Is this crazy

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I mean Ireland for 6 days and then London and Paris for 2 days each or vice-versa.

You'd spend way too much time of the 4 additional days traveling if you try to do both London and Paris. Why not choose just one for this trip. I'd suggest London- it's one of my favorite cities.

Donna: This link may help click here for help thinking about travel times, so that you can do some thinking/planning that includes the travel times to get from Ireland to London to Paris. Only after you consider travel times will you be able to make a decision about whether "2 days" in London and "2 days" in Paris will be enough for you, because what you'll find is that, after you consider travel time, time to pack up, check out of hotel, get to next hotel, etc--what you're thinking of as 2 days is not going to be anything like 2 days. The point of this exercise for you will be that you will be better able to think carefully about how much time you will actually have, on the ground in London and in Paris, to see and do what you paid all that money and went all that way to see and do.Re Ireland in 6 days, you can see some of Ireland in 6 days. Again, you will need to decide car or public transport for Ireland, and then you need to think about travel times, before you finalize your itinerary.

It can be done but realize you'll have limited time in both London and Paris because of travel. But, if your heart is set on seeing both cities, then make sure you maximize your time.

Travel either late in the evening or very early in the morning to maximize daytime sightseeing.

Try to get an open jaw ticket....NY-Dublin/Shannon and Paris-NY.

Realize you will not get to see a lot in either London or Paris but will see enough to get a feel for those cities.

I would suggest flying from Dublin to London and Eurostar (train) from London to Paris. These are the fastest way between those cities.

You can do it. The question is should you do it? Have you been to London or Paris before? If this is your first time, I would suggest you just go to one or the other. It really doesn't matter which one, because the most time effective way to either would be to fly. Unless you just want to say you have been to both you will get so much more out of either place by giving it 4 days instead of 2 partial days each.

You could fly to Paris, spending three nights (two full days) there, then take the Eurostar to London, spending two nights, than fly to Shannon and spend your remaining time seeing some of western Ireland---either north west to the Galway---Connemara area or southwest to the Dingle--Ring of Kerry and Beara area. To see the most of Ireland, you would probably want to change locations each night. Skip Dublin which would be anti-climatic after Paris and London. While driving in Ireland is slow, the entire country is smaller than the state of Ohio. PM me if you would like more specifics.

With the Eurostar taking you from downtown London to downtown Paris without hassle, they are virtually the same city. I would first find my long-haul flights into any of the 3 locations. Then book the individual short flights. Use skyscanner.com to find the cheapest one-way fares in Europe and Eurostar.com to book the train.

Just a heads up on the train fares... they are just as cheap (55 GBP return is the cheapest) if you book in advance as they can be expensive (400 GBP) if you book at the last minute. Same goes for most short flights in Europe even on large airlines like BA. So the advise is to book well in advance.

Check out Air France. A few days ago a friend was describing great fares from NYC that included (required?) stops in both Dublin and Paris. I really didn't pay total attention as it wouldn't work for me, but perhaps there is a deal there for your itinerary...if they are still offering. Good luck.

Donna,

While the Itinerary you're proposing might be feasible, it wouldn't be the best idea IMHO. As Kent mentioned, you'll need to allow for travel times, the longest of which will be Ireland to London.

By the time you check out of your Hotel, get to the airport, check in and go through security, possibly needing extra time to stand in a queue to pay overweight charges on your luggage (which the budget airlines are notorious for charging), you'll have used a large part of a day in travel. This will include time in London to get from the airport to your Hotel, so at a minimum you'll likely be spending six+ hours travelling which won't leave much time for sightseeing.

The trip from London to Paris via the Chunnel will be much easier, but you'll still need to allow time for the "airport style" security and travel times to & from stations. Departure would be from London St. Pancras and arrival in Paris at Gare du Nord, both of which have easy access to Tube / Metro, so travel times will depend on which section of each city you choose to stay in.

I suspect you'll need to compromise if you're intent in seeing Ireland as well as London and Paris. Is there any possibility of dropping some time from Ireland to provide for travel time or perhaps adding a few days to your trip?

Good luck!