Travelling from Paris to Italy (destinations TBD) in late April with friend. Thinking of buying Eurail passes. Would like to see Rome, Florence, Venice, Tuscany, Cinque Terre but have to pick three! Anyone have any advice, either on trains or flights, or on which cities and towns to see? I know this is vague but any help is appreciated!!! Any recommendations on accomodations (cheap) are welcome as well!

Get an open-jaw flight into Paris and out of Venice. Take Ryanair from Paris to Rome and then see Rome, Florence, and Venice going by train. But if you are more countryside-oriented, adapt as suitable.

I think WillTravel's suggestion is good. You will want to see the Big Three, I think. Tuscany is huge, but if you want to see a bit of it, you can daytrip from Florence.

Or, if you fly from Paris to Rome, you could stop in Siena, or Pienza, or Montepulciano on your way to Florence. This depends on your time limits and your interests. Pienza for food, architecture, and views. Montepulciano for wine; Siena is a larger town with a bit of everything.

I think Cinque Terre is just too far out of your way, but I do know that people love it. I have been there, thought it was ok, but don't have plans to go back. If I'm in the area, I may pay a visit, but I personally don't get it. Unless you are hikers, and all the trails are open. Late April could be iffy for that, if there has been a lot of wet weather.

If you want to see someplace other than just cities, have you thought about going into Umbria? Assisi? Also training into Perugia isn't difficult.

But if you stick to the big three, you could also daytrip from Venice. I find the Islands of the Lagoon fascinating, and it is also easy to get a train from Venice to Verona. Verona isn't a small town, more like a small city, but very nice with lots to see and do.

I hope this helps you with your plans and ideas. I really suggest making a list of what Italy means to you. If it's Art, then you can make decisions based on that. Ditto for wine, food, antiquities, or countryside.

By the way, countryside, or villages, aren't easy to see or get by train. Cinque Terre is one area of small towns that does have good train service.

For relatively cheap accommodations in the "Big Three", see my trip report. But April may be more expensive.

Ordinary ("point-to-point&quot train tickets will almost surely cost you far less than a "rail pass" for the limited amount of train travel you are going to want - - especialy since most of it will be in Italy, where train travel is such a good bargain to start with.

And given that your longest tavel segment - - from Paris to get to Italy will aomost certainly be cheaper to fly - - see www.whichbudget.com

Best wishes,

Rex

Oh... whoops... to get started on seeing what accommodations choices you might wish to make, begin at www.eurocheapo.com

Bringing your message back up "to the top" since you are (almost) brand bew here - - how did I know that? click on your own name - - a useful way to locate your own posts anytime...