Hi,
My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe next year in May or June. I would like help deciding on destinations and am posting a list of all the relevant details I can think of:
-We will most likely spend about 17 days
-We can be flexible with dates, even time of year if necessary
-We will be flying from the US, Pittsburgh, PA
-We definitely want to include Paris because my husband lived there for a year when he was 5 and wants to revisit
-We speak Spanish (not fluently but we could communicate in Mexico after asking locals to speak slowly) and would consider destinations in Spain
-I've been to Italy (1 month in Trieste w/ day trip to Venice) and stayed with a friend and her family. We did some sightseeing but it wasn't the focus of the whole trip. Because of this I would like to combine popular tourist sights like the Eiffel Tower with some things more off the beaten path.
-We also need a combination of relaxation and activity. It's more important for us to have time to explore an area than to pack in a bunch of destinations. Even 2 cities and a few day trips would be fine.
-Other destinations that interest us are Amsterdam, Ireland, Portugal, Prague, The Alps (I flew over them from Rome and was blown away).
-Other things we like: shopping, museums, new/different foods, light hiking/outdoor activities, swimming/water activities, beer and wine tasting, historical sites, nightlife/dancing

Thanks in advance. I know it's a long post so please don't feel you have to address everything. I'm just trying to be specific so I get helpful responses.

Hi Nattles

We are flying to Paris from Pittsburgh on May 16. We stay for 14 nights, so our trips are similar.

I too am a little confused about where to go after Paris. I know we will begin in Paris and end in St Paul de Vence, with final two nights in Nice. I have 5 days in between to play and I think it will be another location in Procence or on the Provencal coast.

You can search my posts on this subject by hitting my name.

I will be following your replies.

Have your read Moolyn's trip report on the Dordogne? If not, do so and please look at her pictures. It seems like a great destination in France.

Happy planning.

I'd suggest spending some time at your local library's travel section -- get some travel videos and take a look at Ireland, Portugal, Prague, etc...and decide which you're most interested in. Those are very diverse interests, and only you can really decide what you'd like best.

Europe isn't huge, but going from Paris to Portugal or Spain and up to Ireland would be a stretch for a 17-day trip.

I'd also go to a bookstore and find a guidebook about Europe -- depending on your budget and taste (read through them a bit in those big chairs the bookstore provides) and buy one that suits your style. Only after more research will you be able to pick a few places to go.

You could easily see 3 large cities (at 5 days each) or go to Paris for a week, spend 4-5 days in the French countryside (the Loire Valley is a good place to go), then fly to Madrid or Barcelona or somewhere else for 5 days before heading home.

Happy travels,

Jules

On 1 of our trips, we did not have 17 days, but had 12 days. But we went to Paris for 5 days (had been to Paris before) & then 6 days in Munich. While in Munich, we also did daytrips to Salzburg (Train through the Alps), Romantic road for a day, & Some of the Ludwig castles. We really enjoyed that, & this fits a number of your requirements, except maybe the water, & our relaxation was used in some of the beer halls. Four you, there could be additional days in Paris or daytrips from there, or spend time in an additional city.

Hi there - we are going to Paris and Provence for a week each next May. But for four days at the beginning of the trip we are going to Switzerland, because my husband wants to see the Alps, and because Switzerland sounds amazing. So Switzerland/France would be a solid 17 day trip. We have 19 days total.

Another good option is a week in Paris and a week in Amsterdam with perhaps a 3-day trip to somewhere else thrown in (Brugge, perhaps?)

Since you like the outdoors and hiking, you could perhaps consider combining Paris with Switzerland. This would obviously give you ample hiking opportunities and that time to relax that you mentioned.

Tracy

Thanks so much to everyone! These are all great suggestions. Talked some of them over with DH last night and discovered he wants to take the high speed train to London (learn something new everyday!) So we are thinking Paris-London-Amsterdam or Paris-London-Brussels.
Tuscan - I did check Moolyn's pics and they are gorgeous. For this trip we may stick to day trips outside of Paris, any suggestions there? We would want to take a train rather than rent a car. I will be interested to hear what you decide to do.
Jules - we wouldn't dream of trying that many places on our trip and have decided that Italy and Spain require their own 2 weeks at another time.
Bill, your Alps suggestion sounds great but if we go to London I'm not sure we can do both. Any good day trips from Paris you know of?

I'm off to do some serious reading and investigating and will report back. Thanks again!

Nattles: London/Paris/Amsterdam would be a terrific 17 day trip. 6 or 7 days in London, 6 or 7 in Paris and about 3 in Amsterdam would be a good pace.

Before heading to the library -- click on "DESTINATIONS" above. There is a ton of info to get you started.

Jus a couple of amazing Day trips from Paris would be Chartres and Giverny. But w/ just a week in Paris, I wouldn't recommend going out of the city more than once

Nattles, I agree with janisj. Atleast IMHO, in Paris you could spend the whole time in the city with things to see & do, but maybe take 1 of the day trips janisj suggests & if you also want to do another 1 that does not take up the whole day, try Versailles. Again it is just my opinion, but for me, London is more condusive for day trips than Paris. When in London, I just feel more compelled to do daytrips than when in Paris, because Paris itself captivates me more. Among daytrips from London are Portsmouth, Windsor, Warick, Bath, Canterbury,Salisbury/Stonehenge, Dover,(I have done all these)& many more. Because of fast train travel, even Cardiff/Caerphilly Wales can be done as a daytrip. In fact, using an overnight train, I have even visited Edinburgh as a daytrip: taken the overnight train from London to Edinburgh & then take a train back to London that leaves Edinburgh sometime between about 4pm to 6pm the next day. That is not as good as spending a couple days there, but it is better than not being able to visit Edinburgh at all.

Bill and Janis, this sounds like good advice. We are definitely planning on Versailles and may just leave it at that. Now that I've been doing more reading I realize how many things we want to see and do in Paris!
Ideally I would like to spend a few days in each city and then decide whether we wanted to spend time on day trips - is it a bad idea not to plan them in advance?

&quot;<i>is it a bad idea not to plan them </i> [day trips]<i> in advance? </i>&quot;

Nothing bad at all. Most any sort of day trip out of London or Paris can be booked at the last minute - or not booked at all, just go.

But it would be a good idea to keep a little note book w/ things like open hours/closed days for sites you might want to visit. That way you will know which are the good days IF you do decide on day trips.

Hi N,

In addition to a week in Paris and a week in London, you might want to consider a couple of days in Dijon/Beaune.

If you would like a motor tour, the Dordogne, Provence, the Loire Valley, Burgundy, and Alsace would all be pleasant.

Rather than Paris/London/Brussels (or Amsterdam)in that order, which is what I assume you mean, I'd go from Paris to Brussels first (after your Paris stay). You can get the Eurostar train from Brussels straight through to London. Actually, I'd recommend that you stay in Bruges rather than Brussels (you can get an onward train connection easily), as it is a charming place to spend a few days and relax in.

One of my fave day trips from Paris is Auver sur Oises. It was the last home of Van Gogh, he and his brother Theo are buried there. You see his paintings at every turn in the village. A wonderful day trip by train.

Nattles

I am still tinkering with my trip, but I know that while in Paris I want to visit Chartres. We have been to Paris 3 times in the last 5 years, minimum 5 nights each time, and only went on one day trip, to Versailles. DH and DD wanted to see Versailles; I had been years before. It was not my favorite place.

For this trip, because it is so short, I guess we will do Chartres because I am bonkers for cathedrals.

From London, if you like cathedrals, too, it is very easy to get to Canterbury, Salisbury and/or Winchester. I second the Windsor rec, and St Georges Chapel there is really gorgeous. I think Salisbury makes for an excellent outing.

I like the idea of Paris &gt; Bruges (spelling from visitbelgium.com) &gt; London. I say this because I've been reading posts, trip reports and more on Bruges, and everyone seems to love it. I can't say that I've read the same about Brussels.

Paris would be on the go, then you could relax for 3 or 4 days in Bruges, then on to the excitement of London.

Officially, Brugge is spelled like that (not Bruges). There is no &quot;s&quot; on the end of it, that looks like some British thing where they add &quot;s&quot; to a bunch of city names for reasons I've never figured out (ie, Lyons rather than Lyon, which is correct). It's spelled Brugge in France so would be what you'd see coming from Paris on a train ticket or something, and that's the way it is spelled on the official Brugge website, also. www.brugge.be

Maybe that visitbelgium website is trying for Anglicized spelling because they expect a lot of British people will read that website or something, as it's a tourist website.

I have been there, and it's a cute touristic city, but I wouldn't suggest someone spend four days there out of a 17 day trip. That just seems like a waste of valuable time. One day is enough, two at most. I liked Brussels just as well, it's just different.

However, given the many options on this trip, I probably wouldn't focus on Belgium at all, I just don't think of it as a top destination given the alternatives.

I think London/Paris/Amsterdam would be good, also. I love Spain, and while you say you'd like it, it sounds like an afterthought more or less. You could do London/Paris/Barcelona or Madrid, for example. You can get fairly reasonable flights from Paris to Madrid on Air France and Iberia, I think, and probably Barcelona, also.

I don't think you need to reserve day trips ahead of time, but you may need to be aware of choices, and sort of have a list. For one thing, weather can affect them a lot, and you never know until you are there -- a day trip where you are outside a lot is not going to be enticing if it's pouring rain. In Paris, it's not much of a problem, but in some cities, some of them can get booked up ahead if you are wanting a popular bus day tour company. Mainly you should have to be prepared enough with your choices to know the options on them so you can decide quickly and do the logistics easily. So, know the opening days/hours and how you would get to/from the place.

Hi again,
Just to clarify, we have settled on London/Paris/Amsterdam. Originally I thought we would go to Paris first but flights to London are 1/2 the price. Other than that I'm not set on the order - it didn't seem important but maybe I'm wrong?

I've read some conflicting reports on Brugge and Brussels in other parts of the forum which is part of the reason we settled on Amsterdam.

If you are in Amsterdam in Early may be sure to go to Keukenhof garden.

We were in Amsterdam and Paris in May 2006. You may find my trip report helpful.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34811752

&gt;Officially, Brugge is spelled like that (not Bruges).&lt;

I guess it depends on whether you are from the North or the South.

Also if one is to be consistent one should also use Bruxelles for Brussels, Praha for Prague, and spell Italian towns by their Italian names. When writing in English I think it's perfectly acceptable to write Bruges.