Whenever The Traveling Professor brings tours to Paris or whenever I travel solo to Paris, I always stay in an area on the Left Bank called the Latin Quarter.  It is called the Latin Quarter because it is where schools like the Sorbonne are located.  In the good old days, students spoke Latin. Hence, the Latin Quarter.   In today's blog I will explain why the Latin Quarter is the best place to stay on a tour to Paris.

After leading a small group tour to Paris, last week I flew from Paris to Bergen, Norway to begin a short journey in Norway.  I was so absolutely impressed by the natural beauty, culture, cleanliness, and cuisine that I knew I needed to add a tour to Norway to The Traveling Professor's schedule for 2015.   Although I am still in the planning stage, read the blog post to see why you should be going to Norway in 2015.

Let's face it, traveling to places like Rome, Florence and Venice, one can expect big crowds.   On our small group tours to Italy we have seen lines hours long into places like the Colosseum and the Basilica in Venice.   The tourist push to see sites like David in the Accademia in Florence or the Uffizi Gallery can be unbelievable.  Even on The Traveling Professor's Tours to Italy much of our itinerary planning is done with crowd avoidance in mind.  In today's blog post I will give advice on how to beat the crowds in places like Rome, Florence, and Venice.   Hopefully, with these tips in mind a tour to Italy will be more enjoyable for you.

On your next tour to Paris, why not live a little and splurge on a wonderful 4-star hotel?   Paris hotels are some of the most expensive in Europe, perhaps the world.  But you only live once, and there is nothing wrong with living it up in Paris.  There are three picks with two being on the right bank and two on the left bank.  I've got the best 4-star hotels in Paris listed on my blog post today.

The Traveling Professor goes to Italy about 4 times a year with his small groups of about 12 travelers and The Professor travels there an additional one or two times a year, strictly for research of course, LOL!   The Professor is constantly searching for the best places to eat.   In this blog post, take a look at his picks for the best places to eat in Florence Italy.

When I originally started traveling to Paris, I would tour on my own with maybe the assistance of a guide book or an audio guide.  Then, for my small group tours to Paris we started using professional licensed guides.   By the way, all guides in Paris (and many other cities) must be registered and licensed.  I found that these professionals were not only able to explain the history and culture of Paris, they were available to answer many different questions, which of course cannot be had from a guidebook, audio guide, or phone app.   Read my blog post to find the best Paris guides.http://www.travelingprofessor.com/

Traveling to Europe can be expensive.   I would rather spend my money on a nicer hotel and better meals when on a tour to Paris for instance rather than throwing money away on exchange fees.    Who wouldn't want to tour Italy for an extra day from the savings on exchange fees?   In this blog post I will show you some of the best ways to exchange dollars into euros.  I will also advise on strategies to avoid when attempting to exchange dollars to euros.

On your next tour to Paris after you have had enough of the museums, the walking, the crepes and cafes, try having a little bit of fun.  In today's blog post I have listed 5 fun things to do in Paris.   I would love to hear back from you too.   Please list some of the fun things you like to do on your trips to Paris.

I travel to Italy several times a year.   On my trip to Italy last April I paid $630 for a R/T ticket between JFK and Milan (MXP).   I went again in May and paid under $1,000.   I just booked a ticket on American Airlines/British Airways departing on October 19 from JFK and returning a week or so later for $679.    What's my secret?  Read my blog post for getting cheap airline tickets for your next tour to Italy.