anhoangdo

wife and i are going to italy for the 1st time. we are staying 11 days. landing in and leaving from rome fiumicino. plan to stop by in middle of trip at monaco, france for 3 days. want to hit the following cities: rome, florence, venice, milan, lake como. not into musuems or religion, just scenery. debating to rent a car or train... pls help with some ideas..

alya

While I can't really help you with your search, I will point out that you really should put the name of the country you're visiting in your 'thread name'.

You haven't posted only on the Italy board, you've posted on the whole of the Europe board and your title isn't the best to get the information you require.

You will get responses to this post so to keep track of your responses click on your name on the login page since it keeps track of your postings (hopefully)

Rex can explain this so much better

LoveItaly

Hi anhoangdo, if you are staying 11 days in Europe I assume you mean you will have 10 nights in Europe.

If you want to "hit" Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Lake Como plus Monaco I am afraid that is all you will do.

May I gently suggest that you get a map, and then calculate the time you will spend travelling from one place to the next plus the time it takes to check into and out of hotels etc.

With 11 days I personally would not plan for more than 3 differents places at the maximum.

Also keep in mind that you will have jet lag (assuming you are flying from the US) on the day of your arrival. And the day of your departure will be pretty much lost just packing, checking out of your lodgings, getting to the airport to check in etc. I also assume that you have already purchased your airline tickets? If not, may I suggest that you buy an open jaw ticket, for example, fly into Rome, fly home from Venice or Milan etc., so that you are not backtracking. Am not sure when you will be visiting Italy but I hope that you will do a lot more research so that you will truly enjoy your trip. Best wishes.

anhoangdo

thank you. tickets were booked cause we got a great deal via a glitch on iberia website. looks like we are going to narrow it down to rome,florence, milan, and monaco then back to rome. do u sugguest driving or train. i dont understand the 4 days a month when it comes to train...

LoveItaly

Hi anhoangdo, I am not sure I understand your question about the 4 days a month regarding the train but I think you mean a train pass.

When I am in Italy I just buy point to point train tickets (for example the town I stay in which is in Veneto to Florence and the return trip for example).

I am not the biggest expert on how to handle the best bargain regarding the trains but I know there are a lot of post here on Fodors that give advice by experts. Also, you should go to www.trenitalia.com. This will give you info that would be of help for tickets prices, schedules etc.

Is there any special reason you want to go to Monaco? If not I would suggest that you do not visit Monaco this trip. But if Monaco is important to you for a personal reason than I think I would still just decide on a total of three places to visit. Best wishes.

tdyls

Unless you only plan to spend 1 1/2 days in any given city, going to Monaco is NOT a good idea. You're trying too see way too much in way too little of a time. Given that the airport you're flying into and out of is Rome, Monaco is just logistically bad. Here's why:

7/17: Leave US (I assume)
7/18: Arrive Rome
7/19: Rome
7/20: Florence (1/2 of day is travel)
7/21: Florence
7/22: Milan (1/2 of day is travel)
7/23: Milan
7/24: Travel to Monaco
7/25: Monaco
7/26: Travel to Rome
7/27: Airport

If going to Monaco is very important, you will need to delete at least one other city, possibly two. I would save Monaco for another trip.

Alternatively, at least see if Iberia can change your reservations to fly home from Nice instead of FCO. At that point, you've just gained yourself essentially two days, and then this schedule becomes rushed but doable. You still won't see much in any one city, but the logistics of flying home from Nice instead of Rome would be much better.

jabez

Agree that you are trying to do too much. Covering that much territory, I'd generally say that a car gives you more flexibility and can save you time. However, the places you list really don't need (nor do you want)a car. If Monaco is a "must", I'd recommend driving from Rome's airport to Tuscany and work your way to Monaco. You then could train back.
Take the most scenic routes and enjoy along the way.
Skip Milan,Como and Venice.
You could also train to Venice, then to Como, then Monaco before returning to Rome.
How much a "must" is Monaco?

rex

There is this paradox in what you say you want to do...

<<want to hit the following cities: rome, florence, venice, milan, lake como.>>

<<not into musuems or religion, just scenery....>>

The first sentence makes me/&quot;us&quot; think that there is some reason you want to visit <i><b>cities</b></i> - - and no doubt, there is much more to all four of the major cities besides museums and religion... among the more obvious are: history (not &quot;displayed in a museum), architecture and art (sculpture, fountains) in public spaces, shopping, fine dining, opera and the performing arts.

If your attraction to &quot;scenery&quot; outweighs most or all of the things on this list, then you should plan on renting a car, and spend very little time in Florence - - perhaps none in Rome or Milan - - and concentrate on Moncao, Venice and especially Lake Como.

Since the car would serve no purpose in
Venice, you might want to fly or take the train directly from your arrival in Rome straight to Venice and put the first three days there. Normally I do not recommend Venice at the front of a trip because lodging is expensive there and you may not enjoy it optimally when are you in the first 24 hours after an intercontinental flight. but in your case, it is the easiest and fastest place to get to - - and Lake Como or Monaco might be just as meaningful/spectacular to you.

You can rent the car upon leaving Venice, drive to Lake Como, then after three days onward to Monaco. If necessary, you could drive from Monaco to Rome starting at supper time, the day before your flight home.

Best wishes,

Rex

ira

Dear an,

&gt;i dont understand the 4 days a month when it comes to train...&lt;

If you are talking about railpasses, it means that you are allowed to travel by train on any 4 days in a 30 day period.

Before buying railpasses enter your schedule at www.railsaver.com and click &quot;only if it saves money&quot;.

I also suggest that you rethink this itinerary. Each time you move you lose at least 1/2 day.

Monaco is a definite outlier. It will take you 8-10 hr by train from Florence or Rome.

See schedules at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

You can buy tickets for Rome-Florence-Venice and back at www.trenitalia.com.

mamc

WIth just 11 days and the need to return to Rome, I suggest you visit Venice, Florence and Rome, in that order. When you arrive in Rome, take the train to Venice (3 days), to Florence (3 days) and return to Rome (4 days). And thought you clearly indicated that you are not into religion, try to visit St. Peters and the Vatican. As other posters have said, Monaco is not worth a stop, let alone 3 days. If you are going to Monaco for a special reason (to visit friends or relatives) train first to Florence (2-3 days) then to Monaco (3 days) and return to Rome (4 days).

capxxx

How about something like this, if you want to emphasize scenery and insist on going to Monaco.

Rome 3 nights.

Drive north through Tuscany to Milan, passing through Siena, San Giminango, Florence, etc. Driving in cities is scary, but the country roads and smaller towns are fine. No museums: walk around town centers, visit a couple Duomos, have lunch on the piazza. You don't have to even go into Milan, just end up at the airport. 3 Nights en route.

From Milan, fly to Monaco. 3 nights, then fly back to Rome. last night there before your flight home.

This violates my personal rule of never spending less than 3 nights in one place, and the airfare may ruin your budget. If you can change to an open jaw and return from Monaco, even better. But it does meet your requirements of emphasizing scenery and covering lots of places.

suze

topping both threads...