Paris...

Go over to the island at night with honey and sit on a park bench, walk along the Seine, any park, a cafe day or night, really anyplace. Love the city, I would go for an hour if I could for just a taste. Depending on where you stay very easy to get around on the metro.

Having said this in my kitchen I have two large photographs of the eiffel tower and a large metal eiffel tower on the wall..

Wow - thank you all so much! We'll have to get ourselves figured out flight-wise soon and I can tell it's going to be a tough choice

That said, I *really* appreciate hearing everyone's opinions, because it helps a lot when trying to figure out where to stay for just a few days in advance of the cruise. It seems like no matter which way you slice it, the flight options end up being around the same price. Just have to get there, take a break from traveling for a couple of days, and then take a short commuter-type flight or maybe a train to Venice.

Thanks again - I just knew YLF'ers would be 'in the know' about these things.

Hope it's not too late to chime in....

This is a really hard one. Will you have time to explore Venice? If not, then I'd say Rome and Venice.

I guess I'm a little biased since I haven't been to Rome since I was a kid and I'd love to go again. I've been going to Paris at least once a year for almost 20 years (my husband's mother lives there) both before kids and now with kids. I LOVE Paris. I've gone for long holidays and short quick weekends - and you can certainly just 'hang' in Paris.

Either city is FAB, so perhaps you should decide based on what food you prefer? Just a thought!

Keep us posted.

Speaking of food, sort of... my uncle loves Italy because he found this restaurant that makes him use the same napkin all week. Laundry is once a week. He got his own napkin ring. LOL.

Hmm. Now that I think about it... you know, it's funny, the brothers at the monastery here used to do the same thing. They all had their own napkin rings and little cubbies to put their napkins in, between meals. Laundry once a week.

We used to live there - Paris by a mile. BUT! It's a good idea to be very organized about what you do in your short time there.

We love Le Marais and Montparnasse. They get my vote after you've seen the usual sites.

Velvety - I can't believe we're still talking about this....I thought the choice for Paris was CLEAR! In fact, I'm already packed...when do we leave?

Thanks again everyone!! Laughing here, at shabbychick's comment about when we're leaving.

Nothing's booked yet (flights I mean), but the cruise is booked. Florence sounds amazing, but I am not sure if it's going to be one of those major cities that I can get to easily ...I will look though, just in case!

My husband has been promising to take me to Paris for a while now, but I wasn't thinking just a couple of days en route to Venice (yes, I know...picky, picky picky...). That said - I might just go for it anyway. We'll see. It's just as easy to get to Rome as it is to Paris from here - and we're looking at least a couple of nights, before jumping on another plane to Venice for the cruise itself.

It does sort of sound like Paris is winning, even if I can only spend a couple of days. We'll end up deciding either this weekend or next.

Thank you for chiming in Angie! If it's Paris, I will be sure to plan accordingly.

....

editing to add - cruise stops...but I might come back and edit them out in a few days, just because I'm a bit fussy about posting too many details about things.

Venice, Italy
Venice, Italy
Kotor, Montenegro
Athens, Greece
Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey
Mykonos, Greece
Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey
Santorini, Greece
Split, Croatia
Venice, Italy

Double stops indicate at least two nights in port.

Does seeing the cruise itinerary change anyone's opinion of where to stay for a few days in advance?

Wow, what a great cruise! I have a friend who did a somewhat similar one last year and loved it.

My vote? Paris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You get the idea,right? I haven't been to Rome, but I love Paris! My husband gets very romantic in Paris. I'm sure you recognize that it is just for a couple of days and that you won't be able to do everything, but you will drink in the experience of Paris even if all you do is see the Eiffel Tower and eat and drink wine the rest of the time. You will want to go back!

Oh and I'm with Angie, the Marais would be a good place to stay. It doesn't seem as "big city" ther as much of the rest of the city. The Rue Cler area is quaint, although both it and Montparnasse are a touch further out from the main metro line. I can't remember what months you mentioned, but be sure to take a trench coat. I was there in June and wore it every day.

Don't have time to read all the replies, but I have been pondering this one ever since you posted the question a few days ago. See, YLF is on my mind all the time

I loved Rome - I've been there once and can't wait to go back, but my answer to this dilemma would be Paris, simply because it's a nice opportunity to see and experience another different culture and environment. Even more so after seeing your itinerary - see as much as possible

But, definitely plan in advance what you want to see - it is overwhelming in every sense. Better see and enjoy two things, than run around to see 10 and feel overtired.

So exciting!

Not quite booked yet, but Paris it is The way the flights work, Paris works out to be a bit better than Rome.

So I'll get two full days in Paris on the way to Venice, and another two full days in Paris on the way back. It's not really a "week in Paris", but it *is* something a bit different than all the other places I'll be visiting during the cruise itself. The Paris itinerary also includes an extra night in Venice as well.

Really want to see Rome too, just that the flights/arrival times are a bit more difficult. London is also difficult - arrive at Heathrow, leave for Venice from a different airport/terminal etc.

Very excited! Thank you *all* so much for your great advice, I really do appreciate it. I will get to Rome one of these days - it's just that the Paris itinerary works beautifully with my overall travel plans. All non-stop flights - super easy.

So the deal is - fly into Paris, hang out for 2.5 days, then whip over to Venice, spend the night - get on the cruise the next morning - and the cruise ship doesn't leave port until the next night after that. Post cruise - short flight to Paris - get there at a reasonable time - spend the rest of that day in Paris, then two more full days in Paris before flying back to the US on the morning of day three in Paris.

I'm very glad I asked here at YLF about this - sounds like Rome was a *great* idea, but in the end, once we tried to put all the flights together, Rome didn't work out quite as well as Paris did. The price was about the same (which is why I asked in the first place), but Paris actually 'works better' (timing and ease) for this particular trip - something I didn't know when I posted this question in the first place.

I couldn't have done this without you - thank you! I really appreciate all of the "in the know" advice that YLF'ers had to offer.

I still have nothing to wear though Expect some frantic posts about comfortable shoes and what kind of jacket to take (not blazers, but a rain jacket just in case), coming soon to a YLF theatre near you.

Thanks again everyone

I guess I'm late, not to make things difficult but I have been to Paris and Rome and it seems Rome would be the logical city to visit choosing between the two. Rome is an easy train ride to Venice which would be relaxing and a chance to see the countryside in between.

We visited Rome then took a train to Florence then to Venice then took an overnight train to Paris. Both cities are worth a week or more to visit but any time you have will be a treasure of memories. Have fun and good luck.