Mother/Daughter European Vacation

Is your budget each or combined and is that just for lodging?

I would look into flying from Paris to Florence as it is a very long train ride(www.whichbudget.com for your options). And skip Milan and go from Florence to CT either by bus or train. Milan is not a great tourist destination except for La Scala and Last Supper. And you are using lots of time in your transport to and from Milan. Otherwise looks good but you realize I am sure the train travel involved in your itin is alot it will be fatiguing. If you are spending & have reserved hotels for 70- 90 euros/ni in lodging only that is very good for expensive cities like Venice, Rome, Paris.

We are staying in Hotel Alinari in Florence next Saturday for 90 euros. I can let you know what it's like when I return.

You might look into VRBO - some do short term rentals. Our apartment in Rome is 500 for the week which is less than 90 euros per night.

I think there are housing places owned by the Church and run by nuns that are very spartan but clean and in expensive. You might want to pick up some Lonely Planet guides. They tend to have lots of budget suggestions.

One and two night stops are exhausting. I would be tempted to skip Milan and add a night to Rome or Paris

Have you got all your hotels booked?

In Paris I can recommend Hotel Saint Pierre as cheap, central and clean,, but small rooms.

You are doing a lot of north-south zigzagging in Italy that seems unnecessary and takes up a lot of time. If all your hotels aren't booked yet, maybe you could revise your schedule in Italy. I haven't been to Milan so I can't advise you about it, but others are saying it isn't that great so maybe you can think about that. I'm suggesting Paris-Florence, Florence-Rome, Rome-Vernazzo (not sure where this is), and Vernazzo-Venice.

Also consider what you want to see in each city. If you want to see Renaissance art and architecture (with some medieval stuff thrown in), Florence is your city. Rome has a lot of ancient and Baroque art and architecture, and the Vatican is a treasure trove all by itself. Venice has beautiful medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture, as well as great museums (the Accademia and the Guggenheim, to name two).

Do you mean Vernazza, located in Cinque Terre?

Excellent comments- thank you. Yes I mean't Vernazza in Cinque Terre

I agree about flying into Italy instead of train. We just flew from Paris to Rome, then wound our way up Italy from there. I looked at so many ways to get us from Paris to Italy, and the cost (Easyjet-29euros) and less than 2 hours was just hard to beat. I also agree with skipping Milan and adding a day to Paris or Rome (or Florence).

Oh yes,, I should mention , when I took my 11 yr old we flew from Paris to Rome,, I didn't over estimate the romance factor of hours on a train,, or sleeping in a closet on a train,, LOL< but really it was the cost.

We flew one way on Vueling for 80 euros.

or add that day to Vienna