glimee

We are visiting Europe for the 1st time. We are flying in and out of Paris in late June to early July. This is what we roughly planned for now.
Paris(3 days )-->barcelona (4days)--->Rome(4nights -day trip to amalfi coast)--->Florence(2 nights daytrips to Pisa, Tuscany)--->Venice(2nights)-->Paris

We would want to do lots of sight seeing and visit museums!
Open to suggestions on what to do on different cities. Also need help deciding how much time to be spent on each cities in Italy. Where can we take day trips to if were based in Rome?

Also thinking about using airbnb..any suggestions and tips?
Also thinking about flying from Paris to Barcelona, Barcelona to Rome and maybe train or fly back to paris.

Any suggestions on this?

Thanks for all your help!!

dwdvagamundo

glimee--you should look at some of the other posts on this Forum to see the reactions to others who have had the same idea as you do.

In short, too many places, too much travelling for such a short time. So, if you are locked into flying into Paris, drop Barcelona and concentrate on Italy.

You need more time to see Rome, Florence and Venice, as each two nites gives you only one day.

Drop the idea of visiting the Amalfi Coast from Rome. You could see Pompeii, but that's about as far as you could get on a day trip. You might want to see Ostia Antica, as it's an easier trip from Rome and quite interesting.

jamikins

Agree - too many places. You arent giving yourself any time to actually see anything. IN 16 days pick 4 places MAX...and that wont really allow for day trips.

Think of your time this way:

Day 1 you land and will likely have jetlag so its a bit of a write off

Each time you move you will lose 1/2 a day due to logistics of moving and finding your way to and from the train stations/airports, checking in and out, travel time etc

If your flights are already booked you will need to get back to Paris likely the day before you leave to make your flight so your last day will be mostly a write off and the day before you will spend 1/2 the day getting to Paris. Its best to fly into Paris and out of say Rome....

2 nights = 1 full day so it woudl be impossible to see Florence and do day trips for example.

I hope this helps.

bilboburgler

Glimee, welcome to Fodors. Slow down you are on holiday,

Paris(3 days )-->
barcelona (4days)--->
Rome(4nights -day trip to amalfi coast)--->
Florence(2 nights daytrips to Pisa, Tuscany)--->
Venice(2nights)-->Paris

16 days so hard to see the days and nights above, I'd tidy it up by nights and recognise that you lose most of a day when you move.

Lets just look at the whole Florence thing

Day 1 arrive, check in, visit a bit
Day 2 train to Pisa,
Day 3 leave Florence

That means, at best you are giving Florence 2 x 1/2 days, which is a bit like giving New York half a day walk by..

Less is more.

Much as I like Barcelona, I'd drop it out

RonZ

Yes, France and Italy.

Sleeper trains a possibility:

http://www.seat61.com/thello-train-f...m#.UV3Fa_uvdc8

Last time in Italy we ended in Pisa, one night at the Hotel Bologna, next day their shuttle to the airport and short Easyjet flight to Paris Orly.

There is so much to see in Rome and Florence I'd think twice about day trips.

Train schedules here:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?

Good luck!

JanieMac

I really don't think it is possible to do what you plan. Even if you threw money at it to make it possible, it would be no fun. I suggest you slow down and always stay in a city for at least 3 nights, longer if you are doing daytrips from there.

Maybe if you pick your favourite place, or Paris because you have made travel commitments, then move around gently. For instance you can go down to Nice, cross the border into Italy on the train to see the Cinque Terra. See Provence or the Loire region and enjoy it all. If you feel itchy, take the train from Paris to Venice and back (an overnight trip each way), but I doubt you will want to once you have seen some of France.

Just promise yourselves another trip so you can see some of Italy or Spain!

Robert2533

As noted, tone it down and get some enjoyment out of this trip. And next time try an "open jaw" ticket, flying into one city and out another so that you do not have to waste your valuable time backtracking. Or you might actually want to talk to someone, like a travel planner or travel agent so that you can work out the logistics before committing to anything set in stone. 16 days is not as long as it seems when you’re constantly on the move.

If it were me, I would stick with Paris and northern France in late June, early July, and see and enjoy all that I could. You'll soon find that a week in Paris is hardly enough, it will only wet your appetite for more.

Gretchen

If you need one more--don't do so much so far apart--here it is. You'll "be" those places, but it will be drive by with little enjoyment and no "experience".
Paris and Italy, if you must. Otherwise, just France.

janisj

To pile on:

>>Paris(3 days )-->barcelona (4days)--->Rome(4nights -day trip to amalfi coast)--->Florence(2 nights daytrips to Pisa, Tuscany)--->Venice(2nights)-->Paris <<

Paris = jet lagged 1/2 day on arrival (essentially not a sight seeing day) + 2 days
Barcelona = 1/2 a day on arrival + 3 days
Rome = 1/2 a day on arrival + 2 days + an ill considered day trip to the AC
Florence = NO days at all since you want two days trips . <i>Maybe</i> 1/2 a day on arrival.
Venice = 1.5 days
Paris = no days since it is just for your departure flight.

The ONLY city w/ close to enough time is Barcelona. Slow down - don't spend 30% of your time on/in trains/planes/airports.

msteacher

Just to help you understand why everyone is saying do less, think about what flying between cities means. Even if the flight is short, you need to be at the airport two hours early. And most airports are located about an hour outside the city center, so add an hour to each end. Thus a two hour flight eats up six hours of travel time, plus you need to find your hotel, figure out a new city, etc.

If you are flying in and out of Paris, you should pick just one other flying destination... Italy or Spain. A week in Paris, and then a week in either Rome or Barcelona would be lovely and would give you enough time to do some nice day trips (or even do something like 4 nights Rome, 3 nights Venice) And you may want to consider doing the "other" destination first since you are already at the airport (ie land in Paris, go straight to Rome, then spend the last part of your trip in Paris). Just make sure the flight is leaving from the same airport.

JAMH

As everyone else has said -- too many cities in toot few days. If you go to Rome and have time, two suggested day trips are Pompeii or Orvieto, both of which are easily done by train from Rome in one day. Pompeii will be the more rushed trip because the travel time is longer. I'd suggest Paris and Barcelona or Paris and Rome with returning to Paris by way of Florence and Venice. Also, please start looking for your Paris apartment or hotel ASAP. You have a late start for finding lodging in Paris for a June/July 2013.

Underhill

Just a note: going by train from Paris to Nice will consume about 6-1/2 hours. So there goes most of a day just in travel.