Short week in Rome, Paris, or Madrid?
 

I know the question is vague and frequently asked, but I was wondering if anyone could help me choose one of the latter for a short 4-5 night trip in the middle of January/February. The flights are free, but only if I fly into one of the aforementioned cities. (Otherwise I would be in Berlin or Istanbul.) This will also be my brother's first trip overseas in 6 years, so I hope we make the right choice wherever we go.

Anyways, I've been digging around for the past couple of weeks, and I'm still undecided. My gut tells me that food, sight-seeing, and other expidentures in Madrid will be a bit cheaper than Rome and Paris. In regards to sight-seeing, my gut also tells me that Madrid lacks a bit behind the other two cities. However, if Toledo makes up for what Madrid lacks, then I'm willing to take the plunge.

If any members could toss in their 2-cents and help me out with this (grateful) dilemma, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks a lot! :)

Your gut is just about right.
Most people would probably favor Paris or Rome.

Really hard since these are top three destinations!

Obviously, if you think you might like flamenco, of course, Madrid.

Madrid with a side trip to Toledo sounds great. In fact, it is so easy to get to Toledo now with the airport bus to Atocha train station, that I find going directly to a smaller town is a nice introduction when you land. Spend the first 1-2 nights in Toledo, then the last 2-3 in Madrid.

I think bar- hopping and coffees will be cheaper in Spain, as will transportation. ( airport bus is 2 euros, train to Toledo 10E, I believe).

You will probably have a nicer hotel for the money also, as most Spanish hotels do have updated bathrooms, and are in most cases definitely larger than many French hotels of the same category.

But they are really all so different. I think no matter where you go you will/should have a good time.

However, if price is an element this trip, I do think Spain will offer more quality for less.

Barcelona or Sevilla or also doable instead of Toledo, but as overnights,splitting the week.

I think it depends on your interests. For me it would be Rome, hands down.

But how much of a consideration is cost? Rome would not be the cheapest, but IMO its bang-for-the-buck factor is the highest.

Thanks for the speedy responses. Along with my own research, I'm also weighing all opinions equally. Regarding costs, I guess Madrid's prices resemble Berlin in terms of dining and going out; while Rome and Paris are close to Munich? Bad analogies, I know.

I'll reserve the flights sometime tomorrow or Tuesday. Until then, keep the responses coming. Every bit of insight counts.

I've been to all three (Paris and Rome many times) and I don't think there is any significant price difference. You can find perfectly adequate accommodations in all three for the same price and food is such a huge variable - in any of those cities you could eat for 25€ a day or 250€ a day. I certainly did not feel any of those three cities was significantly cheaper than the others.

Have you been to any of them before? Or to France, Spain or Italy? You really can't go wrong with any of them.

I usually choose where to go by looking at pictures and see which places 'grab' me. Here are links to my galleries of those three cities in case you care to browse:
http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/paris
http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/madrid
http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/rome

Gorgeous photos isabel. I've never been to France, Spain or Italy. Within the past year I've visited Germany more times than I can count, and I've spent a decent amount of time in Austria, Poland, Ukraine, and Turkey. Regarding this upcoming trip, I don't know what to a expect. These were destinations that I had completely written off, but now that they're staring me in the face, I suddenly have a pretty nice (and unexpected) choice to make.

I would always do paris or rome - since I'm not a big fan of Madrid. Rome is probably slightly less cold, but in Italy in off season many sights are open sorter hours (sometimes only from 10 am to 1 to 2 pm) while sights in Paris are more likely to be open regular hours.