We are a family of 4 never travelled to Europe.
Our dates are firmed. we are sort of mid way between aggressive and laid back traveler. need a place to sleep in the night. place for good breakfast and dinner.
Initially i thought travelling to Italy and France. Now think one country itself is bit more.
Can someone help me with a travel plan for us.
I am yet to book ticket. we will be landing from america if that matters.
We have 7 days at our disposal excluding air
That is a difficult time period to travel. You need to work on expanding your time. It varies but most of Europe will be closed from about noon, late afternoon on Christmas eve (24th) and all of Christmas Day. England even takes off the next day the 26 as Boxing Day. Of your potential seven or eight nights at least two night will be lost or your activities will be extremely limited. I think this is a one city trip -- maybe only Rome. Good luck ----
You need to decide on either Rome or Paris but not both. Rome is further south so it may be warmer than Paris. It sounds like you have six nights in Europe is that correct?
Since there are four of you it would be best to pick one base and sleep there the whole time and take day trips if going to Rome. You need six nights for Paris and that doesn’t include day trips. You need four nights in Rome and that includes a day in Vatican City. Good day trip options from Rome are Florence, Assisi, Orvieto and Naples. If you go to Florence, buy tickets for the Uffizi Gallery two months out.
I also think you should only visit one city. As noted, above, there might be some shorter hours or attractions that are closed. You may want to look at must see attractions for your family and base your decision on whether you will be able to see them in the time you’ve allotted.
To give the best advice one which city you should visit, we need to learn more about your interests. It sounds like there might be kids. If so, ages will help as well. Also need to know what your weather tolerance is.
I would not want to arrive in a city on Dec 24 and you can't assume that your flight will get you there on the 23rd. Last spring, two couples we knew on trips to different cities in Europe, both got home a day late because their original flights were cancelled. I would take this possibility into my account when planning.
As Frank says, travel during that period will be difficult. Most shops, restaurants and sights will close early on Dec. 24, and be closed Dec. 25. Possibly Dec. 26 also. If you are renting an apartment, you need to be prepared to cook meals those days. And get groceries before the stores close. I might even pay the owner to buy some basic groceries for you in advance in case shops are closed when you arrive.
If staying in hotels, make meal reservations far in advance. Expect prices to be higher during this time for lodging. We were in Venice on Christmas Eve and hardly anything was open. Dinner was bread and meat purchased from a little deli. Almost everything was closed on Christmas. We found a little jazz club open that was serving food.
I might look at Austria, where some of the Christmas markets are open until the end of the year. Salzburg would be wonderful.
If you are interested in Budapest and Hungary (maybe a few days un Vienna), I can help you plan. Plenty to see and do on those dates .... restaurants open too.
You depart the US on the 23rd?
Thank you for the feedback. This really helped. i will skip traveling to europe due to christmas time.
That is not necessarily the greatest decision. Europe during and just after the holidays cen be beautiful and depending on your interests, there xan be as much to see and do. It's something you should do at least once if you travel much. Those that advise against it, never have.
