Itinerary question

The one thing I can notice is that you won't be able to get an overnight train directly from Tours to Italy - need to go to Paris first. Also I don't think there are night trains from Paris to Cinque Terre: just either Rome or Venice. I think if you take a night train from Paris and want to get to Cinque Terre you'll have to get off somewhere in northern Italy at a horrific hour pre-dawn.

I figured I would have to go back to Paris, on the way to Italy. My initial plan was to go from Paris to Provence, but it seems even more complicated to reach either Cinque Terre or Florence from there.

Well there's always more to see but this looks like a pretty sensible itinerary to me. I would make sure that night train is the best option for getting from Tours to Cinque Terre using the national train websites of France or Italy. Also some people here don't like the night trains and don't recommend them (I haven't taken one). But I can't find too much to critique here! This is way more sensible than many of the itineraries that are posted here so you must have done your research!

Julie, of COURSE you are missing lots of things worth seeing! You could spend a year and not see everything worthwhile. I think this is not a bad first cut, if it expresses your priorities. It looks as though there is a night train that goes from Paris arriving in Milan very early in the morning. From there you can get a train to the CT if you want that to be your first stop in Italy. (The night train actually continues on to Venice, if you are open to reordering your itinerary.) The night train from Rome to Venice is wretched. It drops you there at 1 AM! Don't do that. You don't want to take too many night trains anyway - they can be exhausting. You might reorder your Italian stops to be more efficient, for instance CT-Rome-Florence-Venice. Or if you really like night trains there is one from Rome to Innsbrook so start in Venice and work south to Rome. I do not think this itinerary has beyond-the-pale travel times, but you should check actual train schedules and make sure you understand and are okay with all of what is involved. 27 days is great! Have a memorable time.

We had 5 days in Rome and one of those was a day trip to Naples - I know if we only had 3 days - that is not near enough, but depends on what you want to see...we did Herculaneum and up Mt Vesuvius...

Julie, I have a few comments and suggestions to add. To begin with, be sure to allow for the two travel days at the beginning and end of your trip? You'll arrive in Europe the day after you depart and the last day will be spent on the flight home. Regarding your destinations... > Amsterdam - I'd suggest making that 3 days and take an afternoon train to Paris. > Paris - the day trip to Versailles will take the better part of day. Plan your touring in Paris carefully so that you don't waste any time. You may want to consider a Paris Museum Pass to reduce your time waiting in queues. > Tours - that's a bit of a "complication" in your travel route, so I assume you want to keep that on the list. Rather than travel by train to the C.T., in that situation I'd take a train back to Paris (2H:25M with minimum one change) to Orly Airport and then an EasyJet flight to Pisa (flight time 1H:40M, fares currently listed at €73.99 for 11:50 departure). From Pisa airport, it's a short trip to the Cinque Terre. Which of the five towns are you planning to stay in? > At that point, I'd change the order and travel to Rome (direct train from La Spezia Centrale, ~3H:45M). While you can make a day trip to Pompeii, it will be a LONG day! > Travel by train to Florence. It's a very easy trip from Rome via EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita. > Travel by train to Venice. Again, a VERY easy trip so no need to take a night train. Note that your destination station will be Venezia Santa Lucia. > You'll only have about 1.5 days at Innsbruck, with travel times. > Munich - four days is good, but another day would provide more time for day trips. Finally, it would be a REALLY good idea to pre-book accommodations, given the short time until departure. Happy travels!

Julie, It sounds like you're getting the details sorted. IMHO, the Cinque Terre is definitely "worth it"! I was there last September and it was probably the highlight of my trip. I'm planning to go back again this year. In mid-May, they will just be starting to get "up to speed" for the season, but you should have a great time. Vernazza won't be completely back to normal, but some of the businesses are already open. Regarding the hiking in the Cinque Terre, it's important to remember that there is a much more extensive network of trails than just the Sentiero Azzuro. If you're reasonably fit, you'd be able to hike extensively there. AFAIK, the "higher" trails are mostly open. You can check with the locals for current status when you get there. As the previous reply mentioned, it's also a great place to "chill" and just enjoy the ambience. Of course, be sure to try Pesto in the area where it was invented, some of the excellent white wine and Sciacchetrà (a sweet dessert wine). As I mentioned before, it would be prudent to book a room in the C.T. soon! Cheers!

Ken, for Cinque Terre, do you have a recommandation as far as which town to stay in?

After reading the other suggestions, it seems that your best option is Paris to Rome. Then Rome - CT - Florence - Venice is a good route. Flying is usually a better option than an overnight train unless you can sleep in ANY conditions.

As Chani suggests,, flying is a good option Paris to Rome. Look at Vueling and Easyjet. I used Vueling a few years ago and thought it was fine. I am trying Easyjet this year from Barcelona to Paris, shop around , there are some great cheap flights, and night trains are not half as much fun as you think they might be. No views, and often, no sleep!

Thank you so much for all the comments/suggestions! It's been a huge help! As many of you suggested, I will cut the night trains. I will also change the order in which to visit the italian cities. I will fly from Paris to Rome, then on to Cinque Terre, Florence and Venice.
About Cinque Terre, is it really worth it? I like to hike and am looking for some place more quiet than Rome and those other big cities. Is that a good place, or would it be better to spend more time in a hill town in Tuscany?

I can't speak for the Tuscan hilltowns, but I'd say Cinque TErre was worth it unless it's too far off the beaten track - visited in 2008 and going back this year...for us, it was a great place to relax - no museums, no shopping, just walked a few of the trails and visited the towns and wandered...it was amazing...you could prob chill out on the beaches if you are there at that time of year.

Julie What an awesome trip! All of Ken's suggestions have been great. Here are some others: for your flight from Paris to Rome check out the European Discount Airlines, check out skyscanner.com. These flights are very inexpensive and are cheaper the earlier you buy your seat. Must Read The Fine Print. Luggage restrictions are tough and costly if you mess up. Everything costs extra: reserving seat, boarding early, a drink, etc. You don't need 4 days in Munich. Really at most 1.5 days. Are you doing day trips? Suggest staying one more night in Switzerland but probablly not Lucerne. Checkout another Chateaux city other than Tours. Much more charning. Have to see about transportation from Tours. Rather than go to Lucerne check out a mountain town in Switzerland or Austria for easier connections to Munich. There have been recent discussions on the best scenic and timely way to get north from Italy . I am concerned you are not having a longer breather (4 or 5 days with little sightseeing) some place. Remember you are traveling to 5 countries and 9 places. Al in 27 days! It is mentally (and physically) exhausting to change languages, hotels, train systems, public transport, etc. Here is a way to visualize your itinerary. Get a calendar template from wincalendar.com. Block in all of your places and dates. *Go to your proposed flight Paris/Rome and check the length of time. Don't need to pick the exact one yet. Do the same for trains using bahn.de. Now add those transportation times to your calendar. It is startling to realize how much time it takes to get from one place to another. And that's not all. See Below.

Continued from Above Travel time also needs to include packing time, checkout time, time to get to train or flight, wait time for train or flight, train or flight time, get to hotel, checkin, get oriented to the city, figure out public transportation, etc. And you are doing this 9 times! Now look at your actual sightseeing time. I am always amazed at how much less it is than I thought. It almost always takes 1/2 day or more to change locations. So 4 1/2 days at least of your 27 days are in transit. You are wise to reduce the number of 1 night stays as they are tiring. I also like that you included some village stays outside of the main cities. If you are considering reducing the number of places you go, look for outliers in terms of distance, time, or cost. Look at a European Map, too. Your outliers are Amsterdam, Rome, or Munich. Or really focus on what YOUR interests are rather than what you or someone else thinks you might like. Outdoors, history, art, food, etc. Or maybe this trip you just want to focus on France and Italy. You will be going back, won't you? If you are going to Versailles (spend a lot of time in the gardens!), spend 5 days in Paris. Note there may be places you want to go, like Lucerne, that maybe is a mountain experience. So go someplace on the way or closer to Munich. Or take a day trip to Garmish-P from Munich. There are usually ways to get the experience you want and fine tune your itinerary to be more efficient. Let us know how your itinerary evolves! Bobbie

Julie, For travel in mid-May, I'd suggest staying in Monterosso as it's the largest of the five towns and therefore has the greatest number of Hotels and other facilties. Given the short time until departure, it would be a good idea to get something booked soon. If you don't have a copy of the Italy 2012 Guidebook available, you might have a look at This Website to get the names of various Hotels. You can then check their websites to see which one best fits your criteria. You didn't say what your budget is, so it's difficult to recommend a specific Hotel. If you can't find a vacancy in Monterosso, Manarola or Riomaggiore would likely be the best possibilities. There will be a few places open in Vernazza, but it's a bit early in the season so only a few lodgings will be open. If you want to check the status in Vernazza, have a look at This Website. Hope this helps. Cheers!

Just on the question of going to Pompeii from Rome - Pompeii is absolutely wonderful but I am not sure if I would take a day out of Rome to go there. There is so much to see and do in Rome. Re CT - we stayed in Riomaggiore a few years ago which was great. But all the towns look lovely.

I disagree with Bobbie about Muinch. 1.5 days is enough to get a good overview, but if you want to do Dachau and a good visit of one of the many awesome museums or one of the two main palaces, you're going to need 2.5 days. 4 days seems a bit much, but you can easily fill the extra day with another museum, a day trip to Salzburg/Berchtesgaden/etc.

Thank you again for all the wonderful advice. I have been working on my itinerary, and this is pretty much what I decided to do: Day 1-3 in Amsterdam, including a day trip to Zaanse Schans. (We arrive on Day 1 at 6am) Day 4-7 Leave on the morning of the 4th day for Paris. Arrive around 9:30. Spend 3 1/2 days in Paris, including side trip to Versailles. (I have been to Paris as a kid, so I didn't want to spend too much time here) Day8-9 Leave midday on day 8 for Amboise, so 1 1/2 days there Day 10-13 Day 10 will be spent mostly traveling to Rome (plane from Paris), then 3 full days for Rome (Decided against Pompei, maybe go to Ostia Antica if time) Day 14-16 Cinque Terre, so 2 1/2 days there Day 17-19 Leave early on day 17 for Florence. That leaves 1 1/2 days for Florence, and a side trip to Siena Day 20-21 Venice, so really 1 1/2 days there Day 22-23 Innsbruck. Will be arriving late on day 22, so mostly 1 day in Innsbruck to hike.
Day 24-28 Munich. Leave Innsbruck midday on day 24, so 3 full days in Munich, including side trip to Dachau and another for the castles. I've made a list of what I want to see in each place, and it fits with this timeline. I know things can happen, and I might have to cut some of the things I want to see, but I am ok with that. I have a feeling this is not my last trip to Europe!