which itinerary would you choose?
 

Leaving for Europe June 22nd with husband and 3 kids. Still working on the details of the itinerary...Already have hotel reservations for london & paris, still haven't made reservations for Rome due to itinerary being "up in the air" but will probably stay at the Hotel Del Senato. Veteran travelers, please give your opinion:

Itinerary 1
4 Full Days in London
5 Full Days in Paris
2 Full Days in Venice (my oldest son really wants to see Venice)
3 Full Days in Rome

Itinerary 2
4 Full Days in London
6 Full Days in Paris
4 Full Days in Rome (possibly just take a train to see Venice during the day)

We have been to London before, so we could possibly cut back to 3 days in London. Since we have 3 kids in tow, obviously we don't want to do too much moving from hotel to hotel. However, there is so much to see! I was thinking of trying to plan some time in Provence or the Cote d'Azur region, but don't know how to fit it all in, especially with 3 kids. So, do we just stick to the 3 big cities? Any advice is appreciated!

Oh, and the ages of the kids are 11, 10 and 7.

We have taken our children to each of those places...and would do it again. Venice is wonderful...don't skip it. Especially since one of your sons shows an interest.

The first one.

If you've been to London, using the 1st itin, I'd take a day away from london and add it to Venice or Rome. Italy is very family friendly. Another hotel possibility in Rome is the api. type accommodation at the Santa CHiara hotel.

Hi travelmom,

I've been to all of these places so here' my advice. Because you've been to London before, cut back to 3 days there and add a day in Venice.

Have you factored in travel time among the cities or do these days include travel time? If travel time is included then I would remove Rome and add 1 extra day in London, Paris, and Venice.

Rome deserves a trip by itself of about a week and it's another 4 hours of traveling from Venice. Will you be returning home from Rome/Venice (or whatever is the last place on your itinerary?

The other option is to delete London (since you've been) and do Rome.

You don't have time to add Provence/Riviera to this schedule.

Whatever your decision, have a great trip.

adrienne

Hi,

I go with itinerary 1 and drop one day from London and add a day to Venice.

I like number 1. Do not miss Venice !!

Rome-to-Venice is a 4.5 to 6 hour train ride, depending on which train(s) you take. If you left very early in the morning, you could get to Venice before noon, but you would have to leave to return to Rome by 6 or 7 pm in order to get back by midnight. If you factor in more time to get between the Venice train station and San Marco, for example, that only leaves a few hours for sightseeing. So my preference would be for Itinerary 1, if it is critical to see Venice.

I would take a day out of London and Paris and add a day in Venice and Rome, or skip London. Sounds like a good trip.

Option 1 like everyone else. My children really liked Venice.