Hello! My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon to Europe. Three must go-to spots for us are Paris(4 nights), Strasbourg (1 night), and Rome(4 nights). Any recommendations for boutique hotels? Nice but not $$$$? We are also looking for 1 other place to go- perhaps more relaxing, near the water. I have traveled to Sorrento/Ischia/Pompeii as well as Nice, FR so we are looking for something new. Any suggestions? We don't mind train travel, however we just want to make sure we maximize our time and budget. Thank you! Andrea
Posted by
New York, NY, 10025
392 posts
What time of year is this going to be? Anyway, my husband and I did a two night stay in Saint-Malo in Brittany, France, which was wonderful in the middle of summer, when it was just starting to warm up. It's a cute town and we were able to relax and take a day trip driving down the coast to Mont Saint-Michel.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, California, United States
4 posts
We will be there end of July-1st week in August. Thank yoU!
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I'm curious - why one night in Strasbourg, and only one night? If you're going to that area, you could certainly spend more time in Alsace or Lorraine (I personally preferred Nancy to both Strasbourg and Colmar, but the Museum of Alsatian Life was wonderful). Particularly if you focus on smaller towns, this will be very relaxing. But, none of those places are near "the water" in the sense of the Mediterranean or a beach, although Strasbourg and Colmar have rivers running through them.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, California, United States
4 posts
I should have prefaced my itinerary intentions: I have had the opportunity to study in both Rome/Florence and Strasbourg and travel extensively through western Europe, however my fiance has not, so we are hoping to do do at least the two bigger cities, a quick jaunt to say hello to my host family in Strasbourg and one other more honey-moon-like location.
I agree, Alsace is deserving of much more than one night. Since we will be spending time in Paris/Rome we are hoping for a more remote, less touristy location. Thanks for all the quick replies- this is helpful!
Posted by
Fontainebleau, France
893 posts
Venice, or somewhere on the Côte d'Azur would certainly be honeymoon worthy. However, it won't help you maximize your time or budget. When you say you have 12 nights - is that 12 full nights on the ground in Europe, or does that include one night spent on a plane getting to Europe? I think it would help you to lay it out day-by-day: Day 1: Arrive Paris; afternoon rest/sightsee Day 2 & 3: Sightsee Paris Day 4: TGV to Strasbourg Day 5: TGV back to Paris Day 6: Fly Paris to Rome Day 7 - 9: Sightsee Rome Day 10: Train to Venice Day 11 & 12: Sightsee Venice
Day 13: Fly back
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, California, United States
4 posts
Dina, Thank you for your reply, Venice is an option, however I've visited a couple of times and was hoping for somewhere new. Keith, Elba! I haven't even considered that as a stop, but it makes perfect sense given our travel path. I don't know much about the island? Any tips? Is it difficult to get to/do you need a car once on the island? It looks absolutely gorgeous! I haven't spent extensive time in Tuscany either, so perhaps that visited as well. Thanks for all the tips!
Andrea