First trip to Europe - is this 3 week itinerary realistic?

I would probably add at least one more day to Rome, and only 2-3 nights max in CT. Pick one town in CT as a base, and visit the other towns by boat, hike, or train as they are really close together. Instead of Switzerland, why not the Italian lakes? You can do a combo of train and boat to day trip to Switzerland from Stresa on lake Maggiore if you really must put your toes on Swiss soil, or many RS readers are in love with lake Como. Plus it's easy to get to Milan from the lakes. Do Cinque Terre after Florence, head to the lakes, then on to Milan. Orvieto is good, or Assisi. Stay in Siena for Tuscany, and rent a car to day trip to see some of the lovely little towns nearby.

Instead of renting your car at the Rome airport, take the train to Orvieto and rent the car there. There is a Hertz rental agency at the Orvieto train station. Check AutoEurope or Kemwel for rates. They are auto brokers that arrange for your car at agencies such as Avis, Hertz and Europcar. Call them to make final arrangements and to find out exactly where the agency is located. Do not drive your car to the train station in Florence. The station is located within the dreaded ZTL zone and you will get a ticket in the mail. If you return the car in Florence, I would do so at the airport. Are you set on taking the train to Venice from Florence? You could also return the car in Venice. Do you need to double back to Florence after Venice? If you decide to drop the car off in Florence, why not visit Florence at that time? Then go from Venice to Muerren. IMPO, I would not substitue Muerren for Lake Como. It doesn't even compare. For places to stay in the Siena and Tuscany area, send me a Personal Message.

Since this is your first trip to Europe, I would strongly suggest that you get a copy of RS "Europe thru the Back Door" book if you do not already have it. It is a great introduction for the first time traveler going to Europe. Also, I would also suggest the you get guide books for the countries that you will be visiting if you do not already have them. RS ones can be ordered elsewhere on this web site under "Books". Happy travels

Cheryl, As mentioned earlier, it would be a really good idea to read Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip. There's LOTS of information there on "how" to travel in Europe, which may help to avoid problems. A few comments on your Itinerary.... > 8/16 - I'd suggest heading directly from the airport to Orvieto by train. Stay two nights there, as you'll need some time to get over jet lag. Have a look at Hotel Corso to see if that fits your criteria. > 8/17 - Rent the car and perhaps take a day trip to Civita di Bagnoregio (one of Rick's favourite hill towns). Probably best to park down by the station and use the Funicular into town (ask the rental staff for suggestions). > 8/18 - Drive to Siena (4 nights). Rather than just stay 2 nights and then have to pack up and move to a new location, stay four nights here and just do day trips. > 8/21 - Turn car in at the end of the day. > 8/22 - Train to Venice. Travel time as short as 3H:46M, with 2 changes (reservations compulsory on one leg). If you depart Siena at 08:47, you'd arrive in Venice at 12:33. > 8/24 - Take train to Florence. > 8/26 - Meet daughter either at airport or in Florence. Take train to Mürren (do you need information on how to get there?). Trip will be as short as 5H:33M (that's for a departure at 08:55). > 8/29 - Rather than have to pack-up and change towns, I'd suggest staying either in Monterosso or Manarola. It's VERY easy to visit all the towns by local train. > 9/2 - How are you planning to reach Gavinana? It appears to be a bit "out of the way", with no rail service. There should be Bus service available. Have you booked any Hotels yet? That would be a REALLY good idea! Happy travels!

There is a Hertz agency just across the river, right in front of a tram stop. outside the ZTL.

I agree about the back tracking. Tuscany northeast to Venice (stay longer if you can to get a decent feel - 2 nights equals one day) Venice southwest back to Florence
Back north northwest to Muerren, and back south again. to Tuscany and the beach. Then back north to Milan again. Any way to rationalize all the excess travel?

We need to return to Florence from Venice to pick up our daughter who is flying in on the morning of the 26th. We are doing Switzerland and CT with her before we return home and she stays on for another 2 months.

Hmmm... OK, we just did a very similar trip to this in Sept 2012... Now that we have done it I would make some changes... Our favorite was Tuscany. We stayed 3 nights but could have stayed a week. If you pick one town you could visit the entire area. We stayed at Il Canto Del Sole and it was by far the best place we stayed the entire time. I don think though you would need to stay in the Orvieto area then move to Siena area (Il Canto Del Sole is 10 min south of Siena) Since youll have a car you could drive that whole area with 1 home base. Venice? We left after 1 night. We were suppose to stay 2. Its such a concentrated area it doesnt take long to see the sights, and once youve seen 1 canal youve seen them all. I agree with one of the posts that 4 nights in CT would be too long as with moving from town to town. Pick 1 and stay 2-3 nights. Muren is amazing- Dont deviate from that.
You know you'll be blowing right through Como- have you thought about staying in that area and searching for George Clooney??? Its amazing there even if you cant find him. Hope this helps.

Could your daughter meet you in Milan and you go to Mürren from there? It is a long train ride to Mürren. If that is a must, then I suggest you add a day to Mürren and take one away from Cinque Terre.

Cheryl Ken took the words out of my mouth LOL. I think you'd have a better time with his plan. Orvieto is lovely and a great place to get over jetlag and get yourself on Italian time.

Ferragosto starts the day after you arrive. The major sights are probably all operating as usual, but some secondary sights may be closed due to the holiday. You may want to double check to make sure everything you plan to visit on 8/15 is open since your time in Rome is limited. Personal opinion - if art isn't your cup of tea, my vote would be cut Florence and add the extra time to Rome or Venice which are far more interesting (and I really like art museums - can spend an entire day at a good one - but Florence on the whole just doesn't do it for me - again, personal opinion only. Your time & your trip.).