Please help with my Europe and New York Itinerary!

[Pumbaa]

Oh yes, getting excited for you..... info not asked for, but when I travel, lots of places I visit are associated with places I love to eat at!
My fav in NYC is Eleven Madison Park
Oh Paris too many to choose - L'Arpege, Guy Savoy, L'Atelier (Joel Robuchon)
Feeling hungry now
Just need to book early enough if you are interested (all fab for a romantic outing)

haha
I'm exactly the same. I travel to eat and try more and more lovely food. We were very fortunately to eat at Per Se last year in New York. By far the best dining experience my partner and I have ever had! I can't wait to find somewhere that can come close, or heaven forbid, surpass such an unforgettable experience. I will be planning food places right after I sort out my accommodation and travel itineraries

 

[vetrade]

I'm guessing from your last post that maybe you (and your GF?) are into galleries/museums/cathedrals. Can you confirm ? - because what you want to see should dictate where you go. Personally I think it's great to see SOME of those things but for me it all became boringly repetitive after a while. After a while (in both NY and Europe) my wife and I found that we enjoyed it much more by cherry picking a few particular attractions- which left enough time just to relax with an ice-cream, walk around parks and eat where-ever or when-ever it suited us. Ask yourself how many hundreds of very similar pictures of old kings, queens and generals do you really want to see? How many cathedrals ?

What about shopping ? Is that on your GF's radar? Like others have said it's best to limit the number of places you go to avoid turning it into a perpetual train trip. You have to decide what your priorities are but I think you are trying to fit in too much travel for the length of time you have. Barcelona is definitely a place you would want to see but I would leave it for another trip. I would get the TGV v. fast train to Cannes (much better than Nice) (Carlton Intercontinental is fabulous - we got a room there for $AUD250 a night last October) from Paris (you need a minimum of 4 days there) and spend a couple of days there then go to Rome for your fix of culture. Scrap Milan & Florence but go to Venice if the GF wants. Next best advice I can give is to plan ahead - look up all the attractions in a city you want to see and mark them on a map so you can plan an efficient route to see them.

 

[Pumbaa]

Hi Vetrade,

My GF and I are much like you, we would like to see some attractions, but don't want to pile them on back to back. I find doing that makes the holiday a bit stressful and less enjoyable. GF loves the shopping, hence the extra time in paris. I have a suspicion I'll be spending a lot of time looking at hand bags and shoes, but thats part and parcel of going on holidays with her

One thing I enjoyed about Florence was seeing Michaelangelo's David. I never really wanted to see it, but could only stand there in marvel seeing it for the first time. I know Spain, Italy and France in 2 weeks is pushing the boundaries. I'm more than happy to limit it to 2 countries if it will make a happier holiday.

For us its more the eating and shopping then it is the site seeing. Thats why I thought we could get away with doing roughly 4-5 days in each country. From my research, Geneva to Italy is approximately 7-8 hours by train. Geneva to Paris is 4 hours. Paris to Barcelona is 12 hours. I know flying is faster, but spending time checking in and checking out of the airport puts me off completely!

 

[Sprucegoose]

Just wondering outloud if you can fit the Italian riviera into the Rome/Florence combo?
It's spectacular. V.romantic

Yes agree with princess. We went to Santa margarita just next to Portofino and hired a boat for the day 150euros and it was magnificent. There are places on the coast you can only access via water. We lunched in portofino.

I enjoy San gibignano (sic) and Tuscany in general.

Train is the way to go. Day tours also, less queuing.

In Florence you must see David.

Drop Milan.

 

[Sprucegoose]

I'm guessing from your last post that maybe you (and your GF?) are into galleries/museums/cathedrals. Can you confirm ? - because what you want to see should dictate where you go. Personally I think it's great to see SOME of those things but for me it all became boringly repetitive after a while. After a while (in both NY and Europe) my wife and I found that we enjoyed it much more by cherry picking a few particular attractions- which left enough time just to relax with an ice-cream, walk around parks and eat where-ever or when-ever it suited us. Ask yourself how many hundreds of very similar pictures of old kings, queens and generals do you really want to see? How many cathedrals ?

What about shopping ? Is that on your GF's radar? Like others have said it's best to limit the number of places you go to avoid turning it into a perpetual train trip. You have to decide what your priorities are but I think you are trying to fit in too much travel for the length of time you have. Barcelona is definitely a place you would want to see but I would leave it for another trip. I would get the TGV v. fast train to Cannes (much better than Nice) (Carlton Intercontinental is fabulous - we got a room there for $AUD250 a night last October) from Paris (you need a minimum of 4 days there) and spend a couple of days there then go to Rome for your fix of culture. Scrap Milan & Florence but go to Venice if the GF wants. Next best advice I can give is to plan ahead - look up all the attractions in a city you want to see and mark them on a map so you can plan an efficient route to see them.

Dont scrap Florence!!! Your gateway to Tuscany and the richest history in Europe!!!

 

[vetrade]

Pumbaa, we have done a few train overnighters and neither of us found any of them comfortable to sleep - even in First. That can make the next day drag a bit. Trains are great and convenient (so much so that you wouldn't bother flying intra Europe) but nowadays we much prefer to try and keep the duration of any individual leg to about 6 hours. Check out the train options departing from Barcelona (to either the Riviera or straight through to Italy). Although I haven't actually done that trip by train I recall that we avoided it because the change of trains and timetable weren't very user friendly.

 

[vetrade]

You won't get any argument from me that Florence and so many other places are worth a visit. They should be on everyone's bucket list but it's up to you to prioritise what you can fit in with the time you have, Pumbaa.

 

[Alanslegal]

Sounds like we're visiting Madrid instead of Barcelona

haha
I'm exactly the same. I travel to eat and try more and more lovely food. We were very fortunately to eat at Per Se last year in New York. By far the best dining experience my partner and I have ever had! I can't wait to find somewhere that can come close, or heaven forbid, surpass such an unforgettable experience. I will be planning food places right after I sort out my accommodation and travel itineraries

Given that you love exquisite food and the entire flawless dining experience, it will be unfortunate that you will be skipping Barcelona because about 90 minutes drive away there is a town called Girona. You can spend the day there exploring the village and surrounds but more importantly, in the evening enjoy the gastronomy of the magnificent restaurant called El Cellar De Can Roca. It is currently the second best restaurant on the planet and when we dined there back in 2010 (when it was actually ranked 3 because El Bulli Restaurant was open that year) we were blown away. Perfect timing also meant we were given a private tour of the kitchen (after all the other guests had left), research/testing areas and of course, the temperature controlled wine vaults. Top it off, Joan Rocca - one of the brothers who established the restaurant - took some time out and took us around for a bit too and explained food, the history of it, how it is meant to be and just some hints on his future menu ideas.

 

[casanovawa]

Have been to all the places except Milan as someone else advised me it was a bit industrial and just a bit of shopping, so agree you have chosen pretty well... Unless there is something i specifically want to see in a place and can get to there quickly and then leave, i usually bargain on 3 nights as that gives you 2 full days and if you use your time efficiently you can usually see most things if you are prepared ahead of time and hit the ground running.... But Paris and Rome would justify more time... And you don't sound like you have a laundry list of places you want to see or must do's...

Paris is great, really pretty city and Rome is very interesting... I have visited both Barcelona and Madrid and both are good so toss of the coin with those two, but if you haven't been to Madrid that might be the tipping point... Similarly Florence and Venice are probably a flip of the coin... David was much bigger than i expected him to be... I did a eurail trip around Europe in 2008 and was planning to do Florence to Barcelona by train till i checked out the timetable and it looked more like a 24 hour trip... So instead caught a train (hour or two) down to Pisa to spend an afternoon looking at the leaning tower before flying out of there to Porto, its just perhaps another option if you could get a couple of hour flight to either Madrid or Barcelona and leave much more time for experiencing those cities?? For me personally i probably prefer to keep train trips under about 5 hours, but then i hardly ever took sleeper trains and used the night to get between cities...

But sounds good, always hard in Europe to pick and choose how much to fit in and what to leave till next time... I quite liked Geneva as well...

 

[medhead]

Personally, I'd rate Barcelona over Madrid. Like everyone else only 3 nights in Barcelona. We actually took 2 nights there and got to wander the old town at night, and check out the architecture.

Rather than an overnight train from Paris to Barcelona there is now a high speed link. I haven't checked the timetable but I'd suggest that is a better option than a night train, if you do the train or Barcelona.

It is possible to do a day trip on the train from Rome to Florence that allows a decent amount of time to take it in. Just another option depending...


Sent from the Throne

 

[Pumbaa]

Personally, I'd rate Barcelona over Madrid. Like everyone else only 3 nights in Barcelona. We actually took 2 nights there and got to wander the old town at night, and check out the architecture.

Rather than an overnight train from Paris to Barcelona there is now a high speed link. I haven't checked the timetable but I'd suggest that is a better option than a night train, if you do the train or Barcelona.

It is possible to do a day trip on the train from Rome to Florence that allows a decent amount of time to take it in. Just another option depending...


Sent from the Throne

I was originally thinking:

Train
Geneva-Paris (about 3:30 hours on a high speed train)
Paris-Barcelona (11:30 hours on an overnight train)
Fly
Barcelona-Rome (1:45 hours)
Train
Rome-Florence (1:30 hours high speed train)
Florence-Geneva (6:00+ hours on a normal train)

It might be a better use of time to fly between countries
Paris - Barcelona
Barcelona - Rome
Florence - Geneva

I read about a high speed link between Paris and Barcelona but haven't seen any specific details that the train line was complete and operational? Its supposed to allow a 6 hour trip once completed, but I couldn't see any timetables so assumed its still being built.

Due to the checked in luggage for both my partner and myself, do you guys recommend those budget carriers like ryanair and easyjet? Or are the full line carriers a better choice?

 

[amaroo]

In Dec we flew BNC-ORY & GRX-BCN with Veuling (Iberia version of J*) and would happily recommended the airline - you can also use the Iberia lounge if you hold appropriate OWE status. They have an extensive network & fly just about everywhere, their planes are new & offer a pretty good service for the price.

We were a party of 5 with a lot of luggage & had no issues.

 

[Alanslegal]

Someone asked "where is Venice?" earlier and I agree. Squeeze it in, reduce Paris and Barcelona by a day each, and spend two nights in Venice! Where in the world do you get around the city by water ..... well unless its the Maldives

 

[Pumbaa]

OK guys, I'm still a bit torn between Barcelona and Madrid. I think Alanlegal's post about El Cellar De Can Roca has got me re-thinking Barca I'll talk to the GF about Venice, good thing about Italy is most of the big cities are only a few hours away from each other via train.

Lets talk about accommodation if possible? Would love to hear some hotel recommendations. Requirements: clean, central and safe.

Paris
Barcelona
Madrid (in case I change my mind)
Rome
Florence
Venice (still tossing it up with the GF)
Geneva (1 night, preferably close to the airport so we can maximise rest and hit NY running!)
Budget: $250-$300 / night

I have Hiltons Gold, Starwood Gold, Priority Club Plat, Gold Ambassador

 

[Sprucegoose]

With NYC look at the intercon times square. Well positioned on W44 / 8th Ave.

Good midtown location. Close to hells kitchen on 9th avenue, my favorite spanish eatery. Right next door is The subway entrance as well.

In NYC buy the city pass, look it up on the net, you jump all the queues.

If you. Go to the empire state go at night And buy the headphone tour. Count the planes on approach!!


What else woud you like to know?

 

[Pumbaa]

Hi Sprucegoose, I was more interested in hotel options for Europe! I just checked SPG and they have a special at the Westin Times Square if I stay 5 nights, they give 25% off which makes the price more cheaper than Intercon times square. I'm tempted to give them a try.

For Paris, Barcelona, Italy I'd be really interested in places other people have stayed and enjoyed!

 

[Sprucegoose]

Hi Sprucegoose, I was more interested in hotel options for Europe! I just checked SPG and they have a special at the Westin Times Square if I stay 5 nights, they give 25% off which makes the price more cheaper than Intercon times square. I'm tempted to give them a try.

For Paris, Barcelona, Italy I'd be really interested in places other people have stayed and enjoyed!

The Weston would be fine. Close by, across on 8th.

Beware the extra taxes and understand what you are finally up for. $$$$$$.

 

[Sprucegoose]

In rome we booked a apartment near that famous fountain which I can't recall the name! Very handy to some great restaurants.

We had a garden hotel in Florence. Fantastic location. If you are interested let e know.

I found Venice a rip off.

 

[Passport Premiere]

Just a note to let you know your Avatar is great. We need to set one up as well. Sad to say, I was recently at Heathrow with an 11 year old and he saw the sign "Concorde Lounge" Next question was "What does Concorde mean" It was a reality check for me, as I had to explain that once upon a time you could fly London-New York in 3 hours, but now that option is no longer offered.

Most people remember the BA and Air France SSC, but not remember the Qantas and Singapore Airlines branded version. Well done


Max Bennett
Passport Premiere