i am a pretty experienced traveler but am having a tough time finalizing my itinerary and am looking to my fellow fodorites to weigh in! My husband and I were able to secure frequent flier tickets on American flying into Paris and returning from Rome for a total of ten nights in late September 2011.

We absolutely love Paris and have been on an annual basis the last 5 years. I have been to Rome twice but husband has only been to Venice and has not visited any other part My first thought was to simply divide the time between Paris and Rome but bc my hubbie has not been to other areas of Italy i thought I would introduce one more are to him.

I have been to Florence, Amalfi , Pompei, Umbria and Chianti on previous trips. Of these I am leaning most towards Umbria for two nights. I am also interested in Puglia and would love any feedback on that area.

So basically I am thinking 3 nights in Paris, take easyjest to Rome, rent a car and spend three-4 nights THIS IS WHERE I NEED HELP and then spend our last 3/4nights in Rome.

Umbria.

I spent 6 weeks there on my last trip, in Paciano (a tiny, tiny town that I don't necessarily recommend for a first-time traveler), but maybe Chiusi or Perugia or Spello or thereabouts. Nice contrast to Rome and easy train connections for when you want to go there.

I would recommend to take a plane Paris-Milano, and then rent a car to go to Lake Como and maybe Lago Maggiore, which are beautiful places (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Como).
After a couple of days there, you can stop by at Firenze which is just half of the way to Rome (3-hour drive between Como and Firenze). At the end of your stay, you can leave your car in Rome and take a plane back to Paris.

I am open to flying into Pisa or Milan from Paris and spending 3 nights in a neighboring area with a car. I don't want to shortchange Rome so I plan on spending 4 nights there.

Thanks for the Lake Como tip, I will look into that area as well, but I was hoping to do see an area closer to Rome.

Has anyone out there have any further suggestions? Thank you!

Also in Umbria is Orvieto, just an hour north of Rome by train. It's a lovely little city with the old part on a high mesa. There are plenty of places to visit around there, too.

Woud I need a car in Orvieto or could I spend two nights there with no car?

IMO a car would be wasted in Orvieto.