Family Trip to Italy

Nancy, To begin with, congratulations! Your honeymoon plans sound wonderful. As this is a first trip to Europe for all of you, I'd recommend reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door, as it provides a lot of good information on "how" to travel in Europe. The Italy Guidebook has lots of good information in sightseeing, Hotels, Agriturismos, restaurants, etc. How are you planning to get from Paris to Italy? Villas are typically outside of cities, so you'll likely need a rental car to get back and forth. There are some "caveats" to be aware of for driving in Italy. For example, each driver will require a compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your regular D.L. Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Also, an increasing number of cities in Italy have "limited traffic" zones, and each pass through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket! With only a week in Italy, the area that probably provides the best "bang for the buck" would be Tuscany. You could use a "home base" somewhere near Siena, and travel to local hill towns in that area as well as Florence. It's one of the most beautiful parts of Italy (IMHO). You could fly back to the U.S. from Rome. Is there any particular area that appeals to you? Happy travels!

Ken: First time travelers often take on an aggressive travel schedule. Next trip you can return to places that really impress you. London is an easy place for first time travelers due to their speaking our languagekind of. It's okay to hit the highlights of the city, and then head for Paris on through the Chunnel. It'll be a great experience, and you'll be back. Paris is not so easy to deal with due to the language difference. The people can often be less than friendly to anyone. The city's incredibly beautiful, and the art museums are incredible. Going to the Eiffel Tower at dusk is beyond words, especially when the strobe lights start flashing. Talk about romanceit doesn't get better than here. I would suggest you fly from Paris to Pisa, since your itinerary is short. The grandparents can also fly into Pisa, and meet up with you. There is a 1 hr. train to Florence. You can rent a car for the week, and secure accommodations at a Villa, Bed and Breakfast or Agriturisimo south of Florence 20 miles. From there, you can visit Siena, Voltera, San Gimgnano, Florence and the Chianti wine area. The best thing is you don't have to drive more than 20 miles to get to any of these sights. Venere.com, Booking.com, AirBnB.com, RentVillas.com and many other websites show hundreds of places to stay. Travel Advisor.com and Rick Steves' Italy have suggested places to stay. Tuscan accommodations are simply incredible, and many of your hosts are also great cooks. Staying outside of large cities is more reasonably priced, and a generally better travel experience. Have a great trip!

Thank you both for your thorough responses. I hadn't yet considered flying from Paris to Pisa, but will definitely look into that option. Renting a car sounds like it might be the best bet considering we are travelling with a toddler, especially since it sounds like we can get from our home base to neighboring points of interest under 30 minutes. I've been looking at various villa rental sites and the options are so overwhelming and beautiful I know it will be tough to settle on one. I have Rick Steves' Italy, it's a great resource! Oh, one other question: Would it be a complete disaster taking a day/overnight trip to Venice? Neither of you mentioned it in your suggested itineraries. I hear travelling there with a toddler and a stroller can be pretty tough, but I know the grandparents would love the experience (as would we!)

If you want to work Venice into your trip, I would fly from Paris to Venice. Spend two nights there and then take the train to the Florence airport. Rent the car at the airport for ease of pick-up and getting to the autobahn. You do not want to pick the car up in the city. You could stay just south of Florence, in the Chianti region, and visit the small towns there, San G, Volterra and Sienna (like the previous poster said). Or, you could go a bit further southeast outside of Sienna and visit Sienna and other small towns in the area. You don't necessarily have to rent a villa. You could rent a few apartments. PM me if you want some recommendations for apartments. Have fun making lifetime memories with your family!

I vote for an apartment in a city instead of a villa in the country, unless - since you live in a big city- you want some idyllic quiet. In a city, if you want to visit a museum & then sit in a cafe, you can just walk down the block. If you book a villa In the country, you'll have to pack up the diaper bag and see who else wants to go with you as you'll have only a car. if that's what you want, there are professional villa rental companies- you'll need to define what is most important to you as well as your budget for the rental.
Just read an article in a Travel and Leisure mag about a villa in Sicily- over $7000 a week with two or three on staff, and the owner, a Contessa, in the guest cottage- wow!

Hundreds of accommodations are 20-30 miles south of Florence, and in all price ranges and sizes. There are also a bunch of small bed and breakfasts that have a few apartments, that will service large families. BBPlanet.it, Booking.com, Venere.com, AirBnB.com, and many other online websites will book rooms for you in cities and out in the Tuscan hill country. Representative places to stay are: torreantica.com, bioagriturismopoderepretoia@venere.com
Soggiorno L'Italia (Google it) Google "Tuscan villas" and there are postings everywhere. The internet makes traveling just so easy.