maria_so

Hi All. So the itinerary below is booked (flight and lodging). We're exclusively staying in rentals, mostly airbnb except for the house in Sorrento where I booked with a local company. We have twjn boys that will be 6 at the time of travel and hotels usually don't work as well for is, especially in Europe. I have researched the usual tourist spots what I want to know are tricks and tips and hidden treasures, especially in Paris. So if you know of a great restaurant, a super fun unisual thing you did (outsoorsy or jnoque), a can't miss, street markets, festivals, those are what I want to know about. I will post specific questions about Paris in the end. In Italy, I really want to go hear an open air opera. We will be travrlling mid June to Mid July covering 25 nights or 27 days of travelling.

June 16: leave houston to Paris
June 17: arrive in Paris at 8:15. Catch an internal flight (booked separately because it was cheaper that way but from the same airlines (airfrance), (although a different carrier Airitalia) from CDG to Rome. Question: do we have to go pick up our bags, go through customs, and then check in to airitalia? When I booked the separate internal flight, they said my baggage can still follow if I gave them my boarding pass (for the internal flight) at my check in for the international one. Just don't know how customs work at that point? Arrive in Rome at 1ish. Taxi to apartment which is between trivedi and colloseum.
June 18-20: Rome (one of these days to visit the Vatican City
June 21: pick up car from trimini to Sorrento visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum.
June 22-23: Capri (blue grotto), Positano, Revello, Sorrento
June 24: leave really early and drive to Termoli and catch a ferry to Trimiti Islands. Morning cave tour, lunch and swim. Head back to termoli for dinner then check in to airbnb at Termoli.
June 25: drive up coast, see San Marino aeound lunc then head to Siena and check in to airbnb (outskirts if Siena near wineries).
June 26-June 29:
- day trip to Venice
- florence
- wine country
- ?
June 30: early rise and head to Pisa for a drive by only of the leaning tower, then head to Cinque Terre and check in 10am to Rommagiore airbnb. Host said she can get private parking. Then spend the day in combination hiking, boat, train to the 5 villages. Is the famous via dell amore still closed?
July 1: early rise to Montecarlo (around lunch?) what can we see in 1-2 hrs? Then head to Nice checking in at airbnb at 3pm (in Old Town)
July 2: head to Aix en Provence brunch, carcassone for late lunch, ending in Aldi (my boys saw a show where the wels catfish in albi is eating the pigeons and they really wanted to see it (oi vey boys eh?). Airbnb in Albi by the river (not a cojncidence). What's a good restaurant for dinner?
July 3-7 Preignacordeaux (we have friends who live in Bordeaux but we wanted our own space. So below not in any particular order
- sand dunes (anyone been?can tou do sanddune buggy rides?)
-day trip to Bearritz and San Sebastian( halfway meeting point to see our friends from Madrid.
-day to kayak the dordogne aka Rick Steves and visit a pate farm then to a cave
- wine country
- Bordeaux - what's not to miss?
Juky 8: head to Paris stopping by Versailles (drop off car in Paris then check in to aurbnb)
July 9-11: Paris
July 12: grab some macaroons and fly back to Houston.

So besides Rodin which I adore the garden grounds and Tour Eifell (my boys really want to go up), I don't want to wait in line for a museum like I did the last time (and I had advanced tickets!). So what I want to know are - where are the street markets? Any festivals? I read somewhere that Cite on sundays have a fresh flower market with like animals sold as pets? Also, what about the puppet ahows at Jardin du Luxemburg? My sister was telling me of the oldest bar in st Germaine. Are the canal river tours workth it? What else?

I know it's pretty lengthy but wanted to be thorough. We love anything outdoors, art (I paint so love the arts but), any cool kids stuff (no zoos or theme parks).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

fuzzbucket

There is a bird market on Sundays on the Ile de la Cite.

There are other pets - dogs, cats, fish - which come from horrible puppy and kitten mills which are sold in stores along the Quai de la Megisserie. These are sad places to bring a child - sadder still, for the pets.

If you mean open-air food markets, you can have a look at this website. They are scattered all over the city. Pay attention to days and hours of operation.
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/paris-markets/

WoinParis

Boys at 6 will like Le jardin des plantes - zoo - or le musée de l'armée aux invalides.

Edward2005

6-year olds will love Paris Disney.

maria_so

Thanks for the reply folks. My boys are not really into disney - they don't even want to visit the ones here. I would rather them see Paris and see the sights than take them to a theme park. My boys love the outdoors - they go kayaking and hiking and love animals (so yes the zoo is a good choice but I want them to see the city and with limited time, not sure I want to spend an afternoon at the zoo).

I heard there were puppet shows in Jardin du Luxemberg. Anyone know? I tried to go to the website but can't find much info (maybe it's harder coz in french...

Jardin d’Acclimatation is another recommendation from my sis who used to live there 9 years ago. Something else like that?

fuzzbucket: not so much food markets. are there any stalls for other wares besides food on the street markets?

Thanks!

maria_so

Oh and Jardin des plantes look good - do we need to get advanced tickets for these places? Does the Jardin d'Acclimatation have tickets?

StCirq

There are plenty of English-language sites about the puppet shows and other offerings in the Jardin de Luxembourg (note spelling) and the Jardin d' Acclimatation.

Also familiarize with the official website of the Tourist Office of Paris. Plenty of ideas and detailed information there about all sorts of children's activities in the city and surrounds. And adult activities as well.

If you want a street market that offers everything under the sun besides food, go to the Belleville market. Rue Mouffetard and Rue Montorgeuil also offer lots of wares

ssander

Another great market is the Bastille market...Thu & Sun I believe...lots of stuff besides food.

But we love the roasted chicken, potatoes and tabbouleh for a quick and cheap lunch that you can usually find at one of the open air markets.

Here's a summary:

http://www.discoverfrance.net/France..._markets.shtml

ssander

Francewithfive

Jardin du Luxembourg was a definite fave of my kids. We rented the little wooden boats and they spent sooo long playing with them on the pond. Quintessentially French and so fun. They also loved the old carousel. We took a picnic and enjoyed a whole afternoon there.
The parks all over Paris are amazing. We stocked up a backpack with picnic supplies and had so much fun eating our delicious finds from the local stores in the various parks.
Scare Coeur was also a highlight. We climbed the stairs all the way to the top of the cathedral for amazing views. We had another picnic in a lovely little park right behind Sacre Coeur. We had our caricatures done and wandered down to the bottom of the hill along little side streets.
The Bateaux Mouches along the Seine in the evening are really fun for the kids too.

joan

"June 30: early rise and head to Pisa for a drive by only of the leaning tower, then head to Cinque Terre and check in 10am to Rommagiore airbnb. Host said she can get private parking. Then spend the day in combination hiking, boat, train to the 5 villages. Is the famous via dell amore still closed?
July 1: early rise to Montecarlo"

This is an exhausting idea. It's about a 3 hour drive the first day, a 4 hour drive the next day, with steep hiking and exploring in between. Can you stay more than one night in Riomaggiore?

Also, have you looked into the cost of taking a car one way from Italy to France? You may be better off dropping the car in Italy, taking train from CT to Nice, then picking up a new car in France. The kids will enjoy the train

P.S. I believe the via dell amore is still closed.

StCirq

Nothing makes sense once you leave Italy. You will pay a fortune to drive an Italian rental car into France and leave it there. Someone has to drive it back.

Aix-en-Provence, Carcassonne, and Albi all in one day? Are you planning to see anything, or just eat?

I assume by sand dunes you mean the Dune du Pylat? Yes, that and Arcachon and Cap Ferret makes a nice daytrip out of Bordeaux. I've never seen a dune buggy anywhere around there. There is a petit train in Cap Ferret, but that's the closest I can think of.

Biarritz and San Sebastián is not a daytrip from Bordeaux.

Kayaking on the Dordogne is not a daytrip from Bordeaux, either. And what is a pate farm? Do you mean a farm where ducks and geese are raised for foie gras, rillettes, etc.? Anyway, doesn't matter as you won't have time for it.

What wine country? Bordeaux itself is surrounded by wine country. Would this be of interest to 6-year-olds? Probably not, as it's not terribly attractive wine country and they obviously can't do a dégustation.

The Bordeaux Tourist Office has a comprehensive website listing all the activities and exhibitions there. I would suggest you familiarize yourself with it and a couple of guidebooks to the area, and maps, as you don't seem to have a grasp on what is involved in getting from place to place. You really should just stay in Bordeaux and take a daytrip to the Bassin d' Arcachon, or maybe St-Emilion.

topeater

I agree with StCirq, your plan does not make sense.

If you go to Siena and then spend your limited time going to large cities, even though Venice and Florence are incredible, you are missing all the beauty and history of the Tuscan hill villages. Maybe pick one of the 2 large cities and spend the rest of your time exploring Siena (which is beautiful and less crowded than Florence) and visit some of the hill towns. I assume you would take the train to the cities because driving in either one is impossible or at least very difficult!

I don't understand getting to Nice in the afternoon and then leaving the next day. This will give you no time to really explore Nice and no time to visit the villages close to Nice. Plus, driving in Nice and finding parking is no picnic.

Your trip to from Nice to Albi in one day will take a minimum of 7 driving hours and that's not stopping. Then you are jumping around so much, I can't even figure out how to fix all of that! Spain and then up to the Dordogne, Bordeaux and then Paris. I think you will find yourself in the car all the time with little time to actually see and experience anything. We drove from Albi to St. Tropez last year and it was a long, mostly boring drive.

Good luck.

StCirq

I didn't even look at the Italian part of the trip because I was fixated on how impossible the French part was, but yes, now that I look at it, it's insane, too. It's not worth going into detail, but really, the OP needs to tear up this itinerary and start over, especially as she's travelling with two 6-year-olds.

suze

With 3-1/2 weeks total I would not "day trip" to Venice. I would go for at least a few days.

maria_so

Thanks for the responses! So just a little background (and trust me, I understand where you're coming from). I am a Texan and my husband is from England. When he first got here, the thought of driving to Austin, TX (165 miles, 2 hrs away) from Houston as a day trip was a bit shocking to him. Now, however, he's so used to having to drive everywhere that 2 1/2 hrs away is nothing to us. This past summer, we drove from Houston to Yellowstone National Park (24 hrs according to google map) and we only stopped twice on the way - and we stopped for hikes along the way. On that trip we did a total of 5000 miles hitting Tetons, Yellowstone, Canyonlands, Arches, and other spots along the way in less time than the upcoming Italy/France trip and it was a blast. My kids still talk about it. So I guess it's what you're used to and how you like to travel.

On France:

Yes, I had a shock when I first got the prices for the car - although it makes sense (the charge). I did look at taking the train from CT to Nice but that route was too complicated with kids and luggage and we were trying to save some time. I looked through here and someone suggested kemwell.com and those folks were able to get me a price I could live with for a drop off in Paris so we decided to choose that route instead. Also, we considered that we have more experience with long driving (and like it) vs taking trains (not really the norm in Texas) so instead of fumbling for something we're not used to, car seemed like a more comfortable idea with kids. Perhaps when the boys are older and can pack a backpack on their backs, the need for 2 medium sized luggage for the four of us won't be much of a hindrance and we can be more adventurous on that regard.

So Nice was really just an overnight stay so we're kind of treating it like we'll see what we can see while we're in there. The airbnb owner said there is parking behind the apartment that can be reserved ahead of time. I figured we could stroll around old town and have dinner.

We are staying in Preignac and according to google maps, it takes 2.38 hours to Sarlat de Caneda, one of the towns on Rick Steves guide where they did a cano0e to the next town on the river Dordogne. Pregnac to Biarritz is 2 hrs and 16 minutes according to google maps - another 45 min from there to San Sebastian. Those are very doable day trips for us. I drive 45 minutes to work every morning and an hour and some minutes on the way back with traffice everyday.

Yes, sorry, I meant Fois gras. Sorry, it was quite late when I posted originally and my mind went to pate instead. I know it's nowhere near the same but that's where my mind went.

I do realize Nice to Albi is a long trip. According to google maps it will take 6 hrs and 29 minutes. That is really meant to be a travelling day with Carcassone being the break and ending in Albi to (maybe) having dinner and heading to bed going to see the catfish in the morning before heading out (which was the point of Albi for us - I know it is a nice historic town but we would've otherwise missed this place but for the boys really wanting to see the catfish that eats pigeons from the show they've seen). Honestly, Nice/Carcassone, and Albi were transient places we hit along the way to Bordeaux (Preignac, in this case) thinking a nice little break would be Carcassone.


As far as the wineries in France, I did some research and found some very good suggestions on wineries that are very kid friendly. Obviously, it won't be all wineries that day which is why I was asking for unique experiences in the area.

http://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/Di...-with-children

As for Venice, it was a choice on our part. I have a friend that was just there and the logistics of luggage and children, we opted to just do a day trip. Perhaps when the boys are older and we can just travel with backpacks.

So yeah, I do understand that people travel differently from each other and I respect those that probably think my itinerary is a bit nuts but that's the way we like to travel. We're OK with those driving times. I wasn't really asking about the itinerary as mentioned at the very beginning. I posted the itinerary to ask about things to do in the places that we hit. Now if someone had mentioned a really cool experience in Carcassone we think may interest us, there is plenty of time for me to change the reservations on the airbnb.

Please, let me know if you have any ideas of fun cool things in the towns we hit or ones we go through along the way.

Thanks.

maria_so

Oh, and about the italy part, have you seen Rick Steves tour for a 3 week Italy trip?

I think mine is tame compared to this...

Italy's Best Three-Week Trip (by Train and Bus)
Day 1: Arrive in Milan, sleep in Milan
Day 2: Milan to Lake Como, sleep in Varenna
Day 3: Lake Como, sleep in Varenna
Day 4: To Dolomites via Verona, sleep in Bolzano or Castelrotto
Day 5: Dolomites, sleep in Bolzano or Castelrotto
Day 6: To Venice, sleep in Venice
Day 7: Venice, sleep in Venice
Day 8: To Cinque Terre, sleep in Vernazza
Day 9: Cinque Terre, sleep in Vernazza
Day 10: Pisa, then to Florence, sleep in Florence
Day 11: Florence, sleep in Florence
Day 12: Florence, late to Siena, sleep in Siena
Day 13: Siena, sleep in Siena
Day 14: To Assisi (by bus), sleep in Assisi
Day 15: To Orvieto and Civita, sleep in Orvieto
Day 16: To Sorrento, sleep in Sorrento
Day 17: Naples and Pompeii, sleep in Sorrento
Day 18: Capri or Amalfi Coast, sleep in Sorrento
Day 19: Morning to Rome, sleep in Rome
Day 20: Rome, sleep in Rome
Day 21: Rome, sleep in Rome
Day 22: Fly home

michelhuebeli

But there you sit on the bus, and in every location somebody is waiting to guide you - that takes the stress out of this schedule that you and I would have to do by ourselves.

He gets a full day, plus a bit, out of all major locations - with pinpoint accuracy about where to go and what to see, and no worries about logistics.

Not entirely true - Rick insists that everybody carry their own bag up the stairs. Oh the hardship...

ANUJ

I have been guilty of rushed trips in the past, trying to "maximise" time available, but I will say this : you are visiting perhaps the 2 most beautiful countries in the world (at least in my book) and you don't want it all to seem like a blur after you're done. I will withhold commenting on Rick Steves' itineraries, there's enough said about him on the forums already.

maria_so

Thank you michelhuebeli. I completely respect tour viewpoint. We've never been one dor tours, to be honest. Again, if anyone has any experience or suggestions for a particular one of the towns mentioned or even one not mentioned but on the way, I think we have plenty of time to make changes. I was talking to my hubby about your comments and he reminded me that we decided that travelling with kids the boys' age, it has worked better for us to stay at a base place better than packing, repacking, checking in and out, etc. it's just a personal preference folks.

Again, I appreciate all the reaponses. I know you guys are just trying to help me out with your experiences and knowledge and that is always greatly appreciated. That's why we post, after all, so cheers.

maria_so

Francewithfive, thanks so much! That's wonderful information. Will have to go find i for on the bateaux mouches! Have not seen that before. Sounds like something the noys would love.