A month in Italy

Mid April to mid May is a great time to visit Italy. Weather is beautiful and it's before the tourist crush. First thing to do is to do some in-depth research. Get some good guidebooks and determine what interests you most. Guidebooks can help you determine what sights and experiences you might chose and which are highly recommended. Personally, I rely on Rick Steves' Italy guidebook but head to the library and also check out what others recommend. Before determining a route, it's a little useless asking for specific recommendations for sights, restos or lodging. I can recommend great restaurants in Vicenza, Parma or Càgliari but will you visit any of those cities?

Check out the "Explore Europe " and "Travel Tips" on this site. Keep reading the queries and responses in this forum. Check other on line travel resources. Read the guide books. Find something that interests you but you're unsure about it? Know which towns you'll visit? Don't know if you should use trains or rent a car? Then post more specific questions and you'll get a host of experienced travelers sharing their experiences and tips.

Your trip sounds very exciting. There is so much to see. I'd probably do more of the inland city sites, like Florence/Lucca/Siena between the Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast. There aren't alot of highlights along the coast between these 2 places. Of course you could go through the Tuscany countryside while north. You may want to consider renting a car for Tuscany, so you can get to smaller towns. With a month, I'd skip Paris. There is so much to see in Italy. If you do go to Sicily, I'd consider flying from Rome or Naples. Flights can be less than 60€ each way, if booked ahead. I took a cooking class in Ravello on the Amalfi Coast from Mama Agata's. The class was a highlight of our trip last March.

I stand by the advice to check Rick Steves' Italy guide. RS's guides cater to the first time visitor, so it would be perfect for you.

Sicily is a country onto itself given the many things to see and do. The island is large (larger than Massachusetts and RI combined) and has an amazing multicultural history. You will need a minimum of 10 nights in the island to scratch the surface of Sicily. Given the distance you will need to fly. I recommend renting a car there, except for while in chaotic Palermo.
Check this website: www.bestofsicily.com
For Tuscany's villages check the website below (click on villages for the villages, or any other info you need). A car is recommended for Tuscany, but not while staying in Florence as traffic is restricted to residents only in much of the city.
http://www.borghiditoscana.net/en/

The restaurant in the grotto you are referring to is probably the Grotta Palazzese Hotel, in the town of Polignano a Mare in the region of Puglia (Apulia), the heel of the Italian boot. It's a great region to visit with a spectacular coast, especially in the Salento area (do a Google Image search of Salento and you can see for yourself).

Below is the Grotta Palazzese Hotel website:
http://www.grottapalazzese.it/en/home/

You make three references in your post to travel along the coast by train, from Cinque Terre to Amalfi coast. This will not be as scenic and romantic as it sounds. Along the Ligurian coast and especially through the five villages of Cinque Terre, the train travails mostly in tunnels. Below La Spezia the main line avoids the coast entirely on the way to Rome. My map shows a small regional train line that connects coastal towns such as Viareggio and Livorno, but while it touches the coast at these points it mainly travels inland. Below Rome heading to Naples it is well inland until reaching Napoli itself.

So you can ask for recommendations on small picturesque villages that fit your vision, and hopefully connect them by train, but the travel will jot all be right along the water. I have seen photos of such places, with steep narrow cobblestone streets winding between lovely buildings, but did not take note of the names. Hopefully others can suggest a few likely candidates.

For a first trip to Europe, and oly a month, Sicily is a bit of a stretch, both distance and culture-wise. As Roberto explains, it is a large area with much to see, and well worth a trip on its own. Especially if you want to visit the lakes and Paris, you would need to omit Sicily.

A doable plan would be to start in the south, by flying into Naples to visit the Amalfi coast. Then work your way north to one of the five villages ( we prefer Manarola but others will have their own recommendation). For a villa stay near but not in Cinque Terre villages consider Bonasola.

You can put Tuscany between the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre to vary things a bit between coast and inland hill towns.

After Cinque Terre you could head to the lakes. Varenna on Lake Como is a lovely small town with steep narrow paths down to to the lakefront. There is an excellent cooking class there at Il Caminetto, a restaurant above town. Or you could go to Stresa on Lago Maggiore, but someone else will have to describe that as we have not been.

From either lake you could continue by train to Paris, passing through Switzerland. Or fly to Paris from Milan to maximize your time in the City of Light.

I recommend going to wunderground.com and checking out the historical monthly weather stats for 2017, 2016, 2015, etc. That site has monthly temperature graphs plotted hour-by-hour. Look up a city in each area you hope to visit, to be sure that you can reasonably expect what you consider "good weather". You're talking about beginning your trip in early spring, which can be cool and wet. That may be fine with you, but check it out to be sure. Rome is the same latitude as New York City, not Miami.

Using public transportation (and you'll need buses as well as trains--no trains on the Amalfi Coast, for example) brings you into closer contact with the weather than traveling by car does. I'd rather risk heat than cold, so I travel inmlate spring and summer, and I have spent more time than I like to remember, sweltering at uncovered bus stops.

Rick's book is excellent for telling you how to travel in the places he covers, but he does not cover all of Italy, so you'll need to look at a more compreshensive guide book as well, to decide what places go on your "must" and "maybe" lists. Your library can probably provide several; they needn't be current editions if you're looking primarily for sightseeing information.

Although I adore Sicily, I agree that for a first trip to Italy and with only 30 days available, it's better not to try to include it. I spent 18 days just in Sicily in 2015, and I didn't try to go to any of the Greek sites in western Sicily, nor did I set foot on a beach. You'll have no trouble at all filling up a month on the mainland, so I'd also skip Paris on this trip unless you feel it is a must this time around.

Hi. Good advice from others. My advice - definitely include some time in Paris. For your first trip, good to get a couple of different experiences, and Paris is very easy and full of sites. Do it by flying into Paris and home from Italy or vice versa. Between them consider train or flying - many cheap flights between Italy and Paris. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks everyone for the info :)

For our first trip to Italy we did the big three....flew into Rome, and then took the train to Venice and then Florence. We picked up a car in Florence for a week in a small villa in Umbria. You would always add some time on the Amalfi Coast and then loop back into Rome to fly home. Positano, on the Amalfi Coast, is spectacular and right on the water. Cinque Terre is a beautiful area but a victim of its' own success (in my opinion) so you could leave that for another trip. This past September we spent a month in Italy and took the train from Vernazza to Naples and there were only glimpses of water. Don't be afraid to use the train between major cities and only rent a car when you are in the countryside.

Boy, a month...that's amazing, and for your first trip too. Envious but very happy for you. You have a blank canvas. But if I were painting...

From a weather/temperature standpoint only, I might start south by flying into Naples (no direct flights) mid-April, then work my way north, flying out of Milan (good connections to the US) in mid-May. Just off the top of my head, with 30 nights on the ground, not counting in your potential train ride to Paris, (which is 8 hours at best):

Nights

1-5: private transfer to Sorrento or Ravello. Enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Amalfi Coast and take daytrips to Naples, Pompei, Capri. (Train to Rome)

6-9: Hotel, B&B or apartment in Rome. Don't try to see everything, chilling in the neighborhoods are the thing too. (Train to Orvieto)

10-11: A typical central Italy hilltown, Orvieto is. Great for a couple days, this is the cobbled streets town that you're talking about. (Train to Florence)

12-16: Stay in the mix of things in Florence, everything's walkable, also take daytrips to the Tuscan foothills, or Fiesole, Lucca, Siena. (Train to Trieste)

17-18: It will eventually be bit of a backtrack, but here's a real chance in Trieste to see the top of the Adriatic and experience the Italo/Slovenian border, and its varied cuisine. (Train to Venice)

19-22: Best to stay a block or so off the high-traffic areas of Venice and touch on the attractions. You'll enjoy it much better. (Train to Como)

23-29: A leisurely 7 nights in the Lakes region to finish off your trip. Stay in Como or wherever you like. (Train to Milan)

30: Stay in Milan last night to ease transport to the Malpensa airport the next day.

Only two of these train rides are more than 2 hours, the Florence/Trieste and Venice/Como runs. Only thing you're missing is Cinque Terre and the west coast, but upthread it said that route has a lot of tunnels.

Enjoy your planning. Should be so much fun!

What about Venice? Personally, I prefer it to Florence and wouldn't pass it by. Volterra is a great hill town. When we were there a few weeks ago, it had a very un-touristy vibe, and that's saying something for Italy in July. We only had one night, so we took the 10 Euro walking tour recommended in Rick's book. It really is the best 10 Euros you can spend while there. Our guide was born and raised in Volterra and she gave us great insight into the town, it's people and history.

Be sure to stay in Paris for at least four days, you'll love it!