4 nights in Italy with teens

What time of year?

4-5 nights (I think). Flexible! We nothing planned except our flights in/out of LHR so can do anything. We have 8 nights total before we have to be back in Paris. Trying to squeeze in Switzerland if possible. OR stay in Italy a full week and on to Paris. Not sure at all.... just starting to plan and teens are involved so there's that. LOL!

Early June.

I'd love some input!!!

With a desired combination of both Italy and Switzerland, to maximize sightseeing and experiences and minimize travel time, are you thinking of northern Italy, close to the Swiss border? Maybe flying from London to Venice, then crossing over to Switzerland? Or including Milan in there somewhere? Or Turin and the Aosta Valley, then crossing over to Zermatt?

Before our visit in October 2021, where it was just mobbed with other tourists, overwhelmed and beyond capacity, I would’ve said the Cinque Terre was not to be missed. Now, miss it and spend the time at a better location.

Then there’s Florence and Rome. Essential places in Italy, if you’ve got the time, and if either makes sense with your route, transportation method, and your and the teens’ interests.

Both Venice and Milan are cool, and relatively close to the Swiss border. But where in Switzerland are you considering? Mountains? Luzern? Geneva? Bern? Zurich?

Why are you flying to London if your goal is to visit Italy and/or Switzerland?

4-5 nights is just enough time for 1 location in Italy
Every time you travel to a new location you will lose the better part of the day.

Have you spent any time at all in London or UK?

Just to clarify, are you saying your options are:

1) Fly from London to somewhere: spend 4-5 nights seeing both Italy and Switzerland; continue to Paris

OR

2) Fly from London and spend a week before continuing to Paris

I would fly to Venice, spend 3 nights. Then take the train to Bolzano then a bus to Ortesei for 3 nights. Get your mountain experience in the Dolomites instead of Switzerland. You’ll get stunning views and cute chalets. From there you can take the bus & train to Innsbruck or Milan for a flight to Paris.

Switzerland is very expensive. You will have a hard time finding hotels anywhere that sleep 4 on real beds. So you need two rooms or an apartment. You are late in the game for booking lodging (assuming you are talking about this June). You also need to consider that activities in Switzerland are weather dependent. If you are only there for a couple days when it happens to be raining, you’ll be very disappointed.

I'll try to respond here even though I don't think I can reply to each post.

In/out of LHR for cheap flights from US :-) Going to connect from there.

Kids haven't been to Europe except when very young so they don't remember.
Yes I've spent time in London. We are planning 4 days this trip and meeting a family member who lives there.

We have 8 days/nights total at the beginning of the trip before we are to meet a friend in Paris. I loved Switzerland and Italy when I traveled there so that is my only point of reference.

I've been to Cinque Terre twice and loved it. It was a long, long time ago and I can still taste the fresh pesto :-) It would be nice to go but not if it is miserably crowded.

As far as where to start and how to get there... I don't know and we are very open to ideas that would be good for teens who need action and might get bored. ha ha We love eating, sports, hiking, eating, entertainment, etc. Did I say eating? It is Italy after all.
LOL!

I have not been to the Dolomites, Bolzano, or Ortesei. I will look them up thank you!

It's understandable to want to 'see' as much as possible yet with so few nights for an entire country, you might consider making it a one stop to maximize the experience of being there and having time to get more than the briefest of impressions of your location. If I was determined to make it 2 stops in Italy with 5 nights maximum and, could arrange arrival time at minimum late morning, then I'd stay 2 nights in Renaissance birthplace Florence nearer the Arno and take fast train to Rome and spend 3 nights in the Eternal City somewhere in Centro Storico around Campo de Fiori or Piazza Navona. Gelato or pizza-making excursions, private guided art museum tours, checking out local markets, you could plan 1 or 2 scheduled activities and then let your energy levels and feet dictate how much you want to wander and soak up your surroundings. Remember, no restrictions on multiple gelato stops in a day (artiginale if possible, avoid the brightly colored versions) just no ordering the same flavor more than once.

just no ordering the same flavor more than once.

I can appreciate Theresa’s approach to gelato, although I guess I take a slightly different strategy. Limone (lemon) is kind-of my standard by which I rate a gelateria. If their lemon’s exceptional, they get an A+, and I can count on the other varieties to be fantastic, too. I often get limone every time, along with new flavors. Occasionally, fragola (strawberry) is what I pick as the flavor by which to judge. And when chocolate is part of the plan, I go for the absolute darkest chocolate (fondente) available. The thing is, I get 2 or 3 different flavors in cup at a time.

Many places will top your cup (or cone) with whipped cream (panna). That’s not my thing, but a lot of Italians, especially Romans, seem to like it that way. While whipped cream is outstanding in the right situation, I think it takes away from the gelato experience, but that’s me.

Theresa also makes an excellent point about artisanal (artiginale) gelato and sorbetto - stay away from the artificial flavors and colors of the cheap stuff made to appeal to tourists who don’t know better. Pistachio should not be neon green, or green at all, really. Have the teens make a contest out of identifying the places with weirdly brightly-colored frozen stuff, piled high so you can’t miss seeing it. Then actually go for gelato and sorbetto that’s not displayed in an overly high heap, pretty but not neon bright, and everybody’s in for a very special treat. If you can’t decide, they’ll even give you a taste (or two, maybe even three) to help you select just the right flavor(s).