slangevar

Hi Fodorites,

Do you have the patience for another Italy/Paris itinerary?

My boyfriend and I are going to Italy & Paris for 2 1/2 weeks in October. We've both been to Rome and Florence before, and I've spent time in Paris and Venice. We will be renting a car outside of Rome and dropping it off either in Bologna or outside of Venice.

Here's our first VERY broad pass at our itinerary... any suggestions for Tuscany or other places we HAVE to see are appreciated:

TUES: Arrive in Rome from LA

WED: Rome

THURS: Rent car and drive to Tuscany

THURS-SUN: Southern Tuscany

MON-THURS: Northern Tuscany (incl. one day trip to Florence)

FRI: Bologna

SAT-SUN: Venice (overnight train to Paris)

MON-THURS: Paris

Thank you!

zeppole

It's no fun to drive into Bologna, and it is one of the better train hubs of Italy. I would get rid of your car somewhere in northern Tuscany with a train station, and take the train to Bologna.

I'd be tempted to steal a day somewhere to go to Ravenna to see the mosaics, but that's me.

If you want to rent a car outside of Roma, an interesting place is Orvieto. However, by seeing "southern Tuscany" you want to include the Maremma, you might opt for getting it Grosetto.

slangevar

Zeppole - you just saved everyone from yet another thread by me! Thank you so much for the car rental info... I knew it would be a mistake to rent inside of Rome, but exactly where was a mystery to me.

JeanneB

What part of October? If it's late in the month, you'll want to allow a couple of days for driving around the Chianti region. We were up there at the end of Oct last year and the fall colors were magnificent.

I think your schedule looks great. I prefer the short flight from Venice to Paris. But it's just my personal preference...I like arriving in Paris at night, just in time for dinner.

What kind of suggestions are you looking for? Accommodations? Which towns to stay in?

slangevar

JeanneB! I just asked you a question on another posting of yours.

We'll be in Tuscany from the 16th to the 24th of October. If the leaves will have changed, we'll definitely make an effort to see Chianti.

As for suggestions, we're set on Rome and Paris, but could use suggestions on Tuscany, Bologna and Venice. I'd also love to know if we're missing something important that's in that region... we can always adjust the middle of our trip.

ira

Hi S,

>We will be renting a car outside of Rome and dropping it off either in Bologna or outside of Venice. <

May I suggest taking the train to Bologna and getting the car there, when you are ready to drive through Tuscany.

Drop it off in Venice at the Piazzale Roma.

Have you looked at www.myair.com flights from Venice VCE to Paris ORY?

slangevar

Hi Ira... I'm definitely wrestling with the question of night train vs. regional flight for our trip from Venice to Paris. I've done both, and they both have pros and cons:

Night Train Pros
*Easier check-in
*No baggage weight restrictions
*No transportation to and from airports
*Charm

Flight Pros
*Cost
*Less time lost in transit

It'll ultimately come down to cost. If the night train is like 300 euros a person, we'll suffer through the hassle of taking the plane.

suze

Is that really how expensive a night train Venice to Paris is?

Granted we did it a number of years ago, but I remember it being more similar to the price of a budget hotel for one night.

slangevar

Looks like it's slightly cheaper... $293/pp for a first class sleeping berth. I think we may go with that even though it's so much more expensive than flying... I don't know of any other regional carriers that fly that route other than RyanAir (which I can't stand). It's only $100 for both of us to fly, but once you factor in the hassle of getting to the two airports WAY outside of Venice and Paris, it's almost worth the extra expense.

Besides, Fodorites have helped us save so much money in hotels! Maybe we just won't eat.

Steve_James

Hi Slang - There are SEVERAL budget airlines which fly Venice (Marco Polo)-Paris:

MYAIR - fly to Orly
www.myair.com

EASYJET - fly to CDG
www.easyjet.com

VUELING - fly to CDG
www.vueling.com

Fares start at about € 25 on some dates in October.


' ... once you factor in the hassle of getting to the two airports WAY outside of Venice and Paris ...'

Marco Polo airport is 20 mins bus ride from Venice

Hope this helps ...

Steve

JeanneB

slangevar:

We've flown MyAir from Venice to Paris. First, go to their site and sign up for fare offers. I suspect you'll get a flight for around 20 euros. It's a full size plane, not a puddle jumper.

I've always wanted to do the overnight train, but just for the "romance". The flight wins out when it comes to cost and convenience. The Paris flight usually leaves around 6pm. We leave our Venice hotel at 3. Bus from Piazzale Roma to Marco Polo takes about 20 minutes. You're in Paris by 8pm.

MyAir flies into Paris Orly...probably no more than 20 minutes to your hotel. We had no problem making a 9pm dinner reservation.

(Or, if you wanted to stay in Venice another night, they have an early morning flight)

slangevar

Well those are MUCH better options than RyanAir.

JeanneB - the romance of the night train did definitely factor into our initial decision (though European trains only have bunk beds, so the level of romance is a bit restricted).

Now that I know there are early morning flights that are only 20 minutes or so from the towns we're staying in, I think romance might have to wait for Paris.

JeanneB

LOL!

I meant "romance" in the poetic sense!

slangevar

I did, too, actually, but it was just too fun a reference to pass up.