Need Help with Rome/Paris trip

Melissa: Yes, planning these trips is complex but we can help. If you buy Rick's books Paris 2007 and Rome 2007 (I don't work for Rick), those will help you a lot. Soon the 2008 editions will be out, you might as well wait for those. More specific questions are easier for us to answer. For your budgeting, remember that any price you see that is expressed in euros you have to multiply by about 1.4 to get what it actually costs you in dollars. So if you see a price for lodging and it is €100 per night, that is roughly $140 (it will take about $140 dollars to "buy" 100 euros).

If this is the first trip to Europe for both you and your friend, buying a copy of Europe Through the Back Door is a great place to begin. The 2008 edition is now available. Click on the Travel Store tab at the top of the page you're reading now. FYI, much of the information in the book is summarized in the articles in the Travel Tips section of this site.

The 2008 editions of Rick's Paris and Rome guidebooks are also available. I'm with Kent in recommending that you buy them. Another guidebook series that I especially like are those published by Lonely Planet. LP's books are more thorough than Rick's.

If this is your first time planning a trip like this then for just a few days I would put away the guide books and such. They are filled with great information, but sometimes too much, or more than you need right away. They are great and you will come back to them later.

Instead, go to a bookstore or library and get some picture books about Paris or Rome. Look through them and try to identify what it is that moves you, or gets you the most excited about going. Keep a list. Also try to decide if you have any hobbies here that would be fun there: gardening, poetry, food, clubbing, dogs... I would suggest you try to keep it to 5-6 things to DO in each city (the lines will be long), and then also remember to just EXPERIENCE (coffee in a bistro, gelato in piazzo etc..). Also you can post a ? in this forum looking for peoples favorite 5 sites in Paris and/or Rome.

Then go back to your guide book, and plan how to do each of your things.

Let me provide some contrary advice based on a couple of assumptions from your posting. You have limited time and limited funds. First go for May -- less crowded and better opportunity for lower airfare. Second drop either Paris or Rome. I would save Paris for the next trip. Both are similar in that they are large, old, intense, expensive, European cities. Because of distance, traveling between the two will be expensive and kill a full day of nothing but travel. Try an open jaw ticket -- to Rome, home from Milan. Spent your three or four days in Rome, then move to a small city such as Florence, or CT, or a number of other hill towns between Rome and Milan. The smaller cities would provide a difference experience from Rome, be cheaper, with lower transportation costs and less travel time. Spend a day in Milan on your way out. Personally for me that would be more relaxing and cost efficient. Just a thought.

Frank's recommendations for an Italy-only itinerary are very good. However, if you have your hearts set on seeing both Paris and Rome, it's possible to do that without wasting time getting from one city to the other (going to and from airports, having to check in early for your flight, etc.). Take the direct Paris-Rome night train, save the cost of a night in a hotel, and have more daylight hours for sightseeing. If you book well in advance (up to three months allowed) at www.voyages-sncf.com, you can get discount fares. For a detailed description of night train service (including photos of sleeping accommodations) between Paris and various points in Italy, go here: www.seat61.com/Italy.htm.

It is definitely possible to do the trip for under $3,000 - Paris and Rome are filled with great little hotels and pensiones for less than €70/night for a double. Figure $50/night per person, $1,000 - 1,200 for airfare, and food, sights and of course shopping :) My advice would be to spend at least 4 nights in each place, although you could spend an eternity in Paris and not get sick of it. Fly into Paris, take an early morning cheapo flight to Rome, then fly back to L.A. from Rome. Check out skyscanner.net for flights from Paris to Rome - (as low as $55) My favorite books for planning are Rick's for advice on what to see, and Lonely Planet and Let's Go for lodging and food. Good luck and have fun! I think planning is almost as much fun as actually going!

Thanks for all the replies! I went to Barnes and Noble last night and bought the books you all suggested. I think we are going to end up going at the beginning of April since that is when it works best with my job and stay over there for about 10-12 days.

Melissa,
Have fun planning your trip...I just planned 4 weeks for my husband and I and we had a ball. First print an empty calendar and plan how many days in each city...then start working on hotel reservations..and go from there. Once you have your hotels firmed up you can start thinking about what you want to see and do. We love Paris and have gone 4-5 different times. And we also spent 3 nights in Rome this past September. You can't see it ALL but, you will have a wonderful time!

Sherry and Tom/Steger, IL

This is what a friend and I did to plan a London/Paris trip to maximize sightseeing and minimize "I don't know, what do you want to do?" moments. Hit the library and check out a bunch of different guide books, including Rick's books. Start thumbing through them and mark the pages that interest each of you. Also, read travel boards and surf the net for ideas. You'll probably come up with common interests (e.g., Eiffel Tower in Paris, Colleseum in Rome). Start penciling the common interests on a calendar. You will not be able to do everything you want to do, so don't overfill your days. Leave enough flexibility to move things around (bad weather, museum closed dates).

You've picked two large cities that are not that close together - you might consider focusing on one or the other - or do something like London/Paris (easier travel between them - 3 hrs on train). But if you're set on Paris/Rome, go for it, just plan for travel time.

I hate to hype "other" websites here on the RS site, but somehow I think he believes "whatever gives you the best experience..."
Anyway, websites that offer packages of hotel/flights & not any "perks" (tours, coaches,etc. which I don't want anyway) give you a GREAT value. One of my faves is www.go-today.com. A couple yrs. ago my husband & I spent a week in London (mid March - they're a little more in May/June) at a pretty nice, central B&B hotel including our flights from the west coast to London for about $2000 - total (under $1000 a piece). Not including other food or admissions/attractions/extras, of course. They have "city breaks" which include one city packages or combinations & I think Paris & Rome is one of their options. Also, try www.travelzoo.com. Our package included FREE transport from Heathrow to our hotel, also.
Here's a link to one of their current offers:

http://www.go-today.com/site_gtweb/vacation_packages.asp?id=12651&iDept=339&p=968&iFrom=11/3/2007 (copy/paste the address into your browswer)

Hmmm . . . I am really thinking maybe we will just do Paris for our trip and maybe London and just leave Italy for another time. I am going to price a bunch of different options to see.