Athens or So. Spain in winter
 

The trip will be in December. Before and after Italy, we can't decide where to go.

Day 1 Arrive Brussels
Day 2 Fly to Athens or Krakow
Day 5 Fly to Venice (second visit)
Day 7 Train to Rome (second visit. We want to be there for Xmas)
Day 10 Fly to Seville or Lisbon
Day 15 Fly to Brussels
Day 17 Fly back to the US

Will the other islands in Greece be accessible by ferry in December?
We are mostly interested in culture and history. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you.

Regarding "culture" in Greece, a current thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...reakfastso.cfm

If you are interested in culture and history do not travel to the Greek islands. The islands are mainly beach destinations and in Decemberyou will find everything closed there. And limited culture and history.

Besides Athens, one of the best archeological sites in Greece is Delphi. Also, the Peloponnese is very attractive and easy to reach by rental car from Athens.

Unfortunately, you have only 3 days for Greece which is a pity.

I see, after Italy you have one day more. Better go to Greece after Italy and to Andalusia before.

Every inhabited island is accessible by ferry in December, just as they are every other month of the year. The Greek ferry system supplies islanders with food, clothing and other necessities, and provides transport for them to and from the mainland.

Were it me I would stay on the mainland, though—you only have Days 3 and 4 for sightseeing, and that's barely enough for Athens.

@traveller1959 that's a very good idea of moving Greece after Italy and Andalucia before. Thanks.

@heimdall I guess the Greece Islands have to wait for another trip.

Since when do the Greek Islands not have culture. Crete, Rhodes, and Santorini have some of the oldest archaelogical sites in the world and are open year round but you will not be able to swim in December.
If you only have a few days, it is probably not worth the trip and better to go when the weather is warmer.

We are re-thinking this trip. It probably is best to concentrate on Italy at this time.

Day 1 Arrive Brussels
Day 2 Train to Paris (our 6th time;son wants to go back)
Day 5 Fly to Venice (second visit)
Day 7 Train to Cinque Terre ???
Day 9 Train to Rome (second visit. We want to be there for Xmas)
Day 10 Train to Sorrento ???
Day 15 Fly to Brussels
Day 17 Fly back to the US

We need help in the logistics of going from Paris tp Venice to Cinque Terre. By train, it takes more than 5 hrs from Venice to Cinque Terre. Will it makes sense to fly somewhere else from Paris (Milan? Genoa?) to get to Cinque Terre? Should we focus on the Northern Part of Italy and do the Amalfi Coast at some other time?

Have you already bought tickets to/from Brussels? If not, fly home from Italy.

@MmePerdu Yes, we did buy the tickets already. We managed to buy tickets for less than $500 from the West Coast!

Have you checked the weather in thee places in Dec? Brussels and Paris are in a true winter although not likely to have much snow.

South of the Alps will be somewhat warmer, but still likely to be chilly. (A friend of mine went to Venice in Dec for 6 days and it rained 5 and snowed the other one. This is not likely - but is possible. You can get snow as far south as Rome.)

As for the AC - this is off season and many hotels and restaurants are closed for the season. Most of the ferries don;t run at all and even those from Naples to Capri can be shut down if the seas are rough. Certainly you can visit Pompeii and Naples (esp the archeological museum) and Capri is usually possible - but often you can;t get into the Blue Grotto - since that is possible only when the sea is perfectly flat). Not sure of the attraction of a beach resort in off season.

Similarly the CT - you would need to check to see which of the hiking trails are open (I believe several are closed now due to mudslides) so not sure how much there would be to do in the winter.

"We managed to buy tickets for less than $500 from the West Coast!"

Wow! How come you didn't tell me ??

We had visited Venice, Florence, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, and London in the winter. We somehow prefer the lesser crowd and the winter weather as summer temperature could be too intense.

We don't plan to hike the trails at CT. We intend to take the milk train...

If we take out the AC, then we are back to Seville/Cordoba/Granada option unless there are any suggestions from the experts.

@MmePerdu You're from the West Coast too?

Indeed, I am. N. CA. From which airport is your great deal of a flight?

SFO. You?

SMF is my airport, I'm about an hour north in the foothills.

not too far away from me

Hmm. Tea?

Let me know when you're in town :)

I'm in Grass Valley.