rtwin80days

What is the view on Paris + Florence and Tuscany for 15 days?

Paris 5 full days

Florence 3 days

Tuscany 7ish days

We can fly open jaw NYC-PAR, FLR-NYC or NYC-FLR, PAR-NYC. We can take a flight or overnight train between Paris and Florence.

Tuscany - weather, festivals, harvest, closure of restaurants and availability of accommodations, etc? We would stay in a town or max 2 as base and do day trips. Open to rent a car for few days if public transportation is sparse and having a car makes it easy to cover several smaller towns for a quick visit and drive by. Clarification - we are teetotalers, so Chianti region is not our main focus.

Looking at our dates, should we do Tuscany first or towards the end? In terms of weather / festivals. Would last week of October be any different than the first week of November?

PalenQ

We can take a flight or overnight train between Paris and Florence.>

the Paris to Florence/Rome direct overnight train has been scrubbeda few years back but you can take the Thello overnight train Paris to Milan and connect with day trains to Florence though I think you'll get to Milan pretty darn early- www.thello.com

Though there is a dense bus and limited train service in Tuscany yes a car for that many days would be best.

For lots about overnight trains and trains in general check www.seat61.com- great advice on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

rtwin80days

I guess flight from Paris to FLorence would be the best option then. I had checked trenitalia for the trains and I too saw the thello to Milan and then change the train. better to fly.

fuzzbucket

The Tuscan region covers a whole lot more territory than Paris does, so you might want to spend more time there.

You can stroll from the Champs-Elysees to Bastille in around 90 minutes, for example, and the places most people want to see are contained in a rectangle measuring about 6 x 4 km.

Since you don't drink alcohol, it's good to know that in Paris, tap water is free - order "un carafe d'eau". In Italy, you'll have to pay for tap water.

PalenQ

I too saw the thello to Milan and then change the train. better to fly.>

The change though a bit early is easy though - in same station - if flying is way expensive keep it in mind.

rtwin80days

Thanks all for ideas. Lot of interesting places which would come handy for next trips.
PalenQ, as of now, kayak shows tons of cheap flights. Might use delta miles to fly on Air France if prices become expensive. Business class award availability looks good for now.