fergie342

Arriving in Rome. Want to see as much Vatican as I can (3-4 nights). Renting car and then on to Tuscany region. Want to do Florence too. Can I stay in Tuscany outside of city of Florence and travel to the city for touring? (3 nights) Don't want to change hotel much.
Our last stop is Paris for 2-3 nights. Is Pisa or Florence best place to fly from to Paris?

There will be 3 of us: my husband and adult daughter and myself.

Help with itinerary, please.

bobthenavigator

How many total days do you have to sleep in Europe?
What time of year?
Have you been to Rome or Paris before?

pporter

You can drive to Florence from the countryside, but you shouldn't stay too far away from Florence to do this, and you should do some real research to understand where parking lots are located outside the restricted area. Much of the city is off limits to non-resident traffic, and you can end up being severely fined.

Many people find it easier to drive to much smaller town where they can park the car and get a bus or train into Florence. You can get a list of such places by asking on the Slow Travel message board for Italy. (You might also find it easier to take the train to Florence from Rome, park your luggage at the station, tour the city, and then get a rental car and go from there.)

Not all sections of the Vatican are open at all times and some parts require advance booking, so you might want to read up on that and look at the Vatican website well in advance of planning how many nights to be spend in Rome.

You can check a website like skyscanner to what flights might be convenient to Paris from which airports. It might depend on where in Tuscany you stay.

fergie342

never been. want to see vatican as much as possible. Arriving around May 22. Departing Paris around June 1.

fergie342

Looking at staying in Chianti for 3-4 nights and to Florence for one day. So train into Florence not car??

denisea

Be sure to book a Scavi tour with the Vatican early (90 days out, I think) to see the necropolis. I would also recommend Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine tour for the Vatican Museums. excellent!

nytraveler

OK -

I'm confused. It looks like you have 9 days on the ground, including the day you arrive. And unless you will only be in Paris for a day - you have run out of days.

If you arrive in Rome May 22 and stay through the 24th you will have 2.5 days there. Plenty of time to see Vatican - but limited time for ancient rome and all the other sights. For the Vatican you need to organize the various tours in advance - and they will tell you when you can take them. There is the Scavi - underground, pope's caskets, etc, also a tour of the Vatican grounds and gardens - as well as the Vatican Museums, St Peter;s, the Tresury, the Dome and also the Castel Sant'Angelo. (It will take more than a full day to do all this).

If you head to florence on May 25 staying through the 28th will give you 3 full days to see Florence and a couple of the hill towns in Tuscany from there.

Then if you fly to Paris on the 29th - you will have 1.5 days there - depending on the time of our plane.

IMHO - either add days or bag paris and consider staing in just rome and tuscany.

bobthenavigator

Exactly!
Set your dates first, then look at itinerary.

Jean

If the OP flies to Paris on May 29th, they would have nearly 2.5 days before departure on June 1st. Several hours on May 29th, all day May 30th and 31st.

But...

I would skip Paris. Six times in/out of airports (round trip from home) in a short trip does not appeal to me. I would do 4 nights Rome, 3 nights in a smaller Tuscan town, 3 nights Florence, depart from Florence or Pisa (whichever has the best option/fare).

pporter

fergie342,

I highly recommend not taking a car into Florence. From the Chianti area, you also have the option of a bus that leaves from some towns (Greve, Panzano, some others) or likewise there is a train station in some towns. Sorry I can't think of all of them (don't want to steer you wrong), but I'm pretty sure people on Slow Travel know that information precisely.

fergie342

Ok, my dates were off. We are arriving Rome on Wednesday, 5/22 early AM. Hope to do Pope visit that day.

As far as Florence, we really wanted to spend one full day there and rest in countryside. I need help on time it will take to get there from San Casciano Val di Pesa. The hotel website says 20 minutes.

Paris is included because my daughter will be studying there for the summer and we will leave her with her group there.

Advice?

bobthenavigator

So, how many days is that?

fergie342

10 days on ground

jamikins

I really dont think you will get through immigration, get your luggage, get into town, check into hotel and then get to the Vatican in time to see the pope's address. Even if your flight landed at 6am, it can take a while to get your luggage (it took an hour when we went) not to mention getting into the city.

nytraveler

There is NO Pope visit. Vatican yes - but no Pope. and there is no way you could begin to see everything in the Vatican on the day you arrive - when you can;t really get there before noon.

Assuming the Pope is well enough to do the 11 am appearance on the Wed you are there (and is in Rome) - no guarantee of either - you would want to be at St Peter's by 10 am at the latest.

this may be doable if your plane arrives at 6 am. But you should really figure at lest 3 hours from wheels down to getting you there - at best.

After you arrive, deplane, get to the terminal, go through immigration, wait for your luggage (may be 15 minutes, may be an hour) get your transit, get into Rome, get to your hotel, drop your luggage and then head over to the Vatican - 3 hours is a tight timeline.

What time is your plane landing?

fergie342

Had not even looked at time of audience. I can skip that. Just wanted input regarding rest of itinerary.

pporter

Your hotel website isn't incorrect -- especially if you do the drive at say, 4 in the morning, with no possibility of traffic, and it helps if you don't make a single wrong turn.

Most 1st time drivers, setting out during the morning rush, should probably count on spending twice that much time, plus add a few more minutes for parking. If you are going on a Saturday, I would give myself even longer, to allow for even more traffic. Very early Sunday morning might be rather calm.

Your should e-mail your hotel ahead of time to ask them if they can help you with detailed directions to a parking lot in Florence OUTSIDE THE ZTL coming from that direction. If you don't get a clear answer, make sure you have packed that information before you leave. You can get it on the Slow Travel website.

As for seeing the Pope's address, it doesn't sound to me like you are taking a very long trip, so don't check bags, then you don't have to wait for them! Arrange to have a car pick you up at the airport. It shouldn't take you that long to get into the city if your plane arrives on time (and in the morning, going through passport control isn't all that lengthy either). You might make it. You can decide when you get there. It's not a very appealing scene, with lots of people shoving, etc. I was almost knocked over by group of nuns once, and I was just trying to walk down the sidewalk to get someplace else, not beat them to the entrance.

denisea

Agree, don't check bags....we were on the ground, through immigration and in our hotel in an hour and a half. Don't lose an hour waiting for bags!

fergie342

denisea, did you only bring one carry on each?

bobthenavigator

With 10 days,I suggest 3 destinations/hotels.
You will likely have to decide if you stay in Florence and visit the hill towns from there--or vice versa.
Rome deserves 4 nites---Florence/Tuscany 3, leaving 3 in Paris. Good luck amd have fun.