Itinerary
 

What do you think of the following itinerary? Travel will be in October.<BR><BR>2 days in Rome<BR>2 days in Florence<BR>1 day in Siena<BR>3 days in Cinque Terre<BR>3 days in Venice<BR>1 day in Milan<BR>3 days in Paris

Others will likely attack one thing or another about this itinerary - - mostly its "too much moving around". I usually don't reply to these kinds of itinerary questions - - especially when the poster does not tell why certain factors led you to make the decisions you made.<BR><BR>but I will say this - - for many first time visitors to Italy, an initial 48 hour stay in Rome is a good way to ensure that you will hate Rome. Rome is a very intense city, and you need another destination to buffer you to her, or more days, or both.<BR><BR>and personally, I would remove Paris from this itinerary. All Italy will be better.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

4 days in Rome<BR>2 days in Florence<BR>1 day in Siena<BR>2 days in Cinque Terre<BR>3 days in south of France<BR>1 day in Milan<BR>2 days in Venice<BR><BR>There. That's better.

topping<BR>

Drop France and extends stays here and there in Italy, or go to other cities: Orvieto for its location and cathedral, Perugia, Assisi, etc. are possibilities. We did Tuscany and Umbria in October, with a day in Urbino. The weather was wonderful except for rain in Urbino, but it gave the mountains a beautiful white cover on our way to Gubbio.

I would concur with the others and make this an all-Italy trip since Paris seems so out of place and remote compared to the rest of your proposed itinerary. I would then delete Paris altogether, add 2 more days to Rome (4 days), add 1 more day to Florence (3 days), delete 1 day in Venice (2 days), and delete 1 day in Cinque Terra (to 2 days). The "left-over" days could be added to one of the other places. <BR><BR>There are too many sites in Rome to see in a mere 2 days. You need nearly 1 day alone to see the Sistine Chapel and papal palace. You still have the Roman ruins, Villa Borghese, Ostia Antica, Appian Way and San Sebastian tombs outside the city limits to see, let alone all the other famous Roman sites within the city limits (Trevi fountain, Spanish Steps, etc). A 5 or 6 day itinerary for Rome is much more feasible. Everything in Venice is within easy reach via the vaporetti. You can see the entire city on the Grand Canal on vaporetti #82 in an afternoon. The 2nd day could be spent seeing the outlying islands of Murano, Burano, and Lido, with plenty of time to get back for a nice dinner. Cinque Terra is small and if you base yourself in Riomaggiore, you can walk to Manarola and Corniglia in an afternoon. The next day could be spent seeing Monterosso al Mare and Vernazza and then you're done. Not much to see in Milan other than the duomo and couture shops. It is the usual arrival destination for most US flights and if you arrive in the norning, you could see everything by the afternoon, then travel from there to your next city destination (Firenze or Siena).