London, Paris, Rome

[ezol]

My GF and I are planning a trip to London, Paris and Rome (possibly Venice) in May. Flights are looking around 1100 right now. When is the best time to book, and is 1100 avg or on the expensive side?

Neither of us have ever been to Europe so we have no idea what areas to stay in those big cities. Any suggestions would be great!

We will be doing a lot of sight seeing and tourist stuff, and very limited partying.

Please let me know from your experience.

TIA

[lowside67]

When you book is much less important than when you are planning on travelling. May is the "shoulder" season and rates are still discounted compared to the dead of summer. I personally find that flying in and out of VCE is actually one of the cheapest options. You may want to look into an open-ended ticket though if you are going to see all those places so that you don't have to backtrack, ie fly Vancouver-Venice and then London-Vancouver.

I am actually heading to Barcelona in May and scored an insane deal through United for business class the whole way for 10 nights in May for $1650, the deal is dead now, but there may be other options coming up soon. $1100 is pretty average for a flight price, make sure you try different days of the week etc to fly as there are sometimes huge differences.

I almost always book apartments through AirBNB now as opposed to booking hotels.
For example, this is where we are staying in Barcelona for $115/night: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/790563
1000 sq ft, 2 full bedrooms, a proper kitchen, etc.

Mark

[sonick]

FYI huge savings on flights to Venice (also Prague and Barcelona) right now, under $850 all-in per person roundtrip.

[dinosaur]

How long are you going for and how are you planning to travelling between London, Paris, and Rome?

Why don't you consider something like this: London & Paris Tour — Europe — Contiki Tours and then flying into Rome.

Or, this London to Rome tour: http://www.contiki.com/destinations/...london-to-rome

Or, if you have the time: London to Athens Tour — Europe — Contiki Tours

I have done one of these tours before and had a GREAT time! We had lots of free time, saw tons of stuff, and didn't have to worry about hotels and transportation.

[ezol]

Thanks for all the input guys!

I'm pretty set on dates May 3 - 20 which gives us 17 days. Our plan is Fly into London, then Paris, Barcelona, Venice, then end in Rome. That'll give us about 3 days in each city to explore.

Airtransat is the cheapest so far at $1068 9hr duration. Air Canada's sale is roughly the same price but 16hrs. I don't think I'll find cheaper than that price for our dates.

Do you guys have any experience with airtransat? Do they have headrest tv screens etc?

I'll look into airbnb instead of hotels. It looks like they have some pretty good deals. I just need to figure out what part of town is 'central' or convenient for us to get around.

We initially considered doing Contiki/Topdeck tours but opt against it. Gf wanted to do our own thing.

[bcedhk]

KLM just had a deal for european cities. Not sure if the ones you listed are part of it, but check it out. I remember being 850 round trip after taxes.

[sonick]

Here's a bit more info about those cheap flights: Vancouver to Barcelona, Venice, Prague | $843 roundtrip after taxes

KLM started it, but Air France, Lufthansa and AC have followed.

3 days per city is the bare minimum amount of time per city I'd say, especially Barcelona and Rome there's so much to explore.

[bcedhk]

The cities you are going are quite touristy, so IMO, you don't really get a true "out of town" experience. You will probably see more tourist than locals on those areas, are you willing or wishing to visit to smaller parts of the country?

If you do plan to stay in Venice, I suggest finding a hotel in Mastre. Is much cheaper than hotels in Venice + is only a 5 minute bus drive ride away

[sonick]

There's always pockets and areas of each city that are less touristy. Trastevere in Rome comes to mind, as well as the alleyways off Las Ramblas and Gothic Quarter in Barcelona.

Of course all the major sights and attractions will be touristy. Be sure to research online for ticket policies and such for monuments and attractions; the tour guides outside the Vatican, Colosseum, etc. are very hit or miss and pretty shady. Many of the admission-only attractions in Rome you can pre-buy tickets online which also gets you priority, front-of-line access.

[dinosaur]

AirTransat...to be honest, is the shits. Bad food, cramped, rude flight attendants, and I have never had a trouble free flight (delayed, cancelled, etc.)

IMO, I would try and fly with someone else if the prices are comparable.

[Ronin]

How old are you? Do you mind hostels?

Hotels are hella expensive in London. I stayed in one once that emphasized luxury and it was...in the lobby. My room was smaller than my closet at home.

When I last went in '06, the hostel I stayed in in Hammersmith was 5 minutes walking from an underground station, my room (a private one with 3 friends) was huge, the kitchen was enormous. Depending on your GF, though, because most girls I know won't enjoy shared bathrooms. If you're outgoing sorts of people, you might meet some other cool travellers.

You might even meet James May like I did.

In Paris, try to stay away from the Northern end of the city, which is the ghetto.

[Levitron]

Most of the major European cities have "free" walking tours. Format is this:

1) you meet up at a major attraction (i.e. Notre Dame)
2) you find the guide (who is usually holding up some sort of sign or wearing a bright piece of company clothing
3) you wait a bit for other people to show up...maybe 5-10 mins
4) guide introduces themselves, asks around who is from where, etc.
5) you start touring the city and walking around the attractions
6) guide is usually pretty informative and quite friendly...if you have any questions, fire them away
7) you end up at your last stop. Guide will tell you that it's free but they accept tips.
8) I usually give them about £10 or 10 euros.
9) you thank them and be on your way. I also like to ask the guides if they know any local "hole in the wall" type eateries...I find those the best and usually the most fun.

I've gone with Discover Walks. Generally a good team (I've done their Paris and Barcelona tours). Barcelona Walking Tours – free guided tours of Barcelona

Also did New Europe tours...not as good I think but generally same format (did this for London): «Home of the Famous London Free Tour with some of the best guides in Europe» - SANDEMANs NEW EUROPE

[Wormiez]

If you plan on visiting the Vatican City, would highly recommended you sign up for a walking tour to bypass the lineups. Sames goes for any busy attraction.

[sonick]

For the Vatican, you can book tickets online and get in with no line up, however you gotta book a specific time window for entrance.

Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Forum share a single ticket which you can buy tickets valid anytime for a 2 day period and enter without line ups. Or if you buy tickets there, get it at Palatine Hill or the Forum for a shorter line up vs the Colosseum.

The other major attractions in Rome are free/no admission.

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by Wormiez

If you plan on visiting the Vatican City, would highly recommended you sign up for a walking tour to bypass the lineups. Sames goes for any busy attraction.

Or just go later in the day. Lineups are usually in the morning. Go just before noon or just after and you won't see as long of a lineup.

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by Levitron

Most of the major European cities have "free" walking tours. Format is this:

1) you meet up at a major attraction (i.e. Notre Dame)
2) you find the guide (who is usually holding up some sort of sign or wearing a bright piece of company clothing
3) you wait a bit for other people to show up...maybe 5-10 mins
4) guide introduces themselves, asks around who is from where, etc.
5) you start touring the city and walking around the attractions
6) guide is usually pretty informative and quite friendly...if you have any questions, fire them away
7) you end up at your last stop. Guide will tell you that it's free but they accept tips.
8) I usually give them about £10 or 10 euros.
9) you thank them and be on your way. I also like to ask the guides if they know any local "hole in the wall" type eateries...I find those the best and usually the most fun.

I've gone with Discover Walks. Generally a good team (I've done their Paris and Barcelona tours). Barcelona Walking Tours – free guided tours of Barcelona

Also did New Europe tours...not as good I think but generally same format (did this for London): «Home of the Famous London Free Tour with some of the best guides in Europe» - SANDEMANs NEW EUROPE

My friends and I really enjoyed going on these free walking tours. You meet other cool people and you learn a bit about where you are. Most of them work for tips so they're usually quite entertaining tour guides. If you happen by Amsterdam, look for a dude named Per.

[F3]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

AirTransat...to be honest, is the shits. Bad food, cramped, rude flight attendants, and I have never had a trouble free flight (delayed, cancelled, etc.)

IMO, I would try and fly with someone else if the prices are comparable.

I flew AirTransat last summer to Amsterdam and have no complaints. The flight attendants were nice, no delays and the food isn't suppose to be good, is it? lol Either way, for $350 one way to Amsterdam, I couldn't complain.

Definitely try and check out the walking tours if you get a chance. It's a great way to see the city. I did a bunch of the Sandman ones when I was backpacking last summer.

And with only 3 days per city, you'll definitely feel rushed, especially if you have to factor in travel time from city to city and the lineups to get into a lot of the attractions.

[Frenchie]

I met my wife on one of those free walking tours in Paris. Highly recommend it plus they have other events like pub crawls which are awesome.

My itinerary for May 3-20 would be the following, if you HAVE to go to all of those places on your list (it's gonna be packed):

May 3 - arrive, settle in, walk Westminster (Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey) at night. You'll do more walking and sightseeing in the next few days.
May 4 - do a New Europe Walking Tour (they have 2 in London - I did both on consecutive days). Do a pub crawl (it's Saturday night!) or if that's not your thing, check out Piccadilly Circus at night (it takes 5 minutes, then you get bored...but at least you'll have seen it!)
May 5 - do the other walking tour, or if you wanna venture out, book a tour to Stonehenge (which usually also includes a stop at Windsor and Bath or Oxford). It takes the entire day.
May 6 - wanna shop? Check out Oxford Street. Want to see museums/art galleries? They're all free in London.
May 7 - travel by Eurostar via Chunnel to Paris, but if you're on a budget, fly. Find your accommodations, subway to Arc de Triomphe, pay to get to the top, and catch the sunset. When you're bored, walk all the way down the Champs Elysees to the Tuileries and then the Louvre. Call it a night.
May 8 - do the New Europe Walking Tour (4-5 hours). Check out Montmartre in the evening (Sacre Coeur cathedral, Moulin Rouge)
May 9 - go to Versailles. Go up the Eiffel Tower around sunset to catch both day and night views.
May 10 - spend the day at the Louvre, then walk over to check out Notre Dame, have some ice cream at the Berthillon. Wander around Ile de la Cite and Ile St. Louis before ending up in the Latin Quarter for dinner.
May 11 - fly to Barca. Walk La Ramblas, check out la Boqueria, and end up at the Montjuic Magic Fountain at 9PM for a fountain show. Walk up the stairs to catch an amazing view of the city at night.
May 12 - Discover Gaudi. Go to la Sagrada Familia in the morning, la Pedrera or Casa Batllo (I would just do one, not both) in the afternoon, and then chill out at Parc Guell for the rest of the day. At night, find a bar in the Gothic Quarter and enjoy some sangria with live music (or find my favorite bar, the Dow Jones, where prices of drinks increase and decrease depending on who is buying what, just like a stock market! Cash in big time when the market crashes for cheap drinks).
May 13 - take a small hike up to the Parc Montjuic and enjoy the views. Find something to do at night.
May 14 - relax at the Barceloneta beach for the entire day. Enjoy the nightlife one last time before heading to Venice.
May 15 - Venice day 1: get lost in the winding streets and cross the thousands of small bridges. You'll end up seeing the major sites (the Rialto Bridge, St. Mark's Square). The city itself isn't big and can be explored in one full day.
May 16 - Venice day 2: more wandering. Ride a gondola.
May 17 - depart for Rome. Take the day/night easy.
May 18 - Vatican Tour in the AM, with St. Peter's Basilica and Square. Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain in PM.
May 19 - Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Forums in the AM. Pantheon in PM. Do you like Dan Brown's Angels and Demons? Check out Castell Sant Angelo (you could do this after the Vatican Tour too because it's close), Piazza Navona in the evening (lots of outdoor restaurants).
May 20 - fly home from Rome and bask in the experience of hitting up all those cities in such a short time. You'll be exhausted but rewarded.

I probably missed some sites (I just tried to remember what I did) but hope this helps.

[ezol]

Thanks for all the great tips. I am fully booked and going in less than a month. Has anyone done the Ferrari Museum or test drive a ferrari in Italy? Just wanted to know what you guys thought etc...

Thanks!