Hello - my husband and I just booked tickets for three weeks next April, his first trip. We fly into Amsterdam on the 2nd, and need to be be in Florence on the 11th. I'm thinking we'll spend a few days in Amsterdam and then make our way south. I was thinking of taking the train to Strasbourg and Colmar, and then flying to Florence, but I'm wondering what other options there might be? We are spending a few days in Paris after Florence also, flying home out of Paris. Thanks!
Posted by
Paris
7312 posts
Hi,
Alsace is lovely, but there aren't any direct flights from Strasbourg to Florence, and the train from Amsterdam to Strasbourg takes a while, too.
So I would rather focus on the middle Rhine valley in Germany, because there are flights from Frankfurt.
You have 9 nights, 4-5 of those can happily be spent in Amsterdam, then 2 somewhere along the Mosel like Cochem, and 2-3 someplace along the Rhine like Boppard or St Goar, from where you can take the train to Frankfurt Airport on the day of your flight provided the flight isn't stupidly early.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1825 posts
It will be chilly and windy still in April so make sure to take a puffy coat and a hat. For his first trip you pretty much have to go Amsterdam to Paris and that will take at least your first 7 nights which leaves 2 or 3 before you have to be in Florence. If you love wine you could head to Burgundy via Dijon (stay in Beaune) and then take a full day of trains through Lausanne and Milan to Florence. It's four trains for 11 hours but you have views of Swiss Alps, Italian lakes and Lake Geneva along the way. The other option is just fly Paris to Florence (easier through Orly than CDG). It may look close on a map but France and Italy are a long way apart (hence the two languages).