france and italy itineray, comments and tips please
 

day 1 overnite -roissy (evening arrival at cdg)
2-4 paris with versailles in between (giverny worth it?)
5 leave paris for i dont know where yet
6-7
8-10 chamonix
11 cross over to mont blanc, italy
12-13 venice
14 leave venice late for florence
15-16 florence
17-19 rome
20 fly back to asia

is it tight? want to see museums, nature, and some architecture. originally had wanted to go to switzerland in between france and italy.

thank you for your help.

p.s.

won't do louvre and d'orsay because did that already during a short stay in paris. thinking of seeing marmottan this time.

domo arigato.

6 different towns in just under 3 weeks is going to be a high speed trip.

Chamonix might be worth 3 days to you but I rarely see people allocate a half week to it.

You need to think about the relocation/travel days in this plan.
Where you are allowing two days for Venice is really only one full sightseeing day. Also, you will lose a day for the Florence to Rome relocation.

Does your plan include the cable car route Chamonix to Monte Blanc?

Are you going by train or car?

Unless you're arriving past midnight on day 1 just go into Paris. No need to waste time in Roissy.

As for your extra days I'd use one in Paris and one in Rome. Both of these are big cities with lots to see. Especially if you are using one of your Paris days for an excursion.

Here's my suggested itinerary and I'm assuming you will be driving:

Days 2,3,4  Paris only. 

Day 5   Travel to Chamonix.

Day 6   Take cable car up to view Mont Blanc...there's really not a lot to do in Chamonix so one full day is plenty I think. 

Day 7,8   Drive to a location in the Lake District and spend one day exploring. 

Day 9,10,11  Venice

Day 12,13,14,15  Florence.

Day 16,17,18,19  Rome.

Paris-chamonix is a long haul, even on freeways

and lots of nice stuff in between, like Vezelay and northern Burgundy

In chamonix the gondolas that go over the sea of ice to Pt Heilbronner in Italy are one of the world's greatest thrill rides - large cable car right up cliff from Chamonix to Aiguille de Midi then small gondolas that swing over the Mer de Glace or sea of ice and glaciers to Pt Heilbronner and then back.

tiny gondolas stop a lot when the line stops to let people on and off, leaving you dangling over the ice far below wondering if the gondola will ever start again

an eerie eerie feeling

thank you all so much for your suggestions. we're going by train.
considering stopping at dijon on the way to chamonix. or might stay at courmayeur after chamonix. would it be easy to go to venice from there? how long? 11 days in france is quite fixed for us. might have extra day in rome. havent really sat down to work on the train skeds.
thanks! blessings.

If stopping in Dijon, a vastly underrated town IMO for most tourists strongly consider staying at myhomeindijon.com, a nice B&B in the center of town that has gotten rave reviews from many fodorites. And the B&B owner goes out of her way to meet and greet folks and give them local info, etc. Not sure i have the exact site but similar

Thank you again Pal for mentioning myhome but I have to make a precision about the term "B&B" you used.
It is a actually an apartment totally independent from where I live. Not a guest house where the owner serves you breakfast.
Even if I provide some food and drinks to make it, you'll have to prepare it yourself.
Happy travels heiwa:-)

<It is a actually an apartment totally independent from where I live.>

well that's a positive perhaps (joking) so i guess it's just called a self-catering flat?

anyway anyone can see the photos on the site. Whatever you call it it's raved about by many who have stayed there and enjoyed Coco's hospitality as well.
Please reserve next June 31st for me. Will be forwarding a deposit soon - will you meet me at the station like you apparently do others?

<will you meet me at the station like you apparently do others?> on the 31st of June? no problem! ;-)

PAL, do you really mean June 31st?

Yes Coco has taken my money for a stay on the night of June 31st and will meet me behind the heurtoir (sp?) at quai no 3 in Dijon Gare.

I can't wait.

Hi Heiwa
I sat in Monet's garden in April for a couple of hours without moving, it was breath taking but if you go, be there at 9.30 as the tour groups descend and eventually they will chase you out. It is closed on Mondays.
Edgie

As it's virtually impossible to get to Monet's Gardens from Paris as a day trip by 9:30am - or 10:30am then do you say the trip is a waste of time?

You could rent a car for the day in Paris to drive to Giverny. Go to googlemaps.com and get directions from Paris to Giverny. Only 80.8 km about 1 hour and 12 minute drive. I have driven many times, a very easy drive.

Also, just for your informantion, you might want to check with Coco, but my calendar shows June as having only 30 days not 31 so there is no such thing as June 31st did you mean July 31st?

Just thought I would mention it because it may affect your plans.

Have a great trip I will be going to France and Italy in September and doing Giverny and Chamonix and Venice, Florence and Rome along with others as well so I too am getting very excited.

Well no i thought June 31st was kind of screwy but that's the day Coco said she would welcome me - at the new Bourgogne Airport.

jdc and Aerala, it is a private joke Pal can't stop making everytime he can.
Here is the proof : he wrote last year
" Author: PalenQ
Date: 05/25/2007, 03:02 pm

Just in case anyone reading does not know this is untrue - it is - i took Coco's words out of context, or edited them unfairly.

She welcomes folks to her apparently wonderful flat but not free, except on the 31st of some months, like june.

I will fool around no more. Ca y'est!"
This joke originally came from this thread http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34986999

Pal I still hope to welcome you one day at the airport or at the train station, it doesn't matter ;-) but not in June I'm fully booked B-)(my sweet revenge for June last year):-)

OK, you got me...that was very clever....