Hi there
Since discovering this amazing resource barely a week ago I am blown away by the generosity of all you Fodorites but also by the amount of information out there! I have become somewhat addicted and can't stop searching.As you may have worked out I am now a bit confused and my poor husband doesn't know where we're going, where we're staying, what we're doing or even how long we want to stay in each place!
Just to remind you, we live in Australia and have 4 weeks in Europe next July. We have booked our flights (don't laugh .. we're now going to Santorini as well so fly into Paris and out of Athens). Paris is pretty well booked but ah..Italy. So many choices - cities or country. We were going to get a Eurail pass and go from Paris to the Lakes (Maggiore, Bellagio or Varenna????), then on to Venice for 3 nights. After that, Florence for 3 (do we stay outside Florence in the country and get a train in or stay in Florence itself) followed by Rome for 3 nights. Sounds so good but being first time Europe travellers who love markets, countryside, villages and eating out are wondering if we're overloading ourselves with too many "tourist sites" by sticking to the big cities. I know you are probably thinking "What does this woman want?" but that's the problem! It's all so gorgeous and exciting and interesting I'm finding it hard to choose.It wouldn't be an issue if accommodation didn't seem to be fast filling up.
So .... my dilemma! Where to stay in the Lakes and do we stay in the Tuscan countryside outside Florence and get train into the city? We would happily hire a car for part of our trip.

Thank you everyone for your amazing advice and stories. They have been truly eye opening!

Regarding Lake Como - Since you say that you love villages. I can tell you that Varenna will feel more like a village than Bellagio will. And rooms in Varenna may cost less than Bellagio.(Varenna's wintertime population is supposed to be about 600 people.)

What month is trip planned for?

After 13 trips to Italy, my best advice is to stick to these tenets:
1. Average 3 days per destination
2. Make your next destination a max of 4 hours travel time
3. Spend half of your time in small villages or towns of less than 10k population[ lakes and coast count]

It takes 6 weeks to see Italy. You will have time to make a good dent. Have fun !

Are you sure you need a Eurail pass?

Just because you use the train a few times, a pass is not always worth the price. Check point-to-point 2nd class tickets for those same journeys and compare.

Hi

Sounds like an amazing trip Have you seen the Google maps that I have made of Paris ( http://gardkarlsen.com/paris_france_map.htm ) and Rome ( http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy_map.htm ). The show the location of attractions and also restaurants that we have been to. I hope that you can find some useful info there

regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Just got back from Europe on the 14th of this month, and this is our experience.....spent 3 1/2 days in Menaggio on Lake Como...it was beautiful and we loved it...it was pretty quiet and we were ready to move on to some place new. We took the ferry across the lake to Varenna and Bellagio (both beautiful) and a day trip to Lugano, Switzerland. Pehaps in the summer we would have wished to stay longer, as we love beaching it.
Two days in Venice gave us a taste, and I know that someday we will return. We loved our 4 days in Rome....we walked, we explored...could have spent more time there. We spent 1 week in Tuscany - rented a farmhouse outside of Siena, and rented a car for the week. Absolutely loved it there...breathtakingly beautiful. I could have looked out our dining room window all day long. We will definitely return. We never had time to go into Umbria or north to the Cinque Terre - which I had wanted to do. There is so much to see in Tuscany - we visited many of those beautiful medieval towns.
Whatever you see and do, will leave you wanting more!

Gard, That was amazing! I could play with your map all day. I will check out the Ice Bar in June. Thanks

Sounds like I am on the right track! I think the advice of 3 nights in each spot is useful and I appreciated your trip rundown Corrindr.I think we will do day trips to the country from the major cities as we don't have enough time for a whole week.Varenna may be the place to base ourselves in the lakes.
Gard, you are unbelievably clever! What an amazing resource (there's that word again!)
Also, I'll look into train prices - thanks for that advice.
I'm sure we will return to Italy (and the rest of Europe) one day but its pretty expensive from Oz so we wanted to make sure we had a holiday that combined our love of wandering around beautiful cities & neighbourhoods with some down time - and shopping of course!
Thanks again everyone!

Hi S,

>Florence for 3 (do we stay outside Florence in the country and get a train in or stay in Florence itself)...<

I suggest staying in Florence.

You might find this thread useful
Helpful Information: Italy 2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34568596

Hi Ira
You have been really helpful. Our trip is pretty well organised and it goes like this!
Rome 4 nights, Siena 1 night, Florence and Venice 4 nights each with a day in the country out of Florence. We're going to do an Accidental Tourist Cooking class so should be fun!
After Venice it's off to Varenna for 5 nights then Paris for our last week.
Can't wait!!