ottawagirl

Hi, my husband and I are planning on travelling to Paris, French Riviera and Venice in the last two weeks of September for our honeymoon. Right now we're thinking of spending 3 nights in Paris, 7 in the Riviera, and 3 in Venice. We realize this isn't nearly enough time to do justice to any of the locations, but unfortunately this is all the time we have to be away, and would really like to fit in all three locations. As this is our first time to France and Italy, we'd love input on our itinerary, as well as where to base ourselves for the week in the Riviera - we're thinking of Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, or Vence (so picturesque!), and likely renting an apartment for the week. We'd like some time on the beach as well as exploring the area, so not sure if Nice is a better bet for ease of getting train/bus to different places, or if the same options would be available from Villefranche (in perhaps a more relaxing/less pricey location?). So far we're thinking of visiting Cannes, maybe Monaco for half a day, and some of the perched villages including Vence, if we don't stay there (should we rent a car for this?).

I should probably also mention that we're planning on looking into an open jaw ticket to fly into Paris and home from Venice, and taking the TGV from Paris to Nice. We're not sure if the train or perhaps an easy jet flight from Nice to Venice would make the most sense.

Thank you in advance for the advice! I hope I didn't ask too many questions for one thread.

mamcalice

Just a suggestion: Consider flying to Venice first and then working your way to Paris. Venice is more relaxing and a good place to get over jetlag. And the flights from Venice to the US leave very early so you have more options returning home from Paris.

goldenautumn

Unfortunately, there are presently not a lot of good ways to travel between the Riviera and Venice. All flights require a change of planes, and I don't know when or if that will change. Train travel is really long. You can fly from Nice to Rome and then take a fast train to Venice -- but again, you are looking spending most of the day in transit.

Might be better to be looking for air tickets that have you beginning in Venice, going to Paris and finishing up in Nice, or beginning in Nice, heading to Paris and finishing up in Venice.

You will have nicer weather on the Riviera the sooner you get there, so you might want to go there first anyway. The downside of leaving Venice to the end is that most of the flights leaving Venice for North America depart extremely early in the morning, and the airport in Venice is a trek from the city.

To include all 3 of these destinations, at some point in your trip you will have to bite the bullet in money and time and inconvenience just getting from one location to another.

Tulips

Hi Ottowagirl; if you are going to rent an apartment for a week, I would go for Nice. Lots to do, plenty of restaurants, good transportation links to wherever you want to go. If you stay in Vence, then I would want a car. Not so necessary when you stay in Nice. Cannes and Monaco are easily reached by train from Nice of Villefranche.
Nice a a large and busy town, and the beach consists of pebbles. Villefranche is much smaller; all depends on your preferences.

ottawagirl

Thanks for the suggestions - I hadn't considered starting in Venice, or Nice. We were able to find a flight leaving Venice around noon, so we would have a little more time to get to the airport, but I'll still look into options for changing around our itinerary.

Too bad there is no night train from Nice to Venice. I heard there used to be one, which sounds like a great way to save a day of travelling. I did however see that easy jet flies Nice to Venice directly, for pretty decent prices, so maybe that is the best way to go?

goldenautumn

ottawagirl,

Great to hear about that Easy Jet flight. Sorry to have been behind the news. Solves all the problems. Have a great trip!

Southam

Ottawa: Nice is an attractive city but as you know it is on the east side of the Riviera which affects your day travel. Local trains run along the coast for such spots as Cannes and St. Tropez. Despite the popular image of shimmering seafront sands, the beach possibilities are actually rather limited and often small. Inland villages have their own charms with local markets, wines and cheeses, and handicrafts which are heavily promoted on the regional websites.
Do take note that easyJet, at this time, does not show Nice-Venice flights every day. That could change and you can wait until spring to book and still land a cheap fare. Myself, I'd leave Venice to an anniversary trip and spend more time in Paris. You can fly home from Nice or Marseille.

annhig

if you are going to stick with flying into Paris, can i suggest having an extra day there? your first day could be a bit of a wash-out, which would leave you with only 2 full days there.

if you are prepared to swap it round, and fly into venice, you could probably get away with just 3 nights there.

i would still want to add a day to Paris - there is so much to do there.

ottawagirl

Thank you all for the great tips and suggestions. We may alter our itinerary slightly to add one more day in Paris, and one less in the Riviera. We'll have to finalize what we want to do while in that area.

Thanks Southam for the tip on Easy Jet flight schedules. Luckily there are flights on a couple days around when we'd want to fly to Venice, so I think that could work for us.

Now the real fun of planning begins!