1

I would recommend you get a Carnet of Metro tickets (ten tickets) and purchase another Carnet if you need them. I would also recommend you purchase your RER ticket to Versailles at the same time. The train to Versailles is about a half hour.

Try to get to Versailles when they open in the morning and try to head back to Paris early in the afternoon if you can. The gardens at that time of the year may have the statues covered for winter and many of the fountains may not be on. Check the web site for their hours and days they are NOT open. http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage

Tour Eiffel can talk a long time to get to the top and the line at the top is as long trying to get back down. If you can avoid going up, please do. There is also a good view of Paris from Tour Montparnasse and I understand the line is not as long. For your first view of the tower I recommend you getting off at the Trocadero Metro stop. Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame also have good views, but these can also have long lines.

I would suggest not taking the hop on bus and plan your own tour with the help of the Metro and your feet you can see as much or more. Spend some time before your trip making a plan and get a good map of Paris. Much of what you want to see is more in the center of the city. You may want to walk past the Louver, but you really don’t have time to spend time there. Across the street from the Louver is Palais Royal and that can be seen in less than a half hour.

I would suggest taking the Batobus boat, you could try to plan using the boat instead of the Metro for one day and get your transportation and boat ride all at one time. There are a number of stops along the river and you can get on and off all day with your ticket. http://www.batobus.com/english/index.htm

Disneyland if you must, but there is just so much more that Paris has to offer. If possible try to add at least one more day to Paris.

There are two large gardens in Paris you might try to do a walk through, Luxembourg Gardens and the garden of the Tuileries next to the Louvre .

I would suggest you make it a family meeting to plan your Paris tour.

2

Here is a lot of information and also photos of Paris that may be of interest to you: http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=paris

3

I'd suggest not going to Disneyland.

Personally I find the trip up the Eiffel Tower to be somewhat over-rated--not worth a huge line. You can wander around the area underneath and get the "wow cool" feeling without waiting for ages.

The Basilica of Sacre-Coeur has great views from the towers, and it's well worth a visit in its own right.

4

@Lorance: I wouldn't go to Disneyland either, but they said they're traveling with 2 kids, so they may want to visit it.

@Tolondon: let me know if you need help for Rome and Italy

5

Thanks all - plenty of good ideas to implement.
@flapic: after Paris, I do need help for Italy.
1 day in Venice
2 days in Florence
3 days in Rome
In Rome, what itinerary do you recommend & best (cheapest) transportation?

6

here are two simple improvements:

• don;t go to Disneyland
• Don;t use a HOHO bus. take regular buses and metros, which go everywhere, and you'll save a ton of money.

7

In Paris: will Paris Visite Pass be cheaper than Carnet of Metro tickets? or shall we take Paris Pass?

8

Unless you have a complete plan, it is hard to say if the pass makes sence. In general I would go for the Carnet.

9

About Italy:

• 1 day in Venice is OK to get a general taste of the city, not enough to visit museums and farther islands such as Murano (famous for blown glass) and Burano (laces).
• 2 days in Florence generally OK for a walk around the city and visit to one or two museums (Uffizi and Accademia?). No time for the beautiful Tuscan towns and landscapes though.
• 3 days in Rome are also a few.. I'd suggest to go as following:

For transportation, Venice to Florence and Florence to Rome are better done by train. See www.trenitalia.com for time and schedules, but trains are fast and frequent. The earlier you buy tickets, the cheaper they can be.
Venice and Florence are generally small and you can walk almost everywhere.
In Rome it all depends where you will stay. The Roma Pass may be convenient if you intend to visit 2 or more museums (it costs €30 and is valid for 3 days - Vatican is not included) otherwise you can generally walk and buy occasional tickets when necessary.

Let me know if you need more info also about where to stay.

10

Thanks all again for invaluable tips.
@MTL: The only reason for considering the exorbitant HOHO is that we are not a disciplined family- wherever we go, we never finish seeing that place in planned time, we keep losing each other in museums & we end up visiting lesser places. So I guess that we should not go for Passes.
@flapic: Thanks for the itinerary, I'll use it. Hope it will not be raining in Oct end in Paris & Italy.
Will Paris be cold?

11

Right now we have 25 degrees during the day and 15 at night, so still warm. By the end of the month it can get cooler, but definitely not very cold. Have a sweater and a raincoat to be fine.

12

I can't see how it makes any sense to stop in Venice for a day. Hotel door to hotel door, it will take several hours to travel from Paris to Venice. Leaving you only a few hours to explore. Thus making it very likely you'll be exploring the exact same things at the exact same times as everyone else who only has a few hours in Venice (most visitors are day-trippers).

I suppose the overnight train from Paris is a possibility, but if you want to keep your plans for your last evening in Paris intact, you'll need to choose a option later in the night. That means you'll have to change trains at least once--and I don't think any of these trains are sleepers, except the one that leaves earlier than you'd want (19:45).
Even in a sleeper car, I never sleep well on trains, and there's a good chance that at least one member of your party won't sleep well either. For that person (or those people), Venice will just be a blur.

Based on what you say about previous travel experiences, you might really benefit from slowing down a little. Your 4 destinations in 9 days are all places when you could spend the entire nine days without getting bored.

13

the logic of that escapes me completely. and nobody said you had to buy a pass. Just buy a carnet of 10 tickets and off you go.

14

The metro system is fantastic. You'll find it much quicker and more flexible than the HOHO bus, and it's part of the Paris experience.

Edited by: lorance

Edited by: lorance