sniperslayer

Great forum here, really appreciate all the help i'I've received so far, now that I've kind of solidified my route and booked a few of the longer term destinations, I'd love some input on my open ended portion of the trip [mostly Italy] This trip will be departing from Vancouver, Canada on may 9th arriving in Paris at CDG at 8am on the 10th and returning to Vancouver at 1:30PM on the 31st of may, a total of 21.5 usable days.

Our Loop looks like this:

Paris - South of France

South of France - Italy [Cinque Terra and surroundings]

Italy - Switzerland [interlaken]

Switzerland - Paris

As of right now, we have a place booked in Nice from the 10th to the 13th, this portion will be visiting Cannes, Nice, and Monaco

the 14th we then depart to Italy, most likely directly to the cinque terra. For touring the Cinque terra we will either be staying in Levanto [i know outside of the Cinque terra] as i've heard there is more of a selection of bars/restaurants/nightlife in Levanto as opposed to the Cinque Terra towns? However if we do not stay in Levanto we will be most likely staying in Manarola at a place recommended to us by friends.

From there we are now open.. I've heard many mixed opinions on how long to stay in the Cinque Terra, most likely we will be looking at 2-2.5 days, so that essentially brings us to saturday the 17th

The only other thing we have booked is an apartment in Paris from the 26th to the 31st

So 9 days to go from the Cinque Terra, Interlaken, then back to Paris on the 10th day

what would you guys recommend for those 9 days? we were thinking from Cinque Terra go to Florence for 2 days, then train either directly through, or stop in Milan for a day. From Milan take the train up into Interlaken then 3-4 days in Interlaken/jungfrau region then from there, travel to Berne and TGV back to Paris by the night of the 26th

Sorry if this sounds all spread out but i've done quite a bit of research regarding train routes, times, etc. and i think this itinerary is completely doable, i know the thinking is spend more time in less places but for the time we have and the travelers we are i think we could definitely do this effectively

Any and all suggestions and recommendations on where to go/what to see would be greatly appreciated!

kja

I don't think we can comment helpfully without knowing your interests.

BTW, its the Cinque Terre (not Cinque Terra).

sniperslayer

Whoops, ahh in terms of interests were into major attractions as well as fine dining and wine.

It's easy enough to find the attractions we want moreso looking for where we should go for those open days in Italy, how long in Florence, is Milan worth the stop? Etc

kja

Let me give you an example of why interests matter: I am deeply interested in art and thought 5 full days insufficient for Florence. Other people visit Florence as a day trip.

bvlenci

KJA is right. The amount of time to spend in particular places is highly dependent on a person's interests. "Major attractions" is too vague to help us much. For me, a major attraction is a museum or archaeological site.

For instance, if you're not interested in hiking, another town on the Italian Riviera might be more interesting to you than any of the Cinque Terre towns, which are also pretty overrun with tourists in May. If you want to hike, three or four days might be better than two. (Also note that three days means four nights.)

I also can't evaluate your choice of Nice, Monaco and Cannes; I myself would prefer other places in the south of France, such as Nîmes (great ancient Roman sites) or Avignon (pretty town, very interesting papal palace).

bilboburgler

Nice, Monaco and Cannes are not places for wine or major attractions but you have them booked. Nimes, Arles, Avignon makes more sense to me.

Milan has the Duomo, a Leonardo collection and an old shopping arcade (with a MacDonalds in it last time I was there) I guess if you like football or have an interest in fascisti Railway stations then go but if not I'd avoid, again no wine grows there.

Interlaken kinda of misses you targets again but there are mountains and lakes.

In terms of timing it looks good, if you arrive jet lagged in Paris you get a night to get over it before another journey, it feels good and you get clean. If a night in Paris is not that exciting why not get a shower in CDG and catch the train straight south?

Florence certainly has things to see in the centre and in the hillsides around, wine is produced nearby and certainly needs more than 2 days, do get out of the DZM at least once and visit some of the old chapels in the hills.

sniperslayer

Hmm it's hard for me to really nail down what exactly we are into, love old world architecture, as well as photography of cities etc

In terms of art we aren't really that crazy about art specifically, we will definately be hitting up places like the louvre and larger well know museums but I can't say we would dedicate time specifically to searching out art in places like Florence. My GF absolutely loved Florence though when she was there which is why it came back up

We aren't really crazy on hiking either but everyone we've ever talked to or known raves about the cinque terre so we will be taking the trails at our leisure stopping for lunch and wine etc along the way

I think what we would enjoy most is having a few "major" sights to see whether they be museums, buildings, markets, etc then in between just enjoy great meals and people watching

Also, the post referring to the landing in Paris above, when we land we are hopping directly on the TGV and heading to the south of France the same day we land

kja

Sounds like it would be very beneficial for you to go to your local library or bookstore to read up a bit on these locations and see what sights capture your interests. Good luck!

nytraveler

Actually you have a total of 20 days - not 21.5. And it sounds like you are making the mistake of thinking 1 night is 2 days - in fact, 2 nights is a full day - and perhaps some small part of 2 other days.

I would lay the trip out day by day:

May 8 arrive
May 9 Paris
May 10 train to Nice

And be sure to allow realistic time to get from one place to the next.

and look at how much time you have in each place based on what you want to see/do (Michelin green guides have excellent info on major sights, including how long it takes to visit the sight).

DeborahAnn

We stayed a week in an apartment in Levanto last May and there was lots of lively night time action to be found It was easy to get to the Cinque Terre by train from there. Have a great trip. Deborah

PalenQ

From Milan take the train up into Interlaken then 3-4 days in Interlaken/jungfrau region then from there, travel to Berne and TGV back to Paris by the night of the 26th>

Depending on where you stay and what you do in the Jungfrau Region a Swiss Pass could be a great deal or perhaps the Jungfraubahn Pass would be better - depending on where you base - like in Murren, rather isolated and expensive to get to and back if doing day trips the Swiss Pass is 100% valid - but if you want to do the Jungfruajoch a Swiss Pass only gives a 25% reduction and the Jungfraubahn Pass would be better.

Anyway for lots on Swiss trains and passes - which also cover the lake boats on both lakes bookending Ingterlaken - a great day out on either Lake Thun or Lake Brienz - the latter offering so many varied things to do from Geissbach Falls to Meiringen to Reichenbach Falls to Brienz and its Rothorn Bahn, etc. - anyways check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com.

For cheap tickets in Italy go to www.trenitalia.com and for Switzerland to France www.voyages-sncf.com - discounted tickets sold in limited numbers so sell out at times weeks early but can save a lot - but non-changeble non-refundable so be sure of your trains and times!

when planning to hop on a TGV after landing with discounted tickets you obviously have to build in a fudge factor time lapse in case your plane is late (or lands in the middle of the airport as mine recently did and it took a long time to get to the terminal - anyway since they are train-specific and non-changeable put some extra time in as if you miss it you'll have to buy a full fare ticket - ouch!

PalenQ

From Milan take the train up into Interlaken then 3-4 days in Interlaken/jungfrau region then from there, travel to Berne and TGV back to Paris by the night of the 26th>>

scour www.voyages-sncf.com for which Swiss stations offer the cheapest fares for your dates - Bern is the closest but especially if you have a Swiss Pass you could easily get to Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne or Basel if fares are much cheaper from there than Bern - 3 separate different TGV routes Switzerland to Paris.