Booking tours in Rome, Florence, Venice and Paris
 

Hello Fellow Travelers,
My husband and I are a month away from our trip to Italy and France. You (this forum) have helped us greatly in planning our trip. In addition to a week-long guided walking tour in Tuscany, and a week at a time-share exchange resort in Mougins, we will also have three days each in Rome, Florence, Venice, and Paris. What tours for these cities do we need to book in advance, and how do we make these reservations? Thanks again for your excellent advice!

Hi, dianneb!

I may not be understanding your question quite right, but if you want to contact a tour company in Italy, then I can recommend one: Avventure Bellisime (www.tours-italy.com). We took a tour that they offered in Ravenna, so I can't say anything about their specific tours in Rome, Florence, or Venice, but I can say that we were well satisfied with that company.

Hope this helps. Have a wonderful trip!

Thanks for the recommendation for the tour company, but what I really need first is advice on which (Must See) tours to take in these cities. Thanks for any advice!

Try the Context/Rome (formerly Scala Real) for their Rome tours. Tehre are MANY posts on this outfit so you can get a good idea of whether or not they will suit your needs. They may have operations or recommendations for your other two cities.

In Florence, it is a good idea to reserve at the Uffizi and Accademia to avoid very long lines. You can reserve for both by calling 011-39-055-294-883. Do this RIGHT NOW, as recently the Uffizi has been booking up a couple of months ahead.

In Rome, reservations are required for the Scavi Tour. I don't know if you have time to do this, but you can try by emailing them at [email protected]. You will have a better chance if you give them a couple days to choose from. Be sure to request the English-speaking tour.

Also in Rome, you need to prebook the Galleria Borghese. You can do this online at www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edefault.htm

In Venice, you can prebook St. Mark's Basilica to avoid long lines at www.alata.it/eng/booking/sanmarco.asp

Also in Venice, you need to prebook the Secret Itinieraries Tour at the Doges Palace by calling 011-39-041-520-9070.

Have a great trip!

Thank you SusanP, and others. I may not have worded my original post correctly, but this is the information I was looking for---the tours and sights we MUST SEE, and which ones require advance reservations. What is the Scavi Tour and what does it include? With only two full days in Rome, I am thinking of booking tours for Vatican/St. Peters; Ancient Rome; and Borghese Gallery and Gardens. Is there time for anything else, and if so, what? Thanks again! Dianne

Hi, dianneb!

Here's one strategy: Click "Destinations" at the top of this website, and follow to each of the cities you want, where you'll find "What to see in 2 days/5days/etc." itineraries, and from those you can decide on the attractions you want. Then you can do a search here on the attraction names. Or, of course, there are guidebooks--Fodor's does "Citypack" books, with a map, top 25 sights, etc.
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides are good, too.

Just for myself, I can tell you what I remember (with my faulty memory) as must-see sights for 3-day visits, but I have almost no tour info:

Rome--
St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican Museums
Forum (site)
Pantheon (building)

Florence--
Uffizi (museum)
Duomo (church)
Accademia (gallery)
Piazza dei Vecchio (square)

Venice--
San Marco Basilica
Palazzo Ducale
Rialto (bridge)

Paris (from a LONG time ago)--
Eiffel Tower
Champs-Elysee/Arc de Triomphe
Notre-Dame de Paris
Louvre

Though it would probaly have been smart, I never made reservations at any of these, so I can't help w/ info.

Hope this helps some! Have a great trip!

Sorry--In Florence, it's the Piazza della Signoria (where Savonarola was burned), in which the Palazzo Vecchio can be found.

Also in Florence (but may be too time-consuming)--

Ponte Vecchio (bridge), across which lies Palazzo Pitti
...and in the north is the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, for which there's probably no time, but I remember with joy standing in the tiny chapel whose walls are covered with the painting, "The Procession of the Magi"; it was like standing IN the painting!

Well, I'm leaving in a week, so my advice is only based on my extensive research, not on actually doing it.

The Scavi tour goes down under St. Peter's and is supposed to be a fascinating tour lasting 1-1/4 hours. If you are able to book it at this late date, presumably you could do it and the Vatican/St. Peter's in one long day.

The Galleria Borghese is a two-hour limit. www.icontours.com does a guided tour of the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill at 4:00 pm. If you did Borghese at the first time slot of 9:00 am and came out and walked through the gardens, you could probably walk down to Trevi Fountain, and possibly Piazza Navona with a little time to sit and watch the people before the Icon tour at 4:00 pm.

This would be a tight schedule, but with only two days, if you want to see all that, it might work. Maybe others who have done all this could comment on whether this is all feasible.

Very helpful! I can't wait to go! Thank you so much! Dianne