My husband and I would like to see Rome and Paris for our 25th annivsary in March. Does anyone have any suggestions about the best way to plan that trip. We would like 3 nights in each city with a total of a 8 day trip.
Posted by
Washington, DC
888 posts
Sounds like a great anniversary trip. Are you limited to eight-days due to budget? If not, would it be possible to add a couple of days to each city? Eight days, although still quite worth it, will go by pretty fast.
Fly into one city and out the other to avoid back-tracking (called "open jaw"). It may be easier and more time-efficient to fly between Paris and Rome rather than taking the train, so look for discount airlines within Europe (independent of the transatlantic flight).
Check out at the library or purchase user-friendly guidebooks (such as Rick Steves') for the specifics of each city. Once you have your flight and hotel rooms, the next steps (what to see, what to do) will depend largely on your interest level and supported by your research on the internet and guidebooks. Read as much as you can and start looking into booking your flight and hotels/B&Bs soon. March is coming up fast (I'm assuming you mean 2010).
Posted by
Rantoul, IL, USA
23 posts
If you are talking about planning activities, I would get both of Rick's books and look at the activities that interest you most. Don't spend time in art museums if you don't like art. Also, decide if you want push hard each day or spend them strolling and just enjoying the being a part of it.
Posted by
Victoria, BC, Canada
42 posts
Try not to cram in too much in one day, you'll feel really rushed and won't enjoy yourselves. A lot of people feel the need to see 'everything' on a trip to Europe but, well, that's never going to happen. If you are limited to only 8 days, don't try to do too much (although I personally would stick to one city, like Paris, and do a couple of side-trips like Versailles, Monet's garden at Giverny, Dijon/Beaune, etc.). Try to pick one or two sights to see each day and leave lots of time for lunch, sitting at a café and people watching, wandering around and getting "lost" etc. and have enough flexibility to check out something that looks interesting.
Personally, on a typical day in Paris, I might spend the morning at the Louvre, have a nice, relaxed lunch and then spend the afternoon wandering around different arrondisements, checking out various parks (Jardins de Luxembourg is amazing!), window shopping (or licking the windows, as they say in French), having a coffee and people-watching and maybe taking a boat ride or hop-on-hop-off tour bus. Or perhaps visiting Notre Dame and St. Chappelle churches in the morning (and checking out the Jewish Deportation Memorial behind Notre Dame), lunch, stroll around, then check out the Catacombs or Cemetiere Montparnasse or Les Invalides (Napolean's tomb and military history museum) or perhaps the Musee D'Orsay, then dinner and afterwards a nice night-time stroll and perhaps a night cruise along the Seine--if you want to fit more stuff in one day.
I don't know about you, but I'm always really affected by jet-lag, especially on days 2 and 3 so although I can walk for miles and miles, I just can't be in museums all day (as much as I LOVE them) or I'll feel tired and dizzy and disoriented.
Anyways, sorry for the ramble (I tend to do that LOL). Enjoy your trip Elizabeth and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! :-)