First Time Italy - Couple in 50's

First, take a few deep breaths!

Your itinerary looks doable, although the trip to Cinque Terre will take most of the day to get to, and several hours to move to your next destination. But if it's important, do it. Easiest might be a train from Venezia to Genova, then train to Monterosso al Mare (recommended for a stay since it is the largest of the five towns). I am seeing tickets for 33 euro (6.15 hrs, 1 change of train) to 44-55 euro (5.5 hrs, 2 changes). What month are you planning to be there?

When I purchase items, my first choice is to have them shipped if they are large or delicate. Have the seller use an international delivery service, FedEx, DHL, UPS. It will not be cheap, no matter how you ship it. I also often take things to a Mailboxes Etc. location (most cities have them) and they will pack the item and ship it.

As for where to stay, since this is your first trip to Italy, I recommend hotels or B&Bs. The staff can help with restaurant recommendations and reservations, if needed, and often you meet people at breakfast (try to choose places that include breakfast). An apartment will be a nice choice for future trips, once you have some experience in Italy.

If you care to tell us your time of year and budget, we can make specific recommendations.

Switching your trip around a little will minimize travel times.

Venice - Florence - CT - Rome - Paris.

Check Easyjet for Rome- Paris flight.

I so jealous!!
Lauralrue I have been to Italy 6 times and Paris 3 times. I can only echo Rick Steves sentiments.
Just let it happen. Just remember you are not in the USA anymore accept what comes your way and enjoy it.
I have stayed at a few of the hotels that Rick has suggested and I was always happy.
Venice- just keep walking a far as you can. Hotel Bauer is a treat.
Florence- shopping
Rome-Vatican, Pantheon,fountains,piazzas, restaurants!
Paris- use the Metro! visit Sacre Cour, Marais neighborhood for walking and dinner, as many cafes as possible. Le Grande Hotel is a treat!
Do not by nic nacs! Spend your money on Food, Wine, and Life. Have a great time.

Lauralrue, we (a mature couple as well) did a similar itinerary in 2013, so believe me, you can do this and it will be awesome! I agree with suggestion to rearrange route to make good use of time. You could reverse the Italy stops, to begin at Rome and end in Venice. We took EasyJet from VCE to Paris, then train to hotel area. Before you nail down the route and cities, I suggest you look at dates of special events in each location to see if special events you want to hit or avoid. For example, we were in CT two years ago on a national holiday. The area was bustling which was nice, but could not get a dinner reservation at places desired so I learned to book earlier! In Paris, we were there the first Sunday of the month, when several museums are free. Sounded like a good idea, but very crowded at more popular ones. PM if you have specific questions. Relax and make your own discoveries!

FLIGHTS
Your home airport (CVG) is directly connected to Paris (CDG) with Delta Airlines. I strongly suggest to take advantage of a that direct link to Europe, even if it might cost you a bit more than other options.
Since you plan to travel to Italy first, I would use Delta (and their partner AirFrance) as follows.
Going: CVG > CDG > VCE (with Delta/Air France combination)
Return: Rome FCO > Paris CDG (stop for your 5 nights in Paris) > CVG (also with Delta/AirFrance)

ITINERARY IN ITALY.
To minimize the long time of travel from Venice to Cinque Terre, you should stop in Florence first. So your sequence should be: Venice - Florence- Cinque Terre - Rome.
In your shoes I'd probably borrow one night from Rome and give it to Venice. Two nights in Venice are hardly enough also considering you will be jet lagged for your first couple of days.
Florence will need a couple of days but Florence it's also a great base for day trips within Tuscany so at least 4 nights is appropriate.

ACCOMMODATIONS
Apartments are a good deal, especially for a whole family or a group. An apartment will definitely be cheaper than two hotel rooms or a hotel suite. However I understand you are just a couple, not a big group. In this case I don't see a lot of advantage in renting an apartment as most apartments house at least 4 people, therefore are ideal for bigger groups or families, but less so for just two persons. Also the checking in and out of apartments is more time consuming (the landlord or agency have to show you how things work and also you need to clean up before you leave). Since it's only two of you, I would consider apartments only for longer stays, not for just a couple of nights. Paris might be a good candidate, since you are staying 5 nights, Venice less so. However consider that the morning of departure from Paris (or also from Rome) you need to hurry and go to the airport to catch your flight and you probably don't want to deal with tidying the apartment and wait for the landlord to come and check you out. B&B (or hotels) might be a better option for the two of you, in my opinion.
I don't have specific accommodations to suggest. However I might suggest some areas to stay.
VENICE: Anywhere in the historical center is good. Mestre, which is also a district in the city of Venice, is the more modern area of Venice and is in the mainland. It's cheaper but not as magic as the historical center.
FLORENCE Anywhere in the historical center within half a mile radius from Piazza Signoria is good. I prefer the Oltrarno (south of river Arno), which is slightly less overrun by tourists. Try "La Scaletta" hotel, also recommended by Rick Steves.
CINQUE TERRE. I prefer Monterosso, which is a bit bigger, with more accommodations and restaurants. Also it has a beach. Vernazza is the star attraction, but it's also the most overrun by tourists.
ROME. I personally like Trastevere area. It makes me feel I'm in a small town rather than a big city. However the Centro Storico might be more convenient to walk to many sights. From Trastevere it's a longer walk (or a short ride on tramway #8).
PARIS, The Quartier Latin (south of river Seine) is my favorite area. Look for accommodations in the 5th or 6th Arrondissements (districts).

You have some great advice in this thread. I'll add some suggestions for hotels. We are in our 50's as well and have stayed in a variety of places in Europe. For just two people, I would go with a B&B or hotel. Here are some places that we have stayed in and would not hesitate to stay there again:

Venice:
Pensione Guerrato-close to Rialto bridge and market.
Hilton Molino Stuckey-on Guidecca Island. Nice hotel but you have to take a boat (free) to get back into the heart of Venice.

Florence: Hotel Accademia-great central location near the Medici Chapel

Rome: Hotel Smeraldo-near Campo de Fiore and easy walking distance to most sights.

Monterosso: Le Sirine rooms-good location near the train station and a few restaurants.

Paris: Hôtel Les Jardins d'Eiffel-near Rue Cler.

We stayed in apartments using VRBO last year when we had 4 people in our group. Having two bedrooms and some living space was nice after long days out and about. We did not take full advantage of the kitchen facilities because, well, we were on vacation! We did use the cork screw though!

Laura,

You've received lots of good advice so far, so I don't have much to add. Regarding hotels in Monterosso, I'd suggest Hotel Villa Steno or Hotel Pasquale (they're usually among the top rated in Monterosso). In that area, it's a really good idea to book as early as possible as hotels fill up quickly. I normally use hotels rather than apartments as I travel solo much of the time, and I also like a nice breakfast so that I don't have to waste time with shopping or dishes (which I DON'T do when on holidays).

Regarding allocation of days, I'd suggest taking a day from Rome and adding to the Cinque Terre. While Venice is nice, I tend to find it more expensive than other locations. If you feel that you might want the extra time for jet lag recovery, then add the time to Venice.

If you haven't travelled by train or other public transit in Italy before, there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of. If you need more information, post another note.

On the "packing light" issue, if your luggage isn't large enough to accommodate your purchases then it will be necessary to either take another piece of luggage for shopping or have the items shipped to your home. With the latter option, you'll have to deal with import duties and taxes with items received by mail rather than being able to claim them under your duty free travel allowance.

Good advance from the gang -
I'll just add that there are lots of good hotels beyond what are in Rick's book, and it's probably best at this point to explore beyond his recommendations: you'll be traveling during high season, and fans of the book may have filled the vacancies for your dates by now. This is especially true of the Cinque Terre so book ASAP!

Take a look at booking.com: we use that one all the time, and they make it easy to search by budget and area. Reviews of properties are also solid. As the others have recommended, I'd go with hotels or B&Bs instead of apartments. Besides not staying long enough in some locations to make a rental worthwhile, 24/7 support from a front desk can be reassuring for first-timers.

Getting stuff home is easy: we simply don't purchase items which are large, very heavy and/or easily broken. That said, my luggage gets a little chunky by end of trip with nice guidebooks I buy at museums! :O)

To avoid finishing in Rome with the stifling July heat, I'd suggest starting there. Also, an extra night in Venice would be preferred.
Rome (4) > Cinque Terre (2) > Florence (4) > Venice (3)
Fly to Paris (5)

Thank you all...this is great advice. We're now thinking that it makes the most sense to start in Rome and head north. We're trying to figure out trains...will it make the most sense to go from Rome to Florence or from Rome to CT? We are going to fly in/out of Chicago...and have found a direct flight to Rome and direct return flt from Paris.

Train options...

FB 9772
Dep 11:57 ROMA TERMINI (Italy)
Arr 15:37 LA SPEZIA CENTRALE (Italy)
RE 21210
Dep 15:55 LA SPEZIA CENTRALE (Italy)
Arr 16:16 MONTEROSSO (Italy)

IC 657
Dep 11:06 MONTEROSSO (Italy)
Arr 12:17 PISA CENTRALE (Italy)
RE 3116
Dep 12:32 PISA CENTRALE (Italy)
Arr 13:32 FIRENZE S.M.N. (Italy)

Laura,

You can research all your rail journeys using the Trenitalia or Bahn.de (German Rail) websites. If you want to obtain discounts with advance purchase tickets, you can do that on the Trenitalia website, Italo Treno or at www.captaintrain.com which sells tickets for both rail networks.

As I mentioned in my previous reply, there are a few things you'll need to know about travelling by train or other public transit in Italy. If you need more information, post another note and I'll forward my usual "boilerplate" on the subject.

When considering to travel north to south or south to north, you're looking at a difference of about a week, so I don't think weather is really a factor. Late June will be pretty hot everywhere. Just be sure to book accommodations with AC.

I think it's always easier to start a trip in Venice, where the pace is slower and it's easy to soak up the atmosphere while catching up on sleep, getting over jetlag. Rome is a big, bustling, noisy city. Also, if you have an early flight to Paris, it's easier to get to the Rome airport than Marco Polo. I'd only start in Rome if there was a big difference in flight prices or schedule convenience.

It was our first trip to Italy last year, we are also in our 50's. We stayed at the Albergo Del Senato right next to the pantheon. It was wonderful. A rooftop bar with 360 degree view of Rome. We had cocktails there every evening. I cancelled rooftop dinner reservations, as I felt this accomplished that, and Then checked out other restaurants. It's a pricey hotel, our splurge in hotels fir the trip, but we loved it.

I know you didn't ask this, but I would highly suggest you check out the Travestere Twighlight walking good tour..it's very very good!