First time to Europe

Although most of the people on this board will remind you (correctly) that you are not allowing enough time in each place- it is your vacation and you must see the places you want to see. The big problem is that each time you change locations you are basically going to lose a day to travel- especially if you fly. One suggestion would be to leave all your London time in one block, either at the beginning or end of your trip- this will save you one travel day. Also between Paris and London, maybe you will see more if you travel by train through the tunnel rather than fly. flying out of Heathrow especially is time consuming, their security seems to take forever. (Flying into Heathrow is not as onerous) As your daughter has not been to Europe before- and as you dont have much time in each location- you should probably concentrate on the top of the list usual tourist highlights and not look for too much "unisual stuff". If you change your schedule to Rome-Paris-London, maybe you can celebrate Easter at Notre Dame or even in London. That will put you in London for the wedding and cut one day off your intra Europe travel

Kathleen, As this is your first trip to Europe, my first suggestion would be for both of you to pre-read the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door. That will provide a lot of information on "how" to travel well in Europe. There's some rationale for starting in Rome as the previous reply mentioned. However since this is your first trip I believe it would still be better to start in London, as that will allow a somewhat easier "culture shock" (Rome can be a bit intimidating for first timers). In planning your time, be sure to allow time for your travel days to Europe. You'll arrive the day after you departed and the trip home will require one day. Is your trip 16-days total? You'll also need to allow for time between each city (more on that later). For the trip from London to Paris, the EuroStar is the easiest option (but not necessarily the cheapest). It departs from London St. Pancras station and arrives at Gare du Nord in Paris. From there you can reach the area of your Hotel via Metro (it's excellent!). For travel from Paris to Rome, my choice would be EasyJet from Paris / ORY to Rome / CIA. The fares are as low as ~€27.00, however those will vary. Those airports are secondary airports in each city, however both are fairly easy to reach. In booking with Euro airlines, BE SURE to read the Terms & Conditions carefully! For the trip from Rome to London, one option is RyanAir from Rome / CIA to London / LGW, with fares as low as ~€57.00. I hesitate to suggest that airline, as they sometimes have numerous extra charges (be sure to pack light!), but it's one of the simplest choices. continued......

Kathleen, Part 2.... Regarding sightseeing options, you might check your local Library or Bookstores and have a look at Guidebooks (especially Rick's books) for each of the cities you'll be visiting. They will give you a good idea of the sights in each place, and you can decide which ones you want to visit, based on your time and your interests. They also provide good listings for Hotels, Restaurants transportation, avoiding scammers, etc. (which is something you'll need to be concerned with especially in Paris and Rome - wear a Money Belt!). IMHO, I wouldn't be too concerned about the "really cool experience factor" of staying in a Convent (or whatever). You'll probably find that you're out touring most of the time anyway, so you won't be spending a lot of time in your lodgings. A budget B&B Hotel would probably be quite sufficient. Good luck with your planning!

Kathleen: Wow, Brian and Ken have really covered this super well, so in addition to endorsing their suggestions, the only suggestion I could make would be to consider an option to flying Paris to Rome on Easyjet. Flying probably is the way to go, but to give your daughter an experience she has almost certainly never had before, consider taking the night train (Palatino) from Paris to Rome. Now a sleeper compartment for two, even if purchased ahead of time, will probably be more expensive than flying, and if you are like me you won't get much sleep (though your daughter may well sleep soundly)...but the experience of eating in the restaurant car as the French countryside whips by your window, of falling asleep (maybe) and waking up with the blue Mediterranean and bright Italian sun as your view...well, she might consider it a very enjoyable experience. Then definitely fly back to London on easyjet or one of the other discount airlines. To see what it is like, with photos and lengthy descriptions, go to the website "The Man in Seat 61" (google it). It is a great site run by a train enthusiast with tons of information and pictures. Have a great trip!

Thanks so much for replying! You all must answer the same questions over and over for us newbies! We are taking the train from London to Paris, and the train from Paris to Rome- the sleeper train as you suggested. I thought for a moment about stopping in Switzerland, but thought better of it, with the limited time. I figure we won't be losing too much to travel time since we will be traveling overnight. I wish I could take more time off work, and she could take more time off school, but we are already pushing it taking an extra week in addition to her Easter break. I have my heart set on flying Virgin, and their fares seem to be in line with most everyone else, I guess it will be close to a thousand for each of us. I have all of Rick's books, as well as the Paris Walk app on my iphone. I have also ordered the wallet. I am also going to get the museum pass that he recommends. I am certainly lucky to have my friend putting us up in London, that will save a whole lot of money on lodging in London. Again, thanks for your input! I want this to be a great trip for us, so I want to be sure I get all the advice I can. Happy Holidays!

Note re convents: Check to see whether they have a curfew. An 11pm curfew is manageable but at a convent in Venice I was surprised and frustrated to find out when I arrived that I also could not leave until 8am each morning. My plans to photograph the city at sunrise were shot.

Kathleen, For a first timer you surely don't try to do too much at one time, do you? Wow. It sounds really exciting for both you and your daughter. Have you contemplated how you will react if the two big things you have planned don't pan out as you hoped? When you say you will be in Rome for Easter, do you mean in St Peters Square in Vatican City for the address by the Pope? Have you made arrangements for that? If not, time may be getting late. You also said that you will "see" the wedding. Do you mean standing along the route to the Abbey, or do you mean watching on TV? If you want to be on the route are you willing to camp overnight? What if it rains? What happens if it freezes? Not unheard of... the first time I took my brother and his wife for the Changing of the Guard in May we had freezing fog and sleet. This isn't to put cold water on your plans (pun not intended), far from it. I just hope that you are realistic and able to cope if it doesn't pan out. If you were on a normal trip I would say just plan for indoor activities if the weather turns. Unfortunately both events you are planning involve lots of crowds and outside. Best of luck planning - keep the questions coming.

As Nigel mentioned, you will need to find a place to stand at least Thursday night if not before (the wedding is Friday morning). There will be between 2-3 million people lining the streets. Have fun!!

Kathleen. Whether you try and attend these special events or not, there is so much to see in (and around) your chosen Cities that you are bound to have a great and busy vacation. And i am sure your London friend will have lots of suggestions on how to spend your time in London. You and your daughter are going to have a ball