Hello
I am planning a first time trip to Paris and Italy with my 20 year old daughter at the end of July/beginning of August. I have spent a lot of time researching the itinerary and would love some help!

Here's the plan so far:
Fly from California to Paris, spend 4 nights
Fly from Paris to Venice, spend 2 nights
Take the train from Venice to Florence, spend 5 nights
Take train from Florence to Rome, spend 5 nights (fly home from Rome)

My questions are:
1. Does the split of days between cities look ok? We enjoy great food, wine, shopping, exploring, probably more interested in historic sites than art, also looking to relax-not run from exhibit to exhibit. Prefer smaller towns to big cities, but we hear Rome is great, so want to explore it and the historical sites. We are really excited to do day trips to Tuscany!
2. We want to visit towns in Tuscany. Is it better to just have Florence be our base and do day trips to Tuscany? If we want to enjoy great food, wine and scenery-would it be a good idea to do day trips by bus from Florence to Chianti, Siena, etc. or rent a car and explore the beautiful towns ourselves? Is renting a car expensive, or a hassle-is it hard to drive there? Or since we are heading to Rome from Florence, should we visit the Tuscany area on our way to Rome? So many options!
3. I keep reading about paying cash for hotels for a discount. Is this advisable? I would love to get the discount, but how hard is it to find ATM's and get cash out multiple times during the trip?

Nice trip !
I have some suggesitons:
1. I would add a day to Venice
2. Tuscany is best seen by car, but if you are opposed then spend 2 nites in Siena
3. ATMS are everywhere--not a problem.

You are going to find that the beginning of August will find lots of things shut both in France and Italy . Traditionally, in places like Rome and other big cities the population leaves the city and heads out for their vacations. It will be HOT too. Any chance you can move your trip up at all for more optimal weather and things open?

I think your plan sounds fine. I would also add a day to Venice and I'd take it from Rome.

It will be hot so if you think this will bother you, you could re-arrange so you spend more time in rural towns rather than cities but I wouldn't add a heap more stops as I think 4 or 5 nights makes for a more relaxing holiday.

ATM's everywhere - just make sure you have a card that's hooked to one of the major networks. Some ATMs for banks affiliated with your home bank may have reduced fees. Your local bank would be able to tell you which ones. Every now and again we've had problems getting money from an ATM so we take cards for two accounts or make sure we have a stash of cash on us (i.e. not desperate if we encounter a hitch). I've never heard of discounts for cash but they might exist in smaller hotels.

We have seen a reasonable amount of Tuscany without hiring a car but it does take more time to get between places. Also, buses may run on a restricted timetable during the summer holidays. You certainly wouldn't have any trouble filling four or five days without a car and it is more relaxing, I think.

Have fun.

Thank you so much for the info. I know it will be hot in August, but that's the only time we can travel.

Any suggestions for good day trips from Florence for wine tasting, exploring, pretty scenery, good food, etc? Best way to get there? Bus, train, car?

THANK YOU!!

Some thoughts-

4 days in Paris is, in my opinion, not long enough. Can you skip Paris this trip and just focus on Italy? Plan a future trip to Paris and spend more time there- at least a week.

I agree that more time in Venice would be good.

After Venice, I suggest skipping Florence and spending that time based in the countryside instead. It will be nice to break up the city visits and exploring the countryside while staying in the countryside will be easier than trying to do so from a base in Florence. Stay at an agriturismo in the countryside with a pool, lovely views and some shaded areas. Rent a car and enjoy the small towns, beautiful landscapes and a more relaxing pace in the heat of summer. You can pick up the car in Venice, return it in Chiusi or Orvieto (small towns on the train line), and take the train into Rome.

If you can skip Paris, add those days to Venice and your countryside stay.

I like to rent cars through kemwel.com or autoeurope.com.

This link will take you to some good information on driving and trains-

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/instructions/index.htm

From Florence, never do any daytrips by car - the drive out of and back into town is way too time-consuming. Traffic in Florence is one huge permanent jam!

What a great trip! I would take one day from Florence and add it to Venice. For day trips from Florence, I would suggest visiting Siena via bus and Greve in Chianti via bus as well. You could also hire a driver (guide) for a day to do winery tours. One such gentleman recommended here and on other forums is Lucca of Hills and Roads.

another one to recommend swapping a day from rome to add to venice

Siena, for a day trip by train

I wouldn't take any time off of Rome...we were there 6 days and it wasn't enough. Now we're going again and taking our 2 teenagers. My favorite place in the entire world...