I'd suggest you cross-link between this and your other thread, so that you get all your information linked up, and more importantly, people know what questions you've asked where so that they don't go on repeating themselves.

If you're asking for useful information about this itinerary, it might be an idea to say what it is you all hope to do and see in all these places.

It looks a bit like leaping all over the map. Why not London (train) - Paris (train) - (Barcelona/Marseille in either order) - Italy - Prague?

how do I cross link it Patrick? I know we are a bit over the place the reason is we had booked in some accommodation that can't be swapped due to now being fully booked - Barcelona and Prague and Our original flight lands in London and flies out Frankfurt. The airline company doesn't fly to Italy which has meant my mum has had to fly out from Paris and my husband will land here as our crossing point.

When doing my original plans we wanted to see the chateaus of France. The orignal plan was to hire/ lease a car so it makes a very different trip as now we will be training and hiring a car if we are in a spot to have look around. I still really want to see Carcassone and I love Amboise and Sarlat but I just don't know if 12th of July to the 16th of July gives us enough time to do it.

The other part is from Genoa to Varenna - yes I am going twice - my mum wants to see it and so does my hubby so we are going their twice! Anyway we have one week to get from Geona to Varenna and I am not sure if we should do Lucca or Siena or FLorence or a combo.

I was kinda thinking of 2 places but if someone knows of one place that would be a good base for us then yes please suggest.

I had such a successful time getting your suggestions last time I know it will happen again!

Many thanks!!!

Some of our other threads:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/barcelona-to-varenna-in-5-days-by-car.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/barcelona-3-days-where-to-stay-what-to-do.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/travelling-to-europe-for-89weeks-with-4yr-and-2yr-old-advice-needed.cfm

Thanks janisj!

which would you do do Amboise or Sarlat?

I am thinking train Paris to Brive pick up a car and drive to Sarlat then drive to Carcassone and then train to Barcelona?

>14th June-21st June = We fly to Marseille - SO WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?<

14,15 Arles. Hotel d'Arlatan. sat market day.
16,17,18 Avignon. Le Medieval Hotel-location,location,location
19,20 Aix-en-Provence. th market day.

Aix is as close to airport as Marseille

Train between cities.

thanks Dugi . . .knowing that I am travelling with little kids and my mum who doesn't really want to pack up and be so on the go could we skip Marseille and go straight to Aix? then train to the other places over the week?

crazy - haven't got time for a detailed response now, but I'll be back!

thanks ann!!!!

Ok for berlin . .what's this location like? It seems cheap so I am scared=dodgy!

http://www.holiday-velvet.com/berlin/berlin_apartments/details/schoneberg-style/id/12802/dateFrom/02-08-2013/dateTo/05-08-2013/adults/4/children/0/infants/0/infants/0?utm_source=flipkey&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Available&utm_term=

crazy - have you noticed that it doesn't mention its proximity to the centre of Berlin? I think there's a reason for that, which also explains the price. IMO you really want to be near the zoo or in Mitte, as you are only going to be there for 3 nights.

could you perhaps stretch the budget for that, bearing in mind that eating out in Berlin is cheap?

indydad found somewhere good and cheap to stay in Berlin - I'll see if I can find it.

here we go:

http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-3278-novotel-berlin-mitte/index.shtml

here's his thread discussing Berlin hotels:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/berlin-hotels-363320-2.cfm

and here's his itinerary thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/berlin-itinerary-4-days-over-easter.cfm

<< I still really want to see Carcassone and I love Amboise and Sarlat but I just don't know if 12th of July to the 16th of July gives us enough time to do it.>>

Impossible. And you shouldn't even consider the Dordogne without a car. But in any event, those are three very widely dispersed places (entire regions) and 4 days is simply not enough.

<<knowing that I am travelling with little kids and my mum who doesn't really want to pack up and be so on the go could we skip Marseille and go straight to Aix? then train to the other places over the week?>>

You should skip Marseille, but Aix is too far away for day trips to the tourist sites. You could go directly to Avignon for 4-5 nights and then to Aix for 2-3 nights.Aix is great for cafes and enjoying the ambiance of France but no tourist sites. You could take a day trip, hire a driver, and visit the Luberon hill towns from there.But 7 nights in Aix would be too long without a car.A question, how much luggage will you and mum have? Seems like a problem to me. There may be a time when you have to carry both kids. Without hubby it is tough.

I have another idea.You could take the train from London, Eurostar connecting to TVG in Paris which goes direct to Avignon.The TVG trip is less than 3 hours.

Another idea. The Eurostar from London does go direct to Disneyland , Marne-la-Vallee, for a day or two, then the TVG direct to Avignon. The TVG trip is less than 3 hours.

OK - so this is the tricky part:

10th June -14th June = London

14th June - Fly to Marseille

14th June-21st June = We fly to Marseille - SO WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?

21st June = We fly to Venice

21st June-26th June = Venice

26th June -train from Venice to Varenna

26th June-3rd July Varenna

3rd/4th July - Fly from Milan to Paris

3rd/4th July (not sure yet) - Paris

11th July leave Paris and go ?????? we need to be in Barcelona by the 16th July - we can either rent a car or train???? I'll have hubby so cars won't be an issue from here on!
__________________________________________________

working backwards, as it were, as I understand it you have to be in Paris by 7th July, and to be in Barcelona by the 16th.

in that gap, why not do the Dordogne? - for which you will need a car. then return it somewhere where you can get the train to Barcelona, and go from there?

going back to the beginning, from Paris, [or disney] why not head straight to Nice? everything I've read about it suggests that it's a great place for getting about without a car - plenty of buses and trains - and plenty to see and do. you could then still go to Venice [again great public transport] and i would follow that up with Garda rather than Varenna - lots to do with small children like gardaland and a water-park. and great public transport.

then you could fly back to Paris from Venice or Verona.

<<11th July leave Paris and go ?????? we need to be in Barcelona by the 16th July - we can either rent a car or train???? I'll have hubby so cars won't be an issue from here on!

16th July-19th July Barcelona

19th July - Ferry from Barcelona over to Genoa>>

July 11 Leave Paris: Train to Brive. Rent car and drive to Sarlat.
July 11,12,13,14 sleep in Sarlat.
July 15 Leave Sarlat. Drive to Carcassonne. Sleep in Carcassonne.Or drive to Carcassonne for a 3 stop and drive to Narbonne or Perpignon,turn in car, sleep in either.

July 16 Train to Barcelona from Narbonne or Perpignon.

Note: Since ferries leave at night you may be able to reduce your nights in Barcelona to 2, July 17 and 18,and still have 3 full days in Barcelona.This day could be applied to Sarlat.

HI Ann, SQ and Dugi, THANK YOU!
Ann- thanks for the Berlin links! I'll def take a look and book from there! Also I will do the hire car . .I like why dugi has suggested . .train to Brive and hire a car then stay in Sarlat and drive to Carcasoone and I'll see if I stay there or somewhere else and drop off car and train to Barcelona.

I am going to pack as light as I can . . .I am going to take one of those backpacker backpacks for me to wear while I'm with just the kids and then a small hand luggage case and a duffle/sport style bag. I just said to hubby..it's not like I can't buy clothes if we run out etc . .good excuse for my second favourite past time . .shopping!

My mother and husband both really want to have a long stay in Varenna! It's just something I'm going to have to do.

Many thanks again guys!

now it is looking like I may still need to go to my amboise booking . . .however I won't have a car. I might look into hiring one for a day trip or two but I would like to get there by rail.

I can't seem to figure out which site to use. SQ or someone else can you help? MANY THANKS

It would be a huge mistake to not stop in Marseille this year.

http://www.mp2013.fr/?lang=en

WOW! Thanks for this!

To get train schedules and fars, use www.voyages-sncf.com if you read French, or www.tgv-europe.com (and on the first screen click Antartica). The cheapest fares will be available 3 months out from your day of travel. To get to Amboise you have to switch trains in Tours, and you might as well pick up the car in Tours anyway (a city will always have more rentals available than a town). And you do the car rentals ahead of time with www.autoeurope.com or www.kemwel.com.

I'd love to see a trip report on this. With video, if possible.

Building on the info posted by StCirq. I use tgv-europe with great britain as ticket collection country which keeps you at the tgv europe website in English instead of transferring you to Raileurope website.

You will find that you can take the train to Amboise from Paris (intercities) or you can take a train from Tours (ter).

You do not need to go to your Amboise booking. You choose to.
You have to deal with a mountain. If you choose Amboise fine. If you would rather not that is fine also. Any non refund of a booking is a factor, but should not be absolute. You have too many conflicting requirements.

By the way, what dates are your Amboise booking?

crazy - if you booked through booking.com or similar sites, [or with some hotels direct come to that] they often have very generous cancellation terms.

worth looking at if you are reviewing the Amboise booking.

alternatively with such a long trip, the cancellation charges [which at this point may not be that high anyway] may be worth sucking up.

Goodmorning ...I am thinking that! We had a booking for Amboise 29th June to 2nd July. I didn't book through booking.com and as beautiful as it is I am thinking it would be better to spend the week in Paris and then do day trips on the trains to find places /castels and chateaus etc

Thanks everyone . .I really do appreciate your help in all this!

Ok...hope you all agree with my choice for our stay in Berlin

http://www.melia.com/hotels/germany/berlin/melia-berlin/index.html

it seems reasonable and a good location

It looks great - book it.

BOOKED Not getting caught out again!!!! hahahaha

Ok so we will leave Paris on the 12th July and go to Bordeaux by train we will pick up our car and drive to Sarlat (prior booking which had allowed date changes ) We will leave on the 15th and drive to Carcassonne for the night and then drive to the best train station to drop off the car and catch the train into Barcelona.

Hopefully this sounds ok

YES! Melia in Berlin looks terrific.

A nice idea is to do a boat trip around the canals and river; you can even get a boat all the way to Charlottenburg to see the chateau and gardens.

your plan for Sarlat looks fine too. my only comment is that Brive would be closer than Bordeaux but if that's the train you can get....

[FYI Brive is about an hour's drive from Sarlat, Bordeaux about 2x that so even Bordeaux isn't that far away]

Hi ann, we originally was going to get the car from Brive but I was told that at times it is difficult to collect a car from this location and bordeaux is a better choice. Also I guess we can have a quick wander/ drive around before Sarlat. Just a thought but that was why we were going to collect the car from here.

Glad the hotel in Berlin is good. The prices were very reasonable in comparrison to the rest of the trip that's for sure! That one is all booked in!

I am getting somewhere! Slowly but surely!

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/day-tripping-from-paris-468062-2.cfm

thought I would post this handy thread!

crazy - i understand about the cars. Have you checked the car hire options at both places? if you prebook [which surely you will need to do with 6 people] hopefully there wouldn't be too much difficulty in either place.

Berlin is great and the food prices are very reasonable - if your kids like schnitzel and bratwurst!

Hi Ann, I haven't looked into it yet but I will and if I can get the automatic in Brieve then that is what we will do.

Oh and my kids would live on sausages if they could! hahahaha that and hot chips!

Ok...Frankfurt is booked!

http://www.palmenhof.com

The apartment though. I believe it is a great location. We are spending over our budget for this but I figure by the end of the trip we are going to want somewhere nice to relax etc.

So Prague,Berlin and Frankfurt is sorted!

Just got to sort Italy . . .anyone stayed in a 2 bed villa in Italy that had great little drives. We are thinking Sienna for the week . . .THOUGHTS?

Thanks everyone!

I stayed in a sort of "villa complex" called Vacanze Ideale in Umbria twice a few years ago. Had a darling little sort of cabin with a big fold-out sofa on the first floor and a double bed on the "loft floor" that my daughter loved. It had a nice kitchen, a balcony and a front patio where we ate most of our meals. It was not at all "resort-like," just a simple place in the countryside outside Paciano (a tiny, lovely town), but it had two or three pools, several of these little cabins, a kind of "hotel" across the street where other people stayed, an exercise room, a "party room" I never saw being used, and lovely grounds. It was 300 euros a week for the two of us (and we could have fit more into the space.

It was absolutely incredibly wonderful - and so inexpensive we couldn't believe it. I bet they've raised their prices, but still...http://www.vacanzeideali.it/

ooohh ...thanks looks beautiful .. will send an email and see what they say . . .300 for the week would be amazing! But I am not holding my breath!

SQ- the week in South France . .what would you suggest with Mum and I . .. we won't have a car.

It IS beautiful, and incredibly wonderful for children of all ages because there are children all over the place, but once you're in your villa for the night, it's over...quiet, BUT I think I got a deal because an acqaintance of mine who lived close by made a deal... BUT...go for it because it is such a nice place and such a good deal and your kids would love it

So what happened to the UK? Weren't you doing two weeks there? Even without a car you can still see plenty based in London or London plus Bath.

still doing a week in London but won't have a car so it will be day trips from London this time.

Hopefully we will get to Bath for a quick look.

Thanks SQ .. just waiting to hear from them. Looks great!

SQ ..booked out for our dates shame!

Bummer...but look for other places in that area. It's a bit "out of the way" but so much to see and do, and beautiful.

Where in the South of France are you headed? South of France is a HUGE expanse of territory.

Testing our understanding. You are traveling with mum and the kids. No car.You have been to Nice and Monaco and do not wish to visit there.
<<14th June - Fly to Marseille from London
14th June-21st June = Provence - SO WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?
21st June = We fly to Venice from Marseille?>>

Morning SQ and Dugi - good memory and yes you are right. I haven't booked the flights so we don't have to fly in and out from those locations but we will need to fly as mum doesn't want to manage luggage and children on multi stop trains.

Basically wanting a nice little town/village with shops and cafes and do day tips etc Avignon is only place I can think of because our travel pamphlets don't really show us any other places.

Thanks for your help and yes I will look for some place in that area SQ it looked great!

In/around Provence, look at Ile-sur-la-Sorgue, St-Rémy, Maussane-les-Alpilles, and Uzès.

And as for Italy/Umbria, look for places in/near Panicale as well as Paciano (which literally has a population of about 75, so there might not be a lot of places to choose from). Or in or near Chiusi or some of the spa towns in the hills nearby.

Ok thanks for that . .will take a look .. without a car we do worry but as I said to mum if we have a base training with the kids is fine as long as I don't need to luggage as well etc . .I am thinking St Remy . . .Mum said we should think about Nice as a base and fly out from there to Venice. So 1 week London, 1 week St Remy/Nice, 1 week Venice/Varenna, 1 week Paris - then hubby joins so we can do cars etc.

How does this sound . . .we can go over a week here and there so each place has at least 4 days in it.

Thanks for everyones help!

<<1 week London, 1 week St Remy/Nice, 1 week Venice/Varenna, 1 week Paris
How does this sound . . .we can go over a week here and there so each place has at least 4 days in it.>>

This itinerary is excellent. You could split your time in Provence with St Remy and Nice, or just St Remy, either will work. Nice,alone would not work, as it is too far from the heart of Provence.Even though St Remy is not serviced by train, it is an easy bus or taxi ride from both Avignon and Arles. Also, Les Baux, castle ruins and medieval town, are close by.

Hi...that's great news! I think 4 days in each place would be good. So we would need to fly into avignon and then catch a taxi to St Remy and then would we train or drive to Nice?

You would probably fly into a major airport like Marseille or Nice, train to Avignon, taxi to St Remy. I do not know if there are convenient and reasonably priced flights from a London airport to Avignon.After 4 days in St Remy, train to Nice from Avignon for 4 more days. Then fly to Venice from Nice. All this is if you do not rent(hire) a car.

Morning Dugi . . thanks for that! I might even see if I can stretch them to 5 days each. Since you loose time in the travel etc. I'll get the calendar out ...AGAIN Thanks for all your help! With Nice .. .would a property on the beach or in the old town be best? I found this one

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/VacationRentalReview-g187234-d1728606-Palais_de_la_Mer-Nice_French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence.html

But no reviews yet so I wasn't sure about the location etc.

Many thanks,
Claire

Ok today was about Tuscany . . .what are your thoughts about this place

http://www.italyperfect.com/tuscany-arezzo-villa/belvedere.html

it fits in with the availability and price . . looks like a good area. Would stay a week.

It looks really nice, I think you should book it.

thanks cathies! Will be able to get about and see lots of towns from here with a car?

With a car yes, we stayed in that region and loved it.

recent change today - looks like we fly from london to nice. Everything I have read has said this place is great for without a car. the question is now do we do an apartment or two hotel rooms. I like blue beach but I am not sure if the location is good. I also saw this apartment thorough someone else thread and it is really well priced

http://www.go-nice.com/le_grimaldi_property_details.aspx

what are your thoughts. DO you have any apartments or areas to look at?

Nice is a great place to stay without a car. Click on my name for my French TR. I've been back since that trip and still have plenty left to explore. Rue Grimaldi is a good, central location.

thanks thursdaysd . . . so that apartment is good??? I wasn't sure ...we do have the kids so I was thinking living across from the sea. So hard but glad nice is a good swap! THANKS

I'm not convinced that a sea view is worth additional expense. BTW, don't be thinking sandy beach. It's pebbles.

True . . .what about blue beach . . my other thought is staying at that hotel and using the private beach.

Which hotel? Do you mean the apartment you linked? That's further from the center than I would choose, but then I totally don't care about the beach except to look at.

Regarding your Tuscan Villa option above

I found another website with the same property-more photos

http://www.lupinari.com/luxury-farmhouse-tuscany.html

Looks fabulous! A little off the beaten path. But you can make day trips depending where you want to go.

Hi dugi - I know it is off the central towns etc but I figure we have a car and it looks like a real treat where some days we might just do little adventures and then just relax by the pool etc with the kids. I have had one thought though. Are the roads well lit at night. I am thinking our dinners in towns and then driving back might not be a good idea if the roads aren't well lit etc.

Once again, Thanks everyone for helping!

No, the roads are not well lit. You should still book it, but perhaps have your main meal at lunch time in a restaurant and then prepare something at home in the evenings. Chances are the kids will be exhausted anyway.

yes good thoughts on that Cathie! all that antipasto ...I am sure that we will be fine! I am just waiting to hear from them and there is one other place as well that I have found and love so either would be great! I had a feeling that roads would be like that. DOes it stay light for ages like in australia and the summer?

Also, the nice apartments. I have been offered here

https://www.rivierapebbles.com/scripts/property.php?property_id=222

NOt sure what the location is like.

Thanks everyone for your help!

DOes it stay light for ages like in australia and the summer?>>

how long it stays light depends on the latitude - same as in Oz.

the further you are from the equator, the greater the difference between daylight and night hours - so in the UK, in June when days are longest, it gets dark at about 10pm. in Italy, it'll be earlier than that as it's closer to the equator.

love the position of the rivieria pebbles apartment BTW.

<<Are the roads well lit at night. I am thinking our dinners in towns and then driving back might not be a good idea if the roads aren't well lit etc.>>

Tuscany.The country roads are not lit at all. But I would not let that stop you from going out to dinner at night. The car headlights will give sufficient light. And it does stay light into the night. A bigger concern is finding your way back at night. The roads look different in the dark and on the return route. I am an advocate of both a hand held GPS( or one rented with the car) and local maps of scale 1:150 000. You will be expected to be copilot for Hubby. This will put a strain on your marriage for sure. No screaming in front of the kids allowed. LOL. Maybe you will run into a "herd" of wild boar crossing the road, we did, which will delight the kids.We love staying in the countryside.

Hi everyone! Thanks for that great feedback. Sadly they don't really have an apartment big enough they have one bedrooms and we could use a sofa bed but I feel I would rather have the space if over a week so..... thoughts . .. .

http://www.santantonio.it/en/doc-s-31-459-1-16___le_rughe.aspx

Many thanks for your feedback on Nice .. . we are booking it in!

We are staying here over new years and my friend has given it great reviews (she spent part of her honeymoon there and goes back every year)

http://www.santantonio.it/

That's great news. They are not sure if they can fit us into the resort but there is an apartment near by that they feel may be suitable. Just waiting to hear back.

SantAntonio, the resort, is very highly regarded, so I am sure the apartment will also be to that standard. Good luck.

What are your dates for staying in Tuscany? The area surrounding Montipulciano and Pienza(Val D'Orcia) is A+++.

http://www.agriturismocerreto.com/

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/agriturismo-cerreto-pienza.en-us.html?aid=309824;label=hotel-302472_T-1_Pool-com_Slice-99999;sid=3f518088b0176515c7f771a7b935354c;dcid=1;checkin=2013-07-20;checkout=2013-07-27;group_adults=2;group_children=2;age=4;age=2;srfid=b480c2699160fc552a3eba3007d05837ed7ecf7aX1

http://www.booking.com/searchresults.html?src=searchresults&city=-124713&order=popularity&ssne=Pienza&ssne_untouched=Pienza&error_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.en-us.html%3Faid%3D309824%3Blabel%3Dhotel-302472_T-1_Pool-com_Slice-99999%3Bsid%3D3f518088b0176515c7f771a7b935354c%3Bdcid%3D1%3Bcheckin%3D2013-07-20%3Bcheckout%3D2013-07-27%3Bcity%3D-124713%3Bclass_interval%3D1%3Bcsflt%3D%257B%257D%3Bhighlighted_hotels%3D302472%3Binac%3D0%3Boffset%3D0%3Bredirected_from_city%3D0%3Bredirected_from_landmark%3D0%3Breview_score_group%3Dempty%3Bscore_min%3D0%3Bss_all%3D0%3Bssb%3Dempty%3Bradius%3D0%3B&aid=309824&dcid=1&label=hotel-302472_T-1_Pool-com_Slice-99999&sid=3f518088b0176515c7f771a7b935354c&si=ai%2Cco%2Cci%2Cre%2Cdi&ss=Pienza&radius=&checkin_year_month=2013-7&checkin_monthday=20&checkout_year_month=2013-7&checkout_monthday=27&in_a_group=on&org_nr_rooms=1&org_nr_adults=2&org_nr_children=0&group_config=&group_adults=2&group_children=2&age=2&age=4&highlighted_hotels=302472&dest_type=city&dest_id=-124713
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g644280-d1498262-Reviews-Agriturismo_Cerreto-Pienza_Tuscany.html

Forget the second link. It double charged
Sorry for the confusion

Really, really look at your itinerary again carefully & be very sure you have to have a car all the time. It is IMPOSSIBLE to use a car in Venice and, as other comments have suggested, you do NOT want to risk life & limb driving in any major city in Italy. And it is absolutely that bad, I promise.

Trains, especially the high speed trains, are excellent - book yourself first class if at all possible, and remember how much money you're saving by not renting a car & paying for fuel & insurance all that time. However, remember to pack food & drink for your party. What food may be available on the trains is DREADFUL and very, very expensive.

I'd also like to make a suggestion about strollers for both children. I am quite sure the 4-year old will want to walk everywhere... until he doesn't. Buy 2 of the best quality, sturdiest, folding strollers (NOT those horrible umbrella strollers!) you can find (you can re-sell them later to another enterprising mum who will be travelling with similar aged children) and enjoy the bliss of having lots of storage space for packages, purses, cameras, etc. as well as lots of safety AND great weather protection for the children. If you're worried about flying with them, the airlines MUST accommodate them, and you will be very, very grateful for them later.

I do want to add, about all the flying.... if you don't have to go by air, do consider trains. The sleeping compartments are very comfortable & safe for a family of three or four (even 5, with the toddler, if necessary) and so much less hassle than flying.

Honest to god, if I had the time to sail across the Atlantic instead of flying, I would. I hate airports, airlines, the miserable & endless and soulless security checks, the whole process. When I travel domestically - or internally in Europe - it's by train or car.

Regarding SantAntonio - yes, yes, a million times YES!

Stayed for 10 days and rented a little Fiat 500 to zoom around Tuscany. Nico and his wife, the owners of Sant'Antonio are lovely and helpful.

How about this one?

http://www.santantonio.it/en/doc-s-27-415-1-12___leonardo_da_vinci.aspx

Hi Everyone!

Nico can't get us into the resort but they can get us into here. I know it's no pool etc but we are allowed to use their grounds and pool whenever we like and the location looks great. 200m isn;t too far for parking.

http://www.santantonio.it/en/doc-s-31-459-1-16___le_rughe.aspx

<<<The8tergirl>>> We only have a car now for the south of France with HUbby and for the week in Italy. The rest of the time we are training, flying and ferry. I understand about the trains etc ..my concern was the thief that happens . .less likely in the airport.

We aren;t travelling too much . . .we fly from London to Nice . . .we fly NIce to Venice . . . We fly Venice to Paris . . all travelling on this section will be done via trains and taxis/private cars

Paris to Bordeaux train . . .car for Sarlat to Carcassonne to best drop off for train into Barcelona.

Ferry Barcelona to Genoa. Pick up car. Week in Tuscany. Travel to the lakes/Milan

Fly Milan to Prague....train Prague to Berlin . . .train berlin to Frankfurt

so it's not too bad.

I guess with two small children I just want to do the i's and cross the t's so to speak.

Stroller wise I plan on buying the bugaboo bee while over there second hand on gumtree uk . . .they have a great resale value over here and I know they are a good stroller and my son knows how to stand on it so the he can have a ride etc.

Thanks again everyone for your help. Now to look at the links dugi has given me

ok ..anyone stayed here?

http://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/new-chelsea-cloisters.en-gb.html?aid=356987;label=gog235jc-index-XX-XX-XX-brand-au-com;sid=8ef656519784bfcd53526bccd495f179;dcid=1;checkin=2013-06-10;checkout=2013-06-17;group_adults=2;group_children=2;age=4;age=2;srfid=0fa75e58f50374f9583c2dcf89eca7123aad4ff5X13

Yes! Nico will make sure to take care of you, the place in Montepulciano looks great

Wait...you're going to Bordeaux?? Why?

Agree...why go to Bordeaux???

Chelsea Cloisters - the review score on booking.com is only 6.8. Have you read the reviews to find out why? I don't usually look at anything under 8.0.

It might be time for another new thread, I've totally lost track of your itinerary.