London and Paris...should I add Berlin

next time

3 in each only begins to make the tiniest scratch in the surface of either.

Actually, you have 8 days “on the ground” (travel days don’t count IMHO). On arrival day you’ll be jet lagged and fatigued with limited ability to do or see a lot. You might even be a bit draggy the next day. I would limit your trip to London and Paris. Frankly, with the time you have you should consider spending it all in one city or the other as each has more than enough for the time you have, and you’ll save a day which will largely be consumed by traveling between the two cities.. I definitely would not add Berlin, you don’t have the time. And as a city Berlin pales compared to either London or Paris.

You definitely don't have time for Berlin, and only have time to barely scratch the surface in London and Paris. As it is, youll likely have to seriously edit the usual sites to fit within what is really a short visit.

You'll want to purchase your Eurostar tickets as early as possible (usually available 6 months in advance), for the best prices. And to avoid wasting even more time by needing to back track, book an open jaw (multicity)
flight ticket into London and out of Paris rather than round trip London.

All of the above. Save Berlin for next time.

Bravo that you're going solo.

This a matter of your travel style and how desperate you want to see Berlin given the time constraint.

I go solo too and would add Berlin to the trip, fly from Paris, or take the day and night train. Take the TGV Paris Est to Strasbourg or Offenburg. Then the night train Offenburg to Berlin, a very doable option if you time it correctly.

Of course, both legs can be done by day too, Paris Est to Frankfurt, early TGV, arr 10:58 am, then Frankfurt to Berlin after lunch. I did exactly such a ride a few years back, landed ca 10 am or so at FRA from SFO non-stop. Took the ICE to Berlin Hbf. after lingering at Frankfurt Hbf for a couple of hours, arrived at the Pension by 19:30 or so.

What you could also do is fly to Berlin after visiting London, skip Paris...another doable option. Seeing all 3 cities can be easily and conveniently done if you want to with a bit of planning.

should I put Berlin on the next trip?

yes

For first time trip to Europe if you have 10 days I'd not share this time between 2(let alone 3 global cities) in 2(3) different countries, but choose 1 country(be it Britain or France or Germany or else) spend a few days in its capital than explore the smaller towns and the countryside.

Well it seems that the consensus is to skip Berlin. I can see the point and am ok with that. I do like the idea of choosing just one city. While I realize its personal preference, which one to choose. London and Paris are the two cities at the top of the bucket list and both have their pros and cons. The only real concern is having the opportunity to return for the other city.

The consensus is not to skip Berlin, only that 3 major European capitals may be too much for 10 days.

You could choose London and Berlin or Paris and Berlin or Prague and Berlin and so on.

Language is the key to any country and culture. If you speak French it is a big plus for Paris and I wouldn't miss an opportunity to travel there. The same goes for Berlin if you happen to speak German.

If you choose either London or Paris you can’t go wrong. Those who try to see too much, as if it will be their last trip to Europe, actually miss experiencing Europe. London has one major advantage-no language barrier. Having said that, English is widely spoken in Paris and if you learn the few basic survival phrases, have Google Translate on your smartphone, you’ll do fine. As much as I enjoy both cities I’d give a slight edge to Paris. It’s Paris! Look at the RS Best of London and Best of Paris tours for ideas of what his team feels are worthwhile days over a week. In fact, consider booking one of these. If not, invest in his guidebooks for both cities (or borrow them from the library). Both have a lot of information including what to do with a week to ten days, where to stay, etc. Safe travels!

Hi,

While it is true that choosing a specific city is a matter of personal choice, it is a matter of what you want to do if you're set on it.

If you stay with seeing only London and Paris this time, no problem but dropping one of them or adding Berlin can also be done, all a matter of logistics, timing, and how desperate you want to be there, If that is high priority. then you plan around it, factor it in. I would do it in an instant.

I would do London and Paris. In fact, that's exactly what I did on my first trip to Europe (a solo trip). I took the Eurostar between them, but I had to go back to London, because I had a round-trip ticket. Today I would try to do it "open jaw" - fly into London out of Paris or vice versa on one ticket to avoid the backtracking.

I completely agree with not adding Berlin. You lose so much time in transit, packing and unpacking, and getting lost in a new city, that you won’t have time to really do much while you’re there.

Another option might be to see London and another UK city or Paris and then somewhere else in France.

Now for the counter point of view. Nothing against this forum but it has a bit of a tendency to favor long stays everywhere. I honestly think if give the chance they would spend two weeks visiting a small village in Switzerland...
I understand the logic of wanting about 7 to 10 days per city for Paris and London. That being said I would split the two. The travel t e and cost between the two is negligible and I personally belief that day 1 in Paris is a whole lot better then day 6 in London (and the opposite holds true)

So make a list with two columns, 4 lines per day for each day you will be on the ground. Then start listing what you would do on any given day starting with the most important stuff (for you) and moving to the least interesting stuff (for you)

Then look at day 6 in either column and see if you would rather do that day then what you list for day 1 in the other city.

And while I understand the idea that you will “be back”. You really can’t count on that.

I took my Father to London and France in fall 2017. Last year we debated going to Switzerland and Germany in the fall but due to cost we were thinking of delaying the trip to May 2019 when a family member stepped up and bought us the tickets for lat summer 2018.
As it turns out that was the greatest gift ever as my father who was extremely healthy started feeling bad over the winter and now has a bone marrow issue and will never be able to travel like that again in the short time he has left.

So you never know, yes it is nice to assume you will be back but.., you never know. My Father wanted to see Rome and Florence and Pompeii and such but it is not likely to happen. So while Switzerland was fun and worked better with our schedule it turns out we should have gone to Rome even if only for a few days.

So make your lists and pick your favorites, I think Berlin (and a third city) probably eats up to much time but make a list for Paris only, London Only, Paris & London and then all three and see which is getting you the most “must see” locations.

Because life is precious and too short.

Personally I would divide the days between the two and do whichever city you are most “in love” with LAST.

Doug that is a very thoughtful and passionate analysis. I have to say, you’ve swayed me. Thanks for your post.

@ opus...You could adopt the consensus view or make your own decision.

Back tracking from Berlin can be done by flying to Paris or London ot by night train from Berlin Hbf changing once in Offenburg, you'll be in Paris by 9:30 am....feasible logistically if you time it correctly.

Given my interests, having been to all three cities, and knowing what I now know, I would plan for my first trip, with only 10 days, London and Paris. I would definitely do at least two cities. I am a major fan of Berlin, but have visited many of the historical sites and museums I wanted to see, and would return to London and Paris before Berlin. In short, I like Berlin very much, but would put London and Paris in a special category.

Giiven what I know now, that is what I would do. Given my interests, I would want a bare minimum of three days in each of the three cities were I a first-time visitor, but I believe a full four or five days in any city is sufficient for a first-time visit. However, that is not necessarily what you or someone else should do because our interests are so different.

Something I do with forum responses on this website is consider not just the recommendations made, but more important the reasons given for those recommendations. It is all part of an educational process that helps people make the best decision for them. Good luck.

Basically, this is a very tough call...forgetting the logistics and with only the time frame in mind.

"...knowing what I now know" in reference to a first trip....Exactly, a very valid point, with "now" as the key word, regarding logistics, interests, accommodations, etc. I would pick Paris and Berlin, including a day trip from each city.

Considering you don’t have much time to add Berlin and considering you would be adding a flight vs train, I say don’t add Berlin. In consideration of the environment, don’t add to the global climate situation by adding an unnecessary flight with little benefit. IMO. London and Paris will be a wonderful trip and they deserve more than 2 full days, and as this is your first international trip you also have a learning curve that is likely to absorb a bit of extra time.

If you are crossing the Atlantic, you probably could fly into one city and home from another for about the same price as a regular round trip. It would save the expense of backtracking and, in your very tight schedule, save you a day. But you must use a multi-destination search function to assemble the itinerary; these are not a set of one-way tickets.

First time to Europe.

10 days.

London and Paris only.

No rush and time to enjoy both cities.

Simply remember to book your Eurostar ticket far in advance to save money.

Bot cities will keep you occupied as you meander.

Thanks for all of the input. As I said this is in the very early planning stages. After reviewing the options, I will stick to London and Paris. I would love to go to Berlin, as well as many other places in Europe and elsewhere, London and Paris are the absolute musts. That being said, my next question is how far in advance should I start making reservations. I'm looking at traveling either in mid April 2020 or October 2020.

You’ve got lots of time so I would start by getting the new RS books for London and Paris. These will help you design your days and decide where to stay. Given the very short visit you have don’t be tempted to save money by staying in an outlying hotel-you’ll regret the amount of time you spend in transit.

my next question is how far in advance should I start making reservations.

Airline tickets can be booked 330 days before your travel dates.

Eurostar can be booked 180 days in advance.

Eiffel Tower tickets can be bought online exactly 90 days in advance.

Hotels in London and Paris will vary with how far in advance they will take reservations and while popular places might sell out, booking a few months to weeks before your trip should work.

Enjoy the planning and the trip!