Ok, So I've been going nuts trying to figure out what to do about this trip in March, from March 5-21. We are going in and out of London (by choice) but couldn't figure out what the right way to do it was from there. Our interests are Portugal and Italy. We like the idea of the Italian Riviera and the Cinque Terra area and any others like it. Big cities aren't our thing for too long, as we prefer countryside, mountains, water, etc. ANY and ALL itinerary ideas would be great. We planned to fly to Lisbon on the 5th and to Milan a week later, unless there is a better airport to fly into for the italian riviera stuff. Thanks all!
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Hi Scott,, just wondering,, have you looked at what the weather will be like in March on the Italian Riveria? I mean,, it may not be what you are envisioning...
Milan does sound like a neat place to visit at any time though..
I would also think taking the Eurostar to Paris,, spend a few days there,, then flying on cheapo airline to Rome is a good idea. The cities won't be crazy busy like they are in summer, but lots to see and do that will not need weather to cooperate with.. where as beach and moutains are sort of weather dependent,.
Posted by
OP
Evanston, IL, USA
9 posts
Looking at some weather data for the same dates the last few years, Lisbon especially seemed to have some decent weather with temps in the 60's and 70's. The Milan area seemed to be a bit cooler and more rain, but I'm not looking to be laying out on the beach at the sea or ocean, but the scenery near an area such as that is certainly nice! Any thoughts on that?
Posted by
OP
Evanston, IL, USA
9 posts
We are going in and out of London for two reasons;
First, the availability of inexpensive and NON-STOP flights to nearly every destination we are interested with many different flight times.
Second, my wife has a friend in London we want to visit for the 2 nts. before we fly home.
Posted by
Washington, DC, USA
571 posts
Scott,
I'm just curious why you've chosen London as your arrival/departure point considering (a) you don't like big cities, and (b) you're travel interests are south of Britain. You're traveling from March 5 to 21. Is any part of that time being spent in Britain or will you be connecting immediately to an airport in Italy or Portugal?
Posted by
Tampa, FL, USA
417 posts
Scott, you are going to have a great time! Here is a sample idea:
March 5- Fly to London
March 6- London
March 7- London
March 8- London
March 9- Fly to Lisbon
March 10- Lisbon
March 11- Lisbon, overnight train to Madrid
March 12- Madrid
March 13- Train to Granada, see Alhambra in late afternoon
March 14- Rent car and do driving tour of White villages, sleep in Granada
March 15- Granada, fly to Paris
March 16- Paris
March 17- Paris
March 18- Paris, day trip to Versailles
March 19- Paris
March 20- Transfer to London
March 21- Fly Home
This is a fairly good mix of large sights and smaller areas (mainly Granada for a smaller town). Of course, your side trips can always be to small towns. For instance, there is a wealth of small English towns near London that are not even an hour away. Once there, you can hike in the countryside, have lunch at a pub, and be back in London for the night. Romford, Bedford, and pretty much anything in Kent spring to mind.
Alternatively, if you are not interested in Paris, you could fly from Granada to Marseilles, and spend March 16 -20 in Provence, basing yourself in maybe Arles or Orange, both lovely smaller towns. Then fly from Marseilles to London or take the Eurostar from there all the way to London (I think you change trains in Paris).
Posted by
Denver
799 posts
The Italian Riviera is wonderful, of course, but I'm not sure how wonderful it will be in mid-March. Cool and possibly rainy by the ocean in the off-season. If you won't be sitting on the beach, what are your thoughts of what you'd be doing? If it's rainy, I'm not sure if you'd be wanting to, for example, hike or walk the cliffside paths between the Cinque Terre towns.
As another suggestion, as you prefer the countryside, would be to fly into Florence, rent a car, and drive through the Tuscan countryside. That way, if the weather was less than ideal, you could get into your car and drive somewhere else in Tuscany. And it will also be beautiful, just in a different way than the Cinque Terre. You could also spend time in smaller Tuscan cities, where you could go inside to eat or enjoy art if it's rainy or cool/cold.