France and Italy - 3 week itenerary

Adam,

I'd highly recommend visiting the Cinque Terre after the French Riviera & Nice, as it's a fairly short trip.

If you depart from Nice Ville, you'll probably change trains at Ventimiglia and perhaps again at Genova Piazza Principe. After that it's not far to Monterosso (which is the most northerly of the five towns) or any of the other CT villages.

The trip from the Cinque Terre to Venice will be a bit longer (perhaps six hours?). From Venice to Florence is an easy trip. When you're buying your ticket to Venice, you should specify Venezia Santa Lucia as your destination.

One point to note is that Florence is also in Tuscany. For travel from Florence to Siena, using Bus is a better option, as it will drop you right in the centre of town rather than the bottom of the hill where the rail station is located. The Coach station in Florence is located close to the rail station, so very convenient.

Is there any possible way you could add a day to Rome? It's an incredible city with so much to see, and it really deserves more than two days.

Be sure to plan your transportation between cities well, so that you don't waste any time.

If you have some specific questions that can't be answered on the HelpLine or via Guidebooks, then a Consultation with Rick's staff will undoubtedly provide answers.

Happy travels!

Thanks Steve and Ken.

I totally messed this thing up. I revised the original... We must be in Siena on July 2 for the Palio di Siena horse race. I also added in your recommendations. Tuscany will include Siena and Florence and the hill towns. Any recommendations on must visit vs don't bother? Also, we are open to suggestions on places not listed.

18-Jun Depart Houston, TX
19-Jun Arrive Paris 8AM
20-Jun Paris
21-Jun Paris
22-Jun Paris
23-Jun Provence
24-Jun French Riveria/Nice
25-Jun French Riveria/Nice
26-Jun Chinque Terre
27-Jun Chinque Terre
28-Jun Train to Venice
29-Jun Venice
30-Jun Venice
1-Jul Siena
2-Jul Siena
3-Jul Tuscany
4-Jul Tuscany
5-Jul Tuscany
6-Jul Rome
7-Jul Rome
8-Jul Rome
9-Jul Depart Rome 9AM

Adam, your proposed itinerary is broadly like one that we followed on our first trip to Europe, our honeymoon, years ago. It was a great trip.

I would suggest that you consolidate Provence, Nice, and the Cinque Terre into two destinations--you pick (I'd go for Provence and the CT). If you stop in Provence, it deserves more than a day and a night. Three would be ideal for a quick visit.

One thing we found on our trip is that in Italy things just seem to take more time. There are strikes, things are closed, and you have to improvise more. Tight itineraries will not survive. I think the advice about another day in Rome is on target.

Remember that Rick's itineraries are based on his tours, where helpful staff manage many logistical details. My experience trying to follow one of his itineraries (in France, to be sure) was to allow 1.5 actual days for every Rick Steves day. Even that was a killing pace.

One thing we did was to spend the night in San Gimignano, a Tuscan hill town. It is inundated during the day but clears out at night. Our only one-night stand, it was a highlight.

Have a wonderful trip!

Hi Adam,

You've gotten some excellent tips already--I'd just like to add...

I agree with Adam's suggestion re: Provence, CT, and Nice. I'd consider staying in Provence (possibly Arles or Avignon) 3 nights and saving Nice for another trip.

I'd also consider combining the Siena/Tuscany portion and staying in either Florence or Siena (I'd chose Siena) then take the bus as Ken suggested for a day trip to the other and train or bus to other destinations in Tuscany. I'd allocate 4 nights to this.

Then add your extra night to Orvieto or Rome.

23-Jun Provence

24-Jun Provence

25-Jun Provence

26-Jun Cinque Terre

27-Jun Cinque Terre

28-Jun Train to Venice

29-Jun Venice

30-Jun Venice

1-Jul Siena

2-Jul Siena

3-Jul Siena (daytrip to Florence)

4-Jul Siena

5-Jul Orvieto or Rome...etc.

Your trip sounds great!

Wow, I wish we would have posted on here long ago. You guys are very helpful.

So some more background. My wife wants to do Paris and I want to do Italy. I think that there are just a few items that my wife wants to see in south France, including lavender fields near Arles and Avignon and the beach in Nice. So, we don't plan to really "experience" Provence, but really more just get a taste and pass through. We can do more there on a return trip if we feel the need. -- unless of course you guys say we should really stay longer.

In Italy, we want to just experience the countryside and food more than the history, though that's going to be great too, hence less time in Rome. In the Tuscany region, we want to stay at an Agritourismo near Siena or San Gimignano then do day trips to Florence and the other hill country towns.

Anyway, I think we need to work out transportation times and methods and work them in. My biggest concern is missing the country by traveling at nite but if we travel during the day, we lose days in locations.

Ok, that's enough for now. Can you tell we're excited??!!

I would take a day off Paris and a day off Tuscany and extend your time in Provence. Even though you are spending two days in Nice, it is not Provence and well worth the extra time.