Paris museum pass + Hop off bus tour

Hi Folks,

..I'll be in paris from Dec 30th to Jan 1st.
I'll be reaching paris on Dec 29th night and flying back to new york
on Jan 1st at 3.00 p.mHere are the things I would like to do in this
trip.

Dec 30th :
1)Versailles
2)Seinne river cruise

Dec 31st :
1.Eiffel tower
2.Notre Dame
3.Louvre museum
4.Arc of Triumph (Champs elsysees)

Jan 1st:
1.Musee D'orsay
2.Walk around Opera(and some shopping only if my wife insists !!)

I don't think I'll be able to accomplish any more than this during
this period.As I have short time, I do not want to wait in the long
queues in any of these
Hence I was planning to take Paris museum passes(3 days) and Hop on
off bus tour(2 days) .
I thought this will be a good way to know the city instead of buying
metro pass.(This is our first trip !!)

http://www.shop.viator.com/brochure/...6&CODE=2065PAR

I need to know the following.

a)Does this plan sound decent and achievable?
b)I just want to confirm Paris museum pass includes entrance to
1)Versailles 2)Louvre 3)Musee D'orsay 4)Notre Dame 5)Arc of triumph
c)Do I still need to stand in long queues in any of these places with
the pass?
d)Do I need to purchase anything else at Versailles in addition to
this pass?
I mean does this pass restrict entrance to any important spots at
Versailles?
e)Does this hop on and off tour works on 24 hour basis.Its valid for 2
days.
I want to know if I can start using it from Dec 30th late afternoon
till Jan 1st afternoon.
I couldn't get to confirm this info on their web site.

Any help, suggestions on my itienary would be great.
Thanks in advance.
Best Regards,
Mahesha

This *has* to be a joke.

On the very slight chance you are not joking, I'll answer as if this was a
serious question.

"Mahesha" wrote in message
om...
Hi Folks,

.I'll be in paris from Dec 30th to Jan 1st.
I'll be reaching paris on Dec 29th night and flying back to new york
on Jan 1st at 3.00 p.mHere are the things I would like to do in this
trip.

Dec 30th :
1)Versailles

It is flat-out impossible to see all of Versailles in one complete day. My
wife & I didn't even manage to see all of the gardens in 1/2 a day. It takes
at least an hour each way just to get there.

2)Seinne river cruise


This could be done in 1/2 a day. I wouldn't normally recomend the dinner
cruises but it would save you some time.

Dec 31st :
1.Eiffel tower

Do you plan to go up the tower or just look at it from the ground?

2.Notre Dame

Ditto.

3.Louvre museum

I presume you plan to run through it, pausing long enough at the Mona Lisa
and the statue of David to snap a blurry picture.

4.Arc of Triumph (Champs elsysees)


See #1

Jan 1st:
1.Musee D'orsay

The Orsay is a lot more compact than the Louvre. It is possible to see it
all in 1 day. One long, tiring day...

2.Walk around Opera(and some shopping only if my wife insists !!)


By this point, your wife has long since retired to the hotel and may well
never speak to you again.

Anyway, you have to be at the airport by 1pm and you need to allow at least
two hours to get there.

I don't think I'll be able to accomplish any more than this during
this period.

That's true

(This is our first trip !!)

I don't want to be rude but that is quite obvious!

I need to know the following.

a)Does this plan sound decent and achievable?

Not a chance in hell. If you are going for an entry in the Guiness Book of
Records and have an extensive backup team, I still don't think you could
make it.

Any help, suggestions on my itienary would be great.

Pick ONE thing per day. That's still too much but you only have a limited
amount of time. My wife & I lived in Paris for a year and there are things
on your list that we never got to.

Allow some time to just sit and enjoy one of those famous Paris two-hour
lunches.

On top of all this, are you even sure that all of these attractions are open
on the days you want to see them? Not much of anything is open on Jan 1st.

"Mahesha" wrote in message
om...
Hi Folks,

.I'll be in paris from Dec 30th to Jan 1st.
I'll be reaching paris on Dec 29th night and flying back to new york

Such a short trip to such a remarkable city? Oh, well. It's hardly enough
time to get over your jet-lag, let alone see all the sights on your
itinerary.

on Jan 1st at 3.00 p.mHere are the things I would like to do in this
trip.

Dec 30th :
1)Versailles
2)Seinne river cruise

Not entirely out of the question, though I'm a little surprised you want to
spend your first day in Paris outside of Paris.
Expect to see only a small part of Versailles in one day. The Seinne
cruises run as late as 10 in the evening this time of year.

Dec 31st :
1.Eiffel tower
2.Notre Dame
3.Louvre museum
4.Arc of Triumph (Champs elsysees)

Forget it. Pick one of these destinations (Notre Dame is quite nice, as is
Sainte-Chapelle nearby) and spend the rest of the day on foot getting an
idea of the places you'd like to visit the next time you're in town. Paris
is a wonderful walking city.

Jan 1st:
1.Musee D'orsay
2.Walk around Opera(and some shopping only if my wife insists !!)

You're catching a plane at 3PM. Don't rush yourself. Have lunch at a cafe,
take a breath. Paris isn't going anywhere. Next time give yourself at
least a week, preferably two.

For what it's worth, here's my suggested itinerary for you which hits some
of the tourist stuff I presume you want to see:

Day One: arrive; check in, get a full night's sleep.

Day Two: Walk or metro to Notre Dame Cathedral (the cradle of Paris, a good
place to start) and climb the famed towers for a spectacular view of the
city and the Seine. Visit Sainte-Chapelle nearby for the beautiful stained
glass. Take a walking tour of the medieval streets of Le Marais district,
stopping at Place des Voges and the Musee Carnavalet (for a history of the
city). Dine at one of hundreds of romantic Parisian restaurants (the belle
epoque splendor of La Fermette Marbeuf http://www.fermettemarbeuf.com/ is
touristy, but intensely beautiful. Same with Le Train Bleu
http://www.le-train-bleu.com/), followed by an evening cruise on the Seine.
Of course, you could combine the two and have dinner on the river.

Day Three: Visit the Eiffel Tower (if you're so inclined, no pun intended,
take the inclinators to the top). Taxi or metro to the Arc de Triomphe and
marvel at the craziness of l'etoile from the top. Metro to Montrmartre
district for a walk around its quaint cobbled streets and an unrivaled view
of Paris from the Sacre Coeur cathedral.

Day Four: Let your wife do some shopping in the morning. She'd probably
enjoy les grands magasins such as Les Galeries Lafayette
www.galerieslafayette.com and Le Bon Marché www.lebonmarche.fr. Give
yourself plenty of time to catch your plane... and leave Versailles, the
Louvre, et. al to when you have more time.

.I'll be in paris from Dec 30th to Jan 1st.
I'll be reaching paris on Dec 29th night and flying back to new york
on Jan 1st at 3.00 p.mHere are the things I would like to do in this
trip.

Dec 30th :
1)Versailles
2)Seinne river cruise

Versailles is is a good hour/hour and and a half each way from Paris.

To save time you could combine dinner with a cruise.

Dec 31st :
1.Eiffel tower
2.Notre Dame
3.Louvre museum

You need at least a day, preferably 2 to get through the Louve.

4.Arc of Triumph (Champs elsysees)

Jan 1st:
1.Musee D'orsay

Again you need a good day to see this properly.

2.Walk around Opera(and some shopping only if my wife insists !!)

I don't think I'll be able to accomplish any more than this during
this period.As I have short time, I do not want to wait in the long
queues in any of these

You are right here.

Hence I was planning to take Paris museum passes(3 days) and Hop on
off bus tour(2 days) .
I thought this will be a good way to know the city instead of buying
metro pass.(This is our first trip !!)


http://www.shop.viator.com/brochure/...6&CODE=2065PAR

I need to know the following.

a)Does this plan sound decent and achievable?

No unless you wan't to spend your whole time rushing around and seeing
nothing

I would suggest limiting you visit to the Musee D'orsay, it is much more
compact than the Louve but still contains some equally important works of
art.

In article ,
(Mahesha) writes:
Hi Folks,

.I'll be in paris from Dec 30th to Jan 1st.
I'll be reaching paris on Dec 29th night and flying back to new york
on Jan 1st at 3.00 p.mHere are the things I would like to do in this
trip.

Dec 30th :
1)Versailles
2)Seinne river cruise

Dec 31st :
1.Eiffel tower
2.Notre Dame
3.Louvre museum
4.Arc of Triumph (Champs elsysees)

Jan 1st:
1.Musee D'orsay
2.Walk around Opera(and some shopping only if my wife insists !!)

I don't think I'll be able to accomplish any more than this during
this period.As I have short time, I do not want to wait in the long
queues in any of these
Hence I was planning to take Paris museum passes(3 days) and Hop on
off bus tour(2 days) .
I thought this will be a good way to know the city instead of buying
metro pass.(This is our first trip !!)


a)Does this plan sound decent and achievable?
b)I just want to confirm Paris museum pass includes entrance to
1)Versailles 2)Louvre 3)Musee D'orsay 4)Notre Dame 5)Arc of triumph
c)Do I still need to stand in long queues in any of these places with
the pass?
d)Do I need to purchase anything else at Versailles in addition to
this pass?
I mean does this pass restrict entrance to any important spots at
Versailles?

Any help, suggestions on my itienary would be great.
Thanks in advance.
Best Regards,
Mahesha

In contrast to some of the other posters, I think this plan is
_almost_ doable. Hectic, yes, but doable. I do agree that spending
your first day "in" Paris outside of Paris seems odd. Adding in
Versailles makes it tough as it's a 30-60 mins each way plus time
there. My personal plan would be the following:

Day 1: Visit Notre Dame, Ste. Chapelle (I feel this is really a
"must-see", can be easily done in under an hour, and is very close to
Notre Dame), then head over to the Eiffel Tower. Then, depending on
time, either add a Seine cruise or head to the Champs Elysees/Arc de
Triumph. Maybe you could do a dinner cruise to save time. (The Arc was
quite nice at night.)

Day 2: Visit Louvre in the morning (get there first thing) and Musee
d'Orsay in the afternoon. These can each be done in a half a day if
you're willing to hit "the highlights". (I would recommend Rick
Steves' Paris or Mona Winks book as they include such short tours.)
Hit the Arc de Triumph/Champs Elysees after the Orsay if you didn't
yesterday.

Day 3: You won't really have that much time as you'll have to head out
to the airport around 11:30. Also, given that it's a holiday, I
personally don't know what will be open. Maybe just find a cafe for a
leisurely breakfast.

A couple of things to consider, the weather could be not so nice, so
you may end up wanting to spend more time indoors. Also, the days are
shorter than in New York at the same time (8:45-5:00 for Paris
vs. 7:20-4:40 for NY). This may cut into some of your time. One more
thing to check is that the museums are open on Dec 31st. (I would
guess so, but it's not my trip that will be made worse if not.

As to the Museum card, you can find more information at
http://www.intermusees.com/wwwns/index.html (the official site).

You can actually see some things on such a short trip. My wife and I
had our first "trip" to Paris in 2000 and were there for less than 48
hrs (Sat afternoon to Mon morning). (It was added to the beginning of
a trip to Amsterdam and Germany.) We managed to "see" the Louvre,
Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame (attended mass), Ste. Chapelle, the Eiffel
Tower (didn't go up), the Arc de Triumph, walk along the Seine, eat in
a couple of cafes, do some shopping, and visit a street market. I'm
not saying it was ideal (we've since returned for 3 and a half days),
but we still enjoyed it.

Whatever you end up doing, enjoy your trip,
Paul
--
++ A random selection of quotes ++
War is God's way of teaching Americans geography
++ Ambrose Pierce ++
The most dangerous force our country faces right now doesn't come from
the threat of international terrorism. It comes from evangelical
Christian fanatics connected to the White House....
++ Ryan Sabadow, The Orion (CSU Chico) ++
Paul Sanschagrin
http://staff.uni-marburg.de/~sanschag
sanschag@ COMBINE
staff. THESE
uni-marburg. LINES
de

Paul Sanschagrin wrote:
In contrast to some of the other posters, I think this plan is
_almost_ doable. Hectic, yes, but doable.

I agree! Heck, if I only had three days for my first time in Paris, I'd try
to cram in as much as I could.

(Of course more time would be better. And I'm not sure I'd do the trip to
Versailles, personally. But that was not the OP's question.)

Mahesha wrote:
I need to know the following.

a)Does this plan sound decent and achievable?
"Decent" is your call. Go for it!

b)I just want to confirm Paris museum pass includes entrance to
1)Versailles 2)Louvre 3)Musee D'orsay 4)Notre Dame 5)Arc of triumph
I'm not sure about Notre Dame, otherwise yes. (There is a small museum of
ancient Paris that is right in front of Notre Dame. This is included and is
worth a quick visit in my opinion.)

c)Do I still need to stand in long queues in any of these places with
the pass?
Not unless things have changed.

You will have to stand on line to *buy* your museum pass, though, so get
yours at a metro station that is not too busy, not at a museum.

d)Do I need to purchase anything else at Versailles in addition to
this pass?
I mean does this pass restrict entrance to any important spots at
Versailles?

I'm going to pass on this.

e)Does this hop on and off tour works on 24 hour basis.Its valid for 2
days.
I want to know if I can start using it from Dec 30th late afternoon
till Jan 1st afternoon.
I couldn't get to confirm this info on their web site.

I don't know that either. But.

If you really like the idea of this bus tour you should do it. For
transportation, though, given your agressive itinerary, you would be better
off walking and taking the metro. I mean that I suspect you would save time
that way.

One of the great pleasures of Paris is walking, and parts of your itinerary
can be easily connected on foot. (Get a map of Paris and see for yourself.)
Many guidebooks have walking itineraries for Paris, including Michelin, RIck
Steves, and the venerable "turn right at the fountain."

The metro is also wonderful. Buy a carnet of 10 tickets at any station--much
cheaper than a visitor's pass. (You'll need an RER ticket for Versailles.)

As for your itinerary: Given those priorities there are lots of ways to
string things together. Note that the Seine cruises only take an hour,
unless there is a meal involved. One possiblity.

Get up early
Go to shops and/or street market to get bread, cheese, pate, whatever for
lunch
Go to Eifel Tower
Go to metro station and get on RER train for Verseilles. Picnic on the
train.
See what you can in Verseilles
Return

The next day you can walk from Notre Dame to the Louvre to the Arc (consider
stopping at St. Chappelle). Somewhere in there a boat ride might be a nice
break. Or maybe you will find time the day before, or even the evening that
you arrive.

Thre are lots of good ways to put things together, given your priorities. If
you get yourself a map of the city and think about it I'm sure you can do
better.

Have a great trip!

My experience is that Paris is a city to be savored, taken slowly and
deliberately. You have enough time to enjoy some things, though your
itinerary may be too ambitious to enjoy so many things.

I would forego Versailles, and perhaps the Seine river cruise.

If you are arriving in the early to late evening, take in the Eiffel tower
at night. It is spectacular, blinking hourly, and a great vantage is from
the Palais de Chaillot. Afterward, walk across the river and walk around
it, beneath it, and, if you are wanting, travel up the tower. You could
spend an hour altogether, or you could spend several. But it could be a
sightseeing detour that can be the ending of any night you are there,
including the night of your arrival. It may draw you back again before you
leave.

I'm not sure what your limits are for walking at a snail's pace through a
museum, but my feet scream (and my attention span wanes) after about 4
hours. Wake up early, enjoy breakfast, and head on over to the Louvre.
Pick a few things that you *want* to see. Stroll the museum leisurely.
Spend time appreciating some things, and reserve others for another visit.
By early afternoon, it will be time to head on to something else.

After lunch or a snack, try a walking tour of some or another neighborhood.
The DK Paris guide has several, and a two to three hour stroll in Montmartre
(and a detour to Sacre Coeur), for example, or a visit to the Montparnasse
or Pere Lachaise
cemeteries might give you a much better taste of a part of Paris than you
will get from a boat ride on the river. This may be a good time to return to
your room just to put your feet up for an hour, before heading out again.
You could spend the early evening strolling from the Arc de Triomphe along
the Champs-Elysees all the way down to the Rue de Rivoli, staking out your
dinner plans along the way. Granted, this is an impressive amount of
walking, but you will experience Paris as a participant and not as a
bystander.

If you want to add the Eiffel tower to that stroll, it is easy enough to
detour over on the Metro. Add that to the end of your evening.

Consider the next day for the Musee d'Orsay. Head out early and take your
time enjoying some things leisurely. Don't worry about what you might miss
on this visit. When you tire of walking around in the museum, consider
another walking tour, or take care of some of your shopping. Or consider a
visit to the Marais. Or visit Notre Dame at this point in time. Or a visit
to the Picasso museum. Or the Pompidou Centre.

All of Paris is shopping, and, depending on your spouse's interests, any
walking you do in the city will put you near interesting shops.

And if you are saying to yourself "but I may never make it back to Paris",
you are probably wrong. It is one of the world's most beguiling cities, and
one trip only begets another. and another. and another. And you see the
things that you didn't have time to see or do on the previous visit.

Mark





"Mahesha" wrote in message
om...
Hi Folks,

.I'll be in paris from Dec 30th to Jan 1st.
I'll be reaching paris on Dec 29th night and flying back to new york
on Jan 1st at 3.00 p.mHere are the things I would like to do in this
trip.

Dec 30th :
1)Versailles
2)Seinne river cruise

Dec 31st :
1.Eiffel tower
2.Notre Dame
3.Louvre museum
4.Arc of Triumph (Champs elsysees)

Jan 1st:
1.Musee D'orsay
2.Walk around Opera(and some shopping only if my wife insists !!)

I don't think I'll be able to accomplish any more than this during
this period.As I have short time, I do not want to wait in the long
queues in any of these
Hence I was planning to take Paris museum passes(3 days) and Hop on
off bus tour(2 days) .
I thought this will be a good way to know the city instead of buying
metro pass.(This is our first trip !!)


http://www.shop.viator.com/brochure/...d=a8ZW2BFwx638
?ID=1010&PRODUCTID=1016&CODE=2065PAR

I need to know the following.

a)Does this plan sound decent and achievable?
b)I just want to confirm Paris museum pass includes entrance to
1)Versailles 2)Louvre 3)Musee D'orsay 4)Notre Dame 5)Arc of triumph
c)Do I still need to stand in long queues in any of these places with
the pass?
d)Do I need to purchase anything else at Versailles in addition to
this pass?
I mean does this pass restrict entrance to any important spots at
Versailles?
e)Does this hop on and off tour works on 24 hour basis.Its valid for 2
days.
I want to know if I can start using it from Dec 30th late afternoon
till Jan 1st afternoon.
I couldn't get to confirm this info on their web site.

Any help, suggestions on my itienary would be great.
Thanks in advance.
Best Regards,
Mahesha

Hi All,

Thanks for all the suggestions and tips.
I need to know what kind of metro/rail tickets will I need for
visiting following places. Should I buy a 3 day paris viste pass or
individual tickets/cartets as I move on , assuming I'll do the
following.

1.Versailles
2.Eiffel
3.Louvre or D'orsay
4.Notre dame
5.Arc of Triumph
6.Seine cruise

Thanks,
Mahesha






"OughtFour" wrote in message ...
Paul Sanschagrin wrote:
In contrast to some of the other posters, I think this plan is
_almost_ doable. Hectic, yes, but doable.

I agree! Heck, if I only had three days for my first time in Paris, I'd try
to cram in as much as I could.

(Of course more time would be better. And I'm not sure I'd do the trip to
Versailles, personally. But that was not the OP's question.)

Mahesha wrote:
I need to know the following.

a)Does this plan sound decent and achievable?
"Decent" is your call. Go for it!

b)I just want to confirm Paris museum pass includes entrance to
1)Versailles 2)Louvre 3)Musee D'orsay 4)Notre Dame 5)Arc of triumph
I'm not sure about Notre Dame, otherwise yes. (There is a small museum of
ancient Paris that is right in front of Notre Dame. This is included and is
worth a quick visit in my opinion.)

c)Do I still need to stand in long queues in any of these places with
the pass?
Not unless things have changed.

You will have to stand on line to *buy* your museum pass, though, so get
yours at a metro station that is not too busy, not at a museum.

d)Do I need to purchase anything else at Versailles in addition to
this pass?
I mean does this pass restrict entrance to any important spots at
Versailles?

I'm going to pass on this.

e)Does this hop on and off tour works on 24 hour basis.Its valid for 2
days.
I want to know if I can start using it from Dec 30th late afternoon
till Jan 1st afternoon.
I couldn't get to confirm this info on their web site.

I don't know that either. But.

If you really like the idea of this bus tour you should do it. For
transportation, though, given your agressive itinerary, you would be better
off walking and taking the metro. I mean that I suspect you would save time
that way.

One of the great pleasures of Paris is walking, and parts of your itinerary
can be easily connected on foot. (Get a map of Paris and see for yourself.)
Many guidebooks have walking itineraries for Paris, including Michelin, RIck
Steves, and the venerable "turn right at the fountain."

The metro is also wonderful. Buy a carnet of 10 tickets at any station--much
cheaper than a visitor's pass. (You'll need an RER ticket for Versailles.)

As for your itinerary: Given those priorities there are lots of ways to
string things together. Note that the Seine cruises only take an hour,
unless there is a meal involved. One possiblity.

Get up early
Go to shops and/or street market to get bread, cheese, pate, whatever for
lunch
Go to Eifel Tower
Go to metro station and get on RER train for Verseilles. Picnic on the
train.
See what you can in Verseilles
Return

The next day you can walk from Notre Dame to the Louvre to the Arc (consider
stopping at St. Chappelle). Somewhere in there a boat ride might be a nice
break. Or maybe you will find time the day before, or even the evening that
you arrive.

Thre are lots of good ways to put things together, given your priorities. If
you get yourself a map of the city and think about it I'm sure you can do
better.

Have a great trip!

In article ,
(Mahesha) wrote:

Hi Folks,

.I'll be in paris from Dec 30th to Jan 1st.
I'll be reaching paris on Dec 29th night and flying back to new york
on Jan 1st at 3.00 p.mHere are the things I would like to do in this
trip.

Dec 30th :
1)Versailles
2)Seinne river cruise

Dec 31st :
1.Eiffel tower
2.Notre Dame
3.Louvre museum
4.Arc of Triumph (Champs elsysees)

Jan 1st:
1.Musee D'orsay
2.Walk around Opera(and some shopping only if my wife insists !!)

I don't think I'll be able to accomplish any more than this during
this period.As I have short time, I do not want to wait in the long
queues in any of these
Hence I was planning to take Paris museum passes(3 days) and Hop on
off bus tour(2 days) .
I thought this will be a good way to know the city instead of buying
metro pass.(This is our first trip !!)

http://www.shop.viator.com/brochure/...a8ZW2BFwx638?I
D=1010&PRODUCTID=1016&CODE=2065PAR

I need to know the following.

a)Does this plan sound decent and achievable?
b)I just want to confirm Paris museum pass includes entrance to
1)Versailles 2)Louvre 3)Musee D'orsay 4)Notre Dame 5)Arc of triumph
c)Do I still need to stand in long queues in any of these places with
the pass?
d)Do I need to purchase anything else at Versailles in addition to
this pass?
I mean does this pass restrict entrance to any important spots at
Versailles?
e)Does this hop on and off tour works on 24 hour basis.Its valid for 2
days.
I want to know if I can start using it from Dec 30th late afternoon
till Jan 1st afternoon.
I couldn't get to confirm this info on their web site.

Any help, suggestions on my itienary would be great.
Thanks in advance.
Best Regards,
Mahesha

This is a lousy way to see Paris IMHO -- this is a city that repays
'being there' not running to punch your ticket of sights. Most of what
you l ist here you could do as well by watching a tourist video.j

I would bag the Seine River boat trip -- especially this time of year --
instead hit the Louvre in the morning [you don't need a pass -- just
enter from the Carousel entrance where there is rarely a significant
line --] and then walk up the Seine towards Notre Dame afterwards
finding a nice cafe for lunch along the way -- or grab a cheap sandwich
or grab a bite at the museum which has a pretty fair cafeteria. See
Notre Dame in the afternoon.

Bag Versailles -- not because it isn't interesting, but because with so
little time in Paris it is a needless diversion.

the Eiffel Tour is quite charming at night. I am not sure I would
bother going up -- if you want a view out over the city, the top of
Notre Dame is excellent as is the top of the Samertaine department store
near the Louvre.

Make some space to walk around this lovely city and sample cafes and
bistros --

Less is more

In article ,
"OughtFour" wrote:

Paul Sanschagrin wrote:
In contrast to some of the other posters, I think this plan is
_almost_ doable. Hectic, yes, but doable.

I agree! Heck, if I only had three days for my first time in Paris, I'd try
to cram in as much as I could.



it boils down to a difference in philosophy of travel -- for some -me
included- this would guarantee that I would NOT fall in love with Paris
-- punching your ticket by 'seeing' as many sites as possible makes
travel all pretty much same old same old

but to each his own

We traveled to Italy 3 times before going to Rome -- and then spent a
week there and have done so several times since -- I doubt we would love
Rome if we had spent 2 nights there cramming in as much as we could

but to each his own