WorminRome

My wife and I will be traveling to Europe for the second time, the first being Greece for our Honeymoon. We are going to be staying in Paris, Florence and Rome for a total of 13 nights, with the trip beginning in Paris, however we are having trouble figuring out a good distribution. We are mainly interested in architecture, food and wine (not in that particular order). We both like art, though my wife more so then myself, so the big museums are a must. So far we know we would like to take a bike trip around Versailles, a trip to Balogna and Medina, however aside from these more timely trips, we want to see the bigger attractions, but have not decided on all of them yet.

I know this is a bit of a rant, however any advice would be awesome. As this is my first post in this forum and I am new to travel research I am open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance guys!

denisea

Are you looking for advice in Paris or in all the cities you mentioned above? Have you been to these cities before in your first trip to Europe?

Jean

Just a little spelling help: Bologna and Modena.

What time of year?

WorminRome

Thanks for the quick responses, I have been reading this forum for some time now, and have already found it very helpful. Sorry about the spelling errors.

My wife has been to Paris, but on a very tight budget and I have not been to either Italy or France. We are going in late May to try to avoid large crowds. I could use help in both countries. We keep changing the amount of days we want to spend in each city. We had thought we could use Florence as a hub to take day trips into Bologna and Modena, Sienna (possibly), and Lucca and Pisa (though I have not heard there is much to see aside from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

But the more I read about Paris and Rome, the more time I want to spend in those cities. And of course in my readings, I keep coming across sites and cities all over both Italy and northern France that come across as "must sees." As of now the plan is to take a red-eye into Paris and spend 5 nights in Paris, 4 nights in Florence and 4 nights in Rome. However this is probably the 5th or 6th distribution we have come up with. I guess I am trying to see if these are enough nights in each city, or should we allocate some of our precious time in a different direction.

Jean

Three destinations in 13/14 days is about right. The only problem I see with your 5/4/4 plan is that you might be spending almost of your Florence time not in Florence but day-tripping. Some people say they can see/do all that interests them in Florence in a single day. Not me. If I were you, I'd study up on the Florence sights to decide how much time you'll need there before you plan too many day trips out of the city. Then again, if I were you, I'd spend the entire trip in either Italy or France and not divide the time between two countries.

greenerpastures

WorminRome,

When you say a bike trip around versailles, do you mean with a tour group? If your not already aware there is bicyle hire available near the boat hire at the lakes to the rear of the palace. Its not overly expensive and may work in with your itinerary?

sjj

I suggest 5 nights in Paris, 2 nights in Florence, and 6 nights in Rome. My reasons for suggesting you spend more time in Rome are a) Roman architecture, particularly the city squares with their baroque sculptures, the many wonderful churches, most of them free, the fabulous art, much of it in churches, the museums with Roman antiquities on the Capitoline Hill and near the Termini railroad station, St. Peters and the Vatican Museum, and all those reminders of the Roman empire, particularly the Ara Pacis, the Pantheon, the forums, and the temples in Largo di Torre Argentina.

If you're interested in minimizing costs, consult VRBO or some similar set of listings for short term apartment rentals. Staying in apartments instead of hotels is less expensive, and also allows you to avoid expensive meals for breakfast and lunch.

It sounds like you're going to have a great time. Good luck on your trip.

TDudette

I agree with sjj's time frame except do read up about things to see in Paris vs. Rome-you two might feel 6 Paris and 5 Rome suits your tastes more.

Or 5 Paris, 5 Rome and add a day to Florence so you can do a day-trip to Siena or Lucca. You might even find a tour from Florence to nearby towns so you don't have to do the driving.

bardo1

I too would suggest 5 nights in Paris, 2 nights in Florence, and 6 nights in Rome.

Florence is about 1/10 the size of Rome and has a proportionally smaller amount of must see sites, churches, etc. Still it deserves 2 of the 13 nights. I really don't think you can squeeze in Bologna, Modena, Sienna, Lucca and Pis, however! (Maybe pick ONE?) We've been to Rome 4 times (the first time for a mere 8 nights) and still have an unmet list of "musts" there.

Paris demands plenty of time - ideally 7-9 nights for a first visit. With your schedule and list of places 5 nights will just have to do. You may want to reconsider that day trip to Versailles - or at least leave it open and maybe go on your last day if you really feel you've then seen enough of Paris itself (Hah!).

mamcalice

I would suggest at least 3 nights in Florence and 5 each in the other two cities. We have been to Italy 7 times and the one thing each trip has in common is time in Florence. We have spent 30 days there and still can't wait to return. Since you have so little time, I would save Bologna and Modena for a later trip - you will go back! The architecture, wind and food in each of these cities is wonderful and they have excellent museum. Don't miss the D'Orsay, the Accademia and the Vatican Museums. Of course the Louvre is incredible.

I also suggest that, with only 5 days in Paris, you reconsider the trip to Versailles. In 8 trips to Paris, we have been only once and were glad to get bact to Paris.

Only you know what you want to do and see. Do lots of research and make your own decisions about the attractions you want to visit.

Bon Voyage!

mamcalice

That's WINE, not wind.

Michael

In terms of art, I would think that Paris trumps Rome for the simple reason that it has more art from the 19th and 20th century, as well as having in the Louvre art from Antiquity to the 19th century in a greater mix (Dutch school, Italian School, French School) than what we saw in Rome.

The OP should get some guidebooks and do some serious research to find out which city they would prefer--and they may ultimately discover that the guidebooks misled them. For example, I do not find the Baroque churches in Rome particularly interesting, and religious paintings can get repetitive from my point of view.

WorminRome

Thanks for all the suggestions. We have found a 12-hr "wine tour" that would take us to Sienna, Piaa and San GiMignano. It seems interesting though extremely time consuming. After somd research it seems that a day trip to Bologna is unlikely. However I am curious as to why a day trip to Versailles is frowned upon. On a seperate note, my wife and I have been reading guide books and have come to the same conclusion so many of you have discussed; there is just waaaay too much to see in such a short time! We are not sure if we would enjoy ourselves if we tried to cram too much into a short time period. One of my favorite things about our trip to Santorini was how relaxed we were. With everyhing to see and do in all three of these cities, it becomes overwhelming.

bardo1

<i>"I am curious as to why a day trip to Versailles is frowned upon."</i>

I don't think anyone here is "frowning" on Versailles (a wonderful destination). It's just that your time in Paris is limited and valuable. For a 7-10 night stay in Paris, we would all probably suggest you DO take a day from Paris to go visit Versailles - it's a great place and well worth seeing. Just not at the expense of missing out on the month-long worth of sites and places Paris itself has to offer.

<i>"With everyhing to see and do in all three of these cities, it becomes overwhelming."</i>

Just keep reminding yourself: "We WILL be back" (and you will!).

Jean

That's the problem with trying to see geographically distant, culture-rich cities in a relatively short time frame. There's no way to see even close to everything. Somethin's gotta give, or at least go on the list for the next trip.

But whether you skip Versailles or Bologna (or any other place), stay in Florence 2 nights instead of 3 or 4, give more time to Rome than Paris (or vice versa), etc., are YOUR decisions to make based on YOUR interests. Our advice, well-meaning as it is, is colored somewhat by OUR interests and biases. That bicycle ride around Versailles could be the most memorable day of YOUR trip.

WorminRome

Thanks for the great feed back. We are currently considering mid May for our trip. Does any one have season specific advice?

TDudette

May should be lovely but ya never know. We always traveled in March and weather ranged from 50s and rainy to 80 and gorgeous! You can get some trend info in most of the guide books.

Also, if you take the train to Versailles, it is the "Vick" RER. We "did" a long weekend as our first Paris trip and did take the Vick to Versaille-didn't have time for the gardens so went back on another, more leisurely 2 weeks in Paris! And there are still places on my to do list.

Have a super time and please report back!

elnap29

We have done the Paris and Italy trip twice now. From those experiences, I'd say that 3 nights in any location is the absolute minimum! It really wasn't enough - and 4 nights did not feel like enough, either. Research and decide what you want to see and do; no matter how many nights you spend in Rome or Paris, it will not be enough. I'd suggest an extra day on your first stop to allow for jet lag.

WorminRome

Thanks for the comments everyone.

We have figured out a way to extend the trip to 17 nights, which we hope will give us enough time in all three locations. Right now we are looking at 7 in Paris and 5 in both Florence and Rome. I guess our next question is when to start booking hotels and flights for a trip next May. We cpuld also use some help with hotel suggestions.

We are trying to stay at $200/night or less. We love to wander. We would also like to be close to cafes and bars, and be within a relatively short walking distance to some of the "greater" attractions. In Paris we would like to stay within ard. 4-6 if possible and so far in our short research, Piazza Navona seems to be a great location in Rome.

Sorry for the ramblings and thanks again for all the comments!

bardo1

It's never too early to research lodgings. Once you've exhausted all research options, go on and book. We usually book 6 months out and have always gotten the exact apt, hotel (even exact room!) we wanted.

For Paris, consider an apt. We (and many other Fodoritrs) love www.vacationinparis.com Sort by neighboorhood (4-6) in your case - the closer to the river the better.

for hotels, look through www.eurocheapo.com and sort by neighboorhood. In Paris, that would be St. Germaine, Latin Quarter, and the Marais

In Florence, close to Duomo.

In Rome, close to Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona, or the Pantheon.

After a few weeks (or more?) of searching, come back with your short list(s) and we can comment further.