Sister Trip to Western Europe

Please clarify - is the entire trip 7-10 days? You have listed 9 places. If you have 7-10 days you have time for Paris and London. You might be able to add Bruges if you have 10 days. If you have more time, how much? Don't count your arrival day or departure day. If you are on a low budget be aware that the more you change locations the more your trip will cost.

If you haven't already booked your flights, I would totally do a London ( 4 nights), Paris (4 nights), and Bruges (2 nights), and then taking a morning train to Brussels and fly out of there. If your trip is only 10 nights (or is that days, meaning 9 nights), I would not stray too far off path. Bruges is the most convenient city to get to demographically, that you have listed. So if it is only a 9 night stay, could you add a night? I really would not try to do less than 4 nights in both London or Paris. To me 4 is the bare minimal and you will note this and return to those cities and want to stay for a week in both.....and still not see all that you wanted to see. Realistically if I had 10 days in Europe, I would just stick to Paris and London. You will see why. My second trip to London, I stayed 7 nights with all these day trips planned. I did not leave london once, I just couldn't get away, I loved it soo much. And then there are going to be a group of posters who may comment on the fact that this is a budget trip and you are staying in some of the most expensive cities in Europe. they more you move around, the more expense you will stack up. Less moving around=a more budgeted trip.

I agree...no way to hit those in that time frame! The most you should attempt is 3, but remember you loose time moving locations too...packing, gettting to train station, etc. You could stay in Paris and London, but possibly do a day trip or two from Paris (Normandy D-day beaches, small towns, etc or Mont St Michel to name a few). Part of the charm of Europe is wandering the cities and towns, not just hitting the famous tourist sites...enjoy the cafes in Paris as much as the Eiffel Tower :-))

Pam, As the others have mentioned, there's NO WAY you'll be able to visit all the locations listed in a period of 7-10 days (especially as this is a "low budget trip"). Does the time listed include your two travel days? Keep in mind that each time you change location, you'll need to allow at least half a day, and sometimes more. I agree with the others - limit the trip to Paris and London along with some day trips. From Paris you could visit Versailles for the day. While in London you could consider a day trip to Bath. Yes, travel by train is usually the best method. Travel within either Paris or London is best via Metro or Tube. When will this trip be taking place? I would highly recommend picking up copies of the Pocket Paris and Pocket London books, as there's a LOT of information there that will help your trip go smoothly and travel as inexpensively as possible. A Guided Tour is certainly one option, but probably not the best choice for a "low budget trip". You could certainly consider that for a future occasion. The RS tours are excellent, and highly recommended. Happy travels!

Pam as others have said, your post is not very clear,, we need a better idea of exact length of entire trip.
Also, the more you move from city to city the budget goes up, , yes there are cheap flights and trains, but cheap is not free,, and cheap tickets sell out first, so if this trip is within next 2 months you are not going to find the same deals that someone else did when they booked earlier. Same with good budget hotels, the good ones go fast. so, lenght of trip, and when is trip , would be most helpful so that people can give more specific answers.

I was a little vague in my posting! the 7 - 10 days does not include my London stay. I will stay in London for a couple of weeks at the end of my trip. We are landing in Paris and will stay 2 nights. This is not long, but I will be there 3 times in 4 months so i would like to explore out a little. this will give about 7 days to plan between Paris and London. What are the 3 best places to visit in this 7 days?

Thanks for clarifying your plans. Seven days is not that long. Since you are on a budget, remember that the further you go and the more you move around, the more it will cost. Just picking from the places you originally mentioned, I would suggest that from Paris you could go to the Rhine area and then Bruges. If you want to add a 3rd place I would make it Amsterdam or somewhere else in the Netherlands or Belguim. The terms 'guided tour' and 'low budget' do not belong together. It is always cheaper to do it yourself. When are you going? You can save a lot of money if you buy your train tickets well in advance.