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-   -   Itinerary Advice for 2.5 Weeks in Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/itinerary-advice-for-2-5-weeks-in-europe-1005199/)

Hez Feb 14th, 2014 11:45 AM

That looks excellent. Well done! Hope you have a fantastic time!!!

btw - I know you're keen on the flexibility of the trains, but it is generally much cheaper to purchase train tickets in advance.

AlessandraZoe Feb 15th, 2014 07:07 AM

I like this schedule, Nightfawl. VERY GOOD JOB!

Re art in Venice--not to everyone's liking, but to this art lover family, Peggy Guggenheim's house was a must. Architecturally, it is so unusual for Venice; historically, Peggy was a treasure to budding artists; art-wise, there are still some darn fine paintings and sculptures in the space.

Enjoy, enjoy. AZ

Mimar Feb 15th, 2014 07:51 AM

Your latest itinerary looks like a winner. If you must have a beach, you can go to the Lido from Venice. But I would think it a waste of your short time in beautiful Venice.

You can do Pisa as a day trip (half-day) by train from Florence.

Be warned; there will be lots of other tourists in Venice and Florence.

Re: Nice. I loved it. Once part of Italy, the city has a lazy, sensual vibe that felt different from other parts of France. The food is different: socca, pissaladière, salade Nicoise. And I loved the curvy Belle Époque architecture; it seemed to suit the town so well. Lots of art in and around Nice. And it's a very good base for visiting up and down the Côte d'Azur by public transportation.

So maybe next trip you can go to Nice. For several days.

Hez Feb 15th, 2014 09:08 AM

I'll second the Peggy Guggenheim - fantastic!

Nightfawl Feb 15th, 2014 09:13 AM

Yup, the more and more I think about it, this itinerary just makes sense. I plan on booking flight and trains as early as possible. Probably in the next couple of weeks or so.

I am a LITTLE bit disappointed that we won't be seeing the riviera as the scenery looks very unique and amazing. I'm also a TAD bit concerned that all of our 4 locations are going to be similar (i.e.. walking around visiting historical building/churchs) and we won't be getting that unique feel of the riviera. But like others have said, there are lots of places around the world like that which can be seen on another trips.

Thanks for all of your help and feedback everyone!

StCirq Feb 15th, 2014 10:07 AM

Actually, they are four VERY distinct places, not similar at all...as you'll find out.

jamikins Feb 15th, 2014 10:33 AM

I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how very different your 4 locations are! Enjoy each of them...no point in regrets...embrace what you do see this time and do the riviera next time!

annhig Feb 15th, 2014 11:00 AM

nightfawl - normally I would agree with you, but Barcelona as a city is very different from the other three, and Venice is unique as well.

BTW, i am not a great lover of modern art - the Guggenheim does little for me. What "floats my boat" are the wonderful Tinterettos in the Grande Scuola di San Rocco and the works showing history of venetian art that you can see in the Accademia.

http://www.scuolagrandesanrocco.it/

and i know very little about art.

What I'm saying is that there is something in Venice for everyone!

As for Florence and Rome, you can make them feel "different" by way of day trips, and the sights YOU choose to see.

Nightfawl Feb 15th, 2014 12:10 PM

I'm really interested in history, architecture, scenery and food. To be honest, I really don't care very much for modern art and paintings. I find that stuff boring.

Nightfawl Feb 16th, 2014 08:56 AM

Just curious, would anyone recommend dropping Venice, flying directly to Florence and using those days for Sorrento instead?

Seems like Sorrento has that scenic part of the trip similar to CT or SML that i'm leaving out. But much closer and easier to get to from Rome also.

We're also planning on a day trip to Naples anyway to see Pompeii.

Gretchen Feb 16th, 2014 09:40 AM

I think you could cut one day off Venice, but it is such a different city.

Nightfawl Feb 16th, 2014 11:47 AM

Further info: If we do go to Venice, one of the sights we will want to see is Murano Island. I think that is about half a day.

annhig Feb 23rd, 2014 07:32 AM

Further info: If we do go to Venice, one of the sights we will want to see is Murano Island. I think that is about half a day.>>

Nightfawl - rather than Murano, I would suggest going to Burano and Torcello. Burano is utterly charming with beautifully painted houses and some lovely places to eat lunch, and Torcello [reached by ferry from the landing stage next to where the vaporetto ties up] is a must for the beautiful cathedral and its ancient mosaics. Murano IME is mainly aimed at people who want to buy some glass - not all of which has been made on the island.

StCirq Feb 23rd, 2014 07:45 AM

Murano = waste of time, IME.

Nightfawl Feb 24th, 2014 09:01 AM

Burano is definitely one of the options as well. We will probably arrive at the hotel in Venice by mid-afternoon leaving us with another full day and then the following day we will take the late train to Florence. So we'll have roughly 2 days for Venice


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