Thank you for all the advice. After researching and talking through things more we've come up with possible itinerary and I'm curious if it's too much or reasonable. We are flexible and know plans may change but trying to get better idea so we can make appropriate travel plans (booking flights, trains, hotels, etc.)

We are not huge into museums. These are just ideas and interests

Day 1- Arrive in London in afternoon
Day 2,3,4, London - Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey. Stay with family
Day 5- Take Eurostar to Paris
Day 6- Eiffel tower, Arc
Day 7-Fly to Venice in am.
Day 8- Venice- Canal, St Mark's
Day 9- Train to Cinque Terre (via Milan?)
Day 10, 11- Cinque Terre- Hike, relax
Day 12 & 13- Train to Rome
Day 14, 15, 16- Rome- Coloseeum, Forum, Sistine Chapel
Day 17- Fly Home


We know it's going to be busy but we are trying to do a lot while we are there. Is it too much or reasonable?

I'd drop the CT unless your dates are in very late Spring. The weather is too iffy and all the trails won't be passable.

You are only giving yourselves 1.5 days in Paris, 1.5 days in Venice, and a bit over one day in Rome - those care expensive jaunts for not much bang.

I'd drop the CT and add a day to Rome and to either Paris or Venice (Paris would be my choice)

We are traveling first 2 weeks of May. We hear Cinque Terre is wonderful then? If we shouldn't travel out to CT, would it be do able to travel through Florence or Tuscany on way to Rome?

We have it planned as 3 days in Rome. And fly from Rome to London and then back home.

I would drop Rome or Paris - you are just spending a lot if time and money getting there and the. Leaving right away and your trip is rushed as it is. Skip 1 or both and allocate more time to the other places. Otherwise you will spend more time in transit than enjoying the places you came to see.

Your final proposal seems fine to me except I'd put a day or two more in Paris - how about a half-day in Versailles - an easy short RER (metro) train ride from Paris. You are only touching the tip of the iceberg in Paris. Otherwise your times IMO are fine for the average tourist.

If your major tickets are already purchased as being into London, out of Milan, then that is one thing; if you haven't yet bought your tickets, you might have other options. Meanwhile, assuming your flights are as given:

The connecting point for Cinque Terre (this is not a place name by the way; use "Monterosso" or one of the other town names when hunting rail schedules on bahn.de) is not Milan but Florence and then either Pisa and/or La Spezia. If you leave Venezia Santa Lucia at 09:25, you can get into Monterosso by 15:01. For the other CT towns, e.g. Riomaggiore, you would connect Florence-Pisa-La Spezia and arrive in Riomaggiore at 15:16. So, a fairly long day (just over 5.5 hours) on the train, but doable.

I would cut a day in Rome and add it to Paris.

Sorry, just saw you changed to flying out of Rome, smart move.

Oh dear, just saw you have only a day for Venice. You can't count on your plane arriving on time, etc. etc. Try to plan for the unexpected.

London - 4
ES to Paris - 3/7
Fly Venice - 3/10
*** - 3/13
Rome - 3/16

Question: what makes sense to put in for ***.
I'm trying to think of hiking places that wouldn't take you as far afield as CT.

Well, actually it isn't as bad as I thought. You can pick up a fast train to Rome in La Spezia, and get to Rome from Riomaggiore in just over 3.5 hours. If staying in Monterosso, it would mean an early getaway at 07:51, but via La Spezia you would be in Rome by noon.

A bit rushed, but there it is.

You would solve a lot of headaches by dropping Paris.
Fly to Rome from London.
London - 4
Rome - 4/8
CT - 3/11
Florence (has some nice viewpoints; if you hate it you can always do a daytrip to Pisa or Siena) - 2/13
Venice - 3/16

If the hiking experience isn't stellar at the time you are going, then do something else with that time. You have a very rushed trip as it is.

with all that you have planned, i too would drop somewhere. Venice seems to me to be your outlier - fly from Paris to Pisa, over night there, [the tower is gorgeous at night when everyone has gone home and the whole of the field of miracles is lit up] then get the train to the CT which should be lovely at the end of May.

then get the train to Rome as Pal suggests. I've taken the train from Pisa to Orbetello [which is the same line that Pal is talking about] and it's very interesting and picturesque.

THis way you would have more time for Paris and Rome, and can leave Venice for another visit.

Actually annhig is spot on about May being a perfect time for the Cinque Terre in terms of there not yet being the horrendous mobs scene that unfolds in summer. And they are not ghost towns either so the perfect time for crowds.

Personally I think Venice is the most serene - Serenissima or whatever they call it - and beautiful city in the world and I would put it numero uno on my list and tailor the rest of your Italian sojourn around it.

You may never get back.

I agree that dropping one location--- either Paris, Venice, or CT would allow you to have a much more comfortable pace for this trip. Only you know what your priorities are, so drop whichever interests you least. Then spend a minimum of 3 full days in each of the places you do visit. Have a great trip!

Ref the CT: the area is notoriously fickle weather wise and a wet spring will render many of the trails impassable. It's OK people saying that "it's wonderful then", but it varies year to year. Keep a close eye on the weather and try to remain flexible enough to make changes.

Personally, I've never seen what all the fuss is about CT wise. Venice would be my choice without a second thought.

Ngnurse, as others have said, you are going to make the typical error of first time travellers to Europe - too many destinations for a limited period of Time. After your trip, you will be disappointed because you have spent most of your time in airports and on trains.
You HAVE to skip one destination - which one is a no-brainer. London Paris Venice Rome are number-one destinations Cinque Terre is number three at best - it. is just a coastal path