stopover on way to Italy...which airports are better/
 

We're planning a trip to Italy and would like to fly into Florence and that means stopover on the way. The choices seem to be Munich, Amsterdam and Paris. Does anyone have any pros or cons that we should consider regarding these airports...issues, problems, things to avoid?

Welcome to Fodors. You will get more replies if you post this on the Europe board. Also, by stopover, do you mean you are staying in the city, or just changing planes? The latter is usually called a connection, not a stopover.

Yes, a connection...we're changing planes.

Where are you flying from? Any reason you would no want to fly to Italy and then take a train or plane to Florence?

Delta flies from JFK/NY to Pisa, non stop
Florence is an hour from Pisa by train.

We're leaving from New England so would like to leave from Boston and we know there aren't direct flights to Florence but were wondering what others' experiences were getting there. A train from Rome or rental car would work but our lodging is located closer to Florence.

As you cannot fly nonstop to Rome, and as you do not seem to have need to go to Rome, it would be less time consuming to get a connecting flight in Europe to Florence.

The airport in Munich is smaller than Paris or Amsterdam, so its easier to change planes. Assuming you are flying on the same air ticket your bags will be check through if you are checking a bag.

You would go through passport control where ever you land first and security before you board a second flight.

Lufthansa had a series of strikes by the ground crews in 2012 which shut down airports in Germany. But not to worry they settled the dispute in November 2012, so they wont be on strike again, at least in 2013.

There are no non-stop flights from the states to Florence. I like AMS over CDG (I always try to avoid CDG). Allow 2 hours connection time.

>>>lodging is located closer to Florence.<<<

I would be tempted to fly BOS/JFK/PSA and take the shuttle bus to Florence (5€), but it depends on what "closer to Florence" means. You could also just pick up a car at PSA airport if your lodging is between Florence and Pisa.

Swiss Air BOS-Zurich-Florence

Thanks folks...Maxima, there are direct flights from Boston to Rome but our lodging is closer to Florence so we were wondering if it might be smarter to fly there although there will have to be a connection somewhere (and I know Rome is a common one). Your mention of Munich is intriguing (and according to Fodors it's one of the best airports for such a thing!) and that goes to the heart of my question. What's the best, quickest, most stress-free way to get to Florence? Or is it just better to fly to Rome and drive to our lodging, keeping in mind that it's closer to Florence....