Paris to Rome (Plane or Train)

You could take a direct night train from Paris to Rome. For a detailed description, with photos of the sleeping accommodations, go here. If you book well in advance (up to 90 days allowed) at tgv-europe.com, you can get discount fares.

You could fly on a budget airline. Vueling flies Orly to Fiumicino. easyJet flies Orly to Ciampino. Ryanair flies Beauvais to Ciampino. Be aware that while Ryanair often has very cheap fares, Beauvais is an outlying airport so you have to allow a lot of time to get there.

On budget airlines the sooner you book the cheaper the fare. As more seats are sold the prices go up. Pay close attention to the luggage size and weight limits. You'll pay extra if you exceed them.

Amy,

Given the very short duration of your trip, I'd try to minimize travel times as much as possible. This is one case where using a budget airline would probably be the best idea.

In the same circumstances, I'd choose the EasyJet flight, as they use airports that are not too far from either city centre. As Tim mentioned in the previous post, the budgets often use a "sliding scale" for pricing. As the flight fills up, the prices increase. Therefore it's an advantage to book as early as possible.

A few things to note about the budget airlines. In some cases, tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable once booked, and some have very restrictive baggage limits. Be sure to check the website for whichever airline you'll be using so that you have a clear idea on what "supplementary charges" you might be facing.

Be sure to research the transportation options to and from each airport to the city centres. These are usually listed on the websites for the airports. Rick's Guidebooks also have lots of information on that subject.

Happy travels!