Good evening,
We have 37 days in Europe. Fly from Sydney to Munich. We then to be in Castiglione D'Orcia 3 days later. So will then fly from Munich to Florence and thinking of hiring a car to the area, then go on to Rome to drop off car after the wedding. We would then like to go to Cinque Terre. Our final destination is Paris but from Cinque Terre we have about 8-10 days to get to Paris. Othersie we could skip Cinue terre and head to Eastern Europe then back to Paris. Would prefer a 3-4 nights in each place. Any suggestions welcome!
Posted by
8974 posts
Munich to Florence, I suggest taking the train. Enjoy the spacious rail seas and dining car, perhaps get a sleeper.
If you rent a car in Tuscany, and travel to its wonderful smaller cities and towns, you will find parking is a problem.
Great places like Lucca, Pisa, Siena, Cortona and more. Research where you go and determine is your hotel provides parking.
Rome is special and far more interesting than CT.
In France, consider visiting Monaco, Nice, Arles, Avignon, Ponte du Gard (intact Roman aqueduct) and Lyon.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you very much for your feedback! I will take a look at all your suggestions.
Posted by
South Australia
10 posts
Unless you want to spend 11 hours on a train, and pretty much think you will have to change stations at some point, I would fly from Munich to Florence. I love trains in Europe, but Paris to Vienna (13 hrs) by train was too much, even for me and managed to pick up a cheap flight which was less than the train fare. Am doing Vienna to Florence in September in Executive class where there are only 8 seats. A couple of years ago did the Trenitalia train from Paris to Rome (with a change in Milan). It was 10 hrs, scenery was lovely, food disgusting (take your own) My issue with night trains is they leave late in the evening, but hotel check out times are before lunch and then you arrive the next morning at your hotel, usually hours before check in. This may not bother some people though, Have a great trip.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
22812 posts
Your post is a tad cryptic, but if I understand you are flying into Munich on the way to a wedding in Italy. Ending in Rome at some point. The real question I guess is what do you do after Rome? You are thinking about Cinque Terre. Sure, many love it. I’m not sure when you are going. If it’s high season you might consider something less crowded.
Then the question is can you go to Eastern Europe on the way to Paris. Certainly, if there are things in Eastern Europe that interest you and if you are going at a time of year that works well with those things.
The only help I can offer not knowing any more than you said is to show you that from Rome you can get a discount flight to one or more cities in: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia. From Paris you can reach Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Lativa, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia.
So, pick a country going into Eastern Europe from Rome that is well connected to a country (or countries) out of Eastern Europe and on to Paris. Most flights will be about 90 minutes so figure 4.5 to 5 hours door to door which is roughly the equivalent of a 3.5 to 4 hour train ride. Those flights will generally start at under $50 but if you are checking a bag for a rough start on the cost I would guess $150.
Its your holiday. Do what interests you. Saving 4 hours of travel time to do things that don’t interest you as much really isn’t money well spent. IF, Eastern Europe does interest you the other advantage is it will save you quite a bit of money as it’s a lot cheaper than the West.