I am a teacher who is lucky enough to have a month off in the summer. I%26#39;d like to take my daughter to Paris, then somewhere else in Europe. I don%26#39;t speak French. She has had only 4 years...Will we be ok? Where should we go from Paris. I don%26#39;t want to rent a car--too nervous about navigating the roads without another adult along. Should we travel to a neighboring country or head down to Provence? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!!!
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My favorite two cities in Europe are Venice and Paris. Since there is lots of fun stuff in between, if it was me, I would consider taking trains (quite easy if you do your research) from Paris south to Provence (any number of quaint towns and decompress from the city), maybe pass through the French/Italian Rivieras briefly (they will be packed suggest not stopping long), northern Italy (Pisa and/or Milan), Florence for a few days and then Venice for a few days. Depending how much time you have left you either go down to Rome and/or the Amalfi Coast. You can fly back to Paris or take a train that takes a more northernly route through Austria/Switzerland and Germany. You should be able to see quite a lot in a month. I%26#39;m sure you will get as many different ideas as there are people that respond. I tried to provide an intineary that approximates travelling in the same direction. My wife, 3 duaghters and I did something similiar (substituted Barcelona for Provence) a couple summers ago. We had a blast and I%26#39;m sure you will too!
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Warning: I am biased. My husband, 12yo daughter and I spent Jan-July 2004 on academic sabbatical in Seville Spain. We loved it beyond words. During that time we traveled to Paris for a long weekend (we return next week for five days!) and I would proffer this %26quot;advice%26quot;: Paris is replete with museums, culture, over-the-top experiences that top the cliches, etc. After spending time in Paris, you need a city where you can decompress, reminisce on what you saw in Paris and enjoy something different at the same time. Seville is a medium-sized city. It is also very Spanish. You can walk everywhere and you are very safe. Evidence: our 11yo walked everywhere by herself, something I would not do here in Wash, DC. Seville also has a big Cathedral, the 11th century Alcazar palace, a million bars that love kids, a huge park and the most charming neighborhood in the world: the Santa Cruz quarter (guess where we lived). More important, Seville is a small city where you can never take a taxi or a bus (there is no metro), and where you can draw intense pleasure from just walking around the city, and watching the people parad. From Seville you can take day trips to Cordoba to see the Mezquita; to Tarifa (beach, Roman ruins at Bolonia next to Tarifa, or a weekend trip to Granada (Alhambra, etc.).
There are direct flights from Paris to Seville daily. I love Madrid and Barcelone (lived in the latter for a year), but Seville is special, especially with kids, for whom less is more.
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There are so many different ways that you could approach a one month itinerary. I%26#39;m a little jealous, as I wish that I could take a month off from work and travel Europe. There%26#39;s little else in the world that%26#39;s better.
Since you have quite a bit of time, I%26#39;d make sure to spend at least a good week or two in Paris. There%26#39;s so much to do and experience. Beyond that, it depends on your interests. My favorite city is Paris, followed by Venice, so I must admit that I like a lot of Sparks%26#39;s ideas. I find Italy to be the most beautiful country in the world overall. I find Switzerland to possess the most natural beauty of any country, especially the area surrounding Lake Geneva as well as Zermatt. Trully idyllic.
If you feel that you do not want to travel a significant distance from Paris, you might consider travelling up to Belgium to see Brussels and Bruges for a few days and to see Amsterdam for a few days. I%26#39;d strongly consider a trip by Eurostar across the Chunnel to spend several days in London. If you want to stay within France, there are countless ideas, most of the quainter, rustic nature. The French Riviera is a great trip, although I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;d stay for more than a couple days. Lyon is an interesting city. And of course there is the charm and beauty of Provence.
If you are OK with a bit of travelling and you are a first-time visitor (I%26#39;m presuming that you are?), I%26#39;d DEFINITELY go to Italy. Whereas any European country has its own merits and can make an argument for a visit, there is a reason that Italy possesses three of the most popular tourist destination cities in the world (Rome, Florence, and Venice). And that doesn%26#39;t even take into consideration the rest of Tuscany, coastal Italy (Cinque Terre, Amalfi, etc), Milan, Pompeii, Pisa, Lake Como, and on and on. You could easily spend a month in Italy alone. I%26#39;d say that you might consider about 10 days in Paris (including day trips out to Versailles, Chartres, etc.) and 2 and a half weeks roaming through Italy. If you want to sightsee along the way from Paris towards Italy, you might spend a few days in Switzerland (I%26#39;d choose this route to Italy rather than a trip through the French Riviera.
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thank you very much for your ideas. Since I am not getting any younger, I think the Paris to Italy idea is a good one. Who knows if I%26#39;ll get another chance to see Italy. A few days in Switzerland in the countryside would give me a rest between cities.
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Good thinking Liz. Assuming that you are spending the whole month in Europe (and no, it%26#39;s not too long), I%26#39;d probably spend about 8-10 days in Paris. Then maybe on to Geneva or Lausanne for a little R%26amp;R for a couple days. The other alternative to this might be Lake Como in northern Italy for a couple days of relaxation.
In Italy, if I might suggest an idea...with 2 and a half weeks or so, I%26#39;d say that Rome for at 4-5 days, Florence for 3-4 days, Venice for 3 days, coastal Italy (probably Amalfi coast, with a trip to Capri and also Pompeii) for about 2 days, Tuscany for about 3 days, and maybe one day in Milan, just to see the Duomo and The Last Supper is reasonable. Something of that nature gives you time in each of the main tourist-destination Italian cities, but also gives you a flavor of the natural beauty of Italy, both coastal and and countryside.
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Take a look at a map of Europe. Paris is a major rail and air hub and you can get to a great many other destinations with relative ease by either budget airline or the railways---Amsterdam, Spain, Germany, Switzeralnd, Italy, etc without either too much trouble or too much expense. Though you might think that problem for most visitors is cost, it%26#39;s really one of time travelling between destinations and still leaving enough to experience and enjoy where you%26#39;ve gotten to. With a month to travel and a bit of careful research and budgeting, you can see and do a fair amount.
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LizM,
I think that you need to first figure out what kind of trip you want to have....
Focusing on France and/or Italy will give you a good feeling for these two rich and wonderful cultures and you will have the time to really get familiar with Paris and another region.
Touring Italy, Switzerland, and Paris, you will get a good over view of a small corner of Europe, without the time to really get in depth.
It comes down to you personal choice and what you hope to get from your travels.
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My 15 and 17-year-old daughters and I are going to France and Italy this May/June for 16 days. I can%26#39;t answer your questons because we have%26#39;t been yet. But let me share our plans with you. We plan to limit the museums/churches to just the few best and fill in with some activities they feel are more fun. My girls picked the following fun activities:
Paris: a night cruise on the Seine, climbing the tower at Notre Dame to see if the gargoyles really look like the ones in the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame!
Nice: Topless sunbathing on the beach and renting skates or mini-scooters on the Promenade des Anglais.
Cinque Terre, IT: Hiking between the 5 villages on the seaside cliff trail. Sunning and deep-water swimming on the rocks, renting a kayak or boat.
Rome: Renting bikes on the Appian Way. It%26#39;s closed to auto traffic on Sunday afternoons.
Venice: They want to ride all the way around the outside of the island of Venice on a Vaporetto just for the fun of it.
Back to Paris: Clothes shopping!
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Don%26#39;t forget London. You could do a 2-3 day trip there via the Chunnel.
With a whole month available, you may want to have some beach time (maybe along the French or Italian Riviera).
Did you see one of the posts that mentioned that teachers get in for free at museums, etc., in Paris?! (I%26#39;m pretty sure it said free)
What a wonderful mother-daughter thing to do. Have a great trip.
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Not to throw you a curve, but Prauge is supposed to be amazing!! (In Czech Republic) I%26#39;m going after a week in Paris in March, so I will let you know. One interesting thing about it is that it is the only city that was unscathed by WWII. Did you know that Hitler had Paris rigged by engineers, and wanted to blow it to bits (cathedrals, bridges,all major monuments) before the allies arrived? While in his bunker, he kept calling some general and asking %26quot;is Paris burning?%26quot; The general kept stalling him, and in the 60%26#39;s was awarded a medal by the French government for saving Paris. Well anyway I thought as a teacher, you would appreciate that if you hadn%26#39;t heard the story. Personally, I%26#39;m glad the fellow did the right thing, but the only award I%26#39;d give a Nazi is a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!! HA!
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