12 days in France/ Italy
Jun 30th, 2009, 10:04 AM
#1
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12 days in France/ Italy
Me and my wife plan to start from Paris in mid of July with the following itinerary:
Day 1-5 Paris
Day 6 Marseilles
Day 7-8 Nice
Day 9-10 Venice
Day 11-12 Rome
We are not sure which of these places need more or less time. Is Florence or Milano worth seeing? Also, can we have a day trip to Amsterdam rather than staying in Marseilles.
Day 1-5 Paris
Day 6 Marseilles
Day 7-8 Nice
Day 9-10 Venice
Day 11-12 Rome
We are not sure which of these places need more or less time. Is Florence or Milano worth seeing? Also, can we have a day trip to Amsterdam rather than staying in Marseilles.
Jun 30th, 2009, 10:17 AM
#2
H; You need to consider your plan has too much time spent on a 'train'. You could think about this for your 12 days. 1. Venice, Florence and Rome or 2. Paris, Marseilles and Nice. Forget Amsterdam for this trip. I asume you are you talking about 2010? Dick
Jul 2nd, 2009, 01:22 AM
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Hi,
I have actually travelled to every city you have mentioned.
Now from 1-5 in Paris will be fine. If you had more days to play with I would recommend more time.
Defintely skip marseilles, unless you have to go via there to get to nice.
Nice is great, although very expensive like all of the french Riviera.
From Nice, I take it you plan to get a flight or otherwise a train can be done but it will be rather long. I got a train from Nice to Milan which was fine though. Having said that, I would defintely recommend not even considering Milan, and you would want at least 2 days in Venice which is an amazing city for any couple.
From there I would only recommend going to Florence and staying there instead of Rome just because you need at least 4 days in Rome, so perhaps consider that on another trip.
Also the same goes for Amsterdam.
Hope this helps,
OHandrew
OH-Holidays
I have actually travelled to every city you have mentioned.
Now from 1-5 in Paris will be fine. If you had more days to play with I would recommend more time.
Defintely skip marseilles, unless you have to go via there to get to nice.
Nice is great, although very expensive like all of the french Riviera.
From Nice, I take it you plan to get a flight or otherwise a train can be done but it will be rather long. I got a train from Nice to Milan which was fine though. Having said that, I would defintely recommend not even considering Milan, and you would want at least 2 days in Venice which is an amazing city for any couple.
From there I would only recommend going to Florence and staying there instead of Rome just because you need at least 4 days in Rome, so perhaps consider that on another trip.
Also the same goes for Amsterdam.
Hope this helps,
OHandrew
OH-Holidays
Jul 2nd, 2009, 03:54 AM
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I agree with the above, for 12 days pick 3, max 4 stops. Figure in half a day loss for each move (depending on how far you are traveling this could be more). Also, do your 12 days include flying, if not, then you really only have 10 days.
I like to lay my trips out like this:
Day 1 - Paris
Day 2 - Paris
Day 3 - Paris
Day 4 - Paris
Day 5 - Paris
Day 6 - Paris - Marseille (lose 1/2 day)
Day 7 - Marseille - Nice (lose 1/2 day)
Day 8 - Nice
Day 9 - Nice - Venice (lose 1/2 day)
Day 10 - Venice - Rome (lose 1/2 day)
Day 11 - Rome
Day 12 - Rome
Day 13 - Travel day (if travel day is day 12 you lose that day in Rome)
You can see that this doesnt make for a lot of sightseeing, but a lot of travel. YI'd consider choosing Paris, Nice, and either Venice or Rome.
Hope this helps! Happy Travels!
I like to lay my trips out like this:
Day 1 - Paris
Day 2 - Paris
Day 3 - Paris
Day 4 - Paris
Day 5 - Paris
Day 6 - Paris - Marseille (lose 1/2 day)
Day 7 - Marseille - Nice (lose 1/2 day)
Day 8 - Nice
Day 9 - Nice - Venice (lose 1/2 day)
Day 10 - Venice - Rome (lose 1/2 day)
Day 11 - Rome
Day 12 - Rome
Day 13 - Travel day (if travel day is day 12 you lose that day in Rome)
You can see that this doesnt make for a lot of sightseeing, but a lot of travel. YI'd consider choosing Paris, Nice, and either Venice or Rome.
Hope this helps! Happy Travels!
Jul 2nd, 2009, 03:56 AM
#5
I get told off for being rude about people who try to fit too much in so...
You probably should reduce the scope of your visit. If you were doing a world top hundred only Rome, Venice and Paris would get in. The other two might come in within the top fivethousand. Milan falls in the same group while Amsterdam in the top thousand and is a bit out of the way.
So for me 5, 3, 4 days P V R
If you really must fit anything in drop in on florence between Venice and Rome. But you may be upset to leave after a day
You probably should reduce the scope of your visit. If you were doing a world top hundred only Rome, Venice and Paris would get in. The other two might come in within the top fivethousand. Milan falls in the same group while Amsterdam in the top thousand and is a bit out of the way.
So for me 5, 3, 4 days P V R
If you really must fit anything in drop in on florence between Venice and Rome. But you may be upset to leave after a day
Jul 2nd, 2009, 04:30 AM
#6
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Skip Marseilles and Nice.
Paris Paris Paris Paris
Provence- Isle sur Sorgue, Gordes, Chateau Neuf.....
Tuscany- Sienna, Pienza, Lucca, Florence.....
then Venice
12 days not enough it never is
I wouldn't go to Rome at all
yes it is a city to see but not when u are doing 2 countries
unless u want just the usual Paris Rome Florence Venice
Paris Paris Paris Paris
Provence- Isle sur Sorgue, Gordes, Chateau Neuf.....
Tuscany- Sienna, Pienza, Lucca, Florence.....
then Venice
12 days not enough it never is
I wouldn't go to Rome at all
yes it is a city to see but not when u are doing 2 countries
unless u want just the usual Paris Rome Florence Venice
Jul 2nd, 2009, 05:53 AM
#7
Flyhi,
Like many others I would suggest limiting the number of locals you want to fit into a 12 day trip. Also as has been pointed out if your 12 days includes flying time you really only have 10 days. I think a Paris - Nice - Venice trip would be great but you final destination may depend on where you catch your flight back to the US. If you are flying in and out of Paris you might want to alter the the cities you select for your visit ( perhaps Paris - Venice - Nice - Paris). I think the travel itself, particularly if you are going by train, can be part of the experience. Have a great time and bring good walking shoes!
Like many others I would suggest limiting the number of locals you want to fit into a 12 day trip. Also as has been pointed out if your 12 days includes flying time you really only have 10 days. I think a Paris - Nice - Venice trip would be great but you final destination may depend on where you catch your flight back to the US. If you are flying in and out of Paris you might want to alter the the cities you select for your visit ( perhaps Paris - Venice - Nice - Paris). I think the travel itself, particularly if you are going by train, can be part of the experience. Have a great time and bring good walking shoes!
Jul 2nd, 2009, 06:25 AM
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frenchwow, the OP said nothing about wanting to visit Provence or Tuscany. S/he seems city-oriented.
To the OP, you can fly Easyjet from Paris Orly (closer, easier access) to Nice. I'd skip Marseille on this trip. But there are no short or inexpensive flights from Nice to Venice, so it would have to be a long train ride.
Nice makes an excellent base for day trips by train and/or bus around the Cote d'Azur. And it's a very interesting city in itself. You could easily spend several days there.
Or you could skip the Cote d'Azur completely, fly MyAir from Paris to Venice, then train or fly to Rome.
Or (it hurts me to say this) you could skip Venice. Several budget airlines fly from Nice to Rome.
Is this trip for this July? If so, you might find some availability problems. That could make the decision for you.
And, yes, Milan and Florence are well-worth seeing, but save them for another trip. Unless you want to break up that long train trip from Nice to Venice. Then stop over in Florence.
To the OP, you can fly Easyjet from Paris Orly (closer, easier access) to Nice. I'd skip Marseille on this trip. But there are no short or inexpensive flights from Nice to Venice, so it would have to be a long train ride.
Nice makes an excellent base for day trips by train and/or bus around the Cote d'Azur. And it's a very interesting city in itself. You could easily spend several days there.
Or you could skip the Cote d'Azur completely, fly MyAir from Paris to Venice, then train or fly to Rome.
Or (it hurts me to say this) you could skip Venice. Several budget airlines fly from Nice to Rome.
Is this trip for this July? If so, you might find some availability problems. That could make the decision for you.
And, yes, Milan and Florence are well-worth seeing, but save them for another trip. Unless you want to break up that long train trip from Nice to Venice. Then stop over in Florence.
Jul 2nd, 2009, 08:14 AM
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It sounds like you're really interested in visiting Marseilles and Nice. If that's the case, then keep those in your itinerary, but drop either Venice or Rome. I agree that you have more moving-around time than you have time at your actual destinations.
When planning your itinerary, another way to think of it is how many NIGHTS do you have at a location, rather than DAYS. That will help you to analyze how much time you have at each place. Also, look at some guidebooks and make a brief list of what you would like to do at each destination - you may find that what you want to do will be longer than the amount of time you have budgeted.
When planning your itinerary, another way to think of it is how many NIGHTS do you have at a location, rather than DAYS. That will help you to analyze how much time you have at each place. Also, look at some guidebooks and make a brief list of what you would like to do at each destination - you may find that what you want to do will be longer than the amount of time you have budgeted.
