Hello! I'm hoping for some help! My friend and I (both female, 30s) spontaneously bought a round trip flight to Paris (CDG) for a good deal. We're going feb 28-March 8.

We've both been to Paris and didn't really care for it, but it was the cheapest airport to fly into!

So I am looking for suggestions on...well, everything!

- Where to go (big cities or off the beaten path) and in what order.
- How long to spend where and what to do there?
-most efficient use of time as far as mode of travel, etc
- must sees and "ok to skip"

- we are interested in sightseeing, good food, good drinks, shopping,
-we are less interested in art museums and clubbing!

Open to any and all suggestions! We want to see as much as possible in the time we are there, but don't want to spend the whole trip on a train

Wish list: (I know all over the place and not all feasible):
-Tuscany (stay at a vineyard)
- Prague
- Norway
- hidden gems

Thanks!!!

With such little time on the ground I would not go too far from Paris since you have to return there - too bad but the case.

Amsterdam would fit your wishes to a T- especially clubbing and museums and one of Europe's most beautiful cities - by train just 3.5 hours

If you want to head south for better weather you can fly to or take an overnight train to Venice and spend you vacation in Italy doing the classic Venice-Florence-Rome thing.

Anyway trains are the best except for longer distances then cheap flights-for lots of great info on trains check www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com (peruse their superb online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots on places to go by train).

weather of course will be better in south. Venice probably has its famous Mardi Gras going on with period-costumed folks prancing around.

How many nights do you have on the ground in Europe? I can't tell with your dates whether some of that time is flying time. I'm guessing the maximum number of nights you might have is 8, so you have just a week - 7 days to do/see/experience.

While CDG might have been the least expensive airport to fly into, since you have no interest in Paris, you will end up spending more money to get to where you want to go. If you add together the cost of the tickets in/out of Paris to the cost of getting to where you actually want to go, I expect you'll find that you haven't saved any money - and you have wasted your precious vacation time. I know you can't change this now, but info for your next trip.

Choose ONE of the places you mention, and fly there from CDG as soon as is practical after you arrive at CDG. You'll have to fly back to CDG the night before your flight out of CDG.

There are hidden gems everywhere; choose one place and do a lot of research. Also consider the weather at that time of the year. For some people Norway in winter holds a lot of attraction, for others the cold is a deterrent. Tuscany would have the best weather, though it won't be warm.

Happy planning!

Lisbon - cheap flights with EasyJet from CDG, mild climate (I'm there right now, came from Switzerland where I needed one extra layer compared to here), laidback scene with sooo much to see, look into it. No need to bring tons of winter apparel like you would for Norway.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...le-trip-bw.cfm

two identical threads - go to the more developed one in the link above.

OP-if you want to 'top' your thread do so like this:

ttt - topping the thread - if it falls into Fodors black hole.

Forget my link above - that is this thread -meant to post on other identical thread that is open too with fewer responses.

Cheap fare in/out of Paris + no interest in Paris = a mostly false economy.

You have very little time on the ground. It seems you arrive at CDG on Mar 1 and need to return Paris by the evening of Mar 7 prior to your flight home on the 8th. So you net half a day on the 1st, 5 full days and maybe half a day on the 7th.

Pick a place - just about any city would work - fly or take the train there on the 1st, then fly or take the train back to Paris on the 7th. Which city you pick is your choice.

(My guess is the CDG airfare plus intra-Europe transport won't be all that much cheaper then just flying to a place you actually want to visit -- but that is water under the bridge now)

You are not going at a time of year where you will have great weather in and around Paris. Amsterdam is a good suggestion, maybe Bruges as well. Any interest in London?

What do you enjoy? Food, wine, architecture, clubs? What would you like to see/do?

In Europe trains are usually the fastest mode of transportation but you need to give some input on what is important to you? Why are you going to Europe?

Someone mentioned Lisbon and it may be a great choice. It really depends on what you enjoy.

I love Paris so I might be the worst person to give advice. Barcelona, Rome, Lisbon may be good options for you.

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Paris/Strasbourg

Play around with this and it will give you a better clue about times and distance from Paris. I think the Alsace region is nice. I also would give yourself another shot at Paris. Where did you stay last time and what did you do?

What did you not care for in Paris? If we know that, we could at least steer you away from similar. How long were you in Paris? What did you do on that trip? Any day trips?

I hope the cost of getting to someplace you like is not so great that it negates the savings on your RT to Paris, and the time wasted going back and forth. To avoid that, you will likely want a place with cheap flights or short train rides from Paris. You also have the aspect of still short days and poor weather in the beginning of March.

One great possibility does come to mind. Fasnacht in Basel, Switzerland begins at 4:00 AM, Monday, March 6 and runs through the 8th. You could also go to the Liestal Fire Parade which is probably on March 5, though I haven't checked it this year. I went one year just for those two events and they are amazing and spectacular!
Depending on your departure flight on the 8th, you might have to return to Paris the evening of the 7th, but it would be an experience to see the fire parade on the 5th and the festival parade on the 6th. To do both, you would probably want to get a place close for that night, and it might be hard this late. It is a bit of a trek, but Strasbourg is only about an hour and a half from Basel, so you could at least do the festival from there, and Strasbourg is a beautiful city.

Switzerland is expensive and it would take some precise planning, but trains and local buses are great and there are small towns close to Basel where you might stay. You could maybe visit some wineries in the Alsace, but I know nothing about that except that they exist and the area is famous for them. Unfortunately, when I was there for Fasnacht, it was freezing cold, so that is a possibility to know and consider.

At that rime of year you definitely ned to take weather into account. Not sure I would do Norway unless you want to do a lot of cross country skiing.

Even Tuscany can still be chilly and rainy then - although March would tend to be moving into spring. Not sure what there is to see/do at a vineyard then.

Prague is great at any time of year since most of what you want to see/do is indoors but do be prepared for a real winter with possible early signs of spring.

At that time of year I would be more likely to reco visiting Spain, esp Anadalusia, which will have very pleasant weather at that time of year and your limited time will allow you to see quite a bit. Sicily is another option that will be somewhat warmer at that time.