I am planning 9 days trip to Europe in Jan.
My first stop is definitely going to be Rome, Italy.
Than, I am thinking about flying to Barcelona OR renting a car with a drive to Florence and than Milan. My biggest concern is an ability to find a parking in those cities.
What do you think? Any other ideas? How many days should I spend in each city?

hi lavdi,

why are you thinking of driving to florence or milan? there is a perfectly good train service from rome to both of those cities, and they are reasonably quick, depending on which service you take.

personally, i would feel inclined to stay for 6 days in Rome, adn then 3 in EITHER Florence or Milan - 3/3/3 would seriously short-change Rome, IMHO.

one thing- you are right about not wanting a car in any of those places. the traffic in Florence is appalling and in Rome it is wose.

annhig, you are right, I just checked RailEurope and I can get train tickets to Florence for $65/92 (1st/2nd class)) and than to Milan for $77/106. Does it make sense to pay an extra for the 1st class seats? Also, would you prefer going to Florence or Venice, or go to both and skip Milan?

oh on, Lavdi, now you're adding in venice. tooo much choice!

truly, if you have not yet been to Venice, i would suggest that you go there in preference to Florence or Milan, but that's just me.

i would still suggest 6 nights in rome, 3 in Venice.

for trains, go to www.trenitalia.it. I think that Raileurope is quite expensive - try starting another thread about that.

opinion varies about whether 1st class is worth it - for me the speed of the trip would be the main thing, and on the faster trains, there is probably little difference.

and of course - you won't need a car in Venice!

It doesn't make sense to buy from RailEurope as they are a reseller and mark up the price. Trenitalia is the Italian rail company. On the fast AV/ES trains, 2nd class is fine (more room than coach on a plane) especially for such short journeys (each one travel time is only 1:45). Buy your tickets when you get to Rome.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...0080a3e90aRCRD

Hi Lavdi,

Go to Italy a lot

Have rented a car B4

And trains are lots easier nicer going city to city centers

No big parking charges

do Rome Florence Venice

Just hop intercity trains from 5 euros per hour.

Www.eurocheapo.com good city guides

Milan too industrial Barcelona too far

In the time you have...have fun,

Hello lavdi, as usual the two posters that have responded to your thread are giving you excellent advice. I just wanted to throw in the thought that if you reside in the US most visitors to Rome and Venice find it is easier to arrive in Venice and depart from Rome. The reason is that most planes leave Venice quite early in the morning so it is rather a hassle for those departing from the Venice airport. Arriving at one airport and departing from another airport is called MultiCity aka OpenJaw.

love, i would normally agree with you, but the convenience of arriving by train in Venice is worth quite a lot, IMHO.

but if the departure from Venice is VERY early, the other way round may be preferable.

Thank you all for all responses, last year we visited 4 countries in 12 days, so, at least I have experience in making complicated bookings

Hello, annhig, I do agree that arriving at the Santa Lucia train station is very special. I just hate the very early flights from Venice that I have had to take. I usually have ended up just visiting with friends and not sleeping at all the night before the flight. Of course that has helped me pass out on the plane, lol. Stay warm!

And best wishes to you lavdi, enjoy planning your time in Italy.