<p>my uncle had his pocket picked in the Sistine Chapel. Where there are tourists, there is crime. You just need to watch your belongings and not drop your guard just because you are on vacation.</p>
<p>WOOOPS I mean Hemingway called Paris a "moveable feast:</p>
<p>If nothing else, even in spring I spent a good few Paris hours waiting in line, for the Catacombs, the museums, etc. And walking place to place, stopping along the way for that pastry, the unique shop, well, some of could easily be there for weeks.</p>
<p>FOR ALL YOU PARIS LOVERS:</p>
<p>[Le</a> Flneur (music by The XX) on Vimeo](<a href=“http://vimeo.com/17894033]Le”>Le Flâneur on Vimeo)</p>
<p>The French term “Le Flaneur” encapsulates my ideal of the perfect travel experience. A loose translation is “a person who walks the city in order to experience it”. (Baudelaire)</p>
<p>A kind of aimless stroller. Oh the things you see…whether in the city or the country. Even if I have just three days, I would rather go with the slow stroll.</p>
<p>Do you mean leave the US, spend three days in a European city, then back to the US?</p>
<p>If so, I would not pick a large city like Paris, Rome, etc., because you will want to go back; three days is not enough. I would pick Amsterdam, if I had not already been there, especially if the tulips are in bloom. We missed them by about a week and so Amsterdam is still on my list.</p>
<p>The other possibility for me would be London, even though three days is not enough, it is relatively close and as someone who would be jet-lagged the whole three days, I would appreciate that I would not also have the language issue to deal with.</p>
<p>"Quote:
Three days are nothing, just hit a beach on the sea… </p>
<p>disagree. Three days is enough to see all of the major tourist stops in one of the big cities. "</p>
<p>-And get absolutely nothing out of it. To get anything at all, you need much longer time. Well, Hermitage in St. Petersburgh will take longer than that if one wants to just get familiar with this one museum, have some impression from it…and Louvre in Paris is bigger than that. To skim thru Europe in 3 days is a waste of resources. Others might think differently though, I am expressing my own opinion based on very long stays in very few places there.</p>
<p>The OP is not recommending a trip in 3 days, but using it as a spring board for discussion. “If you had three days”. “if” being the operative word.
You could spend 5 years in Paris or Rome and not see everything worth seeing.</p>
<p>Bored after 3 days in Paris? Are we all taking about Paris, France?</p>
<p><a href=“sipping%20coffee/eating%20for%20hours,%20etc.”>quote</a> But doing those things in Paris is half the charm of Paris!
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I know it is for some and knew I’d get some responses on that but for me there’s no charm in it because I don’t enjoy that (in)activity. That’s just me. It probably doesn’t help that I don’t even drink coffee but I really can’t stand just hanging around like that and I don’t get much out of people watching and don’t like to shop (another time spender).</p>
<p><a href=“3%20days%20to%20see%20the%20attractions”>quote</a> And get absolutely nothing out of it. To get anything at all, you need much longer time…Hermitage…Louvre
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There are some people who could spend a week or two of going to the Louvre for 8 hours a day every day and get some enjoyment out of it but personally I get ‘museum’ed’ out after a while. I can only look at the pictures, statues, etc. for so long and then start to lose my appreciation and find myself zooming just to get done with it. I really enjoy seeing the big old cathedrals in Europe and and thrilled to see them initially but find that after a while of seeing cathedral after cathedral I’m not as excited to see yet another fantastic, historical cathedral. Likewise with any of these cities, I’m max’ed out after a bit and am ready to move on. I’ve actually been to some of these cities and only had a 1 to 3 days to see things and while perhaps not ideal, it’s surprising what one can see, and enjoy, in a short amount of time if one is either so inclined or needs to because of time constraints.</p>
<p>btw - I’ve been to Europe many times on both business and vacations and even lived there when I was a kid so I do appreciate it but not the lingering/shopping that some people enjoy which consumes a lot of time. I don’t like lingering at restaurants and coffee places or shopping here either. However, I appreciate the fact that some people enjoy the lingering/shopping, it’s just not for me, but don’t conclude that because of that I get nothing out of it and it’s pointless since that’s not the case.</p>
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<p>depends on what you think is worth seeing… in 3 days in Rome, you can see the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon, Circus Maximus, many arches, the Vatican, a couple museums, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Capitoline Hill, etc. You can hit all the big things.</p>
<p>I do realize that some people travel and have things like food be at the top of their lists of things to do, or are happy to sit for hours in a cafe. But personally, if I want to sit for hours, I would prefer to find a nice place to relax in the swiss alps, instead of a bustling street =)</p>
<p>Just for the record, I loved London. We stayed in Kensington which was convenient to everything we wanted to see in the ten days we were there. I didn’t notice that it was dirty or dreary , and we were there in November.</p>
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<p>Perhaps not bored, but one could absolutely be ready to leave the hustle and bustle to more hordes of tourists. Happy to arrive and happier to leave!</p>
<p>Xiggi I totally agree with you!</p>
<p>Its sure if you visit only places full of tourists where you have to line for hours, you’ll be bored. But if you visit Paris the right way you will need a life to see everything. 2 weeks is just enough to see most of the best thing in Paris … but there are so many more to see. 2 weeks in Paris are definitely not boring at all.</p>
<p>Interesting that we all have different views of how to spend vacation time. We spent about 10 days in italy–Venice, Florence and Rome. Spent much of our time trying to ‘check things off the list’. Had a wonderful time enjoying the culture, sights and sounds of Italy. The last day, we were in a shop picking up some last minute gifts to take home and began chatting with another American woman who said they were on their way to Tuscany to spend a week at a B & B…doing nothing. Thought to myself, “Next time, that’s ME!!” </p>
<p>Not sure why, but we always need a vacation after our vacation—we try to cram in as much as we possibly can…</p>
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<p>There are country mice and there are city mice. London is a lovely city, no dirtier or more dangerous than any other (except perhaps antisceptic places like Geneva and Ottawa).</p>
<p>Wonderful vacation time: fly into Newcastle and rent car and drive to Durham environs. Or fly to Glasgow and do the same. I get out of the hustle and bustle and try to choose airports carefully. I know I am a country mouse by choice.</p>
<p>Is it not wonderful that we all share our inviduality?</p>
<p>If I had only three days, I would go back to somewhere I’d already been and know I love, perferably the same hotel. Three days is too short to chance a bad experience.</p>
<p>^^That is a really good idea, danceclass. Go somewhere you’re familiar with, but felt that you didn’t get your fill of. That way it would be quite easy to find your way around and decide what you wanted to do. Otherwise, that’s quite a bit of hassle and planning, just for a few days. Unless, of course, you enjoy the planning more than the trip.</p>
<p>I love most of the European cities I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to visit. Just as Hemingway said Paris is a “moveable feast”, I totally agree with Johnson saying that if you’re tired of London, you’re tired of life.</p>
<p>I’ve taken many family members around London. My favorite thing to do on the first day is stay outside of Westminster until the very end of the first day. Then, once it’s dark, take the tube to the stop next to Parliament, timing it so you arrive a few minutes before the top of the hour. When I take someone out of the station and they see Parliament in front of them for the first time, lit up with that golden light against a black sky, every single person gets blown away. Then, just as they’re getting over the initial shock, Big Ben starts to sound the hour. It’s magical.</p>