Dee_Dee

For me it has to be France. I just feel as though I belong there. Paris has my heart. I've never felt a connection with Rome. Paris has at it's core the Seine and a certain gentility. Rome is just too nitty gritty for me. The first time I entered Italy I came by train to the Ligurian coast after a week in Provence. The noise immediately overwhelmed me. The vespas, the animated people. It was too much. I prefer the markets in France to those in Italy. The displays of produce, cheeses, olives, etc are truly a work of art. All that being said, I do prefer Italy's art especially in their churches. And, the area in the crete area of Tuscany is breathtaking. All in all though it's France for me. My first time in Provence I had the most extraordinay feeling I was home. It wasn't until years latter I learned a branch of my family came from the south of France in the 900's. Maybe it was home in a previous life!

travel2live2

Italy, Italy, Italy! Although I absolutely love most of France (especially rural areas and lovely little villages) I would have to say Italy for about 1,938 reasons (too numerous to list).

Brazilnut

I agree with Cole Porter:

"I love Paris in the springtime
I love Paris in the fall
I love Paris in the winter...
When it drizzles
I love Paris in the summer
When it sizzles

I love Paris every moment
Every moment of the year
Why or why do I love Paris
Because my love is near..."

lukehead

My choices:

1) Netherlands
2) Italy
3) Ireland
4) Spain
5) Scotland
6) Germay
7) Hungary
8) France

Guess that's what makes the world interesting

Brazilnut

Well, I also loved Rome!!!

Graham8904

I vote for Italy although I would like to add that my spouse votes for Spain based upon a simple criterion. The rest rooms are consistently cleaner than It and Fr is dead last with the most odoriferous nature. We always carry liquid hand cleaner, and tissue as needed.

Now how about a multi-country survey of WCs and the best to "handle" them, especially with spouses and children.

angeladea

Well I have been to France 3 times and Italy 5 times so right there you have an indicator. France the country is beautiful,Paris is grand but city by city museum by museum meal by meal and person by person that we encountered ate and experienced, I would have to say HANDS DOWN ITALY IS BY FAR THE BETTER BET !!

mamcalice

Have been to France 8 times and Italy 7. We're returning to Italy this fall. I'm dreaming of Paris. I can't decide. I'd say France but then I think the place I would most like to return is Sicily. Except I always want to return to Paris. The good thing is, they are both wonderful and you really don't have to choose. I guess the bad thing is, they are both so great, we may be missing other wonderful places.

TPAYT

As far as big cities, we've been to Paris 7 times and Rome once. IMO, Rome was frantic and just OK, Paris is charming and I feel like I'm home.

I think it's untirely unfair that the French have a reputation for being rude when the Italians have raised it to an art form. The French are some of the most polite people on the planet.

As far as driving, the Italians are just as disorganized in their traffic patterns. To cross the street you take your life in your hands. And you'll probably receive a photo traffic ticket when you return home as a reminder of your trip.

The countryside is beautiful in both France & Italy(although we did like the Lake Como area), but we still prefer France. It's a much calmer, classy experience than Italy.

Underhill

France.

Lampada

I prefer italy because italy has a lot of choice...italy has a lot of monuments ....greeks , Romans, Medieval ,Moderns .... the art is italian : Michelangelo,Raffaello,Caravaggio,Bernini,Borromin i,Leonardo Da vinci.... The science is italian : Galileo Galilei , Antonio Volta... I Love Italian Food .... the children of south italy are so good and the italy's people are so friendly...There are a lot of big cities and little cities like : Rome [4 millions] Milan [3 Millions] Neaples[3 millions] Turin[ 2 millions] Genoa [1 millions] and a lot of little cities like : Siena , Viterbo,Venezia, Firenze, Bologna...my favorite little city is Ostuni in Apulia in South Italy because is so beautiful and Ostuni's sea is very very beautiful...so i think Italy is the better

MikeCas01

Hmm, let’s see: Italy has Rome, and France has Paris, so let’s call it even there (although much of Rome is 2,000 years old, while most of Paris less than 300 years old). But France has no regions that can match Venice, Tuscany, Sicily, and Naples/Pompeii in the richness and depth of sights, history, and culture.

Remember, when Rome ruled the Mediterranean world, France (then Gaul) was just one of Rome’s semi-barbarian provinces, far inferior to richer ones like Greece, Syria, and Egypt. And more than a millennium later, the Renaissance again started in Italy.

Besides, the Italians are so much friendlier than the French and speak much better English.

mamcalice

Difficult choice. I hope I never have to make it. I guess it comes down to personal likes and preferences. Paris is my favorite city. I prefer it to Rome. Florence is my second favority city. Provence and Tuscany are tied for favority countryside destinations. Italy has Sicily and Capri, France has Normandy and the Dordogne. I prefer Impressionism to Renaissance art. I speak Italian a little and French a little less. No way to choose between the cuisines - both are sublime if you choose well. I've been to Italy 7 times and France 6 times. Time to go back to France. Too hard to choose.

Keren

I can't decide between the two. I'm currently in my Italy phase and certainly the next time I'm going to Europe it'll be italy for me. But on previous years it was France France France. Other than these two no country attracts me that much.

crazyfortravel

That would be like asking me which of my children I like best...I love them equally and each has qualities that make them special.

cornelius01

Italy for the food except not the bread so much but France for the people, the wine, the pastries and the French champagnes unlike no other and Paris the city that gets into your soul and makes you want to return again and again and each time is like the first time.

justineparis

I have only been to Italy twice,, but France many many times. I prefer France ,, and the French,, I find some Italian friendliness to be super fake ,, and the bread charge at restuarants is stupid..

I love the history in Rome though,, as noted its rich in amazing sites,, so will likely visit again a few more times.

Sorry , but I have not found the food in Italy to be very good, mostly pizza and pastas,, the only good dinner i have had was a delish rosemary roasted chicken.And the food in Venice that I have had was mediorce and EXPENSIVE ,, thought it was horrifying.. I also got the worst food poisoning of my life in Rome,, had to be seen by a doctor the whole deal..

But would I go back to Italy , yes, but I would and will go back to France first.

clausar

justine, looks like you have been only to super touristy restaurants in Venice and Rome, i know that, happened to me as well.... and people in these places are super fake friendly....

I guess they are seeing too many tourists every day and have adopted a special "friendly" way to approach them...
I also found that the staff in many central hotels in Rome or Venice were super rude...

This is not Italy though, if you go away from these touristy places, restaurants are offering really excellent food - Italian kitchen is not just pizza and pasta, there are hundreds of regional super delicious plates - and people are extremely friendly.

Speaking of Paris , i won't forget the ridiculous overcharging of simple water in all restaurants near the Opera... or the fact that waitresses in couple of very central cafes refused to speak english.....
Well this isn't France either, this can happen in every european capital

hetismij2

Neither - I prefer Spain.

NeoPatrick

"Speaking of Paris , i won't forget the ridiculous overcharging of simple water in all restaurants near the Opera. . ."

I'm really not surprised. When one wants "simple water" in Paris, you simply order tap water, which nearly anyone is happy to serve for free and is among the best tap water in the world. I'm not surprised that a server or even a restaurant would overcharge for something that is simply "silly" to order in their mind (and in mine as well). On the other hand, Italy is the place where most restaurants simply refuse to bring you tap water preferring to sell you water that is no better than tap.