Hi everyone!

Comments and suggestions relative to the following itinerary would be welcome:

Trains unless otherwise noted.

Nights: [*= previous visit].

[3] Paris* [direct flight from SFO];

[3] Bologna* [daytrip to Parma];

[2] Ferrara ;

[2] Padova;

[3] Desenzano del Garda;

[2] Cortona* [daytrip to Orvieto*];

[3] Rome*;

[2] Paris [flight from Rome].

Next question: May or September? The concern is weather.

We just did a Paris/Italy trip 9/19 to 10/9 and the weather was great. We are concerned about May, but on the other hand would prefer to go sooner!

May is not known for grim weather, but in Paris it can rain anytime, and overall there never are any guarantees. But in May you get the new blooms and it's wonderful!

Take the Thello night train to Italy- www.thello.com. From Bologna go to Ravenna - way more interesting than Ferrara, look up Google Images etc. for the mosaics, www.ravennamosaici.it, they are stunning!‎

Is it worth your while to fly back to Paris? Takes up so much of your precious time! An "open-jaw" ticket, SFO-CDG and FCO-SFO could save you a lot of time and money - use the Multi-City or Multi-Stop feature on airline websites.

Bologna, Ferrara and padova are all close together and easily reached by train from each other. You could stay in say bologna and day trip to cut down hotel moves.

I like the idea of staying in the two towns, it lets you get out and about more, maybe hire a bike for a day. I've seen Cortona, apart from a being a steep long climb and there is a corpse at the top, why are you going there?

May

Good Itin

Are you sure that there will be a night train from Paris to Bologna?
I suggest to take the Thello night train from Paris (dp 19.59) to Padova (ar 9.06), visit, Ferrara etc, then to continue to Lake Garda - Brescia - Parma - Bologna - Cortona/Perugia/Assisi - Rome

Since you don't have a non-stop flight SFO to Paris, why not start the trip in Rome and work your way north, ending in Paris. That would put all your time in Paris together and not have to break it up. It would be one less move.

Have been to Italy in May many times and the weather was always wonderful Not hideously hot and humid - but the pools on the AC were already open - and the day are much longer.

May is a wonderful time to go. It can be hot - we once were in Paris where it reached 90F on May 30 - so be sure your hotels have A/C. September is a wonderful time for these destinations, too, but the days are longer in May.

I like the idea of starting in Rome and putting all of your Paris time together at the end, flying open jaw since you haven't made plane reservations yet. It will save you time and money.

The reason for Cortona is to dine at La Bucaccia where we had the best meal of our recent trip.

We do have a direct flight SFO to CDG which we take every year.

Have heard mixed reviews about the Thello train, but that's a thought. Can you tell me more about it?

Thanks for your comments!

Hotels may have AC but likely won't be turning it on in May, even if the weather becomes very warm.

Thello overnight trains between Rome. florence and Bologna and Paris will be cancelled after winter schedules kick in this December - leaving just the one neckervd mentions Paris to Venice running - poor service and conditions have been pointed out as the reason - along with way too many empty seats - but the Thello trains have not gotten very good reviews.

For lots of great info on French and Italian trains I always point out these superb sites - www.seat61.com (check this site for lots of Thello trains); www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteurope.com.

For day trains in France you can get neat discounts at www.voyages-sncf.com (French national railways) and for Italy www.trenitalia.com - both sell discounted tickets on a limited number basis and those discounted tickets cannot generally be changed nor refunded and as they are sold in limited numbers must be booked weeks in advance to guarantee.

<< We do have a direct flight SFO to CDG which we take every year. >>

A direct flight is not a non-stop flight.

I kind of call that splitting hairs. LOL

Thanks, everyone!