Hi everybody. Great to be a part of this forum. I am a new traveller for europe and 'am clueless. Have a wife and small daughter, and planning a 23 day trip. Can anyone suggest some itenary in Austria. Aim was to spend five days in paris, four in munich and then train to Salzburg. Stay in a B&B somewhere and if practical, rent a car and drive to see the countryside around. Maybe move to Innsbruck.
Then train to Venice after four days and then move to Florence for three days before flying off from Paris.Issues not clear were where to drive and stay in Austria, Italy. And if any better plans can be suggeted for the overall trip will be really appreciated. Thanx a ton.

In Venice we stayed at the Locanda Orseolo. It was a few steps from St. Marks Square. The owners Barbara, Matteo & Bruno were really wonderful. It was my best hotel experience ever (except for Prague). We had home cooked crepes for breakfast, the room was cute & clean, they spoke English well and were just very nice people.

In Salzburg I stayed at the Goldener Hirsch. It was a cute hotel and great location (although a bit expensive).

I also did the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg. It was kind of touristy but I am a big fan of the musical so I enjoyed it.

I think you're doing way too much for a trip of 23 days and that your plan wastes too much time traveling in Europe between cities. Your family is going to be awfully frazzled when you get back to the US. I suggest flying home from your last city in Europe rather than doubling back to Paris. I also think you should try to cut at least one city off your list and maybe more. My wife is still complaining to me about multi-city European vacations we took years ago, and she's right.

Hi S,

You are moving around quite a lot, which is very wearing on children.

I also suggest flying home from Florence, Pisa or Milan rather than returning to Paris.

How are you getting to Munich?

As for the Austria part of your visit, you might find my trip report helpful:http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35014078

Sam - I agree with the other posters: you're doing too much. I imagine you have a reason for flying in and out of Paris, such as your airline only goes there, but having gone to Italy from Miami 12 times in the last 4 years, always via Paris because of American Airlines, I would suggest that you just do Italy on this trip with a small child. It's two flights in either case, which is tough on the child. You could fly to Paris and from there to Florence, spend 5 days or more, and pick up a car when you are done in Florence and drive to the Tuscan or Umbrian countryside, either of which are only an hour and half away, and spend another 6 days doing the Tuscan or Umbrian hill towns, all of which are short day trips from your chosen base of operations. You could then take the train to Venice - or drive and leave the car at Piazzale Roma.

In Florence, I like Palazzo Magnani-Feroni because each "room" is a two-room suite with sitting room and bedroom, an ideal situation with your daughter. Have a look at www.florencepalace.it. If you decide to do the Tuscan hilltowns, then I would recommend that you stay in the Val di Chiana region, perhaps even in Siena, though the hotels there are a bit pricey, or on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, in or just outside of Cortona, which would allow you to do many day trips in either direction. There is a 3.5 to 4* in the historic center, Hotel San Michele, http://www.hotelsanmichele.net/Index.asp?l=eng&c=, that should suit you well. From there you could do Arezzo, Radda in Chianti, San Gimignano, Siena, Monteriggioni, Montalcino and of course Cortona, all in Tuscany, as is Florence; you could over the mountain the other direction to Umbria, and see Perugia, Assisi, Gubbio, Citta di Castello, Spello and Todi, all easy day trips.

It's an easy 3-hour drive to Venice through beautiful countryside, but probably better to train to Venice, leaving your car in Florence at the end of your time in Tuscany and catching the train at Santa Maria Novella to Venice, a short, just under 2-hour comfortable train ride. Hotel Bauer il Palazzo is superbly located, steps from St. Marks and directly across from Santa Maria della Salute. Here's their website: http://www.bauerhotels.com/.
Venice requires a good 4 days, especially with a child in tow. Once done in Venice, it's a 1.5 hour flight back to Paris, where you could spend 4 to 5 days before taking the flight home.
The Chateau Frontenac, http://www.hfrontenac.com/, is ideally located between the Avenue George V and the Champs Elysees, giving easy access to many of the sites. It's only a block or two from the Seine, where you could catch a bateau mouche, a nice way to see Paris with a child.

There is so much to see and do in Italy, and you do need to allow some down time for your daughter, that I think you would be better suited to make your trip only Italy, using Paris as your gateway.

I hope this information is helpful.

Sandra

Thank you so much for all your replies. They are indeed very useful. I was trying to strike a balance so that I can see some places and relax too. Such trips may not come by again for us actually. Aim to start and end at Paris was the aircraft thing.I will now rehash the thing and send a new reply. Thanx again friends.

As others have said, definitely fly open-jaw, so you don't have to return to the arrival city. It wastes too much precious vacation time to backtrack.
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