Sharene

Hey guys..

We are planning for our honeymoon trip to Europe (1st timer) & need some advises.

We will visit Italy (Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice & Milan) after Paris.

What is the best route or any suggestions on which cities should we go 1st?

P/s: we will fly home from Milan.

Thank you in advance for the help.


Regards,
Sharene

MmePerdu

How many days do you have between arrival (in Paris?) and leaving from Milan (not including those 2 travel days)? And what month/season will it be?

RonZ

Italian trains see themaninseat61. Fly into Rome, then 1.5 hours to Florence, about 2.5 to CT and 5 or 6 to Venice, 2.5 to Milan. Or fly into MXP, then directly to Venice, Milan last, but only if that alternative is substantially cheaper.

Sharene

Going this end of Sep. Will have 8 full days in Italy (not including those 2 travel days)

MmePerdu

So 8 days for 5 places. Tough, I think, but it depends on why these. Do you have particular reasons for seeing each of these locales, or just general interest? Can you imagine eliminating any of these stops if it would improve the time in those remaining?

Your own thoughts in this regard are more useful than having strangers tell you which should stay and which should go. But I think it will make a better trip to shorten the list.

greg

"Best route" depends on what you want to accomplish. You have not articulated that.

If you are traveling by train, you can use www.trenitalia.com, choose the same day of the week next week since the Sept schedules are not available yet. Get a grasp of how quickly you can move from one place to another. With better understanding of when you can actually get into next city and when you have to leave the previous location, you can get a realistic idea of just how much/little time you have left in each destination.

Otherwise you are building an itinerary in vacuum isolated from what can actually be accomplished.

Sharene

Thanks for the suggestion.

Will not spend much time in Milan. Probably reach Milan the night before we fly out & have a short visit to Duomo di Milano on the next morning & fly back at night.

With 8 days for 4 places, will it works? or still too pack with this schedule?

What is the best route should I go with?

Thank you.

StCirq

I would not want to spend my honeymoon racing from one place to another in Italy, but that is me. With 4 destinations in a mere 8 days, it will be a race. I would put the emphasis on Venice for a honeymoon, personally. Best route depends on your means of travel and what you want most to see, which you have not told us.

Man_in_seat_61

1. The direct and inexpensive train route:

a) Paris to Turin by 186mph TGV train in 5h40 city centre to city centre through the Alps, from €29 (or from €46 in 1st class!), three direct trains a day, www.captaintrain.com

These trains speed across rural France then slow right down through the mountains via Lyon, Chambery, Modane. Power sockets at all seats, carpeted, air-conditioned, there's a cafe-bar on board or bring your own picnic and bottle of wine.

b) Turin to Florence in 2h37 from €19 or Turin to Rome in as little as 3h58 by 186mph high-speed Frecciarossa train from €29 (or from €39 in 1st class) pre-booked at www.trenitalia.com - again, city centre to city centre through the countryside.

2. The ultimate scenic route, and one of my all-time favourites...

a) Paris to Zurich in 4h05 from €25 by TGV high-speed train, www.captaintrain.com - overnight in Zurich or go on to Chur and stop there, your call.

b) Chur to Tirano on the FABULOUS Bernina Express, the best ride through the Swiss Alps that there is, and one of the World's great little train rides. Book at www.rhb.ch or use my tips to do it for as little as €29, http://www.seat61.com/BerninaExpress.htm

c) Tirano to Milan in 2h50 by regional train running every 2 hours, fare around €11, buy at the station (ask in the cafe if ticket office closed) no reservation necessary, and simply hop on the next train, easy.

d) On to Florence, Venice, Rome wherever from €19/€29 pre-booked at www.trenitalia.com - can do that leg the same day you leave Chur, or stop overnight and travel next day, up to you.

2011mckinsey

Hi Sharene!
We just had our trip around Italy by car in October 2015:
1) Started in Rome
2) Went to Peruggia
3) Continued to Siena (to cover Monteriggioni)
4) Then we had a stop in Capannori (to cover Pisa, Forte Dei Marmi and Lucca)
5) After that we had several nights in Florence
6) Then we had a stop in the ancient town called Pienza
7) And our final destination was Rome.
I made several detailed posts about each destination that we visited along with some restaurant & hotel recomendations:

http://followmckinsey.com/visiting-perugia-italy-car/

Southam

The Man in Seat 61 is a persuasive advocate for train travel. However, to see the airborne alternative, www.skyscanner.com is good for Europe's budget airlines. It links to the various companies; for instance, easyJet has some routes from Orly, an easy airport, to Italian destinations. If you are not familiar with these low-cost carriers, be sure to read the home websites very carefully and follow their instructions. Note that they do not connect to other airlines and flights are sold on a one-way basis. And some of the old-line airlines have to compete on price.
Or, as The Man says, ride the rails in more comfort and real scenery.

bvlenci

I agree that maybe you need to cut one destination. Part of the reason is that the four destinations are not very near one another, so there will be a lot of travel time.

If you'd be willing to cut out Rome, you could fly from Paris to Venice, then take the train to Florence, to the Cinque Terre, and finally to Milan.

If you'd be willing to cut out the Cinque Terre, you could fly into Rome, then visit Florence, Venice, and finally Milan.

I think Rome needs at least four nights if you can't live without seeing the Sistine Chapel and taking a tour inside the Colosseum. Both of those are tiring visits and are best done on separate days Then you need a third day to see a little bit of Rome outside the tourist hordes. (September is an even busier month than the summer months.) Since you have limited time, four nights in Rome will almost impossible, so maybe you should cut that.

On the other hand, in September the Cinque Terre is practically sinking under the weight of the tourists, mostly day trippers from cruise ships. I wouldn't go there if I couldn't spend at least two nights, to be able to breathe after the crowd goes back to Livorno. Since it takes a long time to get there either from Venice or Rome, a two-night stay really kills three whole days, and a bit of the fourth.

nytraveler

I would fly from Paris to Rome and then head north from there by train.

However, IMHO you just don't have the time to see much of anything in those places and I would drop the CT, see Florence for the day on the day you train from Rome to Venice. This will give you a little more time in each place - but still very rushed. (IMHO you need at least 3 full days to see just Rome.)

But it really depends on your interests. I haven no interest in hiking so CT does not appeal to me since there are so many other pretty places on the coast. But you still really don't have enough time.

PalenQ

There is also a night train from Paris to Milan and Venice - get a private compartment bring any food or booze onboard and have a romantic interlude perhaps (caution my friend claims his son was conceived on such a night train!) - then start Italy in Venice and work your way to Rome. See www.voyages-sncf.com for train schedules and booking - private compartments cost a lot more than shared couchettes but you do save on the cost of a hotel that night.

For lots of good info on Italian trains check www.seat61.com (Man in Seat 61 who posts above - his commercial site) and www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - note that discounted tickets are train-specific and must be booked far in advance to guarantee getting those limited in number discounted ducats and are I believe basically non-changeable non-refundable but can save a ton over full fare (and fully flexible) tickets. And 1st class can be discounted too - like Man in Seat 61 shows for Paris to Turin and if not much more there is a significant difference between the classes - first being a more relaxed, roomy ride.