One week... What to do?

Laura,
First, its long enough, especially from the East coast.

Why go to Nice just for free lodging? Go to Nice if that's a priority, but you could easily split the week between London and Paris flying open jaw.

Finally, consider returning on Sunday because that will give you another full day in Europe. You seem young and up to dragging into work on Monday morning after flying from Europe the day before!

Have a great trip.

First, yes, it is long enough if you limit where you want to go. I have done one week trips in Ireland and northern Spain (followed by longer trips to both places multiple times). You will probably find that airfare is cheaper if you fly midweek instead of Friday, though. If you have to stick with your planned schedule, I would agree that you should stay the extra day.

One week is definitely long enough. It took me a while to figure that out and missed out on some great trips. :) I agree with the suggestion to find a place to stay for most of the time. Obviously, London and Paris would be good choices--lots to do in the cities and lovely day trips. But you could go rural as well if you're interesting walking or outdoor activities--Cumbria in the England, the Highlands in Scotland or Wales. There's lots of history in those last two!

Pam

Thanks for the responses so far!
A huge part of the fun is planning it for me, hence why I'm starting now. I self planned our Italy trip, with a huge help from these forums, and it was easily the best trip of our lives. I credit it to staying low to the ground, and the authentic experiences we were able to obtain.
For this trip, since we are lacking in time, I'm thinking that going to Paris or London makes the most sense for us (cheaper flight, less flying time)- I was to France as a child and I have been wanting badly to go back- and neither of us has been to England. However, my husband's mother was born in the Netherlands, and he has never been.
I'm thinking I would like to blend city with country, since we will just want to relax and soak up the culture as well. I've thought about London- Bruges- Paris, although I know time is an issue.
Grandparents are not retired- so they are the ounces really dictating our length.
Would love any suggestions!

Naturally I am going to tell you to come to Budapest; Conde Nast Traveler Number 1 destination in Europe (tied with Florence, Italy and you enjoyed Florence!). http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/16/travel/cn-traveler-top-cities/index.html

If you enjoy history then we offer: Austro-Hungarian Empire, WWII, Eastern European Jewish, Cold War, Soviet Occupation. Food? More good food per square foot than most any place you will ever find. Clean and polished and waiting for throngs of attacking tourists? Nope, raw and real. This is a town that you come to explore the culture not tick off the list of things to see; but we have those too. Bath houses, Empire Political Buildings, hill top castles, romantic Danube river, communist prisons and underground hospitals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vApAmydLjjo
75% of this was filmed in Budapest http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7wvw/viking-river-cruises-see-things-differently-

Write if I can help

With just a week, I'd stick to one or two places. If you go with one, you'll be able to do day trips out of the city.

I'd probably choose Paris for a week. If you want to add a second city, why not Amsterdam? My first destinations in Europe were London, Paris and Amsterdam. London felt the most like home (USA), Paris and Amsterdam felt like Europe. 2 days in Amsterdam and the rest, as much as you can squeeze out of mom and dad, in romantic Paris.

I would consider staying in Paris for the whole time. We spent 10 days in Paris in 2012, and are looking forward to second trip this year. We did day trips to Versailles and Giverny.

Hi Laura,

A week is plenty of time. Our trip 3 years ago to Austria/Bavaria was 8 nights and well worth it. Glad we went even for that many nights. Munich and Salzburg/Berchtesgaden or Munich and Mittenwald/Garmisch would work. A week in Switzerland, 4 nights Berner Oberland and 3 nights Luzern would be memorable. Just some suggestions.

Paul

Hi,

If you've got a whole week, my suggestion is spend all of it in one city, using one day as a day trip r/t. For visiting one capital it's very doable timewise.

As suggested, spend in Paris, fly in and out of CDG, one day trip to Versailles, Reims, Fontainebleau, or Giverny.

My other recommendations for a week's stay are Berlin (with Potsdam as the day trip), London, or Vienna. Each is captivating, interesting, cultural, historical, and with great places to stroll when you want to relax and take it easy. My very first trip to Europe included three of these four capitals which were top priority: London, (West) Berlin, and Vienna.

If you want the week to be relaxing you don't plan three cities in three countries in what is actually six nights.

Choose one,, maybe two max. Travel takes time.. its still a long flight isn't it.. 7 nights away.. is 6 days there.

Go to Paris ,, rates for hotels dip a bit in august.. ( yes really.. many hotels have lower rates then) Or fly into London. two three nights there and take eurostar to Paris two three nights there.. then fly home from Paris.

Two nights in one place is only one full day.. think about it.. make it three night mins.

PS From where you live are their direct flight

A lot of times, I only have one week for a trip (work obligations, kids school break, etc), and I always get a tad irritated when people say anything less than 2/4/6 weeks isn't worth it. It is, you just need to limit your itinerary. A grand tour of 8 countries in 7 days isn't doable, obviously.

However, you can get a great feel for one city (with day trips into smaller towns), or visit 2 easy-to-connect cities. I've done London/Paris in a week, easily. Also Vienna/Prague and London/Amsterdam (could just as easily have been Paris/Amsterdam or Amsterdam/Brussels or London/Brussels or something). I'm spending longer in Spain next month, but in the first week I will do Madrid and Toledo, with a side trip to Segovia. That would be a good trip in and of itself, as would Barcelona.

In general, I'd avoid anywhere with difficult logistics (somewhere in the middle of the wilderness that requires 2+ flight connections and a 4 hour train, followed by a local bus isn't worth it, unless going there is a lifelong dream). I'd do no more than 2 cities, make sure the transit between the 2 is easy, and fly into one and out of the other. I personally would probably pick a city with a lot to do and stay there, with day trips. Paris or London would be perfect for that.

Not sure from where you’ll be flying. If from YYZ or YHZ, then a really cool idea is Reykjavik (and a day trip to natural sites) and any other city in Europe via Icelandair. That other city could be Copenhagen, Stockholm, or Helsinki. Or it could be Frankfurt (and Rhein area), Paris, or anywhere else, really. If you’ve never been to Iceland before, you’ll be amazed at the natural beauty. Anyway, two cities tops in one week. I agree with everyone else that one week is fine…I’ve done it several times and have had great vacations. More is better, of course, but if you only have one week, then one week on vacation in Europe is better than any amount of time back home working. BTW, there is no additional fare for stopping over in Iceland, and you can stop on the way over or the way back. Super easy...I've done it twice.