Please help a devoted Fodor's advice reader with her19 day Paris,Venice, Florence, Rome, and Madrid itinerary. I promise I already spent at least 20 hrs reading posts.
 

I just purchased my open jaw tickets from San Diego to CDG March 30, returning MAD (Madrid, Spain) April 17th. Right now I am tentatively planning this: Paris from March 31st-April 4th, fly RyanAir to Venice on April 4th (6 pm), stay in Venice April 4-7, take train to Florence, stop two nights (April 7-9) and then take the train to Rome on the 9th. Stay in Rome April 9-13, then fly to Madrid on the 13. Stay in Madrid April 13-17 and fly out noon on the 17th back to San Diego. I am 26 and my husband is 31, we have never been to Europe. We are planning on wandering the cities, eating great food, seeing the sights, and having a romantic time of it. I'm about to book my RyanAir tickets from Paris to Venice and I am gripped with the fear that tearing myself away from Paris that fast will be too painful. But I desperately want to see Italy too! And my husband is from Mexico, so he desperately wants to see Spain! We're not trying to travel all of each country, just one city in France and one city in Spain (with probably a few day trips) and three cities in Italy. Is this craziness? Should I cut out Florence and have more time for Paris? Please advise, and I apologize for being such a typical neofodorite.

Consider this -- you really DON'T have to see all of Europe on one trip. You CAN go back. Personally, I think you have too many cities planned. When are you going to hang at a cafe??? You'll miss the best part!!! I'd save Italy for your next trip.

Yeah, you and your husband are young and have plenty of time to stay more time in Florence next time. You DO want more time in Paris -- otherwise, by the time you find your hotel and put your stuff down, and get acclimated, you'll find yourself packing to move on.

Only problem is, you will then have a long journey to Rome from Venice. Florence nicely breaks things up.

Gosh, the more I read your itinerary the scarier it gets. really, you could stay in Paris a week and be happy as a clam.

Can you find a few nice places to see in Spain? Choose some Paradores and visit that way? If you do only two countries in 18 days, you will be much happier I think.

Well, what if we cut out Florence and fly from Venice to Rome?

I just searched Ryanair and Venice to Rome is only $20 per person in April. I can have an extra day in each city this way (Paris, Venice, Rome, Madrid). Revision: Paris March 31st-April 5. Venice April 5-9, Rome April 9-13, Madrid April 13-17.

If you really want to see Florence, then leave it in. I'm sure you know that you won't have "enough" time in any of these great cities, but you will be able to touch on their treasures enough to know whether or not you want to go back. And everyone's definition of "enough time" is different. Of course you'll have time to sit in cafes. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Carpe diem, etc, etc.

Go and have fun.

Keep in mind that Beauvais airport (that RyanAir uses) is a long ways outside of Paris, so that adds to your travel time. Just think about your travel days as not really touring days. You're sort of hanging around airports/train stations instead of vacationing. But I'm sure you've considered that.

I think your second draft is much better. What if you just split it up between 3 places? Paris, One of the Italy cities, and Madrid. That would be like 6 nights, 6 nights,and 5 nights. It would be less lost time traveling as well.

If you pick one base in each area, you might then be able to do some day trips and see more of the country. Venice might not be that great for day trips but Florence/Siena would be a great base to see Tuscany/Chianti. Extra time in Paris also gives you some jet lag recovery time after you land that first day.

Paris 3/31 to 4/5 - 6 nights, Day trip option.
Florence (with Day trips) or Rome 4/6 to 4/11. 6 nights
Madrid 4/12 to 4/16 5 nights, home on 17th.

I chopped out Venice as I think it gives you less flexibility for day trips. If you are heart set on Venice, you may need to tweak the days a little.

Otherwise, I would go for your second draft. 4 areas. Just keep in mind you have the day of arrival which can be jet laggy, and other travel days which really cuts your time for that day in at least half.

You are going to have a wonderful time no matter what you decide.

You have one destination in France, one in Spain. Would your husband like to see more of Spain than Madrid?

When you say that you desperately want to see Italy, is there one particular thing that stands out as being what you want to experience most?

When you talk about your desire to "wandering the cities, eating great food, seeing the sights, and having a romantic time of it," Rome offers you no end of all of that.

Why not just go to Paris, Rome and Madrid?

I think that maybe you all have a point about squeezing so much in. After posting and reading a few responses I drove home from work in rainy traffic and considered the realities of my travel. Those extra days traveling between my different destinations (and hanging around airports) really will cut into my enjoyment, and I even thought about having to cut out Venice too. Will I really have to be at the airport two hours early to fly from country to country in Europe? I am planning on doing the carry on luggage only technique, so not having to check luggage may cut down time at the airport a little. But it's true, it will be stressful getting to each new airport and navigating within them. I can do research ahead so I have a realistic idea of how long it takes to get to each one... I had told myself that it was ok to go to so many places, because I could get an overview and then go back and visit in more depth later. Now that I'm thinking of the ramifications of moving so quickly through each place it does seem like I'll be cheating myself out of the vacation/relaxation aspect a little. I'm going to think it over, and postpone buying the within Europe travel tickets. That way I'll have time to plan an itinerary that won't kill us.

Plan 3 trips in advance. This type of globe trotting makes no sense to me. You really have 17 days and you cannot see Italy in that time. As you travel more you will learn that less is often more.

Good for you, young and restless. The more you slow down, the more you'll enjoy. Rome's been around for a couple of thousand years and it will wait for you.

not sure if you know this, but consider myair.com rather than ryan air as they use better more convenient airports between paris and venice and cheap.

I think a good analogy for my dilemma is a story about my little brother. When he went to the unofficial end of high school bash (AKA Senior Kegger), he lost all self-control and drank too much. Through the wee hours of the morning I could hear him retching from upstairs in my bedroom. It's tempting to try to over do something when it's your first opportunity, but wiser to take it slow. I really want to see more of Europe because I've heard so much about it and haven't had a chance to go until now. But if I go to fewer places I'll make more pleasant memories and won't develop an aversion to travel!

Krisabug, thank you for the Myair recommendation. I just checked, and it seems like it would cost more than Ryanair, but maybe the convenience and lower cab fares to closer airports would even it out.

I also agree with your "2nd" revision--Paris, Venice, Rome, Madrid. You may want to consider overnight train from Paris to Venice. It leaves 8 pm (ish) arriving around 9:30 am the next day. This would force you to slow down and relax. You wouldn't have to worry about leaving the city and finding the right airport either as you'll be leaving from one of the main train terminals. From Venice to Rome you could also take the train as it's about 5-6 hrs--not too bad of a stretch. Many fodorites claim train travel between these cities is a very efficient way to go. Don't feel bad you are not spending enough time in one or more cities. It'll never be enough. Think of your trip like going to a buffet--sample a lot and go back for seconds on the things you like the most. Consider you may not be able to get back to Europe for many years. Try this on for size: Mar 31st - Apr 5th Paris. Take overnight train on 5th to Venice. Apr 6th - 8th Venice. Take midnight train on the 8th to Rome (arriving 6am-ish) on the 9th. Stay in Rome till 13th, flying to Madrid, coming home on the 17th.

I am an inveterate contrarian, and I think that the criticism of your plan has been too harsh. The wost comment I have to offer is 24 hours too few in Venice (reading the original itinerary). I would subtract it from Florence. I don't think that flying from Venice to Rome is an improvement.

There is something to be said, and not every itinerary planned "by committee" is an improvement. Moreover, something is going to NOT go as you envision it (or as "we" plan it).

And it would be WAYYY presumptive to think that a less than perfectly planned (or executed) trip would result in your have an <i><b>aversion</b></i> to travel.

Best wishes,

Rex

Hi

If you really want to stick to this itinerary I don't think it's that rushed. I would only leave out Florence if you weren't that keen on art, museums etc. (Italy has 50% of the world's art treasures of which 50% is in Florence!). Maybe cut it down to one night if you can.

I would definitely leave Madrid in. I loved this city - second only to Rome. I have a few notes on museums, dining etc. Email me on [email protected] if you want them.

Good luck

Thanks Rex! It's nice to hear the contrary vote in this case, as I would like to see more of Italy. It's hard to keep my husband and me happy, let alone the varied (and finicky!) tastes of everyone on the Fodor's Europe board. ;) Thanks for weighing in.