Paris and/or Italy this summer with two teenage granddaugters.

Just checking, as you’ve also posted “Paris & Italy” in the France section of this Forum. It looks like you’re currently considering doing the the Paris tour, and maybe also the Venice/Florence/Rome tour, but not any more of France or Italy?l?

You will be visiting four of the great cities of Europe, what an introduction to Europe by doing these two tours. The VFR tour is fast paced with three nights in each city and giving you a taste of the best of each unique city. A week in Paris allows you to stay in one hotel and to delve a little deeper into its delights. I would do VFR first and then Paris second. These tours are excellent choices given the Best of Europe tours are sold out for 2022. I hope you write a trip report.

Take the VFR tour and then do Paris on your own, not difficult and a break from a fast paced tour. Paris is very easy to see independently. You could add a few walking tours if you want.

Anne,
Is this your first time in Europe? Even if it’s a return trip, I think Paris would be best seen for the first time on a RS tour. A full day trip to Versailles, week passes to Metro transportation and Museums. Exploring various neighborhoods like the Marais and Montmartre. Activities that will allow you to focus more on your girls than on navigating through Paris on your own. The RS guides are excellent and will help you with free time suggestions. I would try to go to Giverny to see Monet’s house and amazing gardens.

What a wonderful grandmother making special memories with your granddaughters!

Both of those tours are wonderful! It would be nice to experience both of them. Be sure to arrive a few days early, so you can get over jet lag. If you begin with the VFR tour, I recommend taking the train to Verona for your first days. It’s a lovely tourist-friendly city.

If you’re beginning in Paris, I would definitely take the train to a different smaller city for your first days - Rouen or similar. You will see a lot of Paris during the RS tour.

Have a great time!

You might want to call the RS office just to confirm sleeping arrangements with minors. I know it’s two people to a room or single if paying the extra single supplement.

We did something similar but with our own planning with our two similarly aged granddaughters in 2019. We spent 2 weeks in Italy visiting the cities that are on the RS tour then flew to Paris for a week. The girls helped plan it and loved it. I think your plan to include both Italy and France will be wonderful for you all on a RS tour or with Paris added on your own.

What a wonderful gift to give your granddaughters! I would do the Venice, Florence and Rome tour, and your granddaughters will love the cooking class in Florence, the gondola ride in Venice and touring the Colosseum in Rome. Then the Paris tour would also be awesome, seeing the Eifel Tower at night when it lights up, taking evening cruise on the River, seeing the La Galleria Dept. store will all be things that kids love, you could even add a cooking class in Paris. Going to Versailles Palace and walking through the gardens to see the Hamlet the Marie Antoinette built is something they would really enjoy.

Have a great time!!

If you could do both, that would be great! I'd do the faster paced VFR tour first, while you are still fresh, then Paris. But I think you need to take an honest hard look at your own ability to handle this amount of activity every day for over 2 1/2 weeks. Many ladies our age can do this with minimal impact. Others would find it a struggle which would impact the enjoyment of all 3 of you. In that case, picking just one tour that you could really enjoy would be the practical choice. Which tour are your DGDs more excited about?

I've just turned 70 and am accustomed to spending the summer traveling around Europe. I would want a good bit of downtime between two tours like this--more than just 2 or 3 days. Although I walk a great deal, I do not go full-speed from 8 in the morning until 8 at night, as I imagine I'd need to (try to) do on the tours. The Italian tour, in particular, doesn't allow as many days as I'd plan in any of those cities, so I'd be trying to pack many days' worth of sightseeing into my free time.