Italy/FranceTravel Suggestions
 

Hi,<BR>My husband and I will be going to Italy and France in October for 31/2 weeks. This will be our second trip to Italy and 1st. to France. We have business meetings in Montpellier in October and will spend our anniversary (the end of October)in Paris.We want to see Cinque Terre, too.<BR>My question/problem is this...where to spend 10-12 days in Italy. Last year we started in Florence and traveled by train to Sicily with stops in Rome and Naples. We can't decide on Venice, the lakes, Sienna, etc..too many choices! HELP!

Don't miss Venice--it's fabulous. While Cinque Terre has beautiful scenery, Venice has so much in the way of art and architecture, it's really a must.

Dear Paula;<BR>Venice is a must spend at least 3 days.You can drive or take the train to Siena; which is just lovely.I would drive that way you can go to some of the other near by hill towns. I'm not sure what your preferences are; but I like to find a base and do alot of side trips from there.I think Siena or one of the neighboring towns would give you that option. I have the name of a wounderful hotel just outside of Siena; that I stayed at a few years ago; but I do not have it with me. If you are interested email me and I will send you the info. <BR>Happy trails...Sherri

I'm trying to figure out whether you will be in France before or after Italy; you don't really say. That makes a heck of a difference in your itinerary. From the indication that the entire vacation seems to be in October, and the end of the month will be in Paris, I assume the first part of the trip will be in Italy. Now, the next question is: where are you arriving? Paris? Rome? Nice? Florence again?Heck of a difference in planning there, too. Hard to help much with those gaps in the info you gave.<BR><BR>So I assume you will be in Paris when your vacation ends. But I don't know where you will be when your 10-12 days in Italy begins. If this were my trip, and if I were going to end it in Paris, I'd plan to begin by flying into Venice and staying there 3-4 days. Then I'd catch the train to Siena for several days, then go to the Cinque Terre for 2-3 days. While in or near Siena, you could rent a car for a couple of days and explore the Tuscan countryside and villages. After the CT, it makes sense to follow the coast by train around to Montpellier for your meetings. While in Montpellier, you should try to get over to Carcassonne, which is worth at least a day trip. I'm assuming that when your business meetings are over, you will head for Paris. <BR><BR>Can't help any more, not knowing where you'll arrive, where you'll depart, which part of your itinerary is first (France or Italy), and what your interests are.

Sherri & Wayne,<BR>Thanks for the info. Wayne, you are right, we will end in Paris the end of October. We are planning on arriving in Venice if we visit there, otherwise Florence and stay to the coast. We love it all..but especially art, food, wine, scenic walking areas, music, ...everything! We might try a cooking class if you have suggestions.<BR>Any hotel suggestions in Venice you know would be great as well as the Sienna area. I am doing lots of reading/web reseach.<BR>Thanks<BR>Susan