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how to pick between London/Paris/Madrid/Barcelona?
We are planning on going to Europe in late September for 8 or 9 nights. It will be me, DH, my SIL and BIL, and their baby daughter. DH and I have never been to Europe. We are trying to create an intinerary between London, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona.
SIL says Paris is her top choice (she did study abroad there), and we are all interested in that city so that will likely be one pick.
What do you recommend for an itinerary? Our main goals are sightseeing and good food. I?ve always been interested in Spain, but not sure if it will be ideal for SIL & BIL. They are vegetarian, do not drink, and can?t do late nights due to the baby (I always have heard Spain specializes in seafood and late night dinners). Do you think London will be a better option?
Thanks!
SIL says Paris is her top choice (she did study abroad there), and we are all interested in that city so that will likely be one pick.
What do you recommend for an itinerary? Our main goals are sightseeing and good food. I?ve always been interested in Spain, but not sure if it will be ideal for SIL & BIL. They are vegetarian, do not drink, and can?t do late nights due to the baby (I always have heard Spain specializes in seafood and late night dinners). Do you think London will be a better option?
Thanks!
Re: how to pick between London/Paris/Madrid/Barcelona?
For a first time visitor with 8 or 9 nights I would recommend splitting your time evenly between London and Paris. It's very easy to travel between the two cities using the Eurostar.
Alternatively, you could also split your time between Madrid and Barcelona.
Or, you could spend all of the 8 or 9 nights in one city (London and Paris would both work for this option) doing a few day trips. It might work better for your group to stay in one location since your SIL/BIL have a baby. Additionally, I would recommend that your group rents an apartment in whatever city you end up visiting. Check out vrbo.com for rentals.
I agree that with the length of your trip and the Eurostar, I would split the time between Paris and London.
If you end up doing 9 nights; perhaps spend the extra time in London and do a day trip to Oxford, Stonehenge, Bath or Windsor Castle. There are some tours that combine the latter 3 into one day/trip.
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Paris because it's the most fabulous place on Earth.
There, I picked for you.
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thanks all! I do like the idea of splitting between Paris & London. We can go to Spain some other time with non-vegetarians.
Follow up question..do you think it's a wise idea to give yourself a jet lag recovery day in US before going back to work (say arriving back home on Sat evening, and having Sunday to recover)? Or would you spend the extra day overseas?
I just experienced this last Monday. We elected to fly back to the States on Sunday, the 18th day of our trip, to have the extra day there. Monday at work I definitely felt groggy/out of it, but after going to bed around 8:30pm on Tuesday I felt fine. When we travel again, we'll do the same.
However, my parents took the extra day in Europe for their first trip and both got sick upon returning to US (they claim fatigue) and ever since, they always give themselves one full days rest before going back to work. Just depends on the person I guess
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I do want to add that I had an American friend I met while living in Spain who was vegan. We lived in a smaller city (not Cosmpolitan like Madrid or Barcelona that do have more trendy/health veg options) but she was still able to manage. However, she is one of those "go with the flow" type of personalities. Like PP said though, they have some great food like chorizo and jamon iberico so it might make picking restaurants a little more difficult in a group setting (with a child, too).
I would do London/Paris and save Spain for another time. Whatever option you choose will be a good choice though
I'm always way more tired going to Europe than coming back. I've come back from Europe during early evenings and gone back to work the next day with no problems. However, if this is your first time doing it, you may want that extra day depending on your work schedule.
Given that you have a baby to consider, I would opt to just do London or Paris or a Madrid/Barcelona combo. Given that the baby will need to nap, I would expect to be on a more laid-back touring schedule in general, so just pick one city and take your time with it. You guys might also want to consider an apartment rental to make cooking veggie meals easier.
I wouldn't go anywhere near London this year. Although the Olympics will be over before September, I would not be sure that prices and the general craziness would have died down.
Madrid/Barcelona is a great combo with only a 3 hour train ride in between, but the weather in September is still running hot.
So Paris would be my choice for this trip.
Ditto. For me though, it also depends on whether you're east coast or west coast. The six hour time difference is brutal, although you are mostly tired at the end of the day (i.e. not during work hours). But the nine hours--you can't do that in a day unless you're superwoman.
I second the idea of London and Paris - that's what I did for my first trip to Europe and it was great.
I always come home a day before I need to go back to work - I usually try to fly home on a Saturday so that I have Sunday to recover. We are both pretty affected by jetlag, though I am usually more tired upon arrival in my destination than on the way home. I always leave a few hours to settle into the hotel, take a nap, etc.