Hi,

My boyfriend and I will be travelling to Europe (my first time!)for a month in the sun-drenched summer. We've spent hours researching and have narrowed down the vast options but the Fodor's forums always have such great information so I thought I'd throw out our plans in case anyone had any words of wisdom.

Our itinerary is as follows:

London (1 wk)
Paris (3 days)
Provence (staying 2 nights each in Avignon, Gordes and Aix-en-Provence)
Cinque Terre (4 days based in Vernazza or would another of the villages be best?)
Nice (3 days)

Our hotels are booked (after extensive emails inquiries and confirmations!) and now we're finalzing the train/rental car (in Provence) details. Any tidbits to add to this onerous albeit exciting) planning process is much appreciated!

Best,
di

I did a lot of research trying to pick a Cinque Terre village for my upcoming second trip, and the consensus seems to be that Vernazza is the most tourist mobbed town. Lots of day trippers especially. So if you don't mind that, or if you'll be off on the trails or the beaches during the day, then it might be fine. I narrowed it down to Corniglia or Manarola, where I've stayed before, since it appears that far fewer tourists (no tour bus crowds, from what I'm told) linger in those towns.

Thinking about something similar for next year. A quick question ..how are you travelling between centres ?

We based out of Vernazza for 4 days and loved it. It was a good base to travel from and then come back in the evening for dinners. We love the hike from Vernazza to Corniglia. Corniglia is really quaint and charming and less touristy.... a must restaurant to go to is Damananan (sp?) it was so good- everything homemade, great food and wine. Corniglia is great but not sure for a base, only a handful of places to eat and not close enough to the ocean its up on a cliff. Manarola is okay to me, I had read many posts declaring its charm only to find it okay- still worth a visit but it wasn't what I was expecting- it does have more restaurants than Corniglia though and we only visited for an afternoon and didn't feel the need to come back. To our surprise we did enjoy Riomaggoire A LOT. The key is to go down to the marina area though (look for the signs to the steps down to the marina we would have missed it otherwise) the marina area is beautiful and small, we were there in march so not many people out and had a drink at one of the cafes, sipping our wine and sipping in the beauty of the meditteranean... lovely, lovely views. Once down in this area make sure you climb up along the left to walk down to a pebbly beach great for a dip or a sunny nap... We did see the rest of the town up the hill but wasn't impressed with that part of it but because of the marina beach area I would consider basing out of there for a day or two the next time we go thru. Vernazza is being rebuilt, as in newer stores etc, and I think its taking away from the charm of the place but it was still lovely...Monterosso wasn't that big of a deal though it would be a good swimming beach and maybe catch some waves there in summer... we also visited the city of Levanto and really enjoyed a walk around... ask about the castle/church in the town really beautiful.
Hope this helps... we loved Cinque Terre.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but for four nights I would actually consider Monterosso for your time in the CT. True, it is more resort-y and not as picturesque as the other towns, but you can easily ferry or hike to the other four during the day. Since Monterosso is bigger, it offers much more in terms of dinner and nightlife options. Just depends what you are looking for I guess.

I know you didn't ask but I would strongly advise finding a way to add a day, or preferably two, to Paris. We have been, several times, to all of the places you are visiting and Paris is the most fabulous. You could easily take a day from London and a day from either Cinque Terre or Nice.

Wow! All your advice is so great and much appreciated!!

RE the CT, we have decided to stay in Manarolo if only b/c accommodation was available and confirmed easily (if my email experience with CT accommodations is any indication, I think we're going to have a VERY laid back trip there)!

Marko - re travelling b/t centres. This is how it looks:

London - Paris = chunnel
Paris - Avignon = train
Avignon-Gordes-Aix-en-Provence = rental car

then it gets tricky. To get to Manarola it looks like we have to take a train from:

Avignon - Nice, then
Nice - Genova, then
Genova - Manarola. Hope that helps!

And to mamc - thanks so much for the Paris suggestion. It's great to get such rave reviews. We're staying there for 3 days/4 nights.

Thanks again to everyone. This forum is such a great tool for planning!

Thanks E. good luck with your trip.

We just returned from 12 days in Italy and spent two in CT with Monterosso has home-base. It was great. I agree there is more to do there but it is still very quiet and romantic.

We stayed at Hotel Villa Steno and loved it. Nice room, private bath, had a view with terrace to sit and sip wine at night.

Eat at Gamero Rosso in Vernazza for sure! Any Alta Marea in Monterosso. DO NOT eat at Il Moretto in Monterosso. Hope this helps!

This may be too late for you. However, I would stay in one place in Provence and use the car to get around. I'm a great believer in settling in a bit, making myself at home as I travel. In fact, if you could squeeze in another day, you could rent an apartment or villa in Provence.

As for Cinque Terre, it sounds so crowded these days. We are going to the Italian Riviera, staying in Camogli, and day-tripping to CT -- with other day trips (by train, bus and boat) to Genoa, Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure. The latter sounds like a nice place to stay.

I'll bet you a nickel you will wish you spent a week in Paris and three days in London.

Have a great time. Sounds like a nice trip.

Larry J