Possible Snag with Itinerary - Please help

I will be arriving in Florence on a Sunday and leaving Tuesday. I have discovered that a lot of things will be closed on Monday. I don't know if changing your itinerary will help you with your problem. It seems that Mondays are the standard day for closures. The museums in Florence do appear to be open on Sundays, but if you don't arrive early enough in the day I don't know how helpful that will be.

I would suggest you take a look at your travel times -- you're only giving yourself one day in Lucerne which includes several hours of travel time from Versailles. You might want to skip a day in elsewhere in Switzerland and spend 2 nights in Lucerne -- or skip another night in Swit. and add it to your time in Venice.

Paris to any of the Swiss cities will take up to 7 hours on a train and from any of them to Venice will be about 8 hours, so I'd suggest that you plan those as just 'travel days.' Would next suggest having just one destination in Switzerland... the B Oberland would give you the best experience in the Alps. Florence and the other 4 places in Tuscany can't really be done in 2.5 days, so that time needs to be expanded. Here's my input (there are lots of other ways to do it):
Days 1-4 Paris (includes half day to Versailles),
Day 5 Travel day to Interlaken area,
Days 6 & 7 Bernese Oberland,
Day 8 Travel day to Venice,
Days 9 & 10 Venice (Saturday & Sunday),
Day 11 To Florence / tour city,
Day 12 Florence,
Day 13 Day trip to Pisa & Lucca,
Day 14 Day trip to Siena,
Day 15 to Rome / tour city,
Days 16 & 17 Rome

Look at train schedules on this website: http://www.bahn.de

Have fun!

I agree with Tim's thoughtful advice as well.

I totally agree with Tim's post. Interlaken/B Oberland is stunning and totally makes you feel like you really saw Switzerland. I always consider travel days, non sight seeing days. They don't count in other words for time in a city. You really do need more time in Florence if you want to see Tuscany too. Day trip to Versailles from Paris is really easy.

Tim's plan is a good one!

I totally agree with Tim's post. Interlaken/B Oberland is stunning and totally makes you feel like you really saw Switzerland. I always consider travel days, non sight seeing days. They don't count in other words for time in a city. You really do need more time in Florence if you want to see Tuscany too. Day trip to Versailles from Paris is really easy.

Tim's plan is a good one!

Thanks everyone for your replies. Very helpful! We love to cycle so we’ll be renting where ever we go.

Revised Schedule

Day 0 – Red eye to Paris

Days 1-3 Paris

Day 4 Versailles (1/2 Day Trip)

Train from Paris to Lucern (TGV 4.5hrs)

Day 5 Lucerne --

Swiss Golden Pass (Lucerne to Interlaken 2hrs)

Days 6-7 Interlaken/B Oberland --

Swiss Golden Pass (Interlaken to Montreaux 3hrs)

Day 8 Montreaux/Geneva (Very quick overnight visit with friend in Geneva – not sightseeing)

TGV train to Venice (7 hrs)

Days 9-10 Venice (Saturday Afternoon & Sunday)

Trenitalia Venice to Florence (2hrs)

Days 11-14 Tuscany/Florence BASE (Florence, Bike Tour Chianti, Siena, Pisa – would love a day trip to CT if we have time)

Trenitalia Florence to Rome (1.5hrs)

Days 15-18 Rome

Day 19 – Fly home

Thanks for your input!