London, Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome. 16 days

I have to ask, what is your motivation for this trip?
--To tick off the big sights in the big cities ?
--To enjoy European living, soaking up the atmosphere ?
-- To learn a bit about art and history ?
-- To marvel at architectural wonders ?

You will find general consensus on here that Paris is perhaps the most beautiful, inspiring, romantic, uplifting and interesting city in all of Europe. Why only 2 days ??

For me a better balance would be ...
May 06. 11am. Arrive in London - 4 nights
May 08. Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath
May 10. Afternoon Eurostar to Paris - 4 nights
May 14. Afternoon flight to Venice - 3 nights
May 17. Early am train to Florence - 2 nights
May 19. Early am train to Rome - 3 nights
May 22. Depart from Rome

Seems heavy on your first and last destinations and light in the middle ones.

Ex. You fly from Paris at 7 pm, so you will get to Venice airport about 8:30 then another hour into Venice proper, find your lodgings and check in. Day's done. Next day, all day in Venice. Next day, check out and get to the train station for train to Florence. So you really only have one full day in Venice.

Florence you will only have the afternoon of your arrival and the next morning and early afternoon. Then a late afternoon train to Rome. So you really only have a full day in Florence.

So I would take 2 nights away from Rome (4 nights and 3 full days is enough) and add 1 night each to Florence and Paris.

Just my first impression.

Jenn,
You will actually have 16 nights which are equivalent to 15 full days.

15 days for 5 cities is very ambitious IMO.

Keep in mind that each time you relocate, you'll lose up to half of that day.

Your time in Paris, Venice & Florence will be a blur since you're only spending one full day in each of these cities.

If your flights have already been booked & your " main focus is London & Rome", I'd suggest you consider choosing one of the other three cities on your list. This way you'll be dividing your 16 nights (15 days) among three cities (instead of 5), you won't be so rushed & thus have time to enjoy those 3 particular cities.

I'd suggest London (5-6N), Paris( 5N), Rome (5-6N), or substitute Venice or Florence for Paris, and spend 3-4 nights there & add one extra night each to London & Rome.

Enjoy!

I love Paris and London but I agree you've got too much in too few days. I would cut Paris and fly London - Venice adding the 2 days to Venice and Florence.

If you do opt to keep Paris remember you lose an hour heading in that direction. You need to figure in time to go to your hotel and drop off your bags on arrival. In my mind there is no point walking by D'Orsay if you are not going in altho if you are walking from Ste-Chapelle to Eiffel Tower along the Seine you go by there. I would skip Napoleon's tomb as well altho on your route to Eiffel Tower you can see the dome. You would not want to use the HoHo as transportation. Depending on where your hotel is located this also might not be possible.

On your departure day from Paris you'll have to figure in time to get back to your hotel to pick up your bags and get out to the airport so an hour to get back to the hotel from wherever you are, an hour transport time (is this a weekday? Rush hour?) to the airport and your 2 hours ahead of your flight for security.

For London, use public transport or walk between sights.

Take the train yourselves out to Windsor, it's very easy. The combo tours of the 3 sights give you very little time to see what you are there for. I would also take the train to Salisbury then pick up the Stonehenge Tour bus from the station. It is run by the local bus company and does a loop all day out to Stonehenge and back by Old Sarum. If you still have time after Stonehenge, go to Salisbury Cathedral and see it and the copy if the Magna Carta. Skip Bath this time. Or do Bath and skip Stonehenge.

You are so closely scheduled that you aren't allowing any slack for transportation issues. For instance, last year when I took the Eurostar from London to Paris it was 101 minutes late due to a cable theft along the line. Usual? No. Possibility for delay? Yes.

This will be a wonderful trip but you'll probably have more fun if you pare down.

A friend of mine had an opportunity for a whirlwind trip - I think it was about 5 days on the ground - in Europe. She and a friend had a very hectic, fast-paced wonderful time getting a taste of 3 countries. It's about 20 years later, she's never had the means/opportunity to go back and there's none in her foreseeable future. So I don't think you are wrong is going to the cities you've chosen.

I would adjust your time on the ground though, shaving 2 or even 3 days off Rome and adding them to Paris, Venice and Florence. And I would recommend very different activities than you've chosen.

London - The HOHO bus is fine for one round-trip to get an overview of the city. Buses are usually not a good way to get around the city because the get bogged down in traffic. Using the tube (subway) is easy and often faster. Get oyster cards to make it easier to pay and to say money. Most of the top museums in London are free. Take a London Walks walking tour. Bath is too far to go and a tour that goes to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath gives you a lot of time sitting on the bus and very little time at any of the sights. You can easily go to Windsor for 1/2 day from London and I recommend it. If Stonehenge is a must-see for you. London Walks has this tour (and Salisbury Cathedral is worth seeing) or maybe you can find a 1/2 day tour that just goes there. You could manage a day tour by train to Bath, if you are huge Jane Austen fans. Otherwise skip it. You'll see so many Roman ruins in Italy.

Paris - You've got almost no time there. You need time in the morning in London to pack and get to the train station. You need to be at the station at least 45 minutes before departure for security and passport control. When you get to Paris, you have to get to your hotel and drop your luggage before you start sightseeing. There's no point in getting up at the crack of dawn and then being exhausted by mid-afternoon when you've only planned one night in Paris when you'll want to be out until very late to see the city at night when sunset's not until nearly 9.30 p.m. The next day (Friday) you want to fly to Venice in the evening. The only nonstop flights I found are from CDG airport. You'll have to return to your hotel to pick up your luggage after sightseeing, then get to the airport with enough time for checking bags and security, then wait for your bags in Venice, then get from the airport to your hotel. So for a 6 p.m. flight you'll need to be back at your hotel no later than 3 p.m. and you land at 7.40 p.m. in Venice, so it will be getting dark by the time you get to the city (sunset's about 8.30) and trying to find your hotel. I would not recommend getting there any later! Honestly, if you can't take at least one day from Rome to add to Paris, I would seriously consider whether it's worth the time and money to get there.

Venice - instead of a really expensive gondola ride, you can take a gondola-rowing lesson. People have reported that it's both more fun and much cheaper.

I gave to disagree with David, keep your time in London. It is the best big city in Europe. Just focus a bit more on what you want to see. Suggestions include the Tower of London, London Walks, Westminster Abbey, having tea, etc...

Hi everyone and thanks for the replies.
It would be a whirlwind but yes it is more just to see the main sights and all the spectacular architecture. This is our big final trip before we get married and settle down as a family; so if we ever do go back it wouldn't be for at least a decade, if even then.
I will shave a day from Rome and add it to Paris. I had assumed we would just keep our baggage with us while sight seeing once we get to Paris then go to the hotel afterwards to save time. I was thinking we would just each pack a large backpack/duffel as a carry on in Cdn standards. Maybe I will look for a hotel near the Gard du Nord.

I had thought maybe we had too much time in London but now I guess not and we have to consider the jet lagain. I had also thought the Stonehenge Windsor and bath was too quick but my travel agent said it's fine. The main highlight for us was the Stonehenge so I will look for a tour focusing on that or just two things.
For Venice, we just really wanna go there for the cheesy gondola ride and walk the streets. Not much else.
For Florence, we only added as it was en route to Rome so we thought we would train out of Venice by the afternoon then eat dinner in Florence. Next morning go on a tour to see Duomo and the Academia then go on a train to Rome.
I thought HOHO would be the best way to get a good overview of the city but I will look for walking tours instead. I thought it was a good time saver over walking. I'm extremely nervous of using trains and such to get around within the city so I was counting on the hoho bus but with 9 months to research I will plan. Any suggestions on what areas to stay for the cities? Should I do hotels or airbnb?
The total days now look like
London 5 days
Paris 3 days
Venice 1 day
Florence 1 day
Rome 5 days

I would really try keep Venice at two days (take off Rome?). If the only thing you do is walk the tourist trail from Rialto to St Mark's Sq (SMS) and do a gondola ride, you really aren't going to enjoy Venice. The best thing about Venice is getting lost in the back alleys. Many people acquire a negative impression of Venice because they only see the crowded tourist trap part of it.

If you are only going to keep it to one day, may I recommend getting up early - 7am - and head out to Rialto/SMS and see it before the tourist hordes descend at 9-10am. If you want to go up in a bell tower (campanile) may I suggest heading across the lagoon from SMS and going up the San Giorgio campanile. Our 1st time in Venice we stood almost an hour to go up the SM campanile. Last trip we went across to San Giorgio - no line, no crowds up top and amazing views over to SMS and the Bridge of Sighs.

BTW - 4 visits to Venice and we haven't done a gondola yet - too expensive for our tastes...but everyone has a bucket list thing ;)

Jenn,

You don't say when you are going, but in season the wait for the tower climb at Notre Dame and for St. Chapelle can be long. A good strategy for Notre Dame is to get on line 45–60 min. before opening, but this will not be possible the first day as your train will not arrive in time.

Eiffel Tower tickets are available online, but the cheap ones sell out quickly, and you won't be able to rely on your HOHO to deliver you there at the right time.

The pace of your trip would not be for me, but I completely respect your decision. My point is to take into account all the logistical details, and all the time that things will take, versus the actual time you have allotted. Your itinerary is so tight that even a small unanticipated delay can throw things off.

If you do decide to save one of these great destinations for another trip (such as Paris), you will have more time to spend at the other equally great destinations, the ratio of in-transit days to sightseeing days will improve, and your plan will be more resilient to minor disruptions (which are inevitable).

It could be a better trip!

Paris

I had assumed we would just keep our baggage with us while sight seeing once we get to Paris then go to the hotel afterwards to save time.

If you do that, you won't be able to hop off, and that is half of HOHO. You can drop your bags at your hotel, even if they don't have your room ready yet. Then you can truly hop on and off. And do ride the Paris Metro a couple of times. Its a big part of the Paris experience. Very efficient and fast.

In Venice, take that cheesy (and expensive) gondola ride, but also get a 24 hour vaporetto pass. Costs 26 EUR includes a one-way bus ticket into Venice from the airport and 24 hours transport on the vaporettos. In 5 trips to Venice I haven't ridden in a gondola yet (except for a cheap traghetto crossing), but I ride the public boat buses all the time. Best is the No 1 boat from Piazzale Roma (where the airport bus drops you) down the Grand Canal to San Marco. Look for a hotel near a vaporetto stop so don't have to go searching in the interior of the island.

I certainly understand your wanting to pack as much in as possible. We have been known to have a whirlwind trip or two - they are not for everyone. I would add more time in Paris - you'll thank all of us who've said to later.

Venice - you can get a good taste of it your 1 full day.

Florence - if you just want to see the the David then skip a tour, see the David, have some lunch and wander Florence a bit.

I also would agree - skip the HOHO's - you will spend more time in traffic

Try a bike tour - a great way to get around and cover more ground.

Be sure and take time in each to stop and just enjoy where you are. Also journal or video blog as you go - it will help your memory later.

Using unfamiliar public transport can be intimidating - google "how to use the tube in London" there are helpful videos and websites - it really is pretty simple once you get the hang of it

Have a great trip!

Jenn, Best wishes for your upcoming marriage. May you love long and prosper. If the two of you survive this trip, then your marriage should be a piece of cake (no pun intended). Personally I'd still scale back some more. It almost always takes longer to go from Point A to Point B than anticipated. And what you want are memories of places, people, activities, and such --- not just a blur of train stations and airports. Don't mean to rain on your parade or be disagreeable with those who favor and can handle whirlwind trips, but sometimes less is actually more. Just something to consider.

I would strongly urge you to consider at least 2 nights as bare minimum in both Venice and Florence.
1. You don't want to be packing up and checking out the very next day after arriving.
2. You want at least a 'full day' to enjoy each place, unencumbered by the thoughts/stress of travel logistics.
Rome can be really appreciated in three full days (some might even say two). I don't comprehend the imbalance here.

Thank you for adding a night to Paris! Now add one to Venice . . . spend another night there, then take an early train to Florence, check your bags at the train station and enjoy the city for a day. There's a big Tourist Info office across the street from the station where you can get a map and some advice. All the sights are walking distance and the city center's flat. Then pick up some sandwiches and drinks and have a picnic dinner on the train to Rome. I didn't check your dates - you do not want to be in Florence on Monday when the museums are closed.

In Paris, do not expect to be able to check large backpacks at sights. With the high security alerts, you won't be able to visit sights with them and you are very likely not going to be able to check them either. A great way to see Paris is to take a Fat Tire bike tour. You'll cover more ground faster than the HOHO bus and with a small, fun group and a good guide. They also have Segway tours, pricey but great fun.

Hi Everyone and thank you again!

We have tweaked the itinerary again as follows:

May 6 Saturday - Arrive in London and walk around and eat to help reduce Jetlag.
May 7-8 Sunday to Monday - Walk London on foot using London Public Transit.
May 9 Tuesday - Stonehenge Tour of some sort.
May 10 Wednesday - Check out of hotel and store baggage in St. Pancreas International station. Walk London further before heading to the station around 5 to catch a 7 ish Eurostar to Paris.
May 11-13 Thursday to Saturday - Walk around Paris. Thinking two attractions or so a day. Notre Dame/Saint Chapelle. Louvre/ Place de la Concorde. Eiffel Tower/Napolean's Tomb/Arc du Triomphe
May 14 Sunday - Early flight out to Venice. Check in and wander the streets of Venice and catch a Gondola ride if possible.
May 15 Monday - Continue to walk around Venice and Gondola if not already and St. Marks Basilica and the foot bridge
May 16 Tuesday - Check out of Venice hotel and take an early train to Florence and check into a hotel near train station. Explore Venice by visiting the David statue and Cathedral or Uffizi if there is time.
May 17 Wednesday - Check out of Florence and wander around further for a bit before departing to Rome and checking in. Alternative is to take an early train to Pisa, check bags at train station then do a quick jaunt to the tower before heading back to the train station to travel to Rome.
May 18-21 Thursday to Sunday - Explore Rome on foot
May 22 Monday - Check out of Rome hotel and head to airport for flight home to Canada

London: Check in May 6, Check out May 10 - 4 nights (Near St. Pancreas/Kings Cross?)
Paris: Check in May 10, Check out May 14 - 4 nights (Near Eiffel Tower?)
Venice: Check in May 14, Check out May 16 - 2 nights (Near train station?)
Florence: Check in May 16, Check out May 17 - 1 night (Near train station?)
Rome: Check in May 17, Check out May 22 - 5 nights (Unsure of where we should stay. Near Roman Forum? Colleseum? Vatican?)

I hope I balanced it out better for each of the cities. I watched the Youtube video as suggested and looked at maps and am no longer wary of travelling through public transit :) I was just feeling so overwhelmed by this whole trip and scared of getting lost. I have downloaded TripAdvisor, TripIt, CityMapper and Google Translate. I have downloaded the offline packs for Italian, French and maps of each city we will visit.

Still a bit of a whirlwind but much more doable. I assume "...Explore Venice by visiting the David statue and Cathedral or Uffizi..." is just a typo. Venice is so small that, imo, it really doesn't matter where the hotel is located, but there isn't anything wrong with the area of the train station. In Rome we like to stay close to the Spanish Steps as most things are walkable from there and for those that are not are the subway and bus stops are close by.

Oh yes, you are right. Florence is the David, Uffizi and Cathedral. See how we feel by then for which to visit. I think we have enough time now that it is less rushed in Paris, Venice and Rome. I will look into hotels near Spanish Steps, thank you for suggesting that as I had no real idea of where to stay. Any other suggestions for hotel areas in Paris and London?

Hopefully you can decide in advance whether you want to go to Accademia for David or the Uffizi. With such limited time in Florence, you don't want to spend an hour or even longer waiting in line for either museum. You can buy advance tickets to skip the line - we did this for the Accademia in 2012 - if memory serves (and someone will correct me) you just show up about 15 min before your allotted time so they know you are there. No waiting around and wasting precious sightseeing time. We didn't go to the Uffizi. And there was a very long line for Acca so I'm glad we did the timed tix.

I'm not sure how close to the day you want to go you can buy tix - someone will say whether you can buy a few days in advance or if you need to do it weeks in advance (I hope!). I think we bought ours a few months ahead...

Also - when we wanted to go into the cathedral in Florence, we first got in the really REALLY long line that was to climb the dome. The line to get into the cathedral itself was short. We instead climbed the campanile so we could admire the views of the dome instead of standing on top of it. If memory serves, we didn't have much of a wait.

We only had a full day and a morning in Florence. We'd planned on having an afternoon, all the next day and the following morning. We left later than expected from Venice and by the time we figured out where the bus stop was to get to our accoms (we got confused and wasted an hour trying to find the right bus) and got to our accoms, it was early evening so we just grabbed a meal and relaxed in our room (which wasn't near city centre - nothing around to see). The next day we went in early, wandered the old town a bit, did cathedral, campanile climb, crossed the Ponte Vecchio, wandered some more, did Accademia (used Rick's audio tour on our iPod - very informative) then went back to our room, from where we walked to a bus stop and went to Fiesole for beautiful views of Florence from above (and got eaten alive by mosquitoes). The next morning we spent a few hours at Pitti Palace. So you can squeeze a lot in.

Don't know what your budget is, but there is a place in Rome you should check out. We have stayed at Hotel Fontanella Borghese many times and have always been pleased. While it is not "luxury", it is very nice and the location is great. The staff is very friendly and helpful. You can walk to Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Nuvona, even Vatican city. They also have a sister hotel closer to the Pantheon called Hotel Due Torri. We always send an email directly with our request for a booking and we get an answer back in 24 hours or less. Ask for a room overlooking the courtyard as rooms overlooking the side street can get noisy. The web site is www.fontanellaborghese.com. Check it out and see what you think. We've spent quite a bit of time in Rome so let me know if you need specific info. In London and Paris the subway systems are so good that location is not nearly as important as other places. In Paris, though, many people like the Marais. Don't overlook Ile St Louis -- there are times when one can stay there almost as inexpensively as other places..

Just a small tip: think and count in terms of nights, not days. It makes more sense when you are putting your itinerary together. Each time you move plan on at least a half of day of relocating time.

I like whirlwind trips, but I would cut Rome down further and spend it somewhere else in Italy. You could technically tour the Vatican and do a self-guided walking tour in a very long day or over a weekend (which I did a few years ago). I would recommend booking a tour directly through the Vatican - it was worth it.
**Full Disclosure....Rome is not my favorite place in Europe.

May 10 Wednesday - Check out of hotel and store baggage in St. Pancreas Most hotels will keep your luggage for you. Depending on where your hotel is and where you're heading in London, it may be better to pick up your stuff on the way to the station in the afternoon.

May 11-13 . . . Paris. Sainte-Chapelle can be a long line (and it may close for a break around lunchtime). Consider getting tickets to a concert there - no lines, no crowds and time to enjoy it while listening to the music (get there early to wander a bit and take photos).

May 14 Sunday - Early flight out to Venice. . . . a Gondola ride if possible. How early? You'll probably have to leave the hotel 3 hours before flight time. Gondolas are everywhere all the time.

May 16 Tuesday - Florence . . . a hotel near train station Most everything is close to the station. The Duomo is free. For a nice view take a bus up to Piazzale Michelangelo

May 17 Wednesday - . . . Pisa It's out of the way and will take more time that you think with storing luggage and retrieving it and getting to and from the site. If you want to climb the tower, allow more time. If you just want to see it, IMO not worth the time and bother.

By the way - there's nothing medical about it, although there is a new cutting edge medical research centre across the street and it s just down from the Wellcome building and UCL Hospital.

A Pancreas is a gland in the body just behind the stomach.

St Pancras (note the missing "e") is the name of a saint in honour of whom St Pancras Church is named, and St Pancras International Station is named after the church.

Hey Jenn,

I'll just throw my two cents in - and since my wife and I haven't been to Rome, Venice or London (hitting both of those this year) - I'll just comment on places I've been.

For Paris - I actually think you can get more in in three days than you've listed. You can easily do Notre Dame and Ste Chapelle in half a day - and I'll second what somebody said earlier. If you want to walk to the top of Notre Dame - get there about an hour early and line up. The line can get long pretty quick. Ste Chapelle is only a couple of blocks away - so that's a very easy walk. At that point - I'd argue for wandering up the left bank and stop in at the D'Orsay. It isn't huge and foreboding like the Louvre is - and you could easily get in/out in a couple of hours and see the highlights. Then you can continue on your walk or grab a metro to head over to the Eiffel Tower/Napoleon Tomb/Rue Cler area. I'm not sure Napoleon's tomb is worth taking the time to go inside to see - that's your call. You could reasonably group the Louvre/Place de la Concorde/Champs de Elysee/Arc du Triomphe into a day (walking from the Louvre to the Arc). That would leave a 3rd day free for wandering the Marais/St. Michel/Latin Quarter. Or if you're really adventerous and want to see the sites - take the Metro Train to Versailles. Again - its preference as to what you want to see. I personally love Paris and am happy just wandering aimlessly and stopping at cafes along the way. As for Hotel Location - I'd recommend staying more central than near the Eiffel Tower. We've stayed in the Latin Quarter (Hotel des Grandes Hommes), on Ile St. Louis (at the Jeu de Paume) as well as other places not worth mentioning. If its in your budget - you really can't get a much better location than the Jeu de Paume (plus its a very welcoming place). So my recommendation for Paris is to just make sure you enjoy what you're seeing while you're seeing it - and experience the city. I'd also recommend getting the Paris Museum Pass - it covers admission and lets you skip the ticket buying lines at most places - which with your pace of schedule might be a consideration.

For Florence - we did it as a full day trip on our tour of Tuscany. Just know its going to be crowded. Cruise ship tourists help bloat the city. If you want to see the statue of David - I recommend joining the Uffizi for a year. Its pretty reasonable and again - you cut the ticket buying line and just wait in queue to get in. Which is still a formidable line but better than waiting to buy a ticket then having to get in another line to get in.

Anyway - I know I rambled on alot. Just let me know if you want me to expand on anything. But mainly - have a great time! Those 15 days are yours - enjoy them!

I'd choose my flight/train times to maximise sightseeing. Flying from Paris to Venice will eat in to most of the day regardless, so I wouldn't punish myself with a rush to the airport for an early flight. Always store your bags at the hotel on checkout and allow time for collection later. Taking them to the station is unnecessary double handling and an added expense.

May 06. 11am. Arrive in London - 4 nights
May 07. 08. London sights (2.75 full days)
May 09. Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath
May 10. Afternoon Eurostar to Paris - 4 nights
May 11. 12. 13. Paris sights (3 full days)
May 14. Lunchtime flight to Venice - 2 nights

Air France AF1726
12:35 CDG Paris Charles de Gaulle
14:10 VCE Venice Marco Polo

May 15. Venice sights (1.5 full days)
May 16. Afternoon train to Florence - 2 nights
May 17. Florence sights (1.5 full days)
May 18. Afternoon train to Rome - 4 nights
May 19. 20. 21. Rome sights (3 full days)
May 22. Depart from Rome