I have 15 days(15 - 30 Sep) to visit Europe for the first time and i would like to visit London, Paris & Rome?

Question

Pls help me to map out the itinerary - given i 'll arrive in Lond first

Answer 1

Europe is safe and friendly enough to travel alone, even as an American and as a woman!
(As long as you use common sense, do not flash wads of dollars in a poor area of town and do not walk in the park at night and things like that.)
In fact, you will be safer in Europe than in an American town of the same size.

As said, travel the towns in the order you name them, that is a logical order.

Each of the three towns has more highlights than you can cover in a month per town.
So you will have to pick the ones you prefer.
Best make a list with the things you really want to see and do.
But if you have never thought about it, this is what I would do if I would take people around who have never been in town.

In each town I would do a tour in one of the hop-on hop-off buses, taking time at each spot to see the most famous sights. (They tend to stop at all places you have to see.) Sometimes the bus tour tickets are valid two days, in that case, you can use them instead of normal transport.

Next I would select one or two of the big museums, like the British museum or National Gallery in London, Louvre in Paris and one or two of the smaller museums, I have good memories of the museum of Childhood, just outside the center of London, or Musee Rodin and the Orangery in Paris.
And two or three of the famous buildings, Tower of London, Eiffel tower, mix them into two days.
Take half a day, (or one day,) for shopping.
Think about the famous department stores as well as the markets, and the parts of town where a lot of small boutiques are.
Try not to do a lot of long distance walking as well as the buildings, but take your time to walk through town.
(Sorry, no examples in Rome, I have never been there myself.)

All three towns have good public transport, try to get a map with bus lines and underground/metro lines (printed on top of a street map) as soon as you arrive, as well as a street map with the sights and names of most streets.
In Paris you can get them for free, in London you had to pay for them the last time I was there.

Keep the list of to-do things short, but you might want to have a second list for when the visits are shorter than you planned, so you can add a second museum or shop some more.

And as the fist answerer said, try to take a daytrip into the countryside out of each town.
Tourist information offices can always point you to companies that have buses running, but they can also help you to figure out which train to catch.

Trains are a good way of traveling, specially between London and Paris. It is even faster than going by plane, if you count the transport to and from the airports and the extra time needed for check-in. Eurostar has a 30 minutes check-in time for the safety check.

Between Paris and Rome you can also travel by train, but this distance is big enough to consider flying.
If you are on a tight budget, there are also busses, but they take longer and are less comfortable.

If you travel overland Paris to Rome, you might want to break you travel and see one of the cities in between, either in France or in Italy.

You can get the train info on this site:
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvHomePage?_DLG=SvHomePage&_CMD=cmdHomepageUK&WB=HP&rfrr=4685ac17fd2e7656e4918c53b246a3f7
London - Paris as well as Paris - Rome can be found on this site, but if you want to break your travel in Italy better check with this site:
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

Invest in a good guidebook, it is worth the money it cost.
I like the Lonely Planet series, it shows places to sleep and to eat, in different price classes, museums, sights and so with opening times and entry prices. Shopping, which part of town for what kind of things.

If you travel alone and do not want to pay for double rooms, you can use hostels, but towns also have a lot of cheaper hotels.
Dining out alone is not a problem but if you feel better that way, lunch alone in a museum or department store is a common thing, and sandwiches in your hotel room is acceptable for dinner. But I always dine out, and I always travel alone, never been mistreated nor had the feeling they did not want to serve me, being alone at a table for two.

Answer 2

Krakow and Prague, I agree. But I do not consider the traditional Eurail move is well for a few of jap europe. I do not know what the Eurolines move is. Kraków is a nice situation to consult with. Costs are approximately a million/two what they're in locations like France and Spain at the Euro. Most matters are a brief stroll from the historical marketplace rectangular, so keep close there if you'll be able to. As such, the historical the town it is filled with historical church buildings, beautiful structures, and an excessively huge and colourful the town rectangular coated with cafes. There are tons of classical tune concert events. Visit St. Marys Cathedral and the opposite nice church buildings within the historical the town. Walk as much as Wawel hill and consult with the Royal Cathedral and Palace. Take day journeys to O?wi?cim (Auschwitz) and to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, and maybe to the Eagle-nest Castles within the mountains. Visit the Museums. The so much hanging factor I take into account from Kraków is the Kraków Hourly Trumpet Signal Every hour a golden trumpet indicates above Kraków's vital Grand Square within the west window slightly under the spire of the better, municipal tower of the St. Mary's Basilica. Then a attribute trumpet sign, recognized and costly to each and every Pole, performed through a reside trumpet participant, resounds far and wide the town's Old Town historic district. All of a surprising the melody involves an abrupt finish. The Kraków sign, or Hejnal Mariacki, dates again to the Middle Ages whilst it introduced the commencing and the final of the town gates. The bugler additionally performed it to alarm his fellow residents every time he noticed a fireplace or enemy forces. And the melody's abrupt finishing is alleged to commemorate a bugler shot via his throat through a Tatar archer in 1241. My recommendation could be to hire a condominium close the marketplace rectangular, within the Planty. I had one final June, it used to be nice, only a stone's throw from St. Mary's. The marketplace rectangular has a couple of dozen out of doors cafe's, and there are 1000's of eating places/bars inside a block or 2. Drink tons of Zywiec. Warsaw is valued at a couple of days, for all the WWII monuments, memorials, and recollections, Getto museums and recollections, plus the historical the town. It's a four hour educate from Kraków. Get the Rick Steves DVD on Eastern Europe, which covers those towns, plus others. Prague is nice, you'll be able to readily spend every week there. Prague has the marketplace rectangular, charles bridge, and the citadel hill with St Vitus Cathedral and the palace a brief tram trip away, or a longish stroll. If you get a condominium within the correct situation, you'll be able to stroll to the foremost sights in every town. Contact me for those who wish extra data.

Answer 3

I would do it just in the order you suggested, maybe about 3-4 days each city and 1 in some interesting surrounding areas or long trips (Cambridge when you go to London, or maybe Oxford; Versalles when you go to Paris, or you could try to go to Belgium -not far at all-) and from Rome you can go to Florence, Siena, Pisa... Keep in mind that euros will be valid in both Paris and Rome, whereas you'll need pounds for London.
In terms of flights, try Aircomet, Easyjet, Ryanair or Vueling. They're offering the cheapest flights right now.
Have fun

Answer 4

I have not been to London for about 14 years but check out Piccadilly Circus (sp) it is right in the heart of London. Wish I could remember more places but I was all over England, not just London, but that spot really sticks out in my mind. Have fun and be safe...it is best to stick with a tour group if you are going by yourself. Americans are not well liked in other countries right now!

Answer 5

I really liked the Notting Hill and Portabello road neighborhood, also you have to check out the Tate Modern, right on the Thymes.

How are you getting from city to city? You should consider flying! Check this page out for cheap flights: http://wikitravel.org/en/Discount_airlines_in_Europe. I would suggest Ryanair or Easyjet from London, but there are plenty of options.