jorgevgm

Hi,
Im flying to Paris next month and need to get to Florence, Italy and I have about 2 weeks get there.. so my question is, what do you recommend to take and what destinations ? I was thinking staying in paris 3 nights and then take the fast train and get to Nice or Marseille and perhaps visit the French Riviera.. then get to Italy from there...
If you can recommend me any suggestionswhich cities you recommend and what other route perhaps is better.. I will greatly appreciate it

thank you

jorgevgm

I forgot to mention I will be going with my wife, and our budget is not that high but not too low. We enjoy good food and wine and love the beach.. thank you

StCirq

Frankly, I would just fly. I long ago gave up on trying the navigate the intricacies of getting from France to Italy - too much trouble on the road, on trains, just a big pain. Fly.

bvlenci

There is now a direct train connection from Nice (and other French cities) to Milan, avoiding the pains St.Cirq has suffered in the past.

https://www.thello.com/?iLangID=3

The are big discounts if you reserve well in advance. Even a few days in advance, you can find tickets between Nice and Milan for under €50. The train makes a lot of stops along the Italian Riviera, and in Genova, before getting to Milan. It's not what you would call a high-speed train (almost five hours), but it avoids the awful change of trains in Ventimiglia.

sandralist

I suggest taking the scenic train from Paris to Torino -- about 5 hours -- and, after visiting Torino -- a very interesting and attractive small Italian city with good food and drink (including cocktails), museums of great variety -- either rent a car and continue to Florence on an inland route that goes through the rest of Piemonte and the Emilia-Romagna for more food and wine and beautiful small art cities, or you can take a train from Torino to the Italian Riviera (about 2 hours away) and then spend some time on the coast, slowly making your way to Florence. You might want to stop by Lucca and Pisa. You can rent a car and see other parts of Tuscany.

If you are going in March, it is not ideal seaside weather. If you have 2 weeks to loiter, you might find it more interesting to go inland in Italy.

But if there are historic and art attractions in the south of France that you would really like to see, then the simplest thing might be to go there by train, rent a car, do a lot of sightseeing, then take a flight from Marseilles or Nice to Italy. Fly to Rome and you can take a train to Florence and be there in under 2 hours. Or Milan. Several possibilities.

bvlenci

Yes, Torino is a lovely city, very different from Milan, although I love Milan.

ssander

If you decide to fly...

We got a $43 Air France flight from Bologna to Paris for May.

Don't know your date, but the Air France site shows non-stop fares as low as $53 in May depending on date and time.

ssander

ssander

...non-stop Paris to Florence, that is.

ssander

neckervd

there are dozens of areas and towns worth to stay between Paris and Florence, like
Dijon, Beaune and Burgundy
Lyon, Vienne and Perouges
Ardeche and Chauvet Cave
Avignon-Pont du Gard-Nimes-Arles-St. Rhemy/Glanum-Les Baux
Lake Geneva area, Aosta and Turin
the Swiss Alps
Strasbourg-Colmar-Riquewihr-Freiburg-Basel
Central Switzerland
Cannes-Nice-San Remo and hinterland
Genoa and the cental Riviera
Lake Maggiore, Milan and Bergamo
Cremona, Mantova and Parma
Lake Garda, Verona and Padova