seeksocean

Six of us (all adults...two have never been to Europe) will be headed to Europe late April, 2014. We land in Paris and hopefully will get to our hotel around noon. We have one week each in France, Italy and Spain. We plan to spend our 1st full day in Paris touring with Michael Osman (I have toured with him before)..hopefully. We would also like to see some of the south of France before we head to Venice. We plan to get around by train. How can we do this efficiently and without spending all of our time in transit? And, with all this in mind...should we spend two nights or three in Paris? Thanks!

mamcalice

Sounds like a very rushed trip to wonderful destinations. I would spend 3 nights in Paris at least and would consider dropping Spain for this trip so you can do France and Spain justice.

seeksocean

Thanks for replying! I am not sure which country you were intending to recommend dropping. But, we are pretty firm in the one week per country. I know it's rushed. We are all well traveled and well traveled together...in Europe in the past as well. And, actually we had tried to fit Amsterdam in that mix, as well. Do you have any suggestions how to effectively spend three nights in Paris and be able to travel south on a train...maybe making one or two overnight stops before heading by train to Venice?

Judy

two nights in Paris would just give you one full day. I'd add to that.

RonZ

Advise you end the France portion in Nice, then fly to Venice. There is also an overnight train.

Train schedules below. See intermediate stops Nice to Monaco for towns along the route.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?

Nice from Paris is a 5.5 hour train ride.

janisj

First you say two have not been to Europe before, then you say all are well traveled including to Europe?

This is a HUGE disservice to the first timers. Even if you stay 3 nights they will only have 2 full days in Paris and one of those is w/ MO. IMO you (or at least the newbies) need at least 5 nights (4+ days) just to taste a bit of Paris.

RonZ

Try Lyon--Aix-en-Provence--Nice. Maybe Annecy from Lyon; skip Lyon. Or Paris-Aix, under three hours.

FHurdle

Forgive me for offering advice that is slightly different from what you asked for.

If you were to limit your time in France to Paris and cut it down a couple of days, you could make this work well. You can take day trips out of Paris or even do a single overnight in Normandy. Add the two extra days to your time in Italy.

The cost of an overnight train from Paris to Venice is as little as 210 Euros for six in a six-berth couchette. So this is your best option, in my opinion. These can be purchased six months out; see Seat61 website.

I'll leave it to you to decide how to split your time in Italy. The obvious choice is Venice-Florence-Rome. Rome is not my favorite city and I personally see no need to set up long-term housekeeping there.

There is an overnight ferry that goes from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Barcelona. I'll leave it to you to research it. Last year my daughter flew from Barcelona to Grenada on a cheap fare (80 Euros), then trained up to Madrid.

We actually did not even spend a single night in Barcelona. We got off our cruise ship, stored our luggage and saw Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, had a taxi driver give us an architecture drive and then grabbed our plane to Grenada. This isn't for everyone, but it was exactly what we wanted to do and it worked out fine. This isn't a good thing to be repeatedly, but if you only have a few things you want to see in a city see them and be on your way.

RonZ

As a lover of Paris I agree with Janis. Paris direct to Venice there is also the overnight Thello train.

seeksocean

Wow Thanks! I'll take some time to research all of these!

seeksocean

Janisj, Although we have all traveled together in the past, two if us have never been to
Europe. Sorry for the confusion.

Goldens

I'll agree with the others, spend your time in Paris. Take a day trip to Epernay and Versaille.
The nice thing about Paris is that every couple can do what they want and you can meet up for shared activities.
For something different check the website for O Chateau wine tastings in Paris. You might find this a fun group outing.

Easyjet has flights that are very reasonable between Paris and Venice.

seeksocean

Thanks again and again for all the amazing advice!

seeksocean

One of our party will be celebrating a birthday while we are there. I thought about the dinner cruise on the Seine. Any recommendations?

janisj

A dinner cruise is an expensive way to get a bad meal. Have a wonderful dinner on shore and then take a vedette cruise. Much better value for €€€ and likely MUCH better food.

Goldens

Janisj has good advice. For a special occasion with a group, check out Le Train Bleu.
Others would have more recommendations but I am partial to this restaurant, especially if 2 in your group have never been to Paris. It's just so pretty and grand.

You could do a late evening cruise and take champagne along with you.

mamcalice

I agree that a dinner cruise is not the way to go as there are so many wonderful restaurants in Paris.

seeksocean

Once again, great advice! Thank you!!