8 days in europe

Paris.

Rome-hands down! It is full of history dating back over 2700 years, The National Museum is across the street from the Rome Termini (railway station), Ostia Antica is 20 minutes away and as good as Pompeii. Art abounds in every church and in every plaza. The Borghese Museum is another excellent place to stand in awe of great artcheck out the room with the Pan's painted on the ceiling looking down at all the visitors, its arm is pointing at you, yes you! As you move around the room it will follow you. Last but not least St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican museum, can you say Sistine Chapel... and this is just scratchimg the surface. Buon Viaggio!

What kind of art and arcitecture? There's a lot of great art out there. If ancient or renassance art don't sing to you. Italy wouldn't be high on your list. If you're not that fond of impressionist. Paris isn't a great option.

I think Paris would be perfect. The architecture is just phenomenol. There are lots of fabulous art museums covering more than just impressionism. And you can walk forever in fascinating neighborhoods. The food is great too. You can easily spend eight days just in Paris, and you also have the option to take day trips; for example, Versailles, Chartres, the Loire Valley, Giverny, Rouen, etc.

I would fly into one and out the other, with a train in between the two: Rome and Florence, or Venice and Florence
(but definitely Florence!!) BTW - early May is great... it's my favorite time of the year for Europe!

I agree with Paris. It is a great walking city, the architecture is beautiful and there is art galore there. It would be easy to spend the entire time there, but you can do day trips from there too.

jasmine, If you only have eight days for your vacation, that means you'll have six days for touring. I agree with the previous suggestions that either Paris or Rome would be good choices. Would you have any preferences for one or the other? With a few more days, visiting both Paris and Rome would be a good combination. Good luck with your planning!

Hi, If you have got only eight full days and the general interests are art and architecture, then I would recommend Paris, #2: day trip to Fontainebleau, #3: day trip to Versailles, in that order. Take a tour of Paris, if it's your first time there, then ride the buses to see more or repeat and just walk and walk....great city to walk in, just as you would do in London and Berlin.

I am a confirmed "London-oholic". But I would say Paris for 8 days (its my number 2) . You really wont need anything else. A day trip to Chartres is well worth it, one of the great sights of France in my opinion. If you need more variety, Brugge. Amsterdam needs more than 1 day, but I wouldnt go there and cut Paris short. Brussels isnt worth it this trip. Luxembourg is way down- once you have seen EVERYTHING else

i wish i had more than 8 days for vacation! Both sound as appealing but I think I may be leaning more towards Paris since its close to Brussels and Luxumberg and I was told that I should not miss Luxumberg if I'm in the general vicinity. Is that true? Also, I've been hearing divided opinions about getting the rail pass vs buying point to point tickets in advance since May's weather is so unpredictable.
what's your opinion?

Luxembourg would be a "don't miss" if you were trying to set up a multi-million euro bank transfer. If not, it's pleasant enough, but not worth the effort for an 8 day trip, especially if this is your first time to Europe. Save it for your 5th time on the continent if you're still interested. "I've been hearing divided opinions about getting the rail pass vs buying point to point tickets in advance since May's weather is so unpredictable. " The weather in May will have no impact on rail travel. For such a short trip, unless you plan to change locations every other day (not recommended!), a rail pass would likely make no sense.

If you're leaning Paris. And want to get out of town. Closest I've been to Luxembourg is Trier. I tried to get from Trier-Paris through Luxembourg. But the connections through Saarbrucken were easier. But I would consider Brugges Belgium. It's about a half day by train from Paris, even if you miss a connection in Brussels. A pretty little town. And you could fly back from Brussels. But if I were to do Paris and Brugges again. Brugges seems so slow, and quiet, and the museums compared to the Louvre or Orsay.... I'd fly in through Brussels, start in Brugges. Get over jet lag there and then go to Paris. For me, any place after Paris, is robbed. I keep comparing it to Paris.

If you decide on Paris, a good day trip by train is to Chartres... the Cathedral, with its stained glass is impressive!

I would suggest Paris as #1. You could spend your whole vacation there and never need to go elsewhere. If you prefer to visit another city I would recommend Amsterdam as #2. Their building architecture is great to stroll and look. Anne Frank house will give you chills. It is such an easy comute into Amsterdam from Shiphol Airport (15 min) versus hours wasted on train rides around another country. After just returning from Europe my travels went Paris 3 nites-Spain (Barcelona & Cadeques) 4 nites- Amsterdam ( Ibis Hotel Schiphol) 1 night. The transportation from Ibis Shiphol was free and frequent to and from the airport/train station and the hotel was 69Euros. The Paris/ Spain was 2 females and I alone traveled to Amsterdam then home by myself. I booked Air France multiple destinations and when AF connected me through Amsterdam I decided to stay one night at no extra airfare cost.

Belgium is terrific, excepting Brussels. If you are thinking of Brugges, rent the movie In Bruge. It is a dark comedy, but you will get a great look at the town. Some funny stereotypes of North American tourists on display too. I love that the lead played by Colin Farrell continually refers to Brugge as a sh*thole, which it clearly isn't. In case you don't want to spend too much time with English speaking tourists, Belgium, especially Flanders, has other interesting, but less touristy spots than Brugge.

In Belgium I love Ghent. I liked it more than Brugges or Brussles. I say Paris 4 nights, Belgium somewhere 2 nights and Amsterdam 2 nights. Something like that.

Despite all the sneering you'll hear about Luxembourg, I actually think it's a very worthwhile destination, badly underappreciated (that's OK with me - I prefer places that aren't overwhelmed with crowds). So yes, I really like Luxembourg. That said, I'm not sure that I would try to include it in a short, quick trip to Europe. That depends. Unless I've missed it, you've left out some of the most critical info needed to provide an answer to your questions: Is this your first time to Europe? Do you expect to have the chance to go back anytime soon? If you've been before, where have you been, and where haven't you? If this is your first trip, I'd stick to Paris and some excursions in France (Versailles, a day or two in the Loire Valley, maybe Normandy/Mt. St. Michel). If you've been before (or expect to go back soon), then MAYBE squeeze in a day or two in Bruges/Brussels....but even as a Luxembourg fan, I'd say skip it for now and catch it on a later trip.

hi, well, this isn't my first trip to europe. I went to paris and london when i was still in my teens (with my mom and my sis) in the middle of winter, then amsterdam for 2.5 days (layover), also smack in the middle of winter.
And two years ago, I was in Vienna for 3 weeks (job attachment) and I went on a day trip to Bratislava, and Budapest (too short in my opinion!). This year, I'm on my way from the States to Singapore (that's where I'm from). I originally wanted to go on the Orient Express (i'm a huge agatha christie fan). Unfortunately, due to timing, and expense, I have decided to postpone that (expensive) ride and focus on one region (as opposed to trying to explore venice and paris). anyway, i hope that helps! And I also want to thank everyone who has voiced their opinion so far!