Denisea

Do you have any suggestions as far as restaurants to go to on christmas eve? Or can point me to one that i could make a reservation. I ended up deciding on going to Paris, Prague, Venice and Madrid. So now i am trying to get a good idea where to go and where to stay. I'd appreciate any and all help you can give.

In Paris the Metro is an easy and efficient way to get around. Whichever district you choose you will find it easy to make your way to the other parts of Paris within a very short time. We have stayed in several areas and have found no problems getting from where we stay to the places we want to go. Enjoy your trip.

Hi Daniel R...sorry I haven't been on the forum much lately...
we went to Le Train Bleu for Christmas Eve. There is not a lot open on Christmas Eve, since that is when most Parisians have their big celebrations and you will see many cafes and restaurants closing in the afternoon on CE. We had a lovely time, yes it's a bit touristy but we are tourists. The restaurant is lovely and our food was very good. They had a special menu for CE that was very decadent. You can make a reservation for LTB online. I know you can send an email to the George V to make a reservation for Le Cinq, so that probably works for many hotel restaurants.

I also understand that there are places open in the Marais (many Jewish establishments) and many of the restaurants that are owned by Middle Eastern/Muslims are open. I am sure the larger hotels also have dining available but I would make a reservation to be sure you have somewhere to go. One thought (less expensive than Le Cing) is Cafe de la Paix at the Le Grand Hotel Intercontinental. The dining room there is lovely.

We loved staying here in Amsterdam (€125 a night)
http://www.boogaardsbnb.com/

Daniel, so you're going to 4 major cities in 4 different countries over a span of 10 days? That's 2.5 days each including all transportation time. And have you figured out how to get between these cities? Transportation is not so reliable in the winter, so it may take longer than the schedule says.

I'd cut back to 2 cities or 3 max. Paris and Madrid, in particular, have much more to see than 2 days worth. And the days are shorter in the winter so less time to see things outdoors. Both Paris and Prague are farther north than Minneapolis, so shorter days in the winter than Minneapolis.

Mimar,

I have flights scheduled for each place. Three days, two days, two days and three days for the countries.

The real thing that i am dealing with, is figuring out where to eat for christmas eve and christmas day. Its going to be a romantic holiday and whatever happens, happens.

Denisea, Thank you for your response. I have made two reservations so far. I appreciate your feedback

we had a great time in Paris last Christmas...I am sure you will, as well

I loved Helsinki in the summer, especially with sunlight until all hours. However, I'm not sure how pleasant it will be in December when temperatures will hover near freezing and snowfall amounts could be substantial.

I might consider combining Paris with say Copenhagen. One, the weather will be slightly better and two, they are a lot closer.

One issue to be keenly aware of is baggage weight limitations on intra-Europe flights. You will have about 70 pounds on an international flight. But, flights within Europe will limit you to about 40 pounds. We recently flew from Dublin to Paris and the cost of our bags was greater than the cost of our four tickets, combined.

Hello! We are going to be be taking a Christmas and NYE trip to Europe in 2015. How did your trip go?

hi, hennesses, DanielR hasn't posted on Fodors in 3 years, so don't think he will answer

Oh. Haha I was just hoping maybe he would get a notification that someone had said something. :) I am a first time user and naive. ;)