Need help with structuring days in Venice, Rome and Paris with activities!!

What sites do you want to see in these cities? Everyone has their "must see's" and ours might not be yours.

If you don't have one, get a good guide book to help you figure out what you want to see.

Donna

If you are doing the Vatican book your tickets now, I am in Rome for 4 days and just found out that all but one day are sold out

I second the guidebooks. You can get some from your local King County library or Seattle public library branch.

However, we can help you more if you give us an idea of the kind of pace you like to move at. Are you a slow take your timer, or a see everything you can-er?

Thanks guys! I'll read some guide books to figure this out.

It's worth the $13 bucks on amazon.com to get the latest RS Italy book.

I recommend buying Rick's guidebooks for Paris, Rome and Venice. It will be worth the money you spend on all 3. He has recommended itineraries for various number of days in each city, he rates every sight, and though ratings are based on his opinion, it's pretty accurate. You can't go wrong following it. He explains some of the history of various attractions, etc... if you are at a loss for what to see, where to start his guidebooks are a basic, yet expert place to start.

Excellent point on buying the 3 RS guidebooks specific to those cities. Among other things, the city books contain self-guided tours for the major sites, and are more than worth the small cost.

Another great guide with walking tours it the Eyewitness Guide. You can get one for each city. I like to look at several different guidebooks to get a better over view of the city. Most will have walking tours of different areas of the city.

donna

Here's another vote for those Eyewitness books. They're amazingly helpful. The only drawback is that they weigh about 100 pounds each.

I thought it was closer to 105lbs but could be wrong. We copied the walking tours we wanted to take instead of taking the book with us each day. It made it a lot easier. We also copied the relevant information for the day so we would know what we were seeing. This was several years ago but it is still valid today.

Donna

The DK Top 10 Eyewitness books cover all the major and some minor sites and are quite small and portable. I found that the larger city guides were more helpful as they lay out sights by area with a suggested route and good maps. RS books aren't sold here so I don't have any experience with them.

Download Rick's free audio guides for all 3 of your destinations. I loved the 4 on Venice. And they are the top sites: St. Mark's (plan to visit between 11.30-12.30 when the mosaics are floodlit), the Doge's Palace and the Frari Church, plus the Grand Canal. Other than that, just BE in Venice.

Rome - again Rick's audios. Rome is more a matter of personal interest - I loved the ancient art (mosaics, sculpture, frescoes) and the Vatican museums, but I love spending hours in museums anyway. If you want to visit the Borghese you will need a reservation. Pick a day and ask your hotel to make the reservation now.

Paris - the list is WAY too long. Call me when you get there - I'll be in Paris from the 12th thru the 20th - can't wait to be back there, it's been over a year.

Everyone's taste is so different when it comes to "must-see" sights, so I'll offer you some general advice on visiting major European cities -- just my opinion and my experience, for what it's worth.

• Research before you go to find out what's there. Have a jam session with your travelling partners to talk about what you'd most like to see. Prioritize.

• See where those places are on a GOOD map of that city. Plan your days using a map so that you're not criss-crossing the city every day. That wastes time and energy - yours!

• I have a "one museum per day" rule myself -- and I don't try to look at every piece in a museum. I see what's there beforehand and choose what I really want to focus on. Then I really enjoy it and remember what I've seen.

• If food is important to you other than just fuel, take some time to figure out some good restaurants near the places you're visiting. It will save you the sting of a $10 canoli near the Vatican and get you better meals for less money.

• Take your time. Leave time to sit in a park, wander through a neighborhood poking in little shops, watch the buskers, discover a bakery around a side street. I'm assuming since you're here on RS' site that you're this type of traveller, so I really encourage you to
  not make a rigid schedule and leave time for those quintessential European experiences. Buona vacanza!

^Janis, I totally agree with you. Another tip, Sonia, is go to the tour page of this website and check out how these cities are covered on RS tours. It gives you an idea of the 'biggies'most folks want to see.

RS Guides are very good but I also suggest using Lonely Planet as another tool. The LP guide is spot on for recommendations for hotels and lower priced accommodations that might not be found in the RS guides. I use TripAdvisor, as well as this Helpline to get feedback on accommodations and restaurants as well. Happy travels. Ciao!

I love the RS guides.

I find audioguides give a great atmosphere and weigh nothing. You play them on your ipod or on your mobile (some have clever Apps but they are often not so good).
RS does some but Google audioguides and you will find other cities such as Prague, Paris, Amsterdam etc.

Finally I found an interesting blog listing 35 free sites for travellers:
www.federicojhb.co.cc/top-35-free-sites-for-europe-travel-tips-everybody-ought-to-know-about/

Have a great time........

It really depends on your style. I like to get a big overview of the city before I dig deep into it. So when I first arrive in a city I combine a couple of Rick's walks along with my own wandering and just walk as much of the city as I can. For Rome I recommend an evening walk that starts with the colleseum and includes the forum, and trevi foutain, and if you;re up for the walk the spanish steps are quite spectacular. The second day hit your big sites, the vatican, any museums, going inside the colleseum, and walking through the forum etc. A third day i spend exploring the squares, and busy areas. My advice is to see the big sites but don;t get so hung up on seeing tourist sites that you cannot enjoy the city

When in Paris, consider a day trip to the Palace of Versailles. It's an easy train ride outside of Paris and will be a day you will never, never forget. Plan to go on Saturday or Sunday so that you not only experience the wonderfuly tour of the palace (audio guide is very good) and surrounding areas, but that you can also enjoy the Grandes Eaux and Jardins musicaux midafternoon. This is where they turn on hundreds of fountains within the extensive gardens and pipe in classical music as you wander the grounds. You pay extra for this, but worth every euro and you should enter the gardens as soon as it starts because it is hard to see everything. Check out their website, http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover-estate, and image this fountain turned on with water shooting up in the air and falling on the chariot and horses as they fight to try to come out of the water! There are many huge fountains like this and each is more beautiful than the other. The Fountain of Neptune is their most prized fountain & is turned on just before the garden closes, so be sure to get to that area early to find a seat in the grass! Their website doesn't capture all the beauty Versailles ! I didn't have time to see the The Grand Trianon nor Marie-Antoinette's estate so I can't comment on whether they are worthwhile. Maybe others can comment on those.