - we crash. We've unfortunately already booked the train tickets - so we are locked into that itenerary - I was hoping for suggestions on the can't miss places in Paris as there are so many things to do there...

For your day in Paris, and if you want to stay awake, I recommend being outside as much as possible. Research a few shops you want to visit and plan a "walking tour." Include one "must see" monument or attraction on your tour. Add the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame, if you are nearby. Don't venture outside the inner arrondisements. If you have never been to Paris, you will be overwhelmed, so just keep it simple. When you return to Paris, go to the Musee d'Orsay. In May, you may want to take the short trip to Giverny to see Monet's Garden. Skip Versailles.

Hi....My mom and I are planning our first trip to Europe - this will probably be her only chance to make it over there
********

We all somehow make it back if we want to bad enough. :)

Thanks Marsha. That's what I was looking for. I'll look around for a good walking tour.

Dear tknechtges:

If you don't want to plan your own walk, here are some sites that I have bookmarked in the past:

http://www.paris-walks.com/

http://www.parisinconnu.com/promenades/index_us.htm#

I haven't used these sites or the companies, so I don't know if they are any good. You might Google them on this forum or SlowTraveler to see if there are any reviews. I also know there are other walking tour companies out there. I wouldn't recommend a bus tour of Paris on that first day - you probably will just fall asleep from the motion of the bus (my 8 year old daughter did just that).

We've taken Paris-Walks several times. All are quite good - some better than others depending on the specific guide.

I almost never respond to questions about Paris that ask "what are the must sees" or " how much more can we expect to see - and what could those things be? " There are more guide books written about Paris than any other city in the world (close second might be London). IMO, there is also more diverse stuff to see in Paris than anyplace else. A lot depends on your specific interests. I have no interest in painted art - so I don't go to the Louvre or Orsay. I love sculpture - so I've been to the Rodin 3 times. We love building architecture - so we've spent weeks (perhaps months) wandering in the various neighborhoods admiring various pre WWII architecture. Close friends of ours have no interest in building architecture - so when they were with us in Paris last Sept, we did a WWII Occupation "Paris Walk".

If you really have no idea what you want to see & do - get the Rick Steves Book (Can't believe I'm really recommending Rick Steves for Paris). For cities I've never visited before, I often start by getting the highlights and a few tips from Rick Steves to determing general itineraries. Then I get the Michelin Green Guide for the city for further detail & more worthwhile info.

An important thing is to be efficient with your time. Mid day there are very long lines for St Chapelle and the Eifel Tower. Best to visit these places as soon as they open or just before they close. Notre Dame can have a short line, but going up the tower takes a long wait. With only 3 days to visit Paris, you don't want to spend 4 hours in lines.

Stu Dudley

Stu has some good points. Decide what you enjoy and then research. (I think you have already decided you want to visit pastry and chocolate shops, with a few general highlights of Paris.) Rick Steves always has hints to avoid long lines. The Louvre and the d'Orsay have so much more than painted art. My daughter's favorite section of the Louvre is the Egyptian Antiquities. When I last visited the d'Orsay, it had furniture and sculpture sections. I love the Rodin, too. You may decide you want to concentrate on interesting places to eat - it would certainly take up a lot of time to do three excellent meals a day in Paris, rather than eat on the fly at a street vendor or neighborhood cafe.

Fodorites,

where are your favorite Parisian pastry or chocolate shops?

Thanks all - I ordered Rick Steves book two days ago for Paris to get some ideas. I think because we'll only be there for a few short days I want to make sure we hit the highlights - or at least as many as possible. I'll read that book and figure out exactly what we want to do. If it's all right with you guys - once I figure out what we want to do - I'll post it and then if you don't mind - maybe you guys can tell me which day and in what order it makes sense to do them since you guys have done these before and know about times of day/etc of when to go. That's what I can't seem to find on the internet and you all have been a big help in that area.

Thanks!