Hi, everyone! I have been reading through the threads and suddenly I think I shouldn't join a tour group for my first trip to Europe. I hate being rushed through the sites and I really want to experience local culture over there.

I have about three weeks of time-off from work. I plan to take it March or April next year. I definitely want to see Rome, Florence, and Venice. Paris, maybe. I still want to see the most touristy sites and museums. Very much interested in walking tours, too. I am not much of a shopper either except for some souveniers for myself. Oh yeah! Food trips. I love tasting local cuisine.

So, if you have recommendations, they are most welcome. I would most likely be travelling alone. My budget is around about 100 Euros per nite for accomodations.

You came to the right conclusion! Since you've plenty of time to plan, you should have no trouble going it alone. You're itinerary is really very simple, and everyplace you want to go is well serviced by trains and planes, and an English-speaking tourist infrastructure. If you don't want to do self-guided walking tours (available in books and on the web), you can easily join local walking groups with English-speaking guides in the places you want to see.

In Spring, it is possible to find clean and quiet and friendly accommodations in central locations for 100 euros in Roma, Firenze and Venezia. The B&B association in Rome is one place to start looking along for Rome, and fot other places you can also go with Tripadvisor, Venere.com and Fodorite recommendations.

There are a number of excellent books of restaurant recommendations that I think I worth looking at: For France, the Michelin guide and for Italy, Fred Plotkin's Italy for the Gourmet Traveler (even though the eats are not expensive). The Slow Travel website and Fodor's (Franco's threads) have also assembled some pretty good restaurant recommendations for Italy.

Last thought: If you can stick to an all-Italian itinerary with one week in each city you won't regret it. You might even be able to find an inexpensive rental in each city if you can book a week at a time. Check out the Slow Travel website.

I LOVE to travel solo and always self-plan. So this is not so much against taking a packaged tour (since I have never been on one I can't say) but in favor of independent travel!

You could book a plane ticket into Rome and out of Paris. Spend 6 days Rome, train to Florence for 4 days, train to Venice for 5 days, then take an overnight train to Paris and spend 6 days there. That's perfect!

You could sign up for walking tours, museum tours, etc. individually in the different cities, if you wanted more structure or to be part of a group... some of the time.

That would not be a difficult trip to plan and your budget is fine for nice 2/3-star hotels or pensiones.

For 100 euro per night in Italy, you might look into the accomodations run by the Catholic church. There are several in Rome, Several in Venice, and on.

They are clean and will meet your budget. They will usually have a bathroom down the hall and usually have a curfew.

I forgot to say that I don't like shared bathrooms. Unless it is terribly out-of-the-budget, I would like to stay away from shared bathrooms. Shared with 2 or 3 people are okay but a whole floor will drive me crazy.

lalachoa,

You won't have to share a bathroom for 100 euros a night. Another site you should check out for accommodations is B&B Italia.

(I've never stayed in a convent because of the curfew issues and some have restricted access during the day.)

Sorry, I meant BBItalia:

http://www.bbitalia.com/html/english.htm

Here's other good sites:

http://www.italialodging.com/

http://www.b-b.rm.it/

And one of my faves, because you can link directly to the websites of the B&Bs for better pictures and info:

http://www.bed-and-breakfast-in-italy.com/

Hi la,

If you decide to visit Florence, I can highly recommend the B&B Peterson.

www.bedinflorence.it

You won't have to share a bathroom if you don't want to.

Hi. I like suze's idea of keeping Paris in your plans. A French city (and what a gorgeous city) will contrast nicely with your Italian destinations. If 21 days is your total limit, subtract 2 for arrival and departure. Distribute 5, 5, 5, 4 according to the must-sees you collect between now and then. Paris is a 5 for sure. Have fun planning. J.

And for Venice I highly recommend www.lacalcina.com. It's lovely and in your price range if you get a small single, private bath, non-view room (which are very nice). They also have a couple singles that share a bath, but most rooms have their own. Reserve way early this hotel is popular for good reason. A nice breakfast is included in the price.

Not going on a package tour doesn't mean you can't take local tours. All major cities offer tours - either day or 1/2 day bus tours or a variety of walking tours (I tend to enjoy these the most). You can get info on all of them at your hotel and the local tourist offices.

Since you have plenty of time and are going at a less espensive time of year - you should be able to find pleasant though modest lodging and have plenty of time to look for transit bargain.

Be sure whatever you do you buy an open jaws air ticket (into the first city and return from the last - which costs no more and prevents the loss of time and money backtracking to the original city.)