seeking honeymoon travel advice - february - france, italy and switzerland
 

Hi,

I and my fiancee are planning to visit France, Italy and Switzerland on
our honeymoon. (15th February to 5-6th March)

The three cities we absolutely want to cover are Paris, Venice and
Interlaken (read, a trip to Jungfrau).

We have around 15-20 days at our disposal.

We have identified the following additional cities that we would like
to consider visiting:
France - Nice and Lyon
Italy - Rome, Florence and Milan
Switzerland - none as yet

We would greatly appreciate feedback on the following:
a) choice of additional cities (should we add to/delete from this list?
any other must visit cities that you can suggest?)
b) itinerary (do you think it is a workable itinerary in the months of
feb and march?)
c) time we should budget for these places (as of now we are working off
of a draft plan that allocates 6 days to france, 5 to italy and 4 to
switzerland... comments?)
d) any specific sequence that you would suggest for visiting these
places? (e.g. visit rome first and keep paris towards the end to reach
paris at a time when winter is ending, etc!)
e) any special offers you are aware for visiting these places during
feb-march timeframe (could be accomodation related offers, trains,
airfares, etc)
f) any reliable sites that could help us figuring out decent
accomodation at nice prices if we book right away?
g) any general pointers you could share as far as "to do and not to do"
things are concerned in these countries/cities.
thanks in advance,
MandK

On 27 Dec 2004 03:43:56 -0800, "MandK"
wrote:

The three cities we absolutely want to cover are Paris, Venice and
Interlaken (read, a trip to Jungfrau).

We have around 15-20 days at our disposal.

3 cities, 15 days, that's plenty of places, don't even think of going
to more, you'd just be wasting your honeymoon travelling, so unless
you have a fetish for vehicular activities you wish to enjoy, don't
bother!

f) any reliable sites that could help us figuring out decent
accomodation at nice prices if we book right away?

Venice and Paris you should be able to get pretty good prices that
time of year, the weather won't be brilliant. I'd probably head south
later as that will give you the best chance of having any warm
weather, but you'll be lucky to get anything really.

g) any general pointers you could share as far as "to do and not to do"
things are concerned in these countries/cities.
thanks in advance,

Do less! do not travel so much!

You can always come back, assuming you're both young and working, it
needn't be a once in a lifetime trip.

Cheers,

Jim.

Thanks for your mail Jim.

Jim Ley wrote:
On 27 Dec 2004 03:43:56 -0800, "MandK"
wrote:

The three cities we absolutely want to cover are Paris, Venice and
Interlaken (read, a trip to Jungfrau).

We have around 15-20 days at our disposal.

3 cities, 15 days, that's plenty of places, don't even think of going
to more, you'd just be wasting your honeymoon travelling, so unless
you have a fetish for vehicular activities you wish to enjoy, don't
bother!


I have looked up ryanair and easyjet and have also worked out 3
different itineraries that will involve flying from Paris to Nice, Nice
to Geneva and Geneva to Rome at 210 euros in all. It sounded cheap to
me and since we were saving time in travelling, we thought we could
pack in a few more places.

So if we travel by air for most part of our honeymoon, would you still
advise against more places?

f) any reliable sites that could help us figuring out decent
accomodation at nice prices if we book right away?

Venice and Paris you should be able to get pretty good prices that
time of year, the weather won't be brilliant. I'd probably head
south
later as that will give you the best chance of having any warm
weather, but you'll be lucky to get anything really.


Weather... well I have never been in europe in winters so I am clueless
about the winters. Since we will, however, be travelling in feb-march,
what kind of sight-seeing would you advice in Paris and Venice?
Any places that are closed for tourists in winters at these places?

g) any general pointers you could share as far as "to do and not to
do"
things are concerned in these countries/cities.
thanks in advance,

Do less! do not travel so much!

You can always come back, assuming you're both young and working, it
needn't be a once in a lifetime trip.

I get the message... :-) we haven't really crystallized our plans.
These pointers will help a lot!
Thanks again.

MandK


Cheers,

Jim.

Thanks for your mail Jim.

Jim Ley wrote:
On 27 Dec 2004 03:43:56 -0800, "MandK"
wrote:

The three cities we absolutely want to cover are Paris, Venice and
Interlaken (read, a trip to Jungfrau).

We have around 15-20 days at our disposal.

3 cities, 15 days, that's plenty of places, don't even think of going
to more, you'd just be wasting your honeymoon travelling, so unless
you have a fetish for vehicular activities you wish to enjoy, don't
bother!


I have looked up ryanair and easyjet and have also worked out 3
different itineraries that will involve flying from Paris to Nice, Nice
to Geneva and Geneva to Rome at 210 euros in all. It sounded cheap to
me and since we were saving time in travelling, we thought we could
pack in a few more places.

So if we travel by air for most part of our honeymoon, would you still
advise against more places?

f) any reliable sites that could help us figuring out decent
accomodation at nice prices if we book right away?

Venice and Paris you should be able to get pretty good prices that
time of year, the weather won't be brilliant. I'd probably head
south
later as that will give you the best chance of having any warm
weather, but you'll be lucky to get anything really.


Weather... well I have never been in europe in winters so I am clueless
about the winters. Since we will, however, be travelling in feb-march,
what kind of sight-seeing would you advice in Paris and Venice?
Any places that are closed for tourists in winters at these places?

g) any general pointers you could share as far as "to do and not to
do"
things are concerned in these countries/cities.
thanks in advance,

Do less! do not travel so much!

You can always come back, assuming you're both young and working, it
needn't be a once in a lifetime trip.

I get the message... :-) we haven't really crystallized our plans.
These pointers will help a lot!
Thanks again.

MandK


Cheers,

Jim.

On 27 Dec 2004 04:27:48 -0800, "MandK"
wrote:

I have looked up ryanair and easyjet and have also worked out 3
different itineraries that will involve flying from Paris to Nice, Nice
to Geneva and Geneva to Rome at 210 euros in all. It sounded cheap to
me and since we were saving time in travelling, we thought we could
pack in a few more places.

You've still got to remember to factor in the time, cost and hassle of
getting to and from the airports into your hotel etc. whilst the
flights are cheap, I'd still recommend the money would be better spent
on something else you enjoy (a better hotel, a better restaurant etc.)

So if we travel by air for most part of our honeymoon, would you still
advise against more places?

Yes, there's more than enough for you to enjoy in the 3 places you
want to see, I can't see much point in seeing more airports.

Any places that are closed for tourists in winters at these places?

Nowhere closes for winter in Paris/Venice, they're open all year, what
you want to do depends on what you like of course.

I think you're in Bangalore (guesswork...) in which case it'll be a
lot colder and greyer than there, the weather won't be particularly
bad, but bring some warm clothes!

Jim.

You'd enjoy France, Italy, and Switzerland much more in the spring.
(Unless you plan on skiing in Switzerland.) Paris and Venice are great
cities for walking around in, but will you really want to do that in
near-freezing weather? If you absolutely can't go at a different time,
I'd recommend Andalucia. Definitely don't go to Nice in the winter -
it's much too cold for the beach.

As for your itinerary, I'd recommend no more than one other city in
addition to Paris, Venice, and Interlaken. Assuming you don't go in
the winter, Paris deserves five days minimum. Venice is a unique,
beautiful, and fascinating place, but two days there is really enough.
As for Interlaken, there are a lot of adventure sports options, like
bungee jumping, canyoning, rock climbing... If you want to do a lot of
that, you could easily spend a week there. If you don't want to do any
of that, two days of walking in the mountains is probably enough. If
you have time for one more city, I'd recommend Rome, or Florence if
you're really into art.

You've still got to remember to factor in the time, cost and hassle
of
getting to and from the airports into your hotel etc. whilst the
flights are cheap, I'd still recommend the money would be better
spent
on something else you enjoy (a better hotel, a better restaurant
etc.)


talking of "better spent money", how would you guys rate the river
cruise in paris (with dinner)? We are pretty excited about that...
would it be possible to do in winter? Also, anyone who has a first hand
experience of the cruise, could you please share thoughts? I am
considering going for the best option private dinner table at the front
of the boat... anyone who has tried that?

So if we travel by air for most part of our honeymoon, would you
still
advise against more places?

Yes, there's more than enough for you to enjoy in the 3 places you
want to see, I can't see much point in seeing more airports.


well said. :-)

Any places that are closed for tourists in winters at these places?

Nowhere closes for winter in Paris/Venice, they're open all year,
what
you want to do depends on what you like of course.

I think you're in Bangalore (guesswork...) in which case it'll be a
lot colder and greyer than there, the weather won't be particularly
bad, but bring some warm clothes!


Well I am not really in Bangalore :) but am in a city similar in terms
of climate. Maybe our definition of "warm" could be different than
yours. Winters in india are not so cold, so i wonder if indian warm
clothes would be good enough to protect us... any thoughts on that,
anyone? Say, we decide to purchase some warm clothes in Paris/venice,
would it cost a lot? Any budget price shopping malls in paris that you
recommend?

thanks,
MandK

Oneofcold, thanks for writing in!

You'd enjoy France, Italy, and Switzerland much more in the spring.
(Unless you plan on skiing in Switzerland.) Paris and Venice are
great
cities for walking around in, but will you really want to do that in
near-freezing weather? If you absolutely can't go at a different
time,
I'd recommend Andalucia. Definitely don't go to Nice in the winter -
it's much too cold for the beach.


That's one thumbs down for Nice due to winter.
Any particular city/site in Andalucia that you'd recommend, considering
it is a honeymoon trip?
Also, say, we really can't postpone the honeymoon (though i am sure we
now understand that it would be a lot better in spring), what would you
suggest to do in Paris and Venice, if walking around is not feasible?
By the way, we are bullish about visiting Disneyland, for one. Also, is
there much of snowfall in paris/venice around feb-march? What would be
the normal daylight time?

As for your itinerary, I'd recommend no more than one other city in
addition to Paris, Venice, and Interlaken. Assuming you don't go in
the winter, Paris deserves five days minimum. Venice is a unique,
beautiful, and fascinating place, but two days there is really
enough.
As for Interlaken, there are a lot of adventure sports options, like
bungee jumping, canyoning, rock climbing... If you want to do a lot
of
that, you could easily spend a week there. If you don't want to do
any

i think adventure sports option sounds exciting. I however would
probably limit our stay at interlaken to around 2-3 days max.
BTW, how costly or cheap would the adventure sports options mentioned
above be? Would you know of any websites that could give more info on
these?

of that, two days of walking in the mountains is probably enough. If
you have time for one more city, I'd recommend Rome, or Florence if
you're really into art.

Any inputs on Naples/capri? I heard that the Blue Grota (i hope i am
spelling it correctly) is awesome...

thanks,
MandK

"Any particular city/site in Andalucia that you'd recommend,
considering
it is a honeymoon trip?"

Seville, Cordoba, Granada. Madrid and Barcelona are also possibilities
for a winter trip.

"Also, say, we really can't postpone the honeymoon (though i am sure we
now understand that it would be a lot better in spring), what would you
suggest to do in Paris and Venice, if walking around is not feasible?"

You could do some walking around, but given the cold weather you
probably wouldn't want to spend the whole day outside. Instead,
there's museums, historical sites (particularly Versailles and the
Doge's Palace), and shopping. You might enjoy Florence more than
Venice, since most of its charms are indoors.

"Also, is there much of snowfall in paris/venice around feb-march? What
would be the normal daylight time?"

Go to www.weather.com, enter the name of the city, and click on
"averages and records".

"i think adventure sports option sounds exciting. I however would
probably limit our stay at interlaken to around 2-3 days max.
BTW, how costly or cheap would the adventure sports options mentioned
above be? Would you know of any websites that could give more info on
these?"

http://www.interlakenadventure.com

Most of those options (and winter sports also) are pretty expensive -
US $50-100 per day typically.

If you want inexpensive adventure options, consider Slovenia.

"Any inputs on Naples/capri? I heard that the Blue Grota (i hope i am
spelling it correctly) is awesome..."

Naples is a city people either love or hate. Some people consider it
the most truly Italian city, while others consider it a dump. It's
poorer, more crowded, and much less touristed than Venice, Florence, or
Rome. The most interesting thing about Naples is its streetlife rather
than any particular sights. There are some interesting things in the
area nearby, like the ruins of Pompeii. I don't know about Capri.

"MandK" wrote in
ups.com:

Hi,

I and my fiancee are planning to visit France, Italy and Switzerland
on
our honeymoon. (15th February to 5-6th March)


Paris is great any time of year just like the song says, Of course it is
easier to appreciate when it is warmer ;-)

There are a lot a museums to see, but if you are not into art then a
couple days that time of year may be enough.

I would recommend that after Interlaken, you take the rail journey that
goes from Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy

Verona may be worth a stop for you It is a delightful place, but again I
am not sure about that time of year.