European Holiday Honeymoon Advice

Simky906

Thanks to the IL's generous air miles donation, our honeymoon flights have officially been booked! DH and I will arrive in London on 12/20 and depart from Barcelona on 1/5. We roughed out an itinerary but would love to get feedback/suggestions from knotties. The only things set in stone are our flight dates, attending a West Ham match at 3PM on 12/20 and spending NYE in Monte Carlo.

We're not planning on spending much time in London as we've both been there but DH couldn't resist a chance to see his favorite Premier League team. We've also both been to Paris, but DH was quite young and I didn't get to see Versailles.

12/20 6:30am arrive in London; 3PM West Ham match

12/21 late afternoon- depart for Paris (Louvre, walk down Champs Elysee to Arc de Triomphe, day trip to Versailles, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower)

12/26- depart for Geneva- (Palais des Nations, Jet d'Eau, quartier des grottes) 

12/28- depart for Nice/southern France (Colline du Chateau, Musee Chagall, Musee Matisse, Cliff Walk, day trip to Cannes, spend NYE/NYD in Monte Carlo)

1/2- depart for Barcelona (Las Ramblas, Temple of Augustus, La Sagrada Familia)

1/5- 11:30am flight to US

I would like to spend another day in Barcelona, so I'm seeing if I can convince DH to travel on 1/1. But it's the longest travel time (approximately nine hours and three/four different trains) and I don't know that he would be willing to do that after a late, and presumably drunken, New Year's. 

We also keep going back and forth on whether to include Geneva. We would both love to go there and it would be new territory for us, but we could spend 2 extra days in and around Nice if we skip it. I'm torn on that one.

Thanks for any and all advice!

majesty318

This seems like a lot of places for the time span. You guys are going to be running yourselves ragged. I would skip one of the stops.

Why don't you fly between Nice & Barcelona? I rarely take trains in Europe because the flights are so cheap. I just took a quick look on Kayak and EasyJet does the route for $56 and Vueling for $83. I have taken Vueling before and it's nice. I think EasyJet might be one of the ones that nickels & dimes you for every little thing but at an hour flight vs. 9 hours/ 3 or 4 trains it's probably worth it even if so!

Simky906

I think you may be right about too many places- we'll have to really think hard about whether to include Geneva. And great point about flights; I don't know why that didn't occur to me! That would also have the benefit of giving us more time in Barcelona.

thisismynickname2

Incidentally, I had two friends just do European whirlwind tours. One went to Geneva and said it was the least enjoyable part of the trip. Another went to another part of Switzerland (can't remember what part) and said that was the best part of their trip. Also, that country is very expensive. 

I'd either skip Geneva or see something else in that country.  The one who didn't like Geneva looooved France so spend more time in Nice. My two cents!

mellyD2014

I would second PPs advice on checking out flights instead of planes. My husband and I just returned from our honeymon in Europe and ended up flying from Paris to Barcelona. It cost us 150 euro for both of us, including 2 checked bags. It was more than twice that for the train, and much longer. Since your itinerary is so packed, it's a great way to save yourself some time (and sanity!). Have a blast!!! I'm struggling to plug my brain back into the real world.

emmyg65

Yep, definitely pare down your stops (like maybe skip the day trip to Versailles and Geneva). Also, have you checked holiday hours at museums and such while you're in Paris? Christmas closures might affect your plans.

Simky906

Yes, we've been chatting about this and we'll skip Geneva on this trip and will fly from Nice to Barcelona. 

We did check out hours Christmas Day and we know that most things are closed then, but those will be a great day to relax, enjoy walking around Paris and check out Pere Lachaise cemetery. 

I haven't checked out everything on Christmas Eve yet but I know that the Louvre is open then, as is the Musee d'orsay. And I'd like to look into attending a Christmas Eve service at either Notre Dame or the Scots Kirk.

thisismynickname2

majesty318 said:

This seems like a lot of places for the time span. You guys are going to be running yourselves ragged. I would skip one of the stops.

Why don't you fly between Nice & Barcelona? I rarely take trains in Europe because the flights are so cheap. I just took a quick look on Kayak and EasyJet does the route for $56 and Vueling for $83. I have taken Vueling before and it's nice. I think EasyJet might be one of the ones that nickels & dimes you for every little thing but at an hour flight vs. 9 hours/ 3 or 4 trains it's probably worth it even if so!

I'm only quoting this because I have to share that my friend in London calls that "SqueezeyJet" and that just tickles me pink. I now can't ever call it EasyJet.  

Jells2dot0

Simky906 said:

Yes, we've been chatting about this and we'll skip Geneva on this trip and will fly from Nice to Barcelona. 

We did check out hours Christmas Day and we know that most things are closed then, but those will be a great day to relax, enjoy walking around Paris and check out Pere Lachaise cemetery. 

I haven't checked out everything on Christmas Eve yet but I know that the Louvre is open then, as is the Musee d'orsay. And I'd like to look into attending a Christmas Eve service at either Notre Dame or the Scots Kirk.

Be prepared for a lot of things to be closed on the 24th, 25th, and 26th. It sounds like you are aware of that and have some back up plans, which is good. But, those three days will be tough for true sightseeing.

canadianhearts

thisismynickname said:

majesty318 said:

This seems like a lot of places for the time span. You guys are going to be running yourselves ragged. I would skip one of the stops.

Why don't you fly between Nice & Barcelona? I rarely take trains in Europe because the flights are so cheap. I just took a quick look on Kayak and EasyJet does the route for $56 and Vueling for $83. I have taken Vueling before and it's nice. I think EasyJet might be one of the ones that nickels & dimes you for every little thing but at an hour flight vs. 9 hours/ 3 or 4 trains it's probably worth it even if so!

I'm only quoting this because I have to share that my friend in London calls that "SqueezeyJet" and that just tickles me pink. I now can't ever call it EasyJet.  

I was so worried when we booked flights around Europe with EasyJet this past summer since my brother flew Ryanair and really disliked it.

However, I was extremely impressed with the airline. We did pay extra to ensure we could have carry-ons along with our 20k of luggage, and had no issue with space or anything. We heard horror stories about people having to pay extra for luggage and were really worried.

We found it very convenient that we could check-in online and just come up to the counter and present our passport and confirmation - we breezed through everything. We even saw people getting called onto the flight fifteen minutes before departure, which is usually unheard of here in North America.

I pretty much assumed we wouldn't get fed or offered drinks, let alone alcohol, but they served snacks and drinks free of charge (even as early as 8:00 a.m. on a one-hour flight). I'm a fearful flyer and need a glass of wine so that stood out for me, lol.

If you're looking for first class, you won't get it, but I found the service and space very comparable to every other "vacation airline" in Canada and the U.S. I prepared for the worst and was very pleasantly surprised. Maybe they revamped it in the past few years, since it was my first time flying with them, but I vowed to spread the word as I really did enjoy my experience with them.

OP, I would skip Geneva and would definitely go to Versailles. In my opinion, it's worth the trip, but it's a full day. I've been to similar places and none of them compared to Versailles - both inside and outside.

I loved the entire South of France. Saint Tropez was amazing as well - we almost skipped it.

Tip: Try to book tickets online for as many attractions as possible in Paris and Barcelona. Sagrada Familia takes ages to get into - paying a few euro extra to book a ticket ahead of time is worth it. And this is coming from people who don't mind waiting. Check out Casa Mila as well! Also, in Paris, the metro is your best friend. In Barcelona, since everything is kind of far away, we did the hop-on-hop off as our main mode of transportation and it was worth the money. The metro is still very nice and clean - just watch out for pickpockets when it gets busy. Oh, and go to the fountain on Montjuic! Get there a few hours early for good seats with a bottle of wine and some snacks and enjoy the show.