ellenk1994

Ira. Thanks for the advice. I definitely agree that my knowledge of some french will help. I probably should have mentioned earlier however that my mom has spent time in Italy and is actually fluent in the language. I also am definitely now considering pushing the trip's date back.

Michel_Paris

Are you thinking of renting a car? Travel by train?

When you cross over borders, I might suggest that you do no do so via car, unless you will be returning to the originating country. Drop-off fess for cars between countries can be large.

You could rent car for Italy, then, when done, train to Nice for example. Rent car,etc.. You don't want a car in cities where you will be spending several days.

I could see 10 days Italy, 10 days France and 10 days Austria.
Austria does not get credit for being a good destination. We rented a car in Vienna and then headed out across the country, very scenic. And then we dipped into Italy (Lake District)and Switzerland (Lugano, Lucerne) and flew home from there.

Only concern would be time of year. Snow and being off season.

Also, Open Jaw flights. You don't want to fly into and back home out of same airport.

ellenk1994

Surfergirl, Thanks so much for the advice. I wasn't aware that southern french accents would be easier to understand, however that will definitely be useful when planning my route. I also will look into seeing a movie while in France.

ellenk1994

Michel_Paris, we were thinking about staying in various cities for about 4 or 5 days at a time each and taking day trips out of the cities by train. However, what would you suggest for travelling between cities? Train or car? Also, Austria is definitely one of the top countries on my list, and I like the idea of 10 days in each country.

Michel_Paris

The train system is quite good. If you were doing Rome and Venice, for example, it might be best to take train, since no need to have car in either location.

But if you were going to Tuscany, only real way to see countryside is to have a car.

It is finding the blend between roaming the countryside in a car, discovering places, stopping wherever you want..and then not going nuts trying to drive in a large city. And, with high speed trains and discount air carrier, you could jump from...Rome to Vienna cheaply and not need the car.

Staying that long in a city is a good idea, gives you a chance to get a bit more in depth. For somewhere like Paris, you could base yourself longer there (maybe get an appartment), and plan on doing day trips outside of the city (by train).

PalenQ

But if you were going to Tuscany, only real way to see countryside is to have a car.>

I disagree - I have taken SITA buses all over Tuscany and Umbria and I have also drive around Tuscany and Umbria - you can get to any ole hill town by bus and the bus drops you off near the top of the hill - parking in busy seasons is IME often down below the hill - buses run very very frequent routes and are dirt cheap - Florence to Seina for example about 4-5 euros I believe.

I also found the driving to be fatiguing - narrow twisting roads - if you get behind a lorry it can be really slow going. Driving is fine but you certainly do not need a car to explore the countryside of Tuscany and Umbria IME. A car does obviously have some benefits of setting your own schedules, etc but will also be a whole lot more expensive - especially with petro about $9-10 a gallon these days I would think.

suze

Sorry I didn't know that Austria was the 'top of your list' when I suggested dropping it. I was only thinking geographically that northern Italy, thru Switzerland, into France would make a good one month route, not trying to cover too much ground. Austria being a bit more out of the way.

kleeblatt

The hotels in Venice are usually booked out way in advance during carnival time. Only go if you have booked accommodation.

February / March is cool to cold in Europe. There can be a wicked cold wind blowing so bring shawls and layers of clothes.

Personally, I'd spend 2 weeks in France working your way down to the coast and 2 weeks in Italy. I was once in Florence in March and they had just got a covering of snow on the ground.

ldh

For a first time trip I would suggest Paris, with daytrips to Versailles and the Loire Valley. I spent 2 weeks in Paris with my daughter while she did research for her PHD. During the day she would be at the library and I explored on my own. Late afternoons and the 2 weekends we had, we did a mini-van tour to a few Loire Valley Chateaus, and daytrips to Chartres and Chantilly by train. I daytripped to Versailles on my own one day while she worked. It was a nice mix of different areas, and gave us ideas on where to return to in the future. It is an easy train trip on the TGV to your choice of an area in Provence and from there to the French Riviera. From there you can easily move on to Italy. Milan would make a good 1-2 night stay as you could visit the stunning cathedral, see "The Last Supper" and then use the Milan train hub for a fast connection to Florence where you could daytrip to Siena and maybe San Gimingano, then back on the train to Venice for 3-4 nights. That gives you 2-3 days. One for wandering Venice, one for seeing your choice of the top sights and maybe one for taking the boat to Murano/Burano,Torcello. From there back on the train and head to Austria. Maybe like this: Paris 6 nights
Provence area 4 nights
Nice area 3 nights
Florence 4 nights
Venice 4 nights
Austria 7 nights to be
divided per your research
This is just a suggestion of how to start looking at it. Obviously you could reverse your direction and fill in your choice of daytrips, etc. I'd use the German railsite to search the train schedules for planning between stops. I didn't suggest Rome only because it would be a longer journey and you don't want to use too much time getting back and forth. This general route gives you a flavor of each area and a big enough taste to influence where you would most like to go for a longer, in depth visit.
On our first trip to Italy we did a day trip to Siena--when we returned the following year we stayed there 4 nights and walked EVERY street, soaking up the views and atmosphere. On a later trip we flew into Bologna so spent 2 nights there before taking the train on to our next destination. It was long enough to decide for us, it was not a favorite, although we did have our most memorable meal there.

So many choices, so much fun making up your mind. Get out your maps and your guidebooks then check the train schedule possibilites, and also consider the proabable weather while you're traveling, and it will be as much fun planning as it will be when you get there. And of course, there is always the option of renting a car if your desired destination isn't accessible by train or bus.