which airline and airport

Well with the TGV, you could always take the train to Venice and then down to Florence. The nearest major airport for Florence is actually at Pisa and then you take the train into Florence.

Your daypack could be considered your purse/laptop and then you can carry on your backpack if it meets the specific airline measurements. But the cheaper airlines usually only allow one carryon.

Thank you LeeB,
Could you please tell me what the TGV is ?

TGV is the high speed train. For a tutorial on using trains in Europe got to http://www.seat61.com/. That being said, I would fly to Venice or Florence from Paris on EasyJet or another low cost airline like Vueling or Transavia or even a non-discount airline like Air France. I don't know when you are traveling but right now, you could buy a one-way ticket from Paris to Florence on Vueling on May 1st (nonstop) for US$173 if you leave in the evening or US$256 if you leave in the morning and the trip would probably take you about 5 hours all total including travel time to the airport and arriving 2 hours prior to departure. Flying to Venice is generally more and there are fewer nonstops but you could price out the train trips within Italy to see the most cost- effective way to travel. Taking the high speed train from Paris to Florence is at best an approximately 10 hour trip with a change in Turin and if you bought a ticket today on the TGV leaving 3 months from now it would cost you approximately US$155 so for me, flying is the way to go even if I had to pay $40 or so to check my luggage. But, if you are a fan of train travel and you might be after reading the information at Seat 61, then go for it.

Thank you JHK
I will fly, being it's my first time in Europe don't want to waste time on train .

juanita,

Could you clarify your trip plans a bit? I'm not clear on whether you're starting your trip in Paris?

If you'll be visiting Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome, you might consider something along these lines....

• Inbound flight to Paris / CDG.
• budget flight to Venice / VCE (have a look at EasyJet, which offers flights from both CDG and ORY - I'd suggest using ORY as it's a smaller airport and therefore easier to navigate - one important point to note is that EasyJet and other budget airlines often allow only ONE carry-on item per passenger, so you will have to check one of your bags).
• Freccia or Italo high speed train from Venezia S. Lucia to Firenze SMN station.
• Freccia train from Firenze SMN to Roma Termini
• For your outbound flight, take the Leonardo Express from Termini to Rome / FCO (€14, about 35 minutes, DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the train).

As this is your first trip to Europe, you'll need to do some homework on the trains in Italy. Some trains require tickets to be validated prior to boarding (also true with Buses), while others such as the Freccia trains have compulsory reservations which are specific to train, date and departure time. Those caught with "irregularities" with their tickets can expect a huge fine, which will be collected on the spot!

Hi Ken
Yes I will be in Paris first then fly into either Venice or Florence. Just checked flight prices for both destinations , they are about the same price. Someone suggested we make Florence our home base then take the train into Venice for a day, not sure what to do.
Thank you for the info on the trains.

What's the total number of days in your trip? How many days will you be in Italy?

I'd suggest spending more than a day in Venice. Stay at least 3 nights (2 full days) if you have the time. Florence deserves at least 4 nights and Rome at least 5, in my opinion.

Also, read a few guidebooks to learn about trains and other important things you'll need to know as you plan. Rick Steves' books are great for new travelers.

You'll probably get more Italy-oriented responses if you repost your question in the Italy forum.

Thanks Sarah
Will be in Italy for a total of 8 days, wish it were more. I will try to figure out how to post on Italy forum

I agree with Sarah about spending more time in Venice. It would be a long train trip to/from Florence to Venice in one day.

You probably can't carry on your bag on Vueling or Easyjet -- and you can only have one carry on in any case. I don't know if the RS bag fits Easyjet's size limits -- most US carry ons don't.

But you can check it for a small fee and we have found that budget airlines like these two which use central airports (e.g. Orly and CDG in Paris rather than the Beauvais) are the best way for long haul travel. We have traveled form Florence (Pisa airport) to Paris and from Paris to Seville on these airlines for less time and money than any other form of transport.

juanita,

Thanks for the additional information, but that has prompted some further questions. If you only have eight days for Italy, what's the total duration of your trip and where are you flying from? If you use Florence has a home base, where else are you planning to visit? I'd suggest allocating a bit more time for Rome, as there's a LOT to see there.

Going to Venice as a day trip from Florence is not ideal, although certainly possible. It's about two hours each way via high speed train.

If you decide to stay in Venice for a night or two, then my previous suggestion to use an EasyJet flight from ORY would be the easiest solution. You will have to check your rolling backpack though, so you'll need to specify one piece of checked luggage when you book the ticket. If the weight of the checked luggage will exceed their allowable limit, it's cheaper to pay for the next weight tier at the time of booking, rather than at the gate.

If you decide to just visit Venice as a day trip from Florence, use an EasyJet flight from ORY to Pisa / PSA. They appear to have one flight per day in the afternoon (flight time 1H:40M). When you arrive in Pisa, take the Shuttle Bus to Pisa Centrale and then train to Florence (~1H:15M and €7.90 depending on which train you connect with - DON'T forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding the train). When you buy the ticket, your departure point will be Pisa Centrale and your destination will be Firenze SMN (abbreviation for Santa Maria Novella - that's the main station in Florence). When you arrive in Florence, you may be able to walk to your hotel.

I think the posters on this thread are right. Flying to Italy is your best option. Logistically it would make more sense to start in Venice and work your way down to Italy. If you can allow more time for Venice I don't think you will be disappointed.

There is a plane directly from the Pisa airport to Florence -- if you miss that, you can take a bus to the central station and take a train there of course.

The luggage allowances on Vueling and Easyjet are not unreasonably small BUT they are very specific. You must follow them and your checked bag must be 20 KG or less. You don't get more weight by buying two baggage checks and extra weight above 20 kg is charged at a huge rate. We did 3 mos in Italy and France over fall and winter and still managed with the 20kg on Easyjet including packing our winter coats in the bag. They have no weight limit for the carry on, so we put heavy stuff in the messenger bag -- computers, blood pressure machine, cameras, books. If you travel with others, you can average your weight across the bags e.g.one of ours was 22 kg and one was 18.

You save so much money on the cheap airlines that it is well worth paying attention and meeting their requirements.