shopaddict

Hi
Need help! Planning a trip this July from the US to Europe, with husband, 2 kids ages 6 and 9 and my mother in law and sister in law!
My husband and I have been several times before, the rest of our group wants a taste of the musuems and art only (few hours Louvre, etc)...
We hope to go to Paris few days, 1 day in Monaco, few days in Rome, few days in Florence (with day trip to Pisa and maybe the outlet MALL and SPACE) and my in laws may go to Venice for 1-2 days..

Thought I would buy a round trip ticket to Paris and returning from Rome back to the US..and buy internal travel via planes and trains seperately...
any advice on the days/itinerary and transportation?
Please help!
Thanks!

RonZ

Into Paris and out of Rome would be the way to go. You can look up Paris-Monaco here, which would chew up a huge amount of travel time:

http://www.rome2rio.com/

Go to skyscanner.com for Paris-Florence flights from Orly. We like the late PM one from Vueling. Train tickets here, Firenze SM Novella to Roma Termini:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

Hotels on booking.com.

justineparis

I would skip Monaco.. its not on the way to any of your places.. and you are only interested in a day there anyways.

I would arrive in Paris and fly home from Rome.

I would look at flights to Florence, Rome, or Venice from PAris.. Easyjet and Vueling( not Ryanair from Paris as airport Ryanair uses for Paris is 90 kms from Paris and not at all convenient to commute to .. )


If you fly into Venice you can then work your way south to Rome without backtracking.
Trains between the three Italian cities.

Whathello

Monaco doesn't fit with your trip it will cost a full day of travel.

If Monaco is that important I would skip Italy and go to nice and see some of the core d azur. ( you say riviera)

Perso j don't like Monaco.

I would also not travel wit my mother in law ;-)
Nor would she with me now that I think of it.

So from Paris go to Pisa and from there train or car to Roma. See Siena and San gimignano if you have a car.
Don't keep the car in Roma.

Have fun !

Jean

I agree with skipping Monaco. It would take more than half a day to get there and more than half a day to continue on to Florence.

Regarding your day trip to Pisa, is that primarily to see/climb the Leaning Tower? If so, consider the fact that your youngest child will be the only one who can't climb the tower. Everyone else should have a timed reservation before you arrive. If you take any bags or backpacks, get there early enough to store them at the baggage check before your reservation time.

http://www.opapisa.it/en/

If you're sure about the outlet shopping excursion, I've heard you should buy your bus tickets to The Mall in advance as seats do sell out. Alternatively, you can take the train to near The Mall but would need to call for a taxi when you get there. SPACE operates van service from the closest train station, but it's not free. I don't know how easy it would be to shop at both in one day; you'd have to check bus and train schedules or add another taxi ride to your budget for the day. Take your passport if you intend to file for your tax refund while you're at The Mall. There is no tax refund office at SPACE. And, if possible, you might want to investigate what prices might be. A shopaholic friend of mine thought the prices were still very steep. Leather purses well over 500 EUR, wallets well over 200 EUR, Ferragamo shoes almost 200 EUR.

StCirq

I would drop Monaco. Even a half-day there is IMO a waste of time that could be better spent elsewhere, and it's a good bit out of your way.

I wouldn't buy RT tickets to Paris - you'll waste time and money backtracking. Buy open-jaw tickets into Paris and out of Rome.

It's hard to make sense of your plans with only the notions of "few days" here and "few days" there. Whether it's 12 or 14 days, you are still trying to cover a lot of territory, and 12 days can be very different from 14.

PalenQ

trains seperately...
any advice on the days/itinerary and transportation?>

Well trains are great and if you fly between Paris and Rome (seeing Monaco from the air- good enough for many!) you can then take trains thru Italy but be sure to book far in advance at www.trenitalia.com for discounted tickets if you book way in advance - for general info on Italian trains check also www.seat61.com- great info on discounted ticketing you can do online; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Try to fly openjaw - into say Paris and out of Rome - there is also an overnight train between Paris and Venice in case you want to do Paris-Venice-Florence-Rome - more than enough for your time frame.

shopaddict

Thanks for the tips so far. Good was planning on buying open-jaw tickets into Paris and out of Rome.
In the past took the train to the outlets, took taxi to space then to the mall and then back to train. Was younger, no kids and more shop crazy back then. Might just go to the Space.

Bummer about the tower!! My youngest will be 7 but I just looked at the link. So sad that she'd have to be 8 to go up there. No ways to get around that?

Might have to skip Monaco this trip and return sometime when more time for Nice and Côte azure etc.
We have July 1-14 including travel days.

shopaddict

Ok we bought the tickets for flying into Paris July 1st and out of Rome July 14th...planning 4 days in Paris, 4 days in Florence/Tuscany/Pisa with car rental, and 4-5 days in Rome...

We want to try to add another place maybe taking off a day in Florence and off a day in Rome, is it possible to add 2 days in either: Monaco/Nice or Naples/Capri/Pompeii?

janisj

You don't have as much time as you think -- work it out in nights, not days

4 nights Paris Jul. 1,2,3,4 (which equals 3.5 days in the city)

4 nights Florence/Tuscany Jul 5,6,7,8 = 3 full days plus a few hours on your arrival day.

5 nights Rome Jul 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 = 4.5 days (or 5 nights Paris/4.5 days and 4 nights Rome/3.5 days)

Depart Jul 14

So no, don't add any additional

Kathie

I agree - don't add anything to this itinerary.

PalenQ

We want to try to add another place maybe taking off a day in Florence and off a day in Rome, is it possible to add 2 days in either: Monaco/Nice or Naples/Capri/Pompeii?

IMO yes if you want - especially Rome if not doing day trips - this is a subjective thing but I tire of a big crowded city after about 3 days.

Monaco/Nice no because it would take a long time to make that detour but Naples and Capri yes - fast trains in less than 2 hours each way from Rome- especially if you can fly back out of Naples.

Stay in Naples- a wonderful old-worldish city the likes of which you rarely see today - laundry strung across the narrow alleyways of the old town - the great museum on Pompeii finds and others and one day by ferry from Naples to Capri - a beautiful island besides its marquee attraction the Blue Grotto (which can always be closed to boats if tides are high).

Some folks - many here - say you should stay in each place several days to really see it - I demur from that notion - you could also do Capri as a day trip from Rome - train to Naples and take boat - see a little of Naples perhaps - the main museum is not far from the ferry docks.

Capri may be the highlight of your trip - something besides big cities - Florence is smaller than Rome but still a busy city - 2 full days here would be my recommendation but not necessarily more - though you could of course spend weeks here like in any major city and not see it all.

mjs

I agree with Janisj and Kathie. You can add a day to Paris and subtract from Rome perhaps but otherwise it is a reasonable itinerary. If you feel you have extra time you can always do a day trip. Remember that you are traveling in the height of tourist season so everything will be crowded and there will be lines.
Trying to rush as a tourist under such conditions is not ideal.

shopaddict

Thanks all!
any day trip recommendations from Paris? I am planning on going to see Versailles...

and from Florence day trips: Pisa, and others?

and from Rome: villa d'este and tivoli gardens?
Thanks

janisj

>>any day trip recommendations from Paris? I am planning on going to see Versailles…<<

You only have 3.5 days in Paris as it is -- barely time for Versailles let alone another day trip.

PalenQ

Versailles is practically in Paris - to me it is one of the main sights of Paris - 30 minutes or so right to the gates of the chateau - you could travel 30 mins in Paris on a metro to get to say the Eiffel Tower from your hotel, etc.

Go to Versailles - as great to me as anything in Paris besides the Eiffel Tower - and not just the palace but the vast parks and gardens and Le Hameau for sure!

Versailles need take only a half-day and so close that it is a part of Paris - the hour it takes to go there and back is nothing.

Take RER line C right to a terminus station a few blocks from the palace. RER C runs thru the heart of Paris along the Seine and by the Eiffel Tower so twin that with Versailles for a great day.

PalenQ

and from Florence day trips: Pisa, and others?>

My favorite day trip from Florence goes to Siena - an iconic Tuscan hill town - about an hour by dirt-cheap frequent buses - noneed to pre book, etc. Just show up.

nytraveler

Sorry - but what I don;t see here is anything for the 2 kids. Not only are we talking about 6 people traveling together (much more complicated than 2) but 2 of them are not going to be interested in many of the things the rest of your are. And you are going to have to set aide time each day for the kids to just be kids - find a playground or fairly large park where they can run around.

Also the weather in Italy will be hot/humid and with 2 kids there is no way I would stay anyplace without a pool and strong AC - unless you know they like really hot weather.

I think trying to add yet another destination would pretty much guarantee that the trip is very rushed and you will have really cranky kids a lot of the time.

janisj

I agree w/ nyt.

Re Versailles - The kids <i>might</i> enjoy the gardens but otherwise they might be really intimidated by the masses of people and not really able to see much in the palace itself.

Maybe one or two of the adults who really really REALLY want to see Versailles should do it and the rest can do some 'kid stuff' instead . . .

jane1144

Also remember that Rome will be HOT at this time of year. You might find you need more down tie, especially with the kids.