travel to europe for 10th yr anniversary

Peter,

When I last visited Paris, I stayed at a wonderful B&B (just can't remember where) and very little English was spoken in the area. It was during the '98 World Cup and we ate at many small restaurants that were neighborhood joints. I would love to again be immersed in the French culture without being the typical "ugly American".

david,

The Marais would be a good area in which to stay. I stayed in a hostel, not a hotel; but I'll quote some comments from my Lonely Planet Paris guidebook about a hotel that consistently gets favorable reviews.

Hotel Jeanne d'Arc. www.hoteljeannedarc.com. 3 rue de Jarente. "This charming 36-room hotel near lovely place du marche Ste-Catherine is a great little base for your peregrinations among the museums, bars and restaurants of the Marais, Village St-Paul, and the Bastille. But everyone knows about it so book early. Do not confuse this two-star place with the two-star Grand Hotel Jeanne d'Arc in the unlovely 13e."

I don't think you'll get many useful answers on the lodging front unless you supply more details. At least an approximate per night budget (pref. in euros) and a clarification of what you class as 'touristy' - after all all hotels are by definition at least a bit touristy. Also are you looking for particular hotel recommendations or more general areas to stay?

On the date front, I know the received wisdom is to avoid Rome in summer but I went, with some trepidation, last August (mainly 'cos of a good deal via air miles) and it was fine. All the tourist stuff was open and the weather was hot but not more than you'd expect in a southern summer - get a hotel with air-con and it's not an issue.

For the other questions: best way to get to Europe is an aeroplane. For a trip as short as yours, if you really want to go to both cities, try flying open jaw in to Paris and out of Rome (or vice versa) to save wasting a day re tracing your steps.

Best way from Paris to Rome is flying again, takes about 2 hrs. The train would take 12 hrs plus, more to drive.

If your trip ends up being only five days, you should consider spending it in just one of those locations - either Paris or Rome, but not both. You might begin researching what each of those cities has to offer, so you can make a proper decision. This website has a great amount of information, located under the "Plan Your Trip" tab. You could very easily spend the whole time in one of those cities, have a relaxed, enjoyable time, and never run out of interesting things to do.

I suggest that you fly open jaw (multi-city). Go to www.kayak.com and do two multi-city searches: 1. Boston-Paris and Rome-Boston. 2. New York-Paris and Rome-New York. Your best non-stop options probably will be from New York.

You can fly on a budget airline from Paris to Rome. EasyJet flies Orly-Ciampino. Vueling flies Orly-Fiumicino. Book ASAP to get the lowest fare.

Budget airlines have luggage weight and size limits. You will pay a fee if you go over them. Most important, they have strict check-in deadlines. If you don't have a boarding pass in hand when that deadline expires, your ticket will be worthless and you will have to buy a new one for a later flight at a much higher price.

If you want to save the cost of a night in a hotel and have more daylight hours for sightseeing, take the direct night train from Paris to Rome. You could save a fair amount of money by sharing bunks with strangers in a 4-person couchette. But it's your 10th anniversary! Treat yourselves to beds in a 2-person sleeper.

Edit: I agree with Lamont. If you only have five days, stick to one city.

I'd agree with sticking with one city. Paris was my first European adventure, I spent a week there and still didn't get to see everything I wanted to.

Peter,

Thanks for the information. I was actually thinking of a train trip from Paris to Rome and then back. However, your post and others have convinced me to fly into either Paris or Rome, stay a couple of days, then go to the other city and fly out of there back to the states. Thanks for informing me about the hotels.

David

Peter... Thanks for informing me about the hotels.

david: I think you may have misunderstood me. I wasn't saying all the hotels are 'touristy' - just that as practically all their business is from 'non-locals' a lot of the people there will be tourists. What do you class as a touristy hotel? It's quite a nebulous term so you'll need to define it if you want accurate advice.

P.S. When allocating your time don't forget to count in the time taken to check in and out of the hotel and get to and from the airports (as in the US they're not 'down town'.) I like to estimate about half a day plus the actual flight time when changing cities.

Hi David,

We are doing Paris and Rome in 7 days as a part of our upcoming 3 week trip. I would love to be spending more time in each city, but this is how we are doing it: 3 nights in Paris, fly on EasyJet to Rome , for 4 nights. It leaves at 7am and costs about 30 euros. We will be in Rome by 9am.

As far as lodging, we are staying in apartments in both cities. More room, and more of a real taste of living in the neighborhood. They are really fairly economical, too, compared with many hotels!

Hi Mary,

Sounds like 7-10 days is doable for Paris and Rome. I wonder if I could fit Florence and/or Venice in as well? How did you locate the apartments? Thanks!

David,

I sent you a private message with some info...hope this helps!

Discount airlines that fly Paris to Rome include easyjet and Vueling. Be careful of their luggage restrictions and charges, and their check-in times. The sooner you book, the better the airfare.
We've had good success booking apartments in both Paris and Rome through homelidays.co.uk. It's a posting service, so you deal with the owners directly.

If you have ten days, then you could include either Venice or Florence. If you were to choose Venice, here is a possible itinerary.

Day 1: Arrive in Paris. Check in, get oriented, and spend the night.

Day 2: Full day in Paris. Spend the night.

Day 3: Full day in Paris. Spend the night.

Day 4: Full day in Paris. Spend the night.

Day 5: Fly easyJet from Paris Orly to Venice Marco Polo, departing at 07:45 and arriving at 09:25. Check in, explore as time allows, and spend the night.

Day 6: Full day in Venice. Spend the night.

Day 7: Take the first high-speed EuroStar Italia train of the day from Venice to Rome, departing at 06:27 and arriving at 09:55. Check in, explore as time allows, and spend the night.

Day 8: Full day in Rome. Spend the night.

Day 9: Full day in Rome. Spend the night.

Day 10: Fly home.

Alternatives:

1. Cut one day in Paris in order to add one day in Rome, but I proposed having more time in Paris because you'll be fighting jet lag on day one.

2. On day 6 spend the day in Venice. Take an evening train to Rome, departing at either 18:27 or 19:27. This would give you one more night and a full first day in Rome without having to cut any time in Paris.

A good source for short-stay (i.e., 3 nights) apartments in Paris is www.VacationInParis.com.
They have a good selction of reasonably-priced apartments all around Paris. It is an American company and you pay in dollars with your credit card----no hassles wiring euros into a private owner's bank account as many VRBO rentals require. We found them to be professional and reliable.

Thanks for all the wonderful advice!! My wife will certainly be surprised with the itinerary. I almost can't wait til August.