Paris, London, Rome, and Iceland - advice & suggestions appreciated!
 

Hello traveling friends,

I am going to Europe next summer for 16 days (this includes travel time). I was just wondering if my tentative itinerary here is feasible. Of course, I would love to spend more than just a few days in each city, but since it is my first time going to Europe - I would like to see as much as possible without completely exhausting myself. I will be taking advantage of the Iceland stopover program, just to see the Blue Lagoon for a day on my return to New York.

Day 1 - New York to Paris
Day 2 - Arrive in Paris (CDG) at noon, rest
Day 3 - Paris
Day 4 - Paris
Day 5 - Paris
Day 6 - Paris
Day 7 - Flight to Rome, rest
Day 8 - Rome
Day 9 - Rome
Day 10 - Rome
Day 11 - Rome
Day 12 - Flight to London (LHR)
Day 13 - London
Day 14 - London
Day 15 - Flight to Iceland (arriving at 3pm Iceland time)
Day 16 - Blue Lagoon (depart back to NYC at 5pm)

I am hoping for suggestions regarding specific neighborhoods/locations as to where I should book my accommodations. What are some must-sees/must-do's in each country? How much should I expect to spend per day? Roughly how much are the cabs from the airport?

I am open to any advice/tips at all.

Thanks so much in advance for all your help!

Just to start, I suggest you make yourself a list of things you'd like to do in each city. To my way of thinking, you've short-changed London, but that's just me. Since it is your first time, you might want to be methodical about the allocation of time in each city.

To answer your question, yes, I think it's doable and presumably you'll return to Europe and can go back to places that you've liked on this trip to see them more in depth.

You've definitely short changed London. And whilst Iceland is wonderful, having an overnight stopover just to have a dip in the exhaust from a power station seems somewhat perverse. If you can find a routing that means you spend 4-5 hours in transit at Keflavik then you would have enough time for a trip to the Blue Lagoon without an overnight stay

The order of your route is strange - most people would go direct to Rome then head back towards London via Paris, taking the Eurostar between Paris and London or vice versa

Before giving any recos on accommodations you need to provide a nightly budget.

As to what to see and do - I know what I like but we know nothing about your interests. Suggest you read through some basic guide books and then let us know what you like/intend to do: art? architecture" history? museums? fine dining? wine tasting? outdoor activities? clog dancing? flying kites???

You really need to provide a lot more info,

And agree I would fly into Rome and then head back towards the US.

And agree that you are shortchanging London - which has way more to see/do than almost any place else on earth.

<<What are some must-sees/must-do's in each country? >>

Seriously? London, Paris and Rome are the three cities in Europe most frequently visited by American tourists.

Have you been unable to find any information yourself? Perhaps a well-run travel website would have specific pages discussing each of the three cities in the Destinations tab at the top of the web page displaying your question.

I'm sure the reason the OP is going to Iceland is because they are flying on Icelandair.

I think you have a reasonable amount of time in each city. However, just so you know it will be quite expensive to take a cab from the airport into central Paris because the airport is a ways outside the city. Same goes for London... If you're flying into Heathrow.

>>Roughly how much are the cabs from the airport?<<

A cab in from CDG can make sense - mainly depending on where you are staying and how much luggage you have. But the RER (a train) into the city and then a cab or the Metro to your hotel is also a viable option. There are also Air France buses etc -- so don't decide how to get in from the airport til you know where you are staying.

As for LHR . . . never EVER take a cab into London. Either a prebooked car service - if you have lots/too much luggage (costs at least 40&-50% less than a cab), or the Tube if you can manage schlepping your bags.

We do need to know your budget before we can recommend hotels or even neighborhoods.