Rome HELP!
 

Hello. This is my first post.
My fiance and I will be going to Rome on Jan. 13th. We're going to book through go-today.com, because it seems to be the cheapest. We'll be staying in Rome for 6 nights, and we're planning on staying an extra 4 days and going to Paris and Germany also. Is that too much to pack in? Should we just do a side trip to Paris only? And are the trains very complicated? Would it be okay to just book the train tickets once we're in Rome?

Any advice on our trip at all would be appreciated. We've never been out of America, and this is pretty exciting for us. Thanks for the help.

Paris and Germany would be much too much to do in 4 days. You have to figure you'll be spending most of a day travelling between Rome and Paris as it is. Do you need to return to Rome to fly back or can you fly out of Paris? I would advise spending your 4 days in Paris.

See one or the other. Ryanair flies from Bergamo (outside Milan) to Paris, and Bologna to Frankfurt. Both for extremely cheap (under 50 euro typically).

I agree that if you are determined to do both Rome and Paris, flying between the two would be better than doing it by rail UNLESS you are willing to spring for the direct overnight service between the two which takes about 14 hours.

I think to do Rome AND Paris AND Germany might be sensory overload. Also, although there is plenty to keep you occupied in Rome and surrounds for days and days, depending on your interests, I think if you want this to be an initial "highlights" trip you do not need six nights in Rome.

The trains are not necessarily "complicated" but it helps to have done it once. If you are doing the rail thing I would recommend getting tickets once in Europe and for a first-timer, doing it through a local travel agency.

Have a great trip.

I would stay an equal amount of days in Rome and Paris, and skip Germany.
I would definitely travel by nighttrain. You sleep very well in them and you 'win' an entire day.
This would mean you have open jaw tickets, evidently.

I agree that trying to see Italy, Germany and Paris in 8-9 days is too much. I would actually suggest you consider spending the entire time in Italy, and after Rome going to one or two cities/areas like Tuscany/Florence, Venice, Milan or Bologna, or a beautiful mountain region like the Dolomites or the Italian Alps. Italy has so much to offer and your time is short that trying to "do" Paris just because you are already in Europe may not be worth it; esp. if you have to fly in and out of Rome. In any event, you might consider 4 nights in Rome rather than 6. Run a search here for ideas on travel within Italy, and take a look at the mini-guides put together by Fodors on this site, click on "Destinations" above and scroll down to Europe/Italy.

The weather will be about 5 degrees F warmer in Italy overall than Paris, and will be less rainy. Neither will be warm. Take a look at weatherbase.com and worldclimate.com for historical average temps/rainfall. Also, daylight hours are short in January, and shorter the further north you go like Paris. Take a look at sunrisesunset.com for daylight hours in January. Keep this in mind when planning a day of sightseeing.

If you decide to go to Paris and to use the cheap flight from Milan, remember that Milan is about a 5 hour train trip from Rome; so adding in train/flight and connection time getting to and from the airports, it might just be better (and certainly more romantic and "European") to take the overnight train from Rome. FYI, the countryside from Milan all through Switzerland and southern France is beautiful, so if you can do part of the train trip by daylight you would see a lot and enjoy it.

You can certainly wait until you get to Europe to buy train tickets. You hotel can help you purchase them. The website for Italian trains if trenitalia.com, you can look up timetables, etc and plan you trip and then buy the tickets once you get to Rome. Another very useful train website is the one run by Swiss Rail; you can get information on trains all over Europe regardless of whether they originate or go through Switzerland. Take a look at rail.ch.

The advantage of all the places you are considering is that in January they will not be crowded so you can probably see more (i.e., fewer lines at museums, etc) than you would in the tourist months. Also the bare trees, rainy pavements and relaxed atmosphere of Europe in January (while it can be cold) will make for a special trip.

Although Rome is a very fabulous city, it is very noisy and hectic. After 6 days there you may be ready for a more relaxing spot - say a farmhouse in the Italian countryside, or a small Tuscan hilltown. Going to Paris and then Germany in the same trip is waaay to much, especially for a first time visit to Europe! I would save France and or Germany for your next trip.

If Rome and Paris are still your destinations, then I think it is becoming clear to you, right?
Be careful however if you would like to go to a mountain resort or region somewhere in the north of Italy. Urban (Rome, Venice, Paris) and natural (Dolomites, Alps,...)destinations, especially in winter, demand a completely different outfit. So unless you want to come over here with some huge trunks full of clothing, try to keep your destinations 'urban'.

Well, the reason we're going to Rome for 6 nights is because that's the go-today trip. We can extend our flight back at no extra charge, so we figured while we're there, we might as well try to see something else.

My fiance wants Paris because she's always dreamed of seeing the eiffel tower.

How much will it cost us, do you think, in US dollars, to go from Rome to Paris and back again? (Train wise, at least).

Also, maybe go-today isn't the best for me. I'm flying from Detroit though, and I can't seem to price anything together that will be as cheap. Any suggestions?

Thanks, everyone for all your help.

If Go-today is the cheapest, I would do it. I don't think anyone is trying to talk you out of 6 nights in Rome. It's just that if you could easily give up a night or two there, you could spend more time in another location.

If you're wanting to go someplace else just b/c you're there anyway, why not spend more time in Italy? Venice is WAY more romantic than Paris. I've been to and love both. Italy is just amazing, you are missing out on a lot by scooting off to another country right away.

If you are really determined to move on, you can definitely do Paris in the 4 addl days. Overnight train is the best and saves time. But skip Germany. There are too many options for things to see there and you need another trip for that. If she wants to see the Eiffel Tour, take her there and you'll have plenty of time.

You can fly from Rome to Paris in 2 hours on Alitalia for about $340. (This is a quote from Expedia, which is not always the cheapest, so do search arond.)

According to RailEurope (a booking service in the US for European trains), a second class train ticket from Rome to Paris Gare Lyon station will cost US$159. I would not buy from them, as they supposedly add a mark-up which makes their tickets more expenisive. However, you can be comfortable that buying the ticket your self would not cost any more than what Eurorail tells you. Contact info for Eurorail is: raileurope.com/us

You could also try calling Trenitalia and enquire; it is difficult to get international train fares on their website, at least I can't figure out how to do it. I can't find their phone number, but others may be able to find it.

Does your package include a hotel in Rome, and you must stay 6 nights? If you can you tell us the name of the hotel, we might have comments or suggestions for restaurants, etc in the neighbourhood.

Thanks for the comments.

I'm staying at Hotel Palvia. It looks pretty decent- it's just basic, but it seems nice enough.

And yes, that's included through the go-today booking.

Any comments on that would also be appreciated.

What if I do decide to just stay in Italy for the extra 3 days? Where would be the best to go? Florence? Venice? And what's the cheapest to get there and back to Rome?

THanks.

The Italian budget airline, Volare, flies between Rome and Paris.

www.volareweb.com

'Don't know if they still have cheap seats available for your dates.

I would definitely just stay in Italy. Go see the Amalfi coast, or Naples, or Tuscany (Florence and Siena).

If you haven't yet booked the go-today maybe you can find cheaper airfare flying into rome and out of Paris. When you do it yourself you have more control over where you stay. Sometimes the go-today hotels can be out of the way. I would check their location. Check out flying to rome from nyc. Sometimes it is much cheaper and you can pick up a cheap flight to NY.