Please review our 22 day european itinerary for first timers
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Welcome to Fodors, as newbies you will find that you are limited on how often you can write on this site but it will pass.
a crazy way to write dates :-) In Europe we write them the other way around. You may not want to do Stonehenge but you might enjoy a tour of Oxford. If you do, come back, I can offer a good route to make the best of the day. If you are doing Mont St Michel consider staying overnight. Also, you might like Dinan, Fougeres, St Malo in the same area, you may prefer to catch a train to Rennes say and hire a car from there rather than drive in Paris. Monet's garden also could drop into a northern tour. I'd get the Rough Guide to France to give you some more ideas. (Kindle version exists). Champagne is also in the north. Venice/Padova would make a good stop, as well as visiting the delights of Venice you can also take long boat tours across the Lido or up the Canal towards Padova or hire bikes to follow the canal up there. London 5 day card is not very good value but up to you, the two-for-one deals are better. |
Consider train From London to Paris. Count travel days separate from sightseeing, “time in a place” days. Counting days twice makes it seem as if you have more time than you actually have. Example: in the beginning, you said you have four days at the end of the trip in Mallorca, Spain. Then, you lay out the dates. October 13, fly from Naples to Mallorca. October 15, fly from Mallorca to London October 16, fly home from London You actually have only one full day, October 14, in Mallorca, and parts of two other days, depending on flight times, time getting to the airports, security, etc. I suggest you lay out the trip day by day, allowing for travel time, including getting from hotel to train. etc, |
I would say doing both Windsor castle and Hampton court in one day then proceeding to London is too rushed particularly as it will be your first full day . 5 day pass - you only have 22, 23, 24, 25 in London . Lovely idea staying at Hever - will you be going by train or have a car both to get there and to LGW? |
yes catch the train from St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord is more fun and probably faster.
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Hi,
Such a good idea to spend some days in those beautiful cities. I was looking at your Italy part. Do you have the flight tickets already for PARIS - VENICE? Cause I would suggest skipping Venice and focus on Rome, Napoli, and Pompei (if you are interested in archaeology). Naples has a very interesting museum with artifacts from Pompei. If you going around in that area, you could also visit the Amalfi Coast or Capri. And if the ticket LONDON - PARIS is not booked yet, take the train!! The ride is only a little over 2 hours. |
three quick notes:
• Eurostar for sure for LOndon to Paris. It is city center to city center, is faster, and doesn't involve the long schlepps out to and in from the airports. • Do not buy a London Pass!! Very expensive, and you'd both need one. Instead, the Days Out 2for1 scheme can save a ton of £££ https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london • Trying to fit in both Windsor Castle and Hampton Court on the same day is 'possible' but you'd be cutting each quite short. Each requires at least half a day and with the travel time that is a real rush. |
You present a unique profile as travelers, yet your proposed itinerary is as cookie-cutter as it gets. It's like being on a bus tour without the bus.
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I assume, if the trip is this year, like today, not that much can be changed related to transportation and destinations. Have a wonderful time!
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Don't skip Venice.
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Assume RT tickets are already purchased to/from London? |
As it stands, leaving out travel days, you have one full day in Venice. Basically, you've alotted 7 full days to Paris and vicinity, and 7 days to Italy, traveling almost the full length of the country. I think you should leave out either Rome or Venice. If you want to see Pompeii while you're in Naples, you should spend at least 3 nights in Naples, which would give you two full days. If you spend two nights in Venice and three in Naples, you'd have only three nights in Rome, which is very little for such a major city. A hit-and-run visit to Rome is almost never rewarding, because the "must-sees" are very crowded. On a longer visit, you can also intersperse the crowded and tiring visits with some relaxed enjoyment of the hidden gems. Just yesterday I made a list of a small part of these hidden gems, all related to Renaissance art, for someone else. I could have made an equally long list related to ancient history, beautiful churches, ancient art, parks, or modern art and architecture. Anyway, just to give you an idea, my list is in this post:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...-trip-1671876/ So, I would recommend leaving out either Venice or Rome. Suze insists that you shouldn't skip Venice, but Rome and Naples make a more convenient pair than Venice and Naples, which are over 700 km (420 miles) apart , or 5 1/2 hours apart by direct high-speed train. Since Naples must be included, I would suggest skipping Venice, or else adding more days to the Italian portion of the trip. |
How nice that you have a decent amount of time to enjoy yourselves. Here are some random but in no way comprehensive suggestions:
Ditto on advice to use Eurostar train from London to Paris - easier, faster, more comfortable and probably less expensive than flying. Book in advance or best prices. For London: Ditto that Windsor- Hampton Court - transfer to London is too much for first (probably still jet lagged) day. If you are at all into theater, check out the TKTS booth at Leicester Square for deep discounts on current shows. You will see lots of other places around Leicester Square offering discount tickets, but this is the "official" place. You might enjoy some hiking around Hampstead Heath or Regent's Park Consider a visit to the British Library. Stroll through Borough Market and pick up lunch, maybe even more if you have place where you can eat at home. Some of our best suppers in London have been cheese, meat, bread and wine in our room. Fish and chips is obligatory, and if you haven't savored it at Borough Market Rock & Sole Plaice is popular for a reason - it's good! You might also wander around the Seven Dials area to find a place that strikes your fancy. Not all upscale but mostly decent. For Paris: Normandy / St. Michel are at least a full day, even better as overnight trip. You might like the Bois de Boulogne and/or Bois de Vincennes as well as the Coulée Verte René-Dumont (formerly known as the Promenade Plantée) for some outdoor hiking. There are bike tours to Versailles you might enjoy. Check out Fat Tire bike tours for that and other bike tours. Pace is more relaxed than hard core cyclists may be accustomed to but fun nonetheless. You can also just rent your own bike and cycle around the grounds. The grounds are as enjoyable as the chateau, especially the <<Hameau de la Reine>> and the Trianon. Nice place for a picnic lunch. For Italy: Save Venice for a future visit. Fly Paris to Rome. If you feel compelled to do a day trip, you can reach Florence in about 90 minutes on a fast train. Book tickets for the Uffizi and Accademia in advance, and deffo grab a sandwich at All'Antico Vinaio or if you make it an overnight enjoy a great dinner at Osteria Pastella for great food and service among plenty of locals Consider AirBnB for Paris and Rome - we have had great luck in those cities. London has been OK, but more expensive. Know that uber is fine and easy in Paris, so-so in London, and sucks in Rome. In London just use black cabs, in Rome use an alternate app like itTaxi. On last visit to Italy we made good use of Get Your Guide app to book things. They are a third party vendor like Viator. Helped avoid lines, had a visit to Ostia Antica with an archeologist that was smashing, better than previous Pompeii visits. Don't trust TripAdvisor restaurant reviews anywhere. The Fork /La Fourche app is not perfect but much better. If you really want to eat like a local in Rome, visit one of the markets like Mercateo Testaccio or Mercato Trionfale and eat from the stalls there. The porchetta at Trionfale is a strong sense memory! Hope this is helpful; enjoy your travel please do report back! . |
Originally Posted by Seamus
(Post 16988825)
How nice that you have a decent amount of time to enjoy yourselves. Here are some random but in no way comprehensive suggestions:
Ditto on advice to use Eurostar train from London to Paris - easier, faster, more comfortable and probably less expensive than flying. Book in advance or best prices. For London: Ditto that Windsor- Hampton Court - transfer to London is too much for first (probably still jet lagged) day. If you are at all into theater, check out the TKTS booth at Leicester Square for deep discounts on current shows. You will see lots of other places around Leicester Square offering discount tickets, but this is the "official" place. You might enjoy some hiking around Hampstead Heath or Regent's Park Consider a visit to the British Library. Stroll through Borough Market and pick up lunch, maybe even more if you have place where you can eat at home. Some of our best suppers in London have been cheese, meat, bread and wine in our room. Fish and chips is obligatory, and if you haven't savored it at Borough Market Rock & Sole Plaice is popular for a reason - it's good! You might also wander around the Seven Dials area to find a place that strikes your fancy. Not all upscale but mostly decent. For Paris: Normandy / St. Michel are at least a full day, even better as overnight trip. You might like the Bois de Boulogne and/or Bois de Vincennes as well as the Coulée Verte René-Dumont (formerly known as the Promenade Plantée) for some outdoor hiking. There are bike tours to Versailles you might enjoy. Check out Fat Tire bike tours for that and other bike tours. Pace is more relaxed than hard core cyclists may be accustomed to but fun nonetheless. You can also just rent your own bike and cycle around the grounds. The grounds are as enjoyable as the chateau, especially the <<Hameau de la Reine>> and the Trianon. Nice place for a picnic lunch. For Italy: Save Venice for a future visit. Fly Paris to Rome. If you feel compelled to do a day trip, you can reach Florence in about 90 minutes on a fast train. Book tickets for the Uffizi and Accademia in advance, and deffo grab a sandwich at All'Antico Vinaio or if you make it an overnight enjoy a great dinner at Osteria Pastella for great food and service among plenty of locals Consider AirBnB for Paris and Rome - we have had great luck in those cities. London has been OK, but more expensive. Know that uber is fine and easy in Paris, so-so in London, and sucks in Rome. In London just use black cabs, in Rome use an alternate app like itTaxi. On last visit to Italy we made good use of Get Your Guide app to book things. They are a third party vendor like Viator. Helped avoid lines, had a visit to Ostia Antica with an archeologist that was smashing, better than previous Pompeii visits. Don't trust TripAdvisor restaurant reviews anywhere. The Fork /La Fourche app is not perfect but much better. If you really want to eat like a local in Rome, visit one of the markets like Mercateo Testaccio or Mercato Trionfale and eat from the stalls there. The porchetta at Trionfale is a strong sense memory! Hope this is helpful; enjoy your travel please do report back! . |
Sorry I didn't mean to "insist" on anything :-( I've only been to Venice twice but it was my most unique experience in Europe so far and I am so glad I included it (once on a Switzerland trip, and once on a Switzerland and Paris trip). Because of Rome being so much larger to me would seem it deserves more time. When Venice can easily work with only 3-4 days for a first glimpse overview.
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No need to apologize, Suze. I'm sorry if I made you feel as though I were criticizing you. I just wanted to make it clear that since this person needs to leave for Spain from Naples, making his first stop Venice locks him into a very long trip nearly the whole length of Italy. I like Venice as well, and have been there maybe six times. It's not my favorite spot in Italy, though, mostly because of my personal interests.
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I don't know why but Rome has never been a big interest for me, so I'm sure that's part of it as well. But yes I understand they need to end up in Naples somehow.
Overall I just think this itinerary and their stated style and interests don't really match up from my point of view. They are doing super duper touristy things everywhere yet state they prefer local experiences, hiking, biking, backpacking. |
I think you just need to sit down with a computer and guidebook. Start digging. Look at Atlas obscura. Look at context tours. Google bike tours in each spot. You might be interested in artouride in London—art and design tours on Brompton bikes. In Paris— https://www.frenchmystiquetours.com/chartres google underground tours in various places—I seem to remember there being an adventure tour in Naples. It wasn’t running during my visit but it looked right up your alley. I’ve nothing against going to popular places. On my first trip, I followed a similar path as you and had a fabulous time. But I went to museums or on tours that really interested me. What excites you about your itinerary? As much as I love London—and I really love London—I’d cut it entirely from your itinerary. 1) I just don’t get the sense you want to see that stuff. 2) you’ll burn out on cities and you need more time in Italy. I really think you should find a small town somewhere, do something unique. Venice is up to you. It’s one of a kind. In terms of experiences, and sites, though, it just doesn’t beat Rome. Don’t plan heavy sightseeing the first two days. If you keep London, don’t buy that pass. Some of the best museums in the world are in London and Free. The louvre is amazing, but I’d take the British Museum or V&A over it any day of the week. Sorry about the hyperlinking, I can’t seem to remove it. |
Also, Rome doesn’t have the easiest transit system; plus there is literally jaw dropping sights around every corner. Paris has efficient transit. Given the choice, I’d spend less time in Paris, and more time in Rome. |
I forgot to mention the Catacomb tour in Paris. We did that and thought it was something different. Up until today I am still indecisive if I liked it or not... but it certainly was an experience.
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