The cheapest order to fly Paris, Barcelona and Rome from Chicago
There are 6 ways to fly these cities. They do not cost the same. The cheapest works out at about $790 a person and the most expensive at $973, a difference of $183 for visiting exactly the same places.
Fly them in this order
Chicago → Paris → Barcelona → Rome → Chicago
About $790 per person in flights, based on fares recently seen on these routes.
Every order, priced
- Chicago → Paris → Barcelona → Rome → Chicago$790cheapest order
- Chicago → Barcelona → Paris → Rome → Chicago$840$50 more per person
- Chicago → Barcelona → Rome → Paris → Chicago$844$54 more per person
- Chicago → Rome → Barcelona → Paris → Chicago$853$63 more per person
- Chicago → Paris → Rome → Barcelona → Chicago$920$130 more per person
- Chicago → Rome → Paris → Barcelona → Chicago$973$183 more per person
Why Paris first
- Chicago to Paris$306
- Paris to Barcelona$35
- Barcelona to Rome$22
- Rome to Chicago$427
- Out of Chicago, Paris is the cheapest first stop at about $306. Rome would be $356.
- Going home, Rome is the cheapest city to leave from at about $427, against $548 from Barcelona.
- The dearest order pays $548 for Barcelona to Chicago, a flight the cheapest order never takes.
- Rome to Chicago is 54% of what the cheapest order spends on flights, so it is the leg to watch.
Between the cities
- Paris to Barcelona: about 830 km (520 miles) as the crow flies. Also by ground: TGV, about 6h 40m, usually $50 to $150.
- Barcelona to Rome: about 860 km (530 miles) as the crow flies. Also by ground: Barcelona to Civitavecchia (Grimaldi Lines), about 22h overnight, usually $70 to $180.
Entry rules on a US passport
- US passport: visa-free in the Schengen area for 90 days in any 180. The Entry/Exit System registers biometrics at the border, and the ETIAS pre-travel authorisation may now be required; check the official site. Official source
Rules change; check the official source for your passport and dates before you book.
How much the order matters here
Getting the order right is worth $183 a person on this trip, 23% of what the cheapest way round costs. Of the 72 trips we price in full, that is number 34 for how much the order matters, about the middle: worth getting right, and worth checking against your own dates.
The same cities from other airports
The cheapest order depends on where you start. From Chicago it starts in Paris.
- From New Yorkstart in Paris, about $468 a person, $195 less than the dearest order
- From Torontostart in Rome, about $680 a person, $134 less than the dearest order
- From Los Angelesstart in Paris, about $841 a person, $130 less than the dearest order
- From Washingtonstart in Paris, about $926 a person, $104 less than the dearest order
- From Atlantastart in Rome, about $1,021 a person, $74 less than the dearest order
What these numbers are
Cached one-way fares, 12 of 12 legs priced from real observations, put together on October 29, 2026, from fares departing October 30, 2026 onwards. Right for comparing one order with another, not a quote for your dates.
A plan prices your own dates and weighs hours as well as fares, so it can pick a different order from this page.
Put dates on it
Same cities on real dates, plus what one search cannot show: layovers long enough to count as a free city, two tickets that beat one, and cheaper days either side. No account and no card.
One press starts it on January 2, 2027 to January 16, 2027, 14 days, for 2 travelers. Our dates, not yours, and about two minutes.
Plan Paris, Barcelona and Rome from Chicago nowOpen the form instead and pick your own datesSigned out, 3 plans a day per address, priced from cached fares and the free sources, so some legs may be estimates and the plan says which. Signed in, legs are checked live, with 2 free trips you can change afterwards.