speaking of London......London to France to Rome

[gumi]

If you were doing a London - France - Rome trip (12 days total so like 10 days of actual vacation time), how would you divide it up between  the three locations? Is one location worth more time than the others?

I hate trip planning but my husband thinks we should have a general plan. 
Can I just mooch off someone else's itinerary, past or future?

[Deleted]

Well, France is a country, while London and Rome are cities, so perhaps more time in France?

[v]

If by France you mean Paris, I'd split them as evenly as possible. And whatever you do, do NOT take the overnight train from Paris to Rome. Worst night of my life. Flying that distance is much more humane

[whitemerlot]

We did that. 3 nights in London, 3 in Paris, 4 in Rome. I think I would have taken an extra day in Paris and one less in Rome.

[agnes]

Jul 3, 2015 15:57:12 GMT -5 v said:

If by France you mean Paris, I'd split them as evenly as possible. And whatever you do, do NOT take the overnight train from Paris to Rome. Worst night of my life. Flying that distance is much more humane

Yes, overnight trains are not the best idea, if you can avoid them.  If not, make sure you get a bed and not one of those reclining seats.  Hopefully, no other passengers have gas either. 

[alleinesein]

4 days in London
3 days in Paris
3 days in Rome

But I am biased because I love London

[babsbunny]

I've done a couple days in London here and there, 5 nights in Paris, and 5 nights in Rome. Here's an itinerary proposal:

Day 1: arrive London, check in, walk around hotel area, maybe see some sites at night, crash
Day 2: Changing of the guard, gardens, London eye, Tower of London
Day 3: Museum, Westminster Abbey, Parliment
Day 4: I'm forgetting what else is a must see in London
Day 5: Early train to Paris, drop off bags at hotel, go to Eiffel tower, then Arc de Triomphe (go up), then back to see both at night
Day 6: Visit the Louvre early and spend half a day, in afternoon see Notre Dame, and then Sacre Coeur (go up), sleep early
Day 7: Entire day at Versailles (you will be exhausted)
Day 8: Rest if you need, travel if you need (other options include Catacombs or river cruise) - evening flight to Rome would be good, upon arriving and dropping off your bags, check out the Trevi Fountain at night
Day 9: Wander Rome day - Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, neighborhoods, Spanish Steps, Piazza de Popolo, Parliament Square, Borghese Gardens
Day 10: Ancient Rome day - Palatine Hill, Colosseum, Forum
Day 11: Religious Rome day - St. Peter's Basilica and Vatican Museum (and the dome and basement where the popes are buried)
Day 12: Fly home

In Rome, the Rick Steves free podcasts are a MUST. He also has great recommendations on how to visit the sites and avoid crowds. Also buy tickets in advance so you can skip lines. Rick probably has ones for Paris and London too.

I loved wandering the Louvre, but it was too big to see everything. We went through the Vatican Museum twice because it's a tight space and most people just follow the one route to the Sistine Chapel. There is so much history in all those places, so lots to see!

[wannabe]

We did 3 in London, took the Chunnel to disneyland Paris and stayed for 2 nights, then 2 nights in Paris, flew to Rome and stayed 3 nights.

Didn't love Rome as much. Food was best there though!

[sporky]

Jul 3, 2015 15:58:32 GMT -5 whitemerlot said:

3 nights in London, 3 in Paris, 4 in Rome. 

I second this suggestion. Rome would be my preference for the extra night. Just don't forget to factor in you travel time between cities. 

[ellipsis]

We split it up evenly, with 3 full days in each city. Redeye flight from the US to London, train from London to Paris, flight from Paris to Rome, and flew back to the US from Rome.

In London we did:
- Harrod's
- Hyde Park
- Westminster Abbey
- London Eye
- Big Ben
- Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
- Millenium Bridge
- Kensington Gardens & Palace
- Buckingham Palace/Changing of the Guard

In Paris we did:
- Eiffel Tower
- Notre Dame (along w/going up the towers)
- Louvre
- Champs Elysees / Arc de Triomphe
- Tuileries Garden
- Musee de l'Orangerie

And in Rome we did:
- Colosseum
- Roman Forum / Palatine Hill
- Trevi Fountain
- Pantheon
- Vatican City (all day)

I think in general you need to have a plan, because many sites are closed on certain days or times due to religious reasons. It sucks to treck all the way to a certain site (when you're already walking a ton and trying to figure out the metro) and show up and find out it's closed for the afternoon. This happened to us trying to go to St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

With all of these, you can really spend as much or as little time there as you'd like. I'd recommend an extended length of time for both the Louvre and Vatican because they can be very crowded.

[Marmee]

2 in London
Chunnel to Paris for 3 days
3 days in Rome

Paris is my favorite & I did the train between Rome & Paris...not ideal but I what way worse train rides.

[gumi]

Jul 4, 2015 7:40:58 GMT -5 @pennypie said:

Jul 3, 2015 15:57:12 GMT -5 v said:

If by France you mean Paris, I'd split them as evenly as possible. And whatever you do, do NOT take the overnight train from Paris to Rome. Worst night of my life. Flying that distance is much more humane

This is the best advice I've seen given on GBCN.

That overnight train is horrible. I've never gotten motion sick in my life and I did on that train. A lot.

We are going to fly from Paris to Rome, how long is the train ride from London to Paris?

Thank you for the advice everyone! It was very helpful. It is overwhelming to plan a trip for three countries. On one hand, we will have no kids so I figure I'm up for any adventure.  On the other hand, I also once spent 12 hours roaming Amsterdam because I only knew my hotel as "the building with the clock" and every single building there had a clock! lol.

[v]

Jul 5, 2015 13:32:09 GMT -5 gumi said:

Jul 4, 2015 7:40:58 GMT -5 @pennypie said:

This is the best advice I've seen given on GBCN.

That overnight train is horrible. I've never gotten motion sick in my life and I did on that train. A lot.

We are going to fly from Paris to Rome, how long is the train ride from London to Paris?

Around 2.5 hours  -- that's a very manageable one

Maybe not needed in this thread, but www.rome2rio.com is a fantastic website for "I want to go from this place to that place -- what's the best mode of transportation?"

[mrsukyankee]

I would give an extra day to London just because of jet lag - you won't fully enjoy the first day or two. And I would go on the Eurostar to Paris (love that train and it's quick) and then fly to Rome on a cheap airline.

[MrsE]

I would spend the most time in Rome, second most (or equal) time in Paris, and you can "do" London in two days IMHO. Enjoy it!

[msmerymac]

I would not do all 3 cities in that time frame. I would do 5-6 days in both London and Paris, especially if you want to fit in Versailles.

In London I did:
- Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Millennium Bridge, Globe Theater and the Tate Modern
- Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace
- The Tate Britain, the Royal portrait gallery, Harrods
- The British Museum

In Paris:
- L'Arc de Triumph and the Champs Elysee
- Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and a special museum exhibit I can't remember that was near the Eiffel Tower
- The Louvre and the Orangerie
- The Musee d'Orsay and the Centre Pompidou (also lunch at Arpege that day)

So yeah, that was with 4 full days in each city. If you want to make excursions to Bath or Brighton or Oxford or to Versailles or Chartres, you'll need more time.

[sillygoosegirl]

Jul 4, 2015 20:35:17 GMT -5 Stan said:

I know what my next flameful can be cause I loved overnight trains in Europe! I never did Paris to Rome, but I did Paris Barcelona and Barcelona Rome.

Me too. So long as I have an actual bunk.