Extra day in Cinque Terre or Tuscany?

Phillip,
We had a very similar trip in 2003 (Rome, Sienna, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice). The Cinque Terre is a lovely spot, and could be a great place to wind down from the rest of your trip. Walking from town to town, enjoying the food, wine, people, and cats galore, will be a nice break between Venice and Provence. We stayed at Albergo Pasquale in Monterosso - HIGHLY recommended. We didn't find the Cinque Terre any more touristy than anywhere else we visited in Italy, and maybe a bit less - probably because we stayed in Monterosso rather than one of the other towns. We took the morning boat to Romaggiore, then walked back to Monterosso along the beautiful Mediterranean coast. The food, wine, people, cats (LOTS of cats), are all wonderful. Relax, take your time & enjoy!

Wayne
Washington, D

That's a lot to pack in & driving besides!Unless you are planning to meander through Lazio & southern Tuscany, why don't you take the fast train from Rome to Florence? You can easily do local bus or trains to Siena & hilltowns, giving you more time to actually see things.
I would add the extra night onto Rome to compensate for jetlag, or to Venice.I prefer small towns,too,but you want to see the highlights of each place.Cinque Terre has its quiet charms-visit each of the towns by rail or trail.If you do get a car,make sure to get to Civita near Orvieto(see RS).

An extra night would work well in Rome or Venice. But I'll tell you, that's an ambitious itinerary, and I'd make one suggestion- forget the car, use only the train- think about the wasted time picking up the car, the hassle of trying to drive out of Rome and the hassle of parking in Siena, and then driving and dropping off the car in Firenze- do the Tuscany drive when you've got a week or more to spend cruising, not speeding from one destination to another.

Philip,
Finding a place to park a car can be a big headache in Siena and Florence. Unless you really love to drive, a train might be a better choice. I,too, prefer charming villages to big cities and I LOVE the Cinque Terre (stayed 7 nights on my last trip) but I think you need more time in Rome. There are so many "must see" sights that you would really have to hit the ground running. Wherever you decide to go will be wonderful. The worst part of a trip to Italy is having to leave.

Philip,

Did you see the interview with Rick Steves in today's (Sunday 3/9) travel section of the Washington Post? He says, about the Cinque Terre, "Everybody want to go there. it's got a lot of tourists, but everybody is having a great time." Sounds like it's getting busier all the time, but it is a lovely spot to visit.

Wayne
DC

Philip-

I'll make another suggestion, in addition to the "lose the car". Consider Provence on another trip. Spend a little more time in Roma, Firenze (or Siena), Venezia, and the Cinque Terre- Provence was in Italy just over 100 years ago, and the cuisine is similar. There's simply so much to see in the cities that 2 days will not get it done. Venice (with the travel time to there) really requires 3 nights. To get to the CT from Venice will be a 6 hour train ride- 3 nights there will be "just right". Siena or Firenze both are wonderful, although I'd consider more time in Florence on my first trip. Finally, "touristy" means lots of different things... the CT has lots of tourists, but is not (IMO) "touristy". It's not full of t shirt shops and souvieners (although they're springing up). The food is remarkable, the hikes wonderful, and due to new development restrictions, the character is generally genuine. The exception (to me) is Monterosso- stay in Riomaggiore or Vernazza.

My husband and I did a similar trip in 2005 and my advice is the same as other posters - take the trains and drop Provence. France is beautiful, we went back in 2007, but do it another time. There is so much too see in Italy - you could add an extra day to Rome, Florence, Venice and the Cinque Terre. Here is what we did: Rome - 3, Florence - 2,Siena - 1, Vernazza - 3, Venice - 2,Milan - 1.

Wow, thanks for all these helpful responses. This is some great stuff to consider. I was considering which destinations in Italy could be eliminated without even considering the possibility of cutting out Provence. I think that's what we'll do! We fly out of Nice at noon on the last day of our trip, so we'll need to spend at least one night there to ensure that we can get to the airport on time. But that will open up more options in Italy, which will be fun.
Thanks again to all!

Okay. Here's my very, very subjective opinion as to how I would handle the trip.

I echo what some of the others have said...it's a lot to pack in to the time you have.

By what you write, it seems as if you're planning 4 nights in Provence. That indicates you have 14 nights...two weeks.

Here's my advice:

Fly into Rome. Instead of spending 2 nights, spend 4 nights. There is so much to do in Rome that 4 nights isn't even enough. Take a side, day trip to Ostia Antica, an ancient, expansive ruined Roman town.

From Rome, take the train to Florence and spend another 4 nights. See the city and take a side, day trip to Siena or Lucca or Pisa.

From Florence, take a train to Venice and spend another 4 nights.

That leaves an extra 2 nights. Personally, I'd add them on to any one of the places....Rome, Florence or Venice. Maybe 5 nights in Rome, 5 in Florence and 4 in Venice. Then, fly home from Venice.

This would enable you to (in my opinion) maximize your time.