If my travel time is somewhat limited, would you suggest airplane or train to travel to Italy or
Germany from Paris? And what is the difference in cost? Can I plan it when I arrive in Paris or before I ;eave US?

You can check out fares to Germany on Air Berlin from Paris.
We flew to Munich from Paris on Luftansa and then back on Air Berlin from Vienna. It just fit our plans that way. Both air lines were nice and I booked ahead of time from US. I would assume fares would be better if you booked ahead.

Air Berlin is one of the low cost carriers so I would check them first.
You can also go to Kayak.com and punch in your cities and see what is cheaper.

I would fly between the countries. Trains take a lot of time.

You can compare costs by pricing your itineraries online and then see which is cheaper.

You can take a TGV or Thalys to Cologne, Germany.

Or a night-train to Venice perhaps.

Is this still a good website to check low-cost airlines?
www.whichbudget.com

Transportation is rarely cheaper 'on the spot'.

www.whichbudget.com

booked in advance usually cheapest...

My sons and I rode the Thalys.com train from Paris to Köln last summer, and we all had a lot of fun. We rode First Class for 69€ on a summer special. From there, you can get to Frankfurt by train faster than by air on an ICE (fast train).

There's also a <i>very</i> high-speed train from Paris to M&uuml;nchen, but we haven't tried it yet.

Just a note: traveling from city to airport and airport to city, plus all the rigamarole you have to endure at airports, trains are often faster from city center to city center than planes. With a standing start at Gare du Nord in Paris, I can probably be in Brussels before you're even in your airplane seat.

Just how &quot;limited&quot; is your time? For two or three countries, I think 5-7 days each is a reasonable minimum.

I agree with Robespierre on the train from major city to major city. It's so effortless if you can travel light and enjoy the ride.

However, we did easily fly Easyjet and Ryan Air very cheaply (under 15 euros each) for several flights. However, Robes is right about the delay in dealing with the airports.

I'm no fan of Rick Steves, but his website does have an odd point to point train map I've printed and used to track routes. It almost looks hand drawn, but I've found it easy to estimate from before searching schedules.

Have fun!

michelles,

Where do you want to go in Italy? There are a few northern Italian cities that it can make sense to reach by train.

But many, including some in north Europe on the coast, are more quickly reached by plane. It depends on your itinerary.

What time of year do you want to travel?

I think you get the best rates for flying the earlier you book.