does this sound too much

I think it looks great! 19 nights, with two short flights, one 2.5 hour train ride (to Venice), and the Eurostar to London...plus family time! Me, personally, I'd add a third night to Florence (which I LOVE), and take one away from Paris (6 to 5), but that's all personal preference, and nit-picking. This looks like a wonderful trip focused on some truly amazing cities. For my travel style, the amount of movement is perfectly reasonable. One question, though: why not go from Manchester to London by train, first, then on to Paris, and fly from Paris to either Venice or Florence, take the train to the other city, and fly home from there (either Venice or Florence)? Wouldn't that eliminate one flight?

Looks good to me....

the apartment we are renting in paris can not have check ins on Saturday or sunday...so that creates a bit of a problem.
I am currently looking at starting the trip a day ealier which would give me an extra day in Florence.
depends if work will allow it....

its a thought but we do need to plan it so that we are in london over a weekend because of a good friend coming from Birmingham to meet up with us.
We will be leaving Canada on a tuesday.

I have toyed around wtih the dates and different options such as starting the trip in paris, venice, florence, london, manchester but it would make London not fall on a weekend.

I guess I was wondering if 3 nights in Venice would be enough or shoud we do 4? Also was a bit concerned that 2 nights in Florence would not be long enough as well, I generally like to have a minimum of three nights in each city.

The other thought is going back to the original trip and just not include Florence on this trip.

Rather than skipping Florence, 2 nights in Florence is enough (but barely) if you stay in Florence, plan carefully (reserve the Uffizi if you want to see it), and don't try to do day trips from Florence in the short amount of time you have there. I'm not disagreeing with anyone who recommends 3 nights in Florence, just saying that under certain prescribed conditions (no day trips), 2 nights in Florence is better than skipping Florence. At the risk of getting a little pedantic, the giants who walked the streets of Florence six hundred years ago changed the way we view our world. Give yourself the gift of making that pilgrimage.

bluedenim, your Itinerary looks fairly well sorted. I assume you're flying open-jaw into Manchester and home from London Gatwick or Heathrow (Air Transat / Canadian Affair)?

However, I'd also suggest adding one night in Florence and dropping one night in Paris. As others suggested, if you're planning on visiting the Uffizi or Accademia, reservations would be a good idea. I strongly agree with Kent's suggestion - DON'T drop Florence! Regarding Venice, 3 nights should be adequate; I wouldn't add any more time there.

Happy travels!

Thanks I have actually reworked the dates adn think three night florence 3 nights Venice.

You should swap 1 or 2 nights in Venice with Florence. Venice is an amazing place but unfortunately a tourist trap. It's now got the worst food you can find in Italy given the price. Spend 2 days/1 night in Venice, you'll be bored after that - and enjoy more time in Florence, maybe including a day trip nearby.

I tend to agree with Dan. I know people wax lyrical about Venice, but I have been there and am not in a rush to return. Yes, it is unique, but we spent 4 days there adn one of them we spent in our hotel room because it rained, and rained, and better rained! We went to Lido, Burano and Murano and we did enjoy it, but we were there too long.