cokes

I've finally convinced by to-be husband to go on a DIY tour of Europe instead of a rushed holiday on a tour group! After much deliberation, I've managed to narrow down our non-negotiables to London, Paris, Barcelona and Madrid. I know it's still far away, but we're planning to go in mid-April 2011 and are thinking of allotting roughly 3 weeks for the whole trip, give or take one or two days for our flights from and going home to the Philippines.

Planned itinerary would be London-Paris-Barcelona-Madrid...we hope we could find a sensible flight from Madrid back to Manila...otherwise, we would probably have to fly back to London again..ugh...

Questions:
1. Is this a good itinerary? Or should it be the other way around?
2. Would 5 days in each city be good enough? We were thinking of squeezing in either Rome or Amsterdam but it'll be our first time to go to all of them, so we would want to soak in as much as possible. The last thing I honestly want is for us to be huffing and puffing our way through each city!
3. What day trips from each city would you recommend? The Cotswolds, Bath, Stonehenge from London? How about for the rest of the cities? Toledo and Seville from Madrid?
4. If we do stick to the itinerary, I was thinking of just taking the eurostar from London to Paris..then a quick easyjet flight to barcelona, then another train from barcelona to madrid....or should we just do trains all the way? do we need to get those eurail passes for this? will it be worth it?
5. Would you recommend that we go on of the "walks" in each city (eg London Walks, etc)...are those worth time and money to at least get you familiarized with each city?
6. Will a budget of about EUR100 per night in these cities be enough for a decent, central hotel? Spain seems significantly cheaper than London and Paris though...

Your advice will be much appreciated!! Thanks!!

jamikins

First off - congrats on your upcoming wedding!

Sounds like avery good plan with 4 cities in 3 weeks! I wouldnt add any more, this gives you lots of to enjoy the cities and some day trips, and your honeymoon! I would allocate the whole time to these 4 places - but I enjoy slow travelling...

I would be tempted to do the reverse, only because you would likely hit nicer weather later in England...plus if you had to fly back from London you would already be there, and the connecting flight would be done on the way there when you are still exctied and energetic.

I think eurostar between London and Paris, easyjet between Paris and Barcelona makes the most sense. Just be careful of your luggage weights on easyjet flights.

I am a huge fan of London Walks..they are cheap and great way to see Westminster Abbey and St Pauls...and of course the areas of London.

I think you would be pushing it to find a central place in these cities for 100 euros. I dont know about Madrid, but the other three are pricey. 130 euros would get you a decent place in Paris. I live in London so I am not sure how much to spend thre...maybe others could pitch in here for the other cities.

I think you should figure out how much time you have in each city, then you can decide your daytrips. You could easily fill 7 days in London alone with no day trips! But some day trips from London:
Bath
Oxford
Stonehenge/Salisbury
Cambridge
Canterbury
Brighton

Enjoy your planning!

sam86

I think this is a very sensible itinerary - 4 cities. Don't put in more IMO because then you'd just be rushing around.

If you are staying 5 days each, you can look at apartments in the 4 cities or B&Bs.

I think, and this a very personal opinion, that a day trip to Seville from Madrid would be short changing Seville. You could cut a few days form Madrid and Barcelona and stay in Seville though if you really want to see that region. If not, keep the trip in Madrid and Barcelona, and leave Andalucia for another trip.

Flights should work either way. I think the final decision on which way to do it will probably be down to flight costs and accommodation availability.

Best of luck!

kfusto

Hotels in London and Paris so your budget will be a challenge.

I personally have used Priceline several times with good results in both of these cities - just do your homework at biddingfortravel.com. I have never paid more than 125 USD per night using Priceline and will do this when I cannot find a nice hotel in my preferred budget.

Mid April is spring break so lots of families will be traveling at this time and Easter is late next year, on the 24th.

kimhe

Hotel Banys Oriental would be an excellent option in Barcelona. Great atmosphere, bars, restaurants, tapas, shopping and sights on your doorstep and 10 mins walking from the Barceloneta beach: http://www.hotelbanysorientals.com/

Hostal Persal in Madrid is great value and the location is as good as it gets. Just off Plaza Santa Ana and 150 mtrs from Plaza Mayor. http://www.booking.com/hotels/hotel/...madrid.en.html

The great jazz venue Café Central is twenty mtrs from your doorstep, and two of Madrid's best flamenco "tablaos", Cardamomo and Casa Patas, are both three mins away. As is one of Madrid's best tapas districts in and around Calle Cava Baja. And perhaps check out the terrace in 6th floor Casa Granada close by for lunch or some tapas: http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Vide...ada-Video.html

And on your honeymoon, I think you shouldn't miss out on the sunset views from El Ventorillo in Las Vistillas park (10-15 mins walk): http://11870.com/pro/restaurante-ven...ideos/d9dafee0

I've also been perfectly happy at Hotel Plaza Mayor close by:
http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/madr...-mayor.en.html

CathyM

I agree with the previous posters on not adding any more base cities in your 3 week trip. I know it's very tempting to start "squeezing" in more but you then risk having a rushed trip and it is your honeymoon.

I think you have the transportation figured out. My knowledge is specific to Spain.

You can definately find some nice hotels for 100 euros. I was also going to recommend the Hotel Banys Orientals in Barcelona. For daytrips from Barcelona I'd probably do either Montserrat or Girona. With 5 days in Barcelona you probably won't be able to do both. You could plan on one definately and then play it by ear if you want to do the other.

In Madrid another hotel option is the Hotel El Prado. I like it better than the Hotel Plaza Mayor (which used to be my favorite in this price range).

http://www.pradohotel.com/

With 5 days in Madrid I'd plan on 2 daytrips, Segovia and Toledo - both very easy by high speed train (by your tickets in advance).

If you're going to be in Spain during Holy Week (from Palm Sunday to Easter) another poster noted there will be lots of people traveling, particularly to the South. However, I wouldn't avoid Spain during this time - I'd try to make sure if your trip is during this period you're in Spain. You'd have a chance, even in Madrid and Barcelona, to experience the processions.

nytraveler

Four cities is plenty - and if the flights work doing south to north makes sense because of the weather.

For day trips I would do:

London - Windsor, Oxford, possiblt Bath/Stonehenge

Paris - Versailles

Madrid - Toledo, Seville (if you can do it - seems far but we drive)

Also I would allot more days to London and Paris and fewer to Madrid (IMHO boring) and Barcelona (cute but second rank)

I think you may have a lot of trouble finding pleasant rooms in a central location for that amount. I know a lot of people say that Priceline is good for London - but have never tried it. That is by far the most expensive city in terms of decent hotels so it may be worth exploring.

cokes

Really appreciate the help guys, thanks! Now I'm thinking of doing a south to north trip. But do prices drastically increase during Holy Week in Madrid/Barcelona?

So we'd have to up our budget to about EUR 150-200 in London and Paris...Any suggestions for places to stay? Ive seen base2stay and Hoxton in Tripadvisor and they've gotten pretty good reviews.

I'm a little lost with the Paris leg, I don't really know which area is the best to stay in. Or being near a Metro stop is good enough, no matter which arrondisment you stay in?

Iwan2go

In Madrid we stayed at the Hotel Catalonia Las Cortes and loved it. I see rates at 108 euros in Nov. 2010, and 130 euros in April 2011 (but I'm sure it depends on the exact dates). It was very close to Plaza Santa Ana, with many restaurants, and was a beautiful hotel - much nicer than you'd think for such a low price! www.hoteles-catalonia.com/en

In Paris we liked the Hotel du Pantheon, an elegant hotel in the Latin Quarter. It looks like they have special rates from March 1 - May 31, 142 E with some restrictions (no cancellation, etc). There are many lovely hotels in Paris at this rate and lower. I just think this one is a good value for the money in a good location. www.hoteldupantheon.com

Have a wonderful time!

mamcalice

I think you have an excellent plan. You will have the opportunity to see plenty with a minimum of rushing around. I might consider 4 days each in Barcolona and Madrid and 6 each in Paris and London if you can find affordable hotels. In Paris, look for hotels in the 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th Arrondisements. They are fairly centrally located near most of the sites you will want to visit.