Two weeks in Europe

I think Ken's suggestion makes perfect sense and won't be too much ground to cover. As he says, you will be losing some sightseeing time while traveling from place to place. To me, though, that is part of the fun. If you want to follow his plan, book your flights to arrive in London and leave from Rome. (On a search engine site, click the button that says "multi-city" to make that possible). It will save backtracking to London for the flight home.

If you spend a few days in each of these cities, you can fit it into two weeks. You might consider Florence as a stopover for one or two nights, or as a daytrip from Rome. It depends on your interests. For lodging, start with Rick Steves' suggestions. I like venere.com when shopping for hotels. You might consider staying in an apartment in any of these cities. For 4 people, it can be very reasonable. This is a good time to be making plans, finding lodging, and studying guide books. Eurostar tickets will be available in advance cheaper than if you wait too long. In Venice, buy your train tickets to Rome the first day you are there. Second class is fine; I've traveled 2nd class in Italy many times.

Apartments are definitely the way to go for 4 people. Often a two bedroom place will easily sleep 6, with a sleeper sofa as one bed, or maybe twins in one of the rooms. I used VRBO for apartments in Venice and Rome last month. Highly recommend the Campo dei Fiori/Piazza Navona/Pantheon area for Rome as you will be in the historic center, close to restaurants, sites, and transportation via bus and tram. In Venice, you can stay anywhere an apartment strikes your fancy. Our first visit we thought we had to be close to San Marco, but the whole city is so accessible and so beautiful, you cannot go wrong. Stayed near Campo San Polo last month and it was a terrific location. For July, you need to be doing this now. You can buy your Venice to Rome tickets as soon as you know your travel date. Buy online at Trenitalia.com and score a mini- fare to save you some serious €€€.

I'm gonna go against the grain and say that this itinerary is too much. You have 14 days for 4 cities, which works out to be 3.5 days per city without accounting for travel time between them. I would say to visit Paris and London for 2 weeks (one week per city with daytrips), or Italy for 2 weeks (Venice, Rome, and one or two other cities).

I agree with Sarah, that is too much for two weeks. I would choose London and Paris, and maybe add a few days in Bruges or Amsterdam, or just go to Italy and spend the two weeks there. In two weeks you could do Venice and Rome, and maybe spend some time somewhere else too. You could easily go to Florence, or maybe a smaller Tuscan area. The more time you have traveling between destinations, the less time you have to sightsee, not to mention the increased travel expenses. Apartments would work great for you. I use vrbo.com and homeaway.com for apartment rentals.

Lisa, Your proposed trip is possible, but will require some careful planning and some compromises. Having a time frame of 16-days will allow for the two travel days at the beginning and end. Do you only have 14-days for the entire trip? Would something like this work: > Day 1 - Flight to London > Day 2, 3, 4 - Arrive London, touring > Day 5, 6, 7 - EuroStar to Paris (allow at least half a day for travel), touring > Day 8 - budget flight to Venice (I'd use EasyJet from ORY to VCE - fares currently about €40.99 PP + fees - they also have flights from CDG which are a bit more expensive but allow mid-day travel which is more convenient - be VERY careful when packing to keep baggage within limits and also note that usually ONE carry-on item ONLY is allowed - be sure to BOOK EARLY). > Day 9,10 - Venice, touring > Day 11, 12, 13 - train to Rome (travel time about 3H:45M) > Day 14 - flight home This doesn't allow much time for "in depth" touring in any of cities or many day trips, but should provide a good introduction to Europe for your children. I tried to find time to fit Florence in, but don't believe that will be possible. As usual, I'd highly recommend having a look at the Guidebooks for each of the places you'll be visiting, in order to plan the touring which is of most interest to your group. I usually travel solo, so can't help with apartment recommendations. The Guidebooks have listings for smaller local Hotels, some of which may offer family rooms that will sleep four. Happy travels!

I personally think you'll be spending a lot of time "traveling" and not much time in each location, each time you transport you lose a lot of time, getting to train station or aiport, getting to hotel... I would prefer to spend 2 weeks in Italy or all 2 weeks in UK or France
for hotels I'd suggest looking at Rick Steve's and Tripadvisor

Lisa So great you are taking the kids to Europe!
It is important to note the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games is on Friday, July 27, 2012. I am not sure how busy flights and hotels will be in the weeks before this. Bobbie

Thank you all so much for your replies. Ken, your sample itnerary is exactly what we were looking for. We may be able to stretch the trip by an additional day or two. Our problem is working around the schedule of our adult son- 20's and just starting out so his vacation time is more limited than either mine or DH's. Thanks for the tip on the Olympics- we'll definitely plan to be gone long before that begins.

Thank you all so much for your replies. Ken, your sample itnerary is exactly what we were looking for. We may be able to stretch the trip by an additional day or two. Our problem is working around the schedule of our adult son- 20's and just starting out so his vacation time is more limited than either mine or my husbands. We'll definitly fly into London and home from Rome. On a previous trip, my husband and I flew into London and home from Paris. We took the Eurostar on that, as well, and it seemed to be an easy journey from London to Paris. Paris to Venice seems to be the only travel that might be a pain as airports can add a lot of time to a travel day. We're thinking that we would take an evening train from Venice to Rome so that we don't lose much touring time in either city. Thanks for the tip on the Olympics- we'll definitely plan to be gone long before that begins. I appreciate all input and suggestions.