Shraddha

Hi All!!!

I am using my friends account to post this message as Fodors support team are unable to fix my account / password issues.

My wife and I are planning a trip to France and Italy, as such wanted some feedback on our itinerary in terms of covering places (or skipping and covering others instead). We are both working individuals so with much difficultly we have managed to take out 16 days from our busy schedule to travel a little. While 16 days is not a lot (I know!!), we would like to make the most of our trip. Given our time constraints, we decided to go with major cities (and yes we like doing regular touristy things and yes! I know this is not everybody's idea of travel)

15/10/2014 Sydney - Paris
16/10/2014 Paris (landing at 2:25 PM)
17/10/2014 Paris
18/10/2014 Paris
19/10/2014 Paris to Nice by train 7AM reaching approx. 1PM

20/10/2014 Nice - day visit to St Tropez or Cannes (car hire)

21/10/2014 Nice - day visit to Monaco (car hire)

22/10/2014 Nice - Venice (early morning flight approx. 1.5 hours)

23/10/2014 Venice - Florence (evening train to Florence)

24/10/2014 Florence - Relax / sight seeing Florence

25/10/2014 Florence - day trip to Pisa (just the leaning tower) & Cinque terre by train

26/10/2014 Florence - Rome early morning train - check in / sight seeing in Rome during the day

27/10/2014 Rome - sight seeing

28/10/2014 Rome - Amalfi Coast (hire car early morning and drive to Amalfi via Naples for the pizza and Pompei for the ruins/ Vesuvius, intend to drop car of in Amalfi)

29/10/2014 Amalfi Coast (Relax in Amalfi / walk around)

30/10/2014 Amalfi Coast - visit Capri

31/10/2014 Amalfi - Rome (Relax in Amalfi / walk around for most of the day then take evening train back to Rome)

1/11/2014 Rome - morning flight out 11AM

2/11/2014 Back to Sydney

I know the trip sounds extremely hectic but I can't seem to find any other way to cover all our points of interest. Questions that continue to linger in my head - are there any places that we can skip? do we need to spend more time in one place and less in another? have we selected too many spot on the map? are missing any places to visit? in terms of the travel - should we get a pass or just buy single train tickets - any website suggestions? should we prebook?

Furthermore - for Paris and Rome - which districts / suburbs to stay in.. which ones to avoid?

Please help!

KDS

sandralist

You can take a train to Pompei and get a good pizza there (Zi Caterina) and then have somebody drive you to the Amalfi.

You might be very unlucky with the weather on the Amalfi that late in the season. It might be better to fly to Rome from Nice, go directly to Pompei and the Amalfi. Then go to Florence, Venice and return to Rome.

Just want to point out that generally, for the October days you will be traveling, many of the places you are going in both Italy and France are only appealing in lovely weather, which you may not get at all. Much of the italian countryside is really lovely in October, even when it rains. Also bear in mind that European Summer Time will end in the middle of the trip, and losing that extra hour sunlight makes a difference if you are thinking of spending hours getting to a scenic destination like le Cinque Terre in the afternoon.

bilboburgler

Yes it is hectic. I stuggle to know why you have

20/10/2014 Nice - day visit to St Tropez or Cannes (car hire)

21/10/2014 Nice - day visit to Monaco (car hire)
neither visit makes any sense unless you like looking at fast women and expensive cars (or is the other way around?) and I'm not sure if they will be there in October.

If you must go to Nice (and I understand people do) then go somewhere interesting (Arles, Nimes Avignon etc). For me I'd drop Nice in toto and move the time into your other destinations.

For instance I cannot conceive of one night in Venice. Last time I was there I had only two and had only just got my breath back by the time I had to leave. Also on efficiency terms I would not break up my Rome stay. If you have to be there for the flight then do Rome once and last.

annhig

personally, I would omit the Amalfi, [not at its best at the end of October when lots of places will be closing down] and spend more time in venice. Also you are splitting up your time in Rome which when you have so little of it doesn't make a lot of sense.

if you want to keep Amalfi, I suggest this for the Italy portion:

22/10/2014 Nice - Venice (early morning flight approx. 1.5 hours)

23/10/2014 Venice - Florence (evening train to Florence)

24/10/2014 Florence - Relax / sight seeing Florence

25/10/2014 Florence - day trip to Pisa (just the leaning tower) & Cinque terre by train

26/10/2014 Florence - Naples - Amalfi [train to Sorrento then car]

27/10/2014 Amalfi

28/10/2014 day trip to Capri

29/10/2014 transfer to rome via Pompeii and Naples [no way I'd want a car in Naples]

30/10/2014 Rome

31/10/2014 Rome

1/11/2014 Rome - morning flight out 11AM

if you are prepared to drop the amalfi, then you could do this:

22/10/2014 Nice - Venice (early morning flight approx. 1.5 hours)

23/10/2014 Venice

24/10/2014 Venice

25/10/2014 Venice - pm train to florence

26/10/2014 Florence -

27/10/2014 Florence

28/10/2014 florence - Rome

29/10/2014 Rome

30/10/2014 Rome

31/10/2014 Rome

1/11/2014 Rome - morning flight out 11AM


You could decide on whether to do a day trip to the CT while you were there - depending on weather, energy levels etc. Certainly I would not bother if you are also going to the Amalfi.

Sandralist's itinerary would also work well, if you can change your flights. I have assumed that you can't].

nytraveler

A couple of notes:

I would not do the Amalfi coast at the end of Oct/early Nov. You may be lucky and get cool, crisp days or you may just get chilly, rainy and dreary. By that time some places will be closed for the season, ferries will be on very limited schedules (and may be canceled due to ruogh seas) and a beach resort off season is, IMHO, kind of boring.

And I wouldn't call it hectic. I would call it shattering. In many places you would have only part of a day and some of your day trips are not great (Monaco is a waste of time unless you love designer shopping at uber high prices) seeing Pisa and CT as a day trip will give you practically not time in either place for a very long day on trains). And overall you have way too much time getting to places versus being there and doing/seeing something.

You need to consider time of year, weather, shorter daylight hours and some places with shorter opening hours as well.

IMHO just too much in too little time.

janpeter3

I would also omit the Cinque Terra, big chance of rain in late Oct. Stick with more time in the major cities where you will find plenty to see and do.

mamcalice

Wow! What an ordeal. You underestimate the time it takes to travel. You have a very short time in Paris and after that, practically no time to experience any of your destinations. Like those above and because of time, the interest and the time of year, I would skip the south of France and travel directly from Paris to Venice. I would also skip either Cinque Terre or the Amalfi Coast, probably both, and allot the time to your other destinations. Four stops in 16 days leaves you the minimum amount of time you need to scratch the surface of these world class cities.

PalenQ

in terms of the travel - should we get a pass or just buy single train tickets - any website suggestions?>

If you want flexibility to chose which trains to take once there a pass versus full-fare and fully flexible tickets may be a good deal (France-Italy Railpass) but the cheapest way would be to do the discounted tickets from www.voyages-sncf.com for France or www.trenitalia.com for Italy - but those discounted tickets are sold in limited numbers on each train and can sell out weeks early and often have severe conditions regards refunds or changes - but if you know exactly when you want to travel then that would be OK.

Anyway for web sites with a wealth of info on trains in France and Italy I always spotlight: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com (great info on discounted tickets) and www.ricksteves.com.

One problem with a pass in these two countries is that on most long-distance trains you must get a seat reservation before boarding and though in France this is just about $5 a seat in Italy it is 10 euros - $14 on top of using a day on your pass - so figure that in as well.

Mimar

Unlike Bilbo I really like Nice. And it would be a good destination in the shoulder season (museums to go to if it rains). But Nice is a very good center for public transportation. Renting a car to go to Monaco doesn't make sense (struggling to get around in the cities, paying a mint to park). If you must go to Monaco (not recommended), take the train from Nice.

Plus the idea of driving into Naples to eat pizza makes me shudder. The traffic is especially hectic in Naples. And is there a car rental office in Amalfi town, where you could drop off a car?

And I must agree with everyone else, too much in too little time.

PalenQ

If you must go to Monaco (not recommended), take the train from Nice.>

Or take a bus one way as it plies the dramatic corniches high above the sea - you can then stop off at Eze, a tremendously popular hill village known for its rave views and perfume shops.

PalenQ

25/10/2014 Florence - day trip to Pisa (just the leaning tower) & Cinque terre by train>

If doing this ambitious day - the Cinque Terre alone would be a full day trip from Florence (and I have done it and seen all five villages doing so) but you could so the Leaning Tower if not Pisa itself if you take a train from Florence to Pisa's small secondary S Rossore station which is a long stone's throw from the Leaning Tower and also a stop on the rail line Pisa to the Cinque Terre.

It would be imperative to do an online booking for a slot to climb the Tower if that is what you want - for some just seeing the tower leaning in its neat quadrangle of old buildings is treat enough. But sans reservations you could wait hours in line to climb as access is limited to a relatively small number of folks each visit - done last time I were there by a guide - used to be you could just go up yourself like any church tower.

Shraddha

Thank you all for your feedback based on everything I have read, it calls for a slight rework on the itinerary. I guess Monaco is definitely worth a ditch

Thanks again everyone! Big thumbs up for all the recommendations

PalenQ

I wouldn't ditch Monaco/Monte Carlo - I went there for the novelty and was glad I did - ogle the fancy yachts in the yacht club - the diminuitive 'royal' palace and its Mouse That Roared Changing of the Guard - the fancy stately casino, still the watering hole of rich and famous - all in about two hours and be back in Nice quickly by train.

sandralist

Ditch Monaco/MonteCarlo. It's a pit.

PalenQ

Monaco may be boring to some but in no way is one of the richest autonomous countries (well principalities whose existence depends on the good will of France) no way could it be called a pit. In fact it is just a scenic night in its location as any Cote d'Azur city.

Well I'm not sure what 'pit' means to sandra but to me it means ugly and ugly it ain't.

dwdvagamundo

Skip CT on this trip. If you do decide to see the Amalfi Coast, do not under any circumstances try to drive in Napoli.

You need more time in Venice and Florence.

I think you should see Monaco if you want to, but get there by train or bus. Don't make the mistake we did and try to drive there. I wouldn't want to go again, but I'm glad we went.

Good idea to group all your time in Rome together-so take the train straight to Napoli from Florence if you're still going there.

Amalfi itself is fairly small, so you don't really need two days to walk around in it. Consider basing in Sorrento, where you could take the train to Pompeii, a cruise to Capri and maybe a bus down the Amalfi coast and back.

nytraveler

I have noting against Monaco - think it's great for what it is.
A place where - in season - you will be able to watch the uber rich at play on their incredible yachts, dropping tens of thousands shopping and doing the James Bond number in the casino.

The only problem is you are going off season - so a lot of that wont be happening. And the casino is not free, has a very specific dress code (esp if you want to go to the inner rooms with table games versus just slots) and I believe doesn't open until 2 or 3 in the afternoon - and is really busy after dinner.

We have done it a couple of times as a hoot - dressed to the nines and with our tiny 100 euros to lose - but mostly just to see the gowns, jewels and really rich people losing lots of money.

PalenQ

Monaco itself is a hoot - that's what I like about it - the Mouse That Roared aspect.

KTtravel

If this were my trip I would just do Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome which would allow you plenty of time to enjoy these places. I would spend much longer in Paris to start to give you time to get over jet lag and see some of the main sights.
I would suggest the minimum time for each place being:
Paris - 5 nights
Venice - 3 nights
Florence - 3 nights
Rome - 4 nights
You could add on an extra night or two to whichever places interest you most or from which you might do day trips.

russ_in_LA

I think that KTravel has listed pretty much the ideal itinerary for the amount of time you have indicated. If it were me, my only change would be to spend one night in Tuscany between Florence and Rome, and spend two full days driving between the two, stopping at small villages and wineries. I'd drop the car off at Orvieto and take the train into Rome from there (do not drive into Rome!). Everyone to whom I have suggested this has said it was the highlight of the trip, and it's a nice break from the chaos that is cities in Italy. For what it's worth, I'd probably take the time from Paris, making Paris 4 nights.