Best city in Spain + how to get to Rome

You've assigned May 12 to both "city in Spain" and "Rome", and you've assigned May 16 to both Venice and London. A travel day involving a flight, getting to and from airports, etc., yields very little sightseeing time, not a day in two different cities.

When you have incredibly little time for the territory to be covered, it's essential to optimize transportation links. Have you checked the availability of non-stop flights between your potential destinations on skyscanner.com for the dates you would need them and at prices you would be willing to pay? I'd avoid connecting flights at all costs. You should keep in mind, too, that canceled and rescheduled flights are rather common. An itinerary such as you are proposing will collapse like a house of cards if one of your flights is cancelled and you can't get on a replacement flight until 24 or 48 hours later.

I am 72 years old (maybe around your grandmother's age?), and I have a hard time imagining that when a woman of a certain age says she wants to go to Spain, she's thinking about a beach. Valencia is a pleasant city, but Seville is a "wow". If a non-stop flight is available and your grandmother isn't mobility-challenged, you could also consider Granada (which is hilly). It's a more manageable size than Seville.

If wandering around the Vatican includes seeing the Sistine Chapel or any other part of the Vatican Museums, you'll need to buy a ticket in advance, and I don't mean one week ahead of time. The Vatican Museums regularly sell out, and the lead time increases as the year goes on and tourist traffic increases.

I love Venice, but it has to go. All you're going to do by the time you get there is collapse, anyway.

Seville for Spain. Valencia, Does Grandma really want to do beaches? Doubtful. Choose Sevilla.
You have so much long travel time for very short stays.
My favorite city to return to again and again is London. I wonder why you don’t like it?Just curious!
Restaurants:
Rome: Armando al Partheon, book online before leaving home.
London: The Ivy. Several locations.
Venice: Anice Stellato, Osteria da Alberto and Vini da Gigio
Seville: El Rinconconsillo, Vineria San Telmo

Have you checked flights yet? Because that is the fly in the ointment. You can fly into Seville directly from Paris Orly in 2.5 hours. That is the good news. However, there are only 2 direct flights taking 2.5 hours from Seville to Rome on your intended date of travel and they both arrive in the late afternoon. The airlines are WizzAir Malta ( which I would steer clear of as it may not be operating after March 31) and Ryanair. After the airport formalities, figure on one hour to get into Rome in time for dinner. So, an entire day will be lost just in flying to Rome.
I agree with Acraven that you should drop Venice.
Add the time to Paris, Seville and Rome so that when you’re in Rome, you can do as Romans do— “ Dolce far Niente,” as the Italians say.
There are many direct flights from Rome to London taking 2:45.

www.Skyscanner.com will show you available flights.

Does your trip begin on May 7th and end on May 19th? You said that you have to begin and end in Paris. Does that mean you are going back to Paris from London on the 19th and flying home on the 19th? If so, that's a lot of travel. Is there any possibility of multi-city flights, e.g., fly into Paris and out of London? Also, I would eliminate Venice.

Some quick replies: my grandma actually does want to go to the beach, but I think the French Riviera more. I originally had Nice on the trip but dropped it already.

I don't enjoy London because it looks too new and futuristic in comparison to the rest of the places I have been. I think it would be a great city to live and work in, but it's not my favorite city to visit, but in the city's defense I have only spent three days there. I also find the people to be quite rude, which is saying a lot as I have lived in France for the past 6 months.

Maybe I missed this and I hate to say it, but is Paris a must see for this trip with grandma? If not, then I would try to fly to Spain right after you land in Paris. This plan gives you more time to add to your MUST SEEs.

Kiana, welcome to the Forum. Some general tips for easier navigation is for you to use the Reply button when adding to your post. It makes a better reading flow for everyone helping you.

Also, not sure if you are aware but there are Forum categories/options for specific countries. For instance, this post might get more responses if it was under the Spain or Italy Forum instead of the Rick Steves Tours category. Many of us long timers go to the All Topic Forum and see the latest postings so we would see yours sooner. Other members don’t do that and may not see your post unless it was under the specific country.

Just some tips and tricks for you. Hope you don’t take offense as this is offered to help.

Happy travel wishes for you and grandma

Wow! A lot of wasted time traveling. I am assuming that you arrive on the 7th and leave on the 19th? That gives you 11 full days. Try to get Grandma to part with one of those stops and reallocate the days. I don’t know her age but checking in and out of hotels and sitting in planes and trains can be tiring and not very rewarding.

As far as Spain, I would choose Seville over Valencia. If she needs a hit of Spain, consider Madrid which has many more available flights to Rome.

Do you realize what the “beach” is like in Nice? Not sand, rather rocks and pebbles.
London is filled with historic period buildings. I don’t know where you went to miss them!

Most Mediterranean beaches are not what she is probably picturing. Many are pebbles or rocks instead of sand. And the sandy ones are covered with Lewis if lounge chairs and umbrellas you have to pay to use.

Thank you so much Linda! I'll make sure to post there for recommendations of things to do

I think I am done with this post, it's mostly people telling me what I already know (that this is a crazy plan). However, I do think I will (very sadly) knock Venice off the trip.

Just for some clarification:
Yes, I do know what beaches are like in Nice and in the south of France as I currently live in Montpellier. However, my grandma wanted to go to the south of France, and I am unsure if I will still have an apartment in Montpellier when she is here. Which by the way has beautiful sandy beaches and are fabulous even in January.

London as a whole city is huge and there are historical buildings (which I saw, I went to the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and took a nice river cruise), but the city holistically has much more modern architecture which defeats my favorite thing about Europe which is the architecture.

Yes, Paris is a must-see.

My grandma loves trains! Maybe I'll post this somewhere else, but I was hoping for the Rome to Venice to do a scenic train trip, since we cannot do it from any other city.

Ideally, I wanted my grandma to meet me in Spain so we can make our way around south with trains and back up and out of London. However, there are no direct flights from SFO to any city in Spain until late May, and my mom was nervous my grandma would get lost at a layover airport, so that is why we are starting in Paris. I also know my way around CDG.

Ahhh Paris is such a beautiful city and I’m glad it is a must see for you and grandma. Alas, I agree that Venice should be out of consideration for this trip. I have been to Italy twice and have not experienced Venice YET. But, like you, I will some day !

So now that Venice is not in the plan, you can use those days for a longer stay in either Rome or Spain. There is just so much to do in Rome, and you have been to some of those sites. It kind of depends on what your grandma is interested for Rome other than the Vatican.

Have you thought about a half day trip out the Appian Way to see catacombs and aqueduct ? I did it on my own 14 years ago but I’m sure there must be tours out there. Suggest you Peruse TripAdvisor under Rome, things to do for some ideas.