I find Cole Haan sandals to be the most tasteful and the most comfortable for lots of walking. Also, they are really fashionable (especially if you get a pedicure).

As for tennies, Puma makes some tasteful and comfortable ones, and Kenneth Cole Reaction has shoes that look dressy but fit like tennies.

You will probably use both sandals and tennies.

Claire

I have had great luck with Merrill brand shoes. They look like hiking shoes but have gotten me through more miles of walking with great comfort than any other shoe. On top of that, I am stationed in Iraq right now and 98% of all the civilian contractors here wear them as well. They are the biggest hit here! Good luck! And don't be ashamed to beg for foot and calf massages at the end of each day!

I took a pair of walking sandals and a pair of good walking shoes (Seibel's) to Rome, Florence, and Venice last May. I ended up wearing the walking shoes a lot more than the sandals. My feet got really dirty wearing the sandals and I tripped over the cobblestones a lot more.

AmiLynn - don't know where you live, but I've been going throught the same quandary. "But what if we want to play dress-up?" or "But what about hiking the Cinque Terre trails?". I'm absolutely sold on Keen shoes and sandals, the Newport in particular. Going to music festivals has been a great test-bed for choosing all-day shoes, and packing lite in my case means the shoes I have on, plus sandals if I'm lucky! Haven't I read that manners dictate closed-toe shoes (like the Newports?) in some of the churches in Venice and Florence?