I'm new to the forums, and I've been lurking for a few days. DH and I are headed to Paris, the Alps, and Venice in March.

Arrive Paris 3/11 & depart 3/15 (leave by train to Grenoble and pick up rental car)
One night in Gap, France
One night in Nice, France (return rental car and train next morning to Venice)
Arrive Venice 3/17 & depart for home 3/22

What are the must-sees we need to do in each of these places before coming home? We tried to give ourselves enough time in each city. We knew Paris and Venice would require some time. In Venice, we're willing to do some day-trips as well.

Thanks so much for your help!

P.S. This is our first trip overseas.

There is much more to see ( and more side trips to take )in Paris than Venice .

I'd keep the car another day or two and see more of the Alps than basically one day. Three days is a good visit for Venice, including a trip around to the other islands.

Stay longer in Paris and take the train to Venice.

Hi

My wife and I went to Paris in April last year and I have posted a trip report with pictures and links on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm . I have also made an interactive Google map that shows the location of the different attractions. You can find the map here http://gardkarlsen.com/paris_france_map.htm . We also went to Venice a few years back and here is a trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/italy_venice.htm . I hope that you can find some useful information in the trip reports that I have made

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

In Venice, we did the secret itineraries tour of doge's palace. It was really interesting. You need reservations in advance. You have enough time to explore the islands, also.

Do a search in this forum and you'll come up with tons of stuff to do in both places.

Gard,
I really enjoyed your trip report! You put a lot of work into writing it and adding the pictures. I wish that I could have time to write reports like yours for my trips!
Thanks.

I can highly reccommend Hundertwasser House..... completely unique. Here's a link
http://www1.kunsthauswien.com/english/hwh.htm

Thanks Princess. Yes, I do spend a bit of time making the trip reports and it has become a hobby of mine. My wife is not that happy about the fact that I'm working on the homepage all the time...but hey, I need something to do when she is watching Lost, Grey's anatomy, House etc

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

Make sure you go to Mariage tea room in Paris for a great afternoon tea!!!!

Thanks for the suggestions and the info. We are staying on the Lido while we're in Venice. I got a great deal on the hotel. While I would love to stay in the heart of Venice, it wasn't practical since we're going on a budget. How difficult is it to use the vaporettos to get from Lido to the main island?

It's not difficult to use the water buses. Depends a bit on where your hotel is--how long it takes to walk to and from the vaporetto stop. The trip to historic Venice takes just a few minutes--once you get to the stop and a vaporetto arrives.