<p>Please remember, too, that if you travel to Paris in August, the city is pretty much closed as absolutely everyone is on holiday. Museums close, restaurants close and the city quiets down immensely. If your trip is to begin in August, I would actually skip Paris and make the trip into an Italy trip.</p>
<p>From Florence, I would also recommend a side trip to Sienna, if you have the time, which is a wonderful city with a rich history. There are inexpensive busses every hour or so between the two cities.</p>
<p>Thanks. Keep it coming. And we are traveling in June.</p>
<p>Today is a good day in the neighborhood. D just logged on to check her status on one of her appications submitted a mere 2 weeks ago to see what has been received, and she was greeted with “congratudations!” With “safety” acceptance in hand, I am excited to be planning this trip.</p>
<p>I’ve been investigating travel insurance for DS that is going the other way. Very reasonable. Discovered that although this fellowship is paid by a sponsering company, the insurance can give us some security.</p>
<p>Just be forewarned … it’s equally addicting! I have received the BEST advice on that forum – from great reasonably priced hotels in Paris, to wonderful restaurants, the best route from one place to another, must-see sites in a particular city, and on and on. Happy planning!</p>
<p>I’m a bit of a different traveler than some others here I guess. I’d rather move around and see a lot of things than plant myself in one city for a week. I usually just rent a car and drive. Car rentals are much less expensive there now than they used to be (assuming you make the reservation from the USA) but fuel is generally more than double what it is here. They give you a lot of freedom though. If you were to spend most of your time just in a couple of big cities I wouldn’t bother with the car though. I also usually only make hotel reservations for my first night or two and the last night and just see what I can find in between to allow me flexibility in where I go and how long I stay at a particular place. Most people I know don’t do this though - they like to have reservations. </p>
<p>Two or three days in Paris would be more than adequate for me. I don’t find it beautiful or particularly appealing - I find it to be a big city full of diesel fumes and traffic. But, it’s worth going to and seeing some of the big sights - Eiffel tower, Louvre, and a couple more museums and cathedrals. I recommend trying to get out of the big cities a bit and wander the streets of some of the smaller towns/villages.</p>
<p>I enjoyed Italy more. Venice is unique with its canals. The Cinque Terra area fairly close to Pisa with the path on the edge of the ocean between tiny towns was very scenic. Rome has many historical sights as well as great gelato (so does a lot of Italy). Florence was a bigger and more crowded city than I expected for some reason so I didn’t find it as appealing as some others. I thought Siena (not far from Florence) was more scenic.</p>
<p>Try to plan to do a few things other than just museums or you can get “museumed-out”. Spend some time wandering around, eating at some relatively ‘local’ places, and observe the locals somewhat. </p>
<p>In addition to checking out hotels you might want to check out some B&Bs. Some of them can be a better deal and can make you feel a little more connected with the locals than a big tourist hotel.</p>
<p>I don’t bother with traveler’s checks any more - I just use an ATM card and get the currency I think I need for a few days. And now with the Euro you don’t have to be concerned with constantly changing money.</p>
<p>Don’t expect everything to be like the USA and embrace the differences and I think you’ll have a great time no matter where you go over there.</p>
<p>I agree you can get museumed out. If you do some suggestions:</p>
<p>In Paris sail toy boats in the fountains at the Luxembourg Gardens. Take a boat ride on the Seine. Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant. Crowd watch outside the Pompidou Center. And the best, best ice cream in the world is Berthillon’s on The Ile St. Louis. (31 rue St. Louis en Ile) Try pear if they have it - maybe not in June. It’s the other island from Notre Dame.</p>
<p>But if you do go to museums my favorites are The Gare d’Orsay (impressionists), and The Carnavalet Museum and the Roman ruins under Notre Dame. Don’t miss the the gorgeous stain glass at Saint Chapelle.</p>
<p>Italy: Florence the Duomo, the Baptistry, the Uffizi and the Accademia. Good ice cream (well really gelato) there too - We used to go to Vivoli’s - it’s still there.</p>
<p>In Rome I love all the old stuff - Forum, Colloseum, baths of Caracalla, Trajan’s Market, Pantheon, and a little out of town Ostia Antica which used to be Rome’s port. Can’t miss the Vatican with St. Peter’s and Michaelangelo’s last judgement and Pieta.</p>
<p>I second the apartment rental idea. We haven’t done it because we’ve never stayed for a full week in the same city, but we have several friends who swear by this technique. Next time I’m going to look into it.</p>
<p>Another vote for Rick Steves’ web site and guidebooks–fantastic.</p>
<p>I notice no one has suggested London. Our family of three went to England in the summer of 2006 and had a fantastic time. Our S (now a senior) absolutely loved London–hip, friendly, easy to navigate. He wants to spend a semester or more there while in college. It’s expensive, but everywhere is expensive, and we found ways to economize.</p>
<p>I think an apartment is a great idea if you plan to more or less stay put in one country, but if you only have ten days, and plan to visit both Paris and Rome and perhaps some other cities, I would rather stay at a hotel. I think three nights, four days in Paris is enough to see most of the major tourist attractions. This, of course, depends on your interests. I can live in the Louvre. You can actually walk from Mus</p>
<p>Sunny, just one person’s opinion, but 10 days is too short a time for Paris AND Venice, Florence Rome. I would recommend Paris and Lyon, or Paris and PRovence or Paris and Bruges, OR Venice, Florence and Rome, OR Paris and Venice (although I’m another who is less than thrilled with Venice, and would think 5 days too much). Paris and Rome would also work, but that’s a lot of big city.
The problem with 10 days is that it takes one day to decompress from the flight.
From Rome or Florence you can get a guide to take you out into Tuscany for a day in a car. From Rome you can also go to the Tivoli Gardens for a day - that will get you out of the city and away from the fumes.</p>
<p>Our first trip to Italy we took a cruise - adv, you decompress in the same place, your stateroom, while you move from place to place, you cover more territory with the least amount of stress; disadv, some of the ports,especially Italy, are relatively far from the cities they are advertised to represent, you won’t get to Paris. It was a great first trip for DH and I, but we have followed with several land based trips to Europe.
Check out the Slow Travel people, they advocate rentals, which may not be active enough for you and your D.</p>
<p>And for some real addiction, just google travel blogs, name of country.</p>
<p>I spent an hour today reading a wonderful blog about China. It’s like reading someone’s diary and you know you are hearing the real dish from real people.</p>
<p>We also did a European cruise after our daughter graduated from College. It was 13 days and we saw Barcelona, Florence, Athens, Venice, Rome, Mykonos, Santorini, Amalfi Coast and would have seen Nice but we participated in the black out on the East Coast instead. Wonderful experience.</p>
<p>One more word of advice if you haven’t flown to Europe before - if you arrive in the morning or afternoon (as the flights from the west coast do) you might be tired but force yourself to stay up until a reasonable bedtime. If you take a nap in the middle of the day when you arrive you’re likely to be jet-lagged through more of the trip. Individual mileage varies on this point. Flying from the east coast s/b better I think (shorter flight).</p>
<p>I second Cangel’s recommendation of Brugges, Belgium if you’re up that way. It’s a great, quaint, village. I do recommend Venice however and think Paris, Venice, Rome, and Florence could be done fairly okay in 10 days but that’s just me - I don’t go in much for relaxing vacations - I’d rather keep seeing things to maximize my time. I think you could do Venice in a day and night, Florence in a day/night, Rome in a few days, Paris in a few days. Of course you won’t see everything there is to see in those locations but you can see the highlights in that timeframe depending on your interests and decide where you want to go spend more time at on your next trip to Europe! Keep in mind that there are some people who might spend a week in just the Louvre but not me - I’d be museumed-out.</p>
<p>geezermom: the greatest thing (besides all the comforts o home, and living as the “natives do”) is you don’t have to commit for a week or more. Many VRBO listings are by the day (night).</p>
<p>Pros:
Probably cheaper (if you would otherwise need 2 hotel rooms)
Might get a helpful landlord
More room
Refrigerator (I don’t cook on vacation - but I need a fridge for my cheese)
Fewer tourists (maybe)</p>
<p>Cons:
Actually more isolating feeling than a hotel room due to less interaction with “natives” (versus the front desk crowd)
Usually a cash only transaction
Could be risky - especially if you don’t go through a reputable agency
No room to “switch” to if there are plumbing or other issues
Many are not professionally cleaned</p>
<p>Well, that’s been my experience anyway. When there are 4 of us traveling, I love an apartment. (Mostly I’m just cheap.) We’ve had mostly great landlords, but there are some true horror stories out there. One of our Italian landlords I still communicate with! We hit it off. But if it’s just H and I, I’d vote for a hotel any day. It is more flexible, more reviews are available, and I think it actually feels more immersed, not less. (It’s not like you actually hang out with any of your neighbors in an apartment building - sometimes you don’t see a soul the whole time!) I should note we always stay at SMALL European hotels, not fancy big hotels - LOL cheap too.</p>
<p>I agree that ten days is not enough for Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome. It would be a stretch just to fit those three Italian cities into one trip. </p>
<p>Paris and Bruges is a nice idea, though. I wouldn’t suggest Eurail passes for a short trip like that, I’d go with one of the many discount airlines in Europe.</p>
<p>Would you consider going somewhere less traditional, like Stockholm? The Spring/Summer weather would be glorious, and it wouldn’t be nearly as crowded as Paris/Italy…I know that Paris is a must see, but perhaps Paris and one other city, with a day trip or two.</p>
<p>You said your were “thinking” 10 days. If you’re flexible on this point, adding a few more days can greatly increase what you can see as well as make you feel less like you’re on a whirlwind. How about two weeks - something like leave on a Sat/Sun and come back on a Sat/Sun. This would give you the weekend in between and possibly an extra day on either end. If you combine this with possibly reduced lodging rates by getting clever with where you stay, you might be able to see a lot more for not a huge extra cost. Remember that you should count the day you arrive and the day you leave as ‘wasted days’ since you’ll not likely be doing much touring either of those days.</p>
<p>It’d cost more of course but then, you’re already over there so it’d be good to maximize the opportunity. As I’ve said, I can see a lot in a relatively short amount of time but other posters like a more leisurely and less hectic pace but depending on what you like to see and your style of travel you could see quite a bit - especially if you add some more days. I just did a 2 week family trip to Europe this last summer and was able to see quite a bit and feel like I was there a while.</p>
<p>Another point regarding European hotels - they’re generally not quite the same layout as the typical American hotel. The USA hotels typically have two double beds available in the rooms and you can put 4 adults (i.e. > 16 y/o kid) in there for no or little additional cost. European hotels are typically ‘single’, ‘double’, or ‘triple’ with additional charges for extra people > a single. It can be difficult to find a hotel that’ll allow 4 ‘adults’ in a room. Often one needs to get two rooms if they’re a party of 4 adults. At the ridiculous hotel rates Europe charges this can get expensive. </p>
<p>However, you can seek out some more ‘budget’ hotel chains (like “Novotel”) that are still decent if not very interesting or carefully search for hotels that’ll allow the number of people you plan to have (3 or 4??). I’ve also found that sometimes B&Bs are cheaper and nicer than a hotel but it’s not universal, they can actually cost more, so check carefully.</p>