Hi everyone,
I am planning a 11-day trip in May to Europe and need some advice. I am planning on going to Cologne to see the cathedrals and Eltz castle. Is it possible to all of that in one day? In addition, I will be in Paris for 3 days and I want to see the Palace at Versailles. Is that a full day's trip?
Thanks,
mqn
There is certainly enough to see at Versailles to spend a whole day there. On the other hand if you just stick to the palace you can get a good taste in a few hours.
One possibility if you are nimble and don't need to see it all: morning in Paris, grab picnic fixings, eat lunch on the train to Versailles, rest of day there.
I personally think Versailles is a full-day's trip. If weather is nice, you should see the gardens, the Trianon's and the farm, as well as the Palace.
I don't think you will be satisfied with a short visit there, just to say you have seen it. Don't skimp -- Louis X1V didn't!
Kent: As someone who was less than thrilled by Loire chateaux, I sympathize with people with different tastes. (Nothing to lose your head over, right?)
For me, with only 3 days in Paris, Versailles would not rate a full day. But there is a reason why it is so popular, and maybe the only way for Mihn to find out what she lies is to try it and see.
I agree that you could go out to Versailles in the afternoon and tour the chateau. In May, it will be light much longer and you could enjoy the early evening on the grounds and then scoot back to Paris.
Thanks for the replies guys. How about Eltz castle? Is that a half day trip?
Thanks for the replies guys. How about Eltz castle? Is that a half day trip?
Hi everyone...We are planning a four day trip to Paris and we plan to buy a Paris Museum. What does the one day pass get you that the Paris Museum will not? Is it worth the extra cost? Thanks
My only caveat would be to avoid Versailles any time during the May 1st weekend. The Labor Day crowds would make for an unsatisfactory visit.
How about Eltz castle? Is that a half day trip?
That would be a pretty long day. According the the Bahn website, the trip from Cologne to Moselkern is about 2 hours each way.
According to another post on this site, allow about 1½ hours each way for the walk between Moselkern and Burg Eltz and an hour for the tour. Total time, Cologne to Burg Eltz, tour, and Burg Eltz back to Cologne would be 8 hours.
According to ViaMichelin, the trip from Cologne to Burg Eltz by car is about 1½ hour each way, 3 hours round trip. So the total trip could be 4 hours. But, unless you already have a car, you'll have to add the time to get to a rental shop, rent the car, then take the car back, and I don't think Burg Eltz alone would be worth the cost of a car rental for a day.
Also according to the Bahn, the trip from Cologne to Braubach (Marksburg) is about 1h15m, something like 2½ hrs RT. The walk from the train station to the Marksburg is much shorter than the walk to Burg Eltz, and, if you walk down to the K-D dock, you might catch the shuttle to the castle.
The Marksburg is the only castle on the Rhein that was never destroyed and the German Castle Verein has preserved it as it was hundreds of years ago.
