Paris, ?, Tuscany, Rome...help!
 

At the end of June we are taking a 13year old and 12year old to Paris (3days), then _____, then a week in a villa in Tuscany, then Rome for 3 days. I need any advice on the ___ part of the trip. We have 2 nights to "kill". Looking at Positano but that may be a logistics nightmare. Any suggestions? Desperate to solidify the plan!

stay another 2 days in Paris, or add the 2 days to Rome.

3 days does not seem like a lot of Paris, when you factor in losing 1/2 of first day getting to hotel, jet lag...I might just add in the days to Paris.

Where is your villa in Tuscany?

how are you traveling to Tuscany? but I'm also thinking you might just add on to Paris. Another thought if going by (a long) train ride is to stop somewhere along the coast but I'm thinking NOT Positano - have you looked at a map? that is a faar distance from Paris and even quite a ways from Tuscany.

I would add the days to Paris - 3 days and you'll barely be acclimated.

I would also add the days to Paris. Consider the tethered balloon ride in the Parc André Citroën (if it still exists) and the science museum in La Villette at the opposite end of the city.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623299527007/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623299527007/

<i>"...then _____,..." </i>

Skip the "then _____," and split that time to add to Paris and Rome, both of which are seriously shorted. You could easily spend 10 days in each.

We have considered spending more time in Paris. This will be our 3rd time in Paris and 2nd time in Rome. I feel like we're being repetitive. The train sounds good but I was leaning toward flying to our destination in Italy. I want to have a balance of different experiences for the kids, not all museums and churches.

Pisa and the Cinque Terre or San Gim.. Pisa has good airport.

Or Nice. Rocky beach but neat old town.

I was looking at the Cinque Terre. What would be the preferred mode of transportation from there to Montepulciano?

Eons ago we stayed in Levanto, which is in the Cinque Terre area but accessible by car. I believe that it also has a train station and a <b>sandy</b> beach. A walk away from the town leads to rocky access to the water. Here's a picture of the coast outside the town:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622914855341/

There are so incredibly many possibilities; Italy and France are the two culturally richest countries in the world, there are endless two-day options. And without knowing much about your interests (actually, barely anything), the answer is even more difficult. If you've had enough Paris, you could visit a few Gothic cathedrals; say Reims, Soissons, Sens, Troyes (two each day). You could visit a few Ile-de-France chateaus, say Vaux-le-Vicomte, Champs-sur-Marne, Vincennes, Dampierre-en-Yvelines, not to mention Versailles of course. You could take the kids to Euro Disney. You could spend your two days in Torino. Or, supposing that your villa "in Tuscany" will be in south-east Tuscany (you might want to tell us! - the more we know, the better we can help), in Lucca and Pisa (one day each, basing yourself in Lucca). Or in the Garfagnana and Lunigiana mountains (taking a car from Pisa, and including a visit to sorely overlooked Carrara, one of Tuscany's highlights). Or in Genova (an easy train ride from Pisa), with a half-day-trip to Camogli. As I said, endless options...

Franco,We're staying in Montepulciano and will have a car for that week. My kids are 13 and 12 so I was trying to gear this part of the trip toward them. Pisa sounds interesting, tell me more. What else is around there, where is a good place to stay? how is the best way to get from there to Montepulciano? Also can anyone recommend fun/interesting day trips from Montepulciano?

You can easily train to CT from Pisa. I think you and your children would enjoy Pisa as well. The duomo is stellar and the 12 and 13 yo's will love climbing the tower.

From Pisa to Montepulciano a train ride takes over 3 hours and can involve 2 train changes (http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...0080a3e90aRCRD).

If you have a car when you are in Tuscany, you might want to just drive to Montepulciano from there. Might be more efficient use of your time?

Another thought is to take your spare days and just add them to Tuscany and Rome.

cbinatl, actually, I already did tell you about what's around Pisa (you're not asking me to tell you about Pisa proper, do you?): Lucca, Carrara, the Garfagnana and Lunigiana... plenty of options there, as well, and you could easily spend twice the time you have.

Have done a nice train journey

Paris Geneva Intelaken www.stresa.org

www.metropole.it Portofino www.lucca.info Villa Tuscany

Rome... had a wonderful timemight consider something

like that...

Still in a quandary but narrowing it down to 2 nights in Lucca after a day in Pisa. Does anyone have any recommendations for lodging in Lucca? Inside the wall or outside?

Changing hotels between Pisa and Lucca doesn't make sense IMO. Just look on the map! Pisa is a more than easy day trip from Lucca.
In Lucca, definitely stay within the walls.