Vienna for one day?

If you have decided that your number one city that you want to see is Vienna why don't you devote more time to it and take some away from those cities less valuable than number one.

Nigel, that is a logical question! I purchased an open jaw ticket months ago, into Rome 12/14, out of Paris 12/21. My daughter's number one choice is Rome, and so we will spend 3 nights there. Since we leave from Paris, I want to spend 2 nights there. That leaves 2 nights for another city (or not).

Yes, to answer your question, it seems a little crazy to me. But crazy doesn't make it a bad idea. Since you're locked into the dates, and you probably won't have time to see all you want to see in either Paris or Rome, might as well get a small taste of Vienna too. Then you can think about your next trip to Europe, hopefully with more total time.

Actually in December you might enjoy your one day in Vienna more than the time spent in Rome or Paris. You might also check the European discount airlines and see if that works better than the train.

Julie: Your time is too short to consider Vienna, one of my favorite cities. Save it for your next trip. Paris and Rome are both one week destinations to themselves. You'll have to hustle to see either city in 3 or 4 days. We found as many tourist sights outside Rome as there are inside the city.
Just take in those two fabulous cities and enjoy your trip.

If there's only one or two sights in Vienna that you want to see, this can work. On my trip to Turkey, we went to Ankara for less than 24 hours, flying in and out, and saw the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations and the Atatürk Mausoleum. While we wished we had more time, we felt this was a worthwhile day. However, we weren't cutting time from other things for this day, but planned it in advance. In your case, it sounds like you are drawn to Vienna, and would want to spend some time there. Unless you know this is your last chance to travel (and I realize this can be a reality for some), I'd use your (already short) time in Rome and Paris. With 3-4 nights for a first visit, you will need to be selec-tive and will be running a lot to see things. Save Vienna for another trip when you can do it properly.

I love Vienna but I wouldn't do this. With such a short trip you're really selling yourself short to spend so much time in transit. Realize that you're unlikely to sleep much on a night train. Unfortunately, I'd stick to Rome and add the extra day to Paris for this trip.

Respecting your ranking Vienna as #1 city that you want to see, go for it. Check low-cost airlines, as previously posted, but keep in mind that trains go into the city, airports are at the outskirts or further, so there's travel time and expense there. You're only getting a little time in the other cities, so grab a taste of Vienna as well, it's what you want to do. Hopefully you can plan a longer stay another time.

Zoe, you are absolutely correct on the airlines. The flight generally has to be 2 - 3 hours faster to make it a better deal than the trains. Overnight trains have a romantic reputation with some, a utilitarian reputation with some, but I have never met a person over 40 that said that they were glad they did it; although I bet that will change when I read the posts that follow this one. Back to Vienna, go have fun!