Suggestions for a short euro trip

I hope I am not bursting your bubble, but you really only have time for one spot after the conference, and it is screaming PARIS! Think about it. You can leave morning of the 10th, take the Eurostar train to Paris, get a hotel, and at least store your bags until your official afternoon check in. That gives you evening of the 10th, then 2 full days in Paris, the 11th and the 12th. On the 13th, by late afternoon, you will have to get your train back to London for your morning departure home on the 14th.

You really do not want to waste this opportunity spending time traveling to other cities. All you will see is the inside of airline terminals or trains and stations. Paris has a weeks worth of things to do. And it needs to be done at a semi-relaxed pace to appreciate it.

Hi,
Thanks for your suggestion. paris is definitely on my list.

However, I had this wish of watching Barcelona play at Camp Nou live. If i take the early morning flight from London to Barcelona , reach bar at around 12.. watch the match in evening and take the early morning flight to Paris (reach paris at 10 am), and the rest of the trip as you had pointed out, would it be too less for paris or too hectic a trip?

You need to count nights, not days.
You need to spend in London the night of the 9th (conference) and the 13th (night before early morn flight).
That means that you have only 3 nights available for your "out of London trip": the nights of Dec 10, 11, and 12. Then you need to get back to London. 3 nights in one place are 2 full days in one place. Basically you only have Dec 11 and 12 as full days for visiting. Most of your Dec. 10th and 13th will be wasted traveling from/to London, and checking in and out of hotels. That is at least 6 or 7 hours each way including transfer from/to airport, check in, security, air travel etc.
Two full days aren't enough for Paris, or for Barcelona. They are both big cities with a lot to see. If seeing Barca vs PSG for the UEFA Champions League is important to you, then skip Paris, go to BCN and stay there until is time to go back to London on the 13th. That would be 3 nights in BCN. Hardly enough for anything.

Draw out your days in more detail and you will see the time you REALLY have available.

10 December - fly or train to destination, arriving in the afternoon or evening, depending on where. After getting to hotel etc, you have a few hours or even less.
11 December - explore destination
12 December -transfer to new destination???? Arrive there, limited time
13 December - you may need to return to London this day, depending on when your return flight is
14 December - fly home.

Therefore, I would suggest only one destination. Paris is the obvious choice (easy train from London, very close). Amsterdam or Brussels are similar, but those weren't on your list and Paris is preferable, IMO. If you really wanted to, you could get a cheap return flight from London to Rome OR Barcelona, but the time to/from airport would be a disadvantage.

Mira,

Thanks for your comments. Return flight is Sunday morning. I prefer to be back by taking a train from Paris flight from wherever I am to be back in London by Sat evng. I might also need to pick up my luggage from London, where I would be staying with my friend. Since travelling to any of the places in Europe by Ryan air or Easy jet, I dont intend to carry extra luggage.

I checked for the flights to barcelona and Rome both to and fro from London. If there is one place, you would suggest, what would it be? :P Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam, all are places worth visiting. if not this time, the next time around I would cover all of them :D

Roberto,

The point which includes counting nights is indeed nice. To enjoy any place in Europe, 3 days isnt sufficient. One needs to spend more time to appreciate the beauty of the place. However, at this point of time due to lack of holidays it becomes difficult. I shall definitely do a month back pack trip after my PhD in europe :D

I always count the nights for planning purposes, as has been mentioned already. The easiest choice is to just go to Paris. Three nights isn't enough, but with good planning you can still see some things. If your heart is set on Barcelona, go there. Three nights in Barcelona is enough to give you a good overview. I would strongly advise against trying to go to two different places.

Keep in mind that in December daylight hours are very short. That can affect your sightseeing. Also you need to be prepared for bad weather. Going to a location that offers many indoor activities is ideal.

Thanks for your insight Andrea. Will keep that in mind.

My first trip to Europe, so kinda felt like covering as much as I can. But daylight saving, is something I need to consider too, which hadnt crossed my mind.

Thanks.

Trying to see it all will mean you don't see much more than the insides of trains and planes. If you decided to stay in London the entire time you would still not see all that London has to offer. I understand wanting to see another location though. I've been to Paris 4 times, during the months of August, October (2 times) and December/January, and have spent a total of 4 weeks there. I'll be back, as there are more things I want to do there. Being there in the winter was not a problem. There are many indoor things to do and Paris is beautiful in the dark. Especially during the holiday season. I've only been to Barcelona once. I spent 3 nights there. Because it was September when I was there I had more daylight to work with. They are both great destinations.

Agreed that you can only visit one other city. Travel to Paris by Eurostar train is easy and takes 2.5 hours each way; buy tickets as soon as possible for a shot at one of their lower prices. To search for flights to Barcelona or other destination, try www.skyscanner.com. If planning to attend a football match, you'll probably want to secure those tickets now, too.

Hi,

I finalized my schedule with me reaching paris on Wed nyt (10th Dec) and leaving paris (13th Decevng, 5pm).

Considering my schedule, could any of you share their experiences on the must visit places during the time that I have?

Thanks.

This video might be a start. Depends on your interests. Getting a guide book would certainly help. First time in Paris, I'd say the following list is pretty universal:
* Notre Dame Cathedral.
* Sainte Chapelle.
* Eiffel Tower.
* Louvre Museum.
* Arc de Triomphe.
* Orsay Museum.
* Montmartre.

Get a 2 day Museum Pass to save time buying tickets at any museums. Buy a carnet (10 pack of transport tickets to use on buses and Metro (subway).

Rick Steves' France and Paris guidebooks offer suggestions for sightseeing if you have a certain number of days to visit. He also list sights with triangles (instead of stars or thumbs up) to rate them based on his priorities. Three triangles is a "must see," one triangle is "see it if you have time." Of course, you may have different priorities than Rick or other people.

Do you want to see things on your own (and Rick's guidebooks describe self-guided tours of sights on the street and sights inside museums), or hire a guide? Do you have particular interests?

For art museums, there's the Louvre, the Orsay, the Centre Pompidou, and the Cluny, for starters.
For churches, there's the Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and Sacre Coeur, for starters.
There's the iconic Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, and Napolon's Tomb at Les Invalides, and the Monde Arabe.
There's Berthillon ice cream at several locations, and the best croissants and baguettes.
A trip out to Versailles, for the greatest palace in Europe.