Athens, Greece vs. Southern France

Nikki, Given the overall circumstances of your trip, my suggestion would be to consider France on this particular trip. Some of my reasons: > Greece is somewhat "distant" from your primary destination, Italy. France would be easier to work into the Itinerary. You'd lose about a day out of the short week you have available in getting back and forth from Greece. > A week is a bit "long" to spend in Athens (IMHO). Regarding day trips, the only island that's reasonably close for day trips is Hydra (a beautiful island, but spending at least one night there would be better than a day trip). > There's LOTS to see in southern France. You should have no trouble filling in a week there! > Choosing France would allow you to meet your relatives, which will probably be interesting. > If you choose France, I'd limit the time to two destinations, perhaps with a day or two in the Gap area and the remainder in Nice where you could explore Nice (Chagall & Matisse Museums), Monaco/Monte Carlo (wonderful Oceanographic Museum), Villefranche, Eze or other locations in the area. Good luck with your planning!

Thank you so much for all of your helpful advice & suggestions! I will definitley be taking them all under consideration as I try to sort through our planning this weekend! :) One of the little things holding me back from the France option is that the only flights that go out to where I need to be, happen to leave on a Monday, whereas Greece leaves Saturday, which means 2 extra days in Europe; I'm a such a glutton for vacation-time!! lol. Again, thank you for all of your wonerful assistance!

That's a hard choice to make. South of France is my favorite area and I've no doubt you would love it there. It has great scenery, fine food and lots of history. I suggest you hire a car and do some exploring between Gap and the Côte d'Azur. Greece is wonderful, too, however. I've read that the scaffolding is off the Parthenon after decades of restoration work. I agree with Ken that a trip to one of the islands should include a night or two there. And you could take a day trip to Delphi. I don't understand your comment about getting two extra days if you go to Greece, but if Greece calls to you, go for it. You really can't go wrong.

Can you fly into Athens, spend one or two days there, then get out to an island( with only 4-5 days you should only visit one, two at most) then fly to Rome( there are cheapo airlines that fly between Athens and many places in Europe, Rome likely) then fly home after your Italy visit from Rome( so in other words, buying an open jaw ticket from Canada, I think Airtransat does both Athens and Rome now,, but you will have to check,,, I also recall they don't do Rome till May or June , so timing of your trip will matter) Personally if you have 3 or 4 weeks I would totally give the islands a full week, Santorini, Paros, Naxos, even touristy Mykonos are wonderful.. I have only been to Paros and Mykonos,, but I totally loved both of them. I do consider the islands a bit of a beach holiday,, not as sightseeing and cathederal viewing heavy as most of Europe( and I love that too) so if you could even schedule the Greece part at the end for a bit of a rest after heavy Italian touring, that might be a thought.

France, hands down, it NEVER disappoints and the south of France is MAHVELOUS!