Trip Itinerary, good, bad, ok but too much?

I am with you Conor. After reading Christy's comments I was about to say the same thing. Milan is under rated. It is a major commercial center but it has a lot of interesting stuff. Stick with your plan. You can see the beach in a day but it is a very quick hit given the travel time to and from Paris. I think it is difficult to see the area well without an overnight. You might consider dropping that aspect of your trip until you can plan a time for a long stay.

Thanks everyone so far with your thoughs. Yes Frank others have mentioned the same thing but I guess I should say I am really going for the cemetary and Omaha Beach aspect of it. It may seem to some like a waste to train all the way in go see those two things then head back but for me at this time its will be enough. Plan to go back and do a whole excursion. Though this time sinc it be my first to France I want to go there and pay respects to both my grand father and my best friends grand father who were both KIA there. I figure i get there by 1030 or so and give my self a few hours then head back for a nice dinner in Paris.

Conor: Re your last post: "I am really going for the cemetary and Omaha Beach aspect of it. It may seem to some like a waste to train all the way in go see those two things then head back but for me at this time its will be enough."

It's not clear what your plan is for getting to Omaha Beach and the American cemetery. The train only goes as far as Bayeux or Caen.

Since you have strong personal reasons for going to Normandy and plan to limit yourself to Omaha Beach and the American cemetery, by all means do it as a day trip. You could take the afternoon Overlord Tour Omaha half day tour which includes the American cemetery. The tour ends at 17:30. You could leave Bayeux at 18:41 and be back in Paris at 20:46.

I still suggest that you add one day to your time in France so you'll have another full day and night in Paris.

For the Italian itinerary, I would suggest taking evening, not afternoon, trains, if your focus is sightseeing, rather than spending that time sitting on a train.

Cut the night in Milan. It's by far the most lackluster destination on your itinerary in my opinion--very skippable. Give that time to Paris/Omaha Beach. Otherwise, it's not a crazy itinerary at all.

I know a lot of people think of Milan as the balck sheep of Italy but I have always been in love with the city, so I need to give myslef at least one day and night, night life there is fun, or maybe its just my age speaking, not sure. Also the reason i though about traveling by traindurign the day, and maybe i should leave more in the morning than afternoon, was to give myself time at night to checkin then go out and do my sightseeing the next few days. I dont plan on overkilling myself on sightseeing. I may take in a few churches and exhibits, but other than that I am going for more of a present day cultural experience.

No, you're not crazy. However, I'll suggest an alternative itinerary for your consideration.

As it stands, even if you don't go to Normandy, you'll only have three full days in Paris (plus your jet-lagged afternoon and evening on the 9th). If you take a full-day tour of the beaches, you'll need to spend the previous night in either Bayeux or Caen, which will give you even less time in Paris. I suggest that you add at least one day to your time in France.

Kent, i plan on taking a bus or taxi to get to the beaches. Taxi may be a more money but may be more reliable than buses or so i hear.

tim, yes i may end up doing that. still havent decided as to what i may want to skimp on, if i did i would say it have to be one of the last 3 cities in italy i go to.

Here's the bus route map

http://www.busverts.fr/_hiver/plan.asp

Suggest you bookmark it, it's a bit hard to find in an internet search.

Since time is a factor for you, a taxi will be quicker, though of course more expensive.