Preliminary Paris-Italy Itinerary, Opinions Please!
 

We are planning our first trip to Europe in June, husband and I and daughters (20 & 18). Our primary interests are the main sights and museums. It will be a 13 day trip, including travel to/from Texas.

I need help planning the Italy part of the trip. We will be going to Venice and Rome. The question is whether to stop in Florence or not. Here is my itinerary so far if we include Florence:

Day 1: Travel
Day 2-5: Paris, night train to Venice
Day 6-7: Venice
Day 8: train to Florence
Day 9: early afternoon train to Rome
Day 10-11: Rome
Day 12: early morning flight to London (overnight required to coordinate flights home)
Day 13: Travel home

So basically it would be approximately 2 days in Venice, 1 day in Florence, 2.5 days in Rome.

We hate to miss Florence, since it's on the way. But are we leaving enough time for Venice and/or Rome?

Could you avoid the need to go through London if you did the trip in reverse?

I'm not a fan of overnight trains, so I'd look for a cheap flight between Paris and Venice.

As much as I love Florence, I think I'd skip it on this trip and add the time to Venice and Rome.

I don't really see the point of stopping in Florence for one night, with so very little time to do any sightseeing at all.

Rome definitely demands more time, so go straight from Venice to Rome and bypass Florence with your limited time.

Is there a reason you have to fly home from London? I assume because it's *much* cheaper than flying home from Rome?

Yes, we would have preferred to not take a day to overnight in London, but we are flying with AA Frequent Flyer miles and a relatively small travel window. We've got to get all the way back to Texas, so you pretty much have to overnight somewhere. We figured we might as well do it in London, rather than New York. We're using Hilton points for a hotel in London, so it's not costing too much extra, other than one less day in Rome.

Thanks for the confirmation of my feelings about trying to include Florence. My daughters will be disappointed, but in the end I think we'll be happy to spend another day in Rome.

We would welcome any other hints or tips for our trip.

Definately skip Florence - especially in June when it will be shoulder-to-shoulder people.

Stu Dudley