Looking for feedback on intended amount of time spent in each city.
Dates 31-Jan to 12-Feb

Paris: 4.5 days, overnight train to Florence
Florence: 3.5 days, train to Rome
Rome: 2.5 days, overnight train to Paris
Paris: hotel stay and depart next day

In my opinion, 11 days are too short to visit three of the best destinations in the world. Your days actually total only 10.5. You will be losing time travelling between cities. I think you should choose between either Rome or Paris not both.

I would perhaps reverse the days spent in Florence and Rome, but if you are particularly interested in Renaissance art, then Florence is the right place to spend more time. Rome is either early Christian or Baroque, with not very much in between.

Did you already book your flight? If not, book an open-jaw (arrive Paris, leave from Rome).

I was also going to suggest an open jaw (into Paris, out of Rome). Unless you're getting a tremendous savings on the plane ticket (which exceeds the price of train ticket and aggravation), you may want to look into flying back from Rome (FCO).

I just realized that I omitted a minor detail from my brief description of Rome: ancient Rome.

Flying open jaw is an excellent suggestion.

Thanks for feedback so far. Flight already booked (saved $800 over open jaw). The main desire is to see The Master's artwork.

Airline fares can be inexplicable at times, but how in the world did an open jaw cost $800 more than single-city?

I just did a quick check on Delta for the dates you specified. Atlanta-Paris/Rome-Atlanta cost $667. Atlanta-Paris/Paris-Atlanta cost $649.

I would think you should be able to do a lot better in terms of airfare, and if you can it would be well worth the $100 fee or whatever to rearrange the flight itinerary.

For two tickets: Total ticket price was $1,200 vs. $1,900 (oops, $700 savings) flying from Kalipsell, Montana.

I know people think the train is romantic or something, but with Ryan Air so darn cheap and quick, why not fly - especially the Rome to Paris part?

The way your itinerary is now, I think you are going to feel like you spent your entire trip on a train.

Wliwil, I was going to suggest the same thing until I realized that Greatday would lose more time (more time during the day) if s/he flew - getting out to the airport, flying, getting from the airport to the city - than if s/he took an overnight train from city center to city center. And if s/he manages to sleep on the train, then the train effect more or less disappears and s/he arrives fresh and ready to go for the day in Florence or Paris.

Ryanair - Sounds too good to be true; two tickets total $88.40 euro for a 2 hour flight Rome to Paris?? Great tip.

I'm one of those who finds trains romantic, but I wouldn't want to do 2 overnights on such a short trip. Most people really can't sleep very well.

Be aware of low baggage limits on those types of budget euro airlines. You may need to figure in extra costs of luggage for a realistic ticket price.

Sometimes the Ryan Air flights are 1 cent. I'm not kidding. It's a promotional thing I guess.

The ONLY downfall that I see with Ryan Air is that the airports they use tend to be farther out (especially at Paris). The good thing about small airports though - you are in and out in a jiffy!!!

As far as luggage "restrictions" on Ryan Air -- for anybody doing just regular touring the luggage limits are MORE than adequate.

From their web site:
"Checked Baggage Allowance:
Checked baggage allowance is 15kg (33 lbs.) per person (no infant allowance). Passengers may not use the unused allowances of others. Only passengers travelling within the same reservation may pool their baggage allowance. For health and safety reasons Ryanair will not accept any individual item exceeding 32 kilos (70 lbs.). For health and safety reasons Ryanair will not accept any individual item exceeding 32 kilos and with combined dimensions of more than 81cms height, 119cms wide and 119cms depth.

Cabin Baggage Allowance:
Ryanair allows each passenger (excluding infants) to carry one small piece of hand baggage on board. The hand baggage must not weigh more than 10kg (22 lbs.) and be less than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, in dimensions. For the safety and convenience of all passengers, hand baggage must fit underneath the seat or in the overhead compartment."


So, that is a total of 55 lbs per person -- now unless you are going on an unusual trip (skiing biking and backpacking let's say) that is way more luggage than you should be bringing anyway!