Itinerary advice/critique (first-timers)

With only 16 days, I would recommend you limit your stays to Venice, Florence, Rome and Paris. Fly open jaws to your beginning and ending cities, and fly between either Rome or Venice and Paris. Pick your route based on airfares, but do either Venice-Florence-Rome or vice versa. It's easy to day-trip to Siena from Florence, and it's much easier to day-trip to Orvieto from Rome than from Florence. No matter what you decide, it will be a great trip. Enjoy!

You have listed 7 different cities to see in 16 days. That's a lot of traveling. You're going to spend all of your time on the train and checking into and out of hotels. You might want to consider cutting out a city or two. From the itinerary posted I think I would stay in Florence and take a day trip to Siena. This will save a lot of travel time. Two hours to get to Florence from Venice as opposed to 4 hours to get to Siena and 1.5 hours to get from Florence to Rome as opposed to 4 hours from Siena. Donna

I agree with the previous post. I learned after a couple of trips to Europe that you basically lose a good portion of the day anytime you change locations. I know it's tempting to try and see everything, but you might be happier to just stick with Italy and spread your days between Venice, Florence and Rome. You can day trip to Siena from Florence easily - which I highly recommend. You can also day trip from Rome to Orvieto ( which we are doing next month). I really enjoyed France, but after visiting 6 countries in Europe, Italy is still my favorite. 16 days in Italy would really give you time to savor it....

I also agree to stay in Italy for all of your trip. There's so much to see that you want to make the most of your time without rushing. I would recommend three full days in Venice, at least 3 in Florence, and at least 4 in Rome. But if you do your research and find that there are only enough things that you want to see in Venice to keep you there for 2 full days, then take that into consideration. Do you depart for the US on the morning of Day 17? If so, you have 15 full days on the ground (Day 2 - Day 16) Tentative itinerary: Day 1: Arrive in Venice (AM) Day 2: Venice Day 3: Venice Day 4: Venice Day 5: Travel to Florence Day 6: Florence Day 7: Daytrip to Siena Day 8: Florence Day 9: Florence Day 10: Daytrip to Orvieto Day 11: Travel to Rome (AM) Day 12: Rome Day 13: Rome (possible daytrip somewhere in here) Day 14: Rome Day 15: Rome
Day 16: Rome

Hi Stacy. I'm going to give a different viewpoint from other posters. I love Italy, but I think especially on your first trip to Europe and with 16 days, you should definitely not limit yourself to Italy. I think your itinerary looks good; perhaps even cut back time from Rome; Rome is great, but on a first trip two full days would be plenty. Just my opinion. Enjoy your trip!

I always cringe when I see the statement, "have tried not to cram in too much," because I know what follows is too much. It would be interesting to see what you thought was too much. IMO, the mistake that first time travelers make (we sure did) is underestimating the time lost just moving around. And it is a bunch of little things that add up -- packing/unpacking; checking in and out of hotels; finding the hotel; finding the train station and train platform; buying tickets; doing laundry; getting oriented in each new location; getting lost and unlost. And then such mundane things as eating, sleeping, etc. On our first trip we have too much of everything but time - to much luggage, to many things planned, and by the third day were grumpy and tired and exhausted after one week. And then Marcia developed the proper attitude - We will see that the next time. (The next time was 21 years later.) Took a day of off, slept, and spent the rest of time in a sidewalk cafe watching the world go by. For us, slow is better but we still look back on the first trip with fond memories and ask why did we ever try to do that. It was a great teacher and so will this trip be for you.

Yep. What Frank said. We've been to Italy three times now, and we enjoy it more each time because we're reducing the number of places we stay in, and increasing the number of nights in each. Part of the joy of Italy is slowing down and just soaking it in. Happy travels.

Thank you all for your advice. You should have seen my itinerary before (this is the trimmed down version!) haha I am definitely taking everything into consideration though. Florence wasn't originally in the plan until I saw a RS episode on it. I really wanted to spend a few days in Tuscany or Umbria to break up the big cities. Don't get me wrong, I love big cities but I thought it would be a good chance in the trip to relax a little and regroup. (Same with Beaune, France) Maybe I'll cut out Siena and split that time between Florence and Orvieto since there seems to be a more direct train route. I've also thought about cutting out Venice but everything I've read says "yes it's expensive, yes it's full of tourists, but you just have to go". Agree? Sarah-yes, departing on day 17. (though no plans are actually set in stone yet)

Remember RS's advice "assume that you will be back." Absolutely yes to Venice: an absolute one of a kind city and experience....there is no other place like it. I'll always remember arriving in Venice by train....one minute your'e in the 21st century but the second you walk out of the station its seems like you've stepped back in time and shed centuries.

I definitely agree to not skip Venice. It is amazing and still my favorite place in the world (so far).... The second time I was in Italy, we stayed in a small town in Tuscany for a week and drove to other small towns. Having a break from the big cities is nice. But - then you can do day trips to the small places, also. No matter what you decide, you will love Italy and France, if you do both.

I agree with taking out one of the stops. My husband and I are both late 20s as well, and while we don't require as much time to "stop and watch the world go by" the constant packing and unpacking and getting reoriented in a city is stressful. Plus, who doesn't want to stop and have a lovely glass or two of wine while resting weary feet. If you're really set on going to France, I would eliminate the Florence part of the itinerary. Don't forget that you'll have to consider the time it takes to walk places (it always takes longer than you think, as I found out the last time my husband said "oh it's only a 10 minute walk") You also shouldn't underestimate the power of jet lag. About 3pm you'll be wishing for nothing more than a pillow and a soft bed, and by 8pm you'll settle for a piece of quiet concrete! So that would give you: Day 1: Arrive in Venice (AM) Day 2: Venice Day 3: Venice Day 4: Travel day - Rome Day 5: Rome Day 6: Rome Day 7: Rome - Travel day Day 8: Beaune Day 9: Beaune Day 10: Beaune - travel day Day 11-16: Paris (Including a day trip to Versailles) I think it would make more sense to cut France out entirely and explore more of Italy, or splurge for plane tickets and do 4-5 days in 3 larger cities with day trips. So only do Rome, Paris and another city easy to get into and out of.
Part of how well it will go for you depends on your packing style. Will you just carry around a large backpack/duffelbag as a suitcase each or will you have a medium/large/enormous wheeled suitcase?

Thank you for affirming that Venice should stay in the itinerary. I've been back and forth on that quite a bit! I am set on going to France so maybe we should look at how badly we want to go to Florence on this trip. We are going to go ahead and cut out Siena since it doesn't make a lot of sense time-wise and either split the time we would have been there between Florence and Orvieto or choose one or the other. I would really like to experience a smaller town in Italy so I would like to keep Orvieto in even if it's only a day trip. There is definitely a lot to consider! Revised itinerary (I know it's still a little crazy, but I'm having trouble letting go of destinations! Maybe I just need more time off?) Hopefully this one will at least flow a little better. Day 1: Arrive in Venice Day 2: Venice Day 3: Venice-->Florence (evening) Day 4: Florence Day 5: Florence-->Orvieto Day 6: Orvieto Day 7: Orvieto-->Rome Day 8-10: Rome Day 11-12: Beaune Day 13-16: Paris
Day 17: Fly home Rachel-I am determined to only take one carry-on for the trip. (probably backpack style)

Personally, for me it's still too much. I think you should make a list of exactly what you want to see in each city and then determine how many days you'll need to see it. Right now you will be spending two half days and one whole day in both Venice and Florence. That isn't really enough time to see the "main" sites let alone some of the other sites. This is what I would suggest: Day1-Venice (try to stay outside to adjust to jet lag) Day 2 -Venice Day 3-Venice Day 4- Early train to Florence Day5- Florence Day 6 Florence Day 7 Rome (early morning train) Day 8 Rome Day 9 Rome Day 10 Rome (day trip to Orvieto) Day 11 Rome Day 12 Beaune Day 13 Beaune Day 14 Paris Day 15 Paris
Day 16 home This gives you two full days in Venice and Florence and enough time in Rome to see the main sites without being too rushed. I've never been to Beaune so don't know how much time you'll need there but it might be something I would cut out for more time in Paris. Donna

My husband and I just got back from our first trip to Italy- we are in our late 20s as well. We had 15 nights (same as you), and chose to focus only on Italy. We did carry-ons only, and packed a couple of flat duffle bags for the way home- it was ideal- train travel was easy and we would smile at others with big suitcases! As for itinerary- we did Venice (3 nights), Cinque Terre (2 nights), Lucca (2 nights), Florence (2 nights), and Rome (5 nights- with a day trip to Pompeii). We found it a fair bit of moving around- but we saw alot. our least favourite was Florence- theyve recently changed some traffic laws and there are very few locals in the city centre. But, everyone is different! We loved Venice- and I would definitely keep it on your agenda- and we also loved the Cinque Terre. We did a cooking class in Tuscany (that started out of Florence), so it was an ideal way to see Tuscany for a bit. After our experience, I would recommend spending at least 2 nights in a place, to get one full day. If you can, go for 3 nights. We did 5 places in 15 nights, and should have probably cut it down to 4. Happy planning!

Why Beaune?

I have read all the replies and would like to second all of Frank's advice. You will lose so much time on travel days. I also would concentrate on Italy for this trip and leave France for another trip. Even if you wait some years to do another, it's just too much in to short a time. You just can't see everything you want to in the time you have.

I agree with those who say you can leave in Paris... and I would cut down on Rome for a first trip. Not everyone needs days to explore that city to be happy with what they have seen... and if the idea is that you can always come back, why not come back to explore it in depth if you so desire. I am more of the mindset that rather than assuming I will come back, I want to go home from a trip having 'no regrets' and if seeing more places is what will make me happy, so be it. Most posters here are fortunate enough to have returned to Europe many times, but that is really not everyone. For many people it IS the trip of a lifetime...Enjoy, no matter what you do...

I was in Italy for 14 days this past summer and went from Venice-Florence-Siena-Cinque Terre-Milan over the course of my stay and everyone was fried at the end. I agree with dropping France and saving that for your next trip. I also would prefer to stay in Florence and day trip to Siena.

If you do decide to stay in Orvieto for a couple of days, which I highly recommed, try to book a room at the nearby village of Bagnoreggio, Romatica Pucci's. They only have 5 nicely appointed rooms but, the stay is cheap yet priceless. Pucci and her husband, Lamberto are the heart of this place. She speaks several languages so, is quite helpful with planning your time according to your interests. Lamberto is the cook. Don't miss his dinners! The best I had in all of Italy. It was probably 5 courses, including wine and homemade limoncello. All that for the price of a mediocre pizza dinner in Orvieto. There is a lovely chapel across the street and we were fortunate to see an age old ritual of a group of men dressed like monks and banging paddles on their legs while chanting while walking the streets of the village. It was Easter time. I would go again in a heartbeat! Oh, and the breakfasts were fit for royalty...homemade jams, breads, meats, etc. Have a great adventure!

Peg-Thank you so much for that advice. I will definitely look into it. Do you have any of their contact info or do they have a website? That's is what I am looking for in terms of mixing in a smaller town along with the big cities we will be visiting.
(Same with Beaune-a little Burgundy countryside, a little big city Paris) France is a must for me. To be honest, when thinking about a trip to Europe, I wanted to go to France and my husband wanted to go to Italy so this is our attempt to compromise. Thank you all for your comments. There is definitely a lot to consider! I like the advice of making a list of what we really want to see and narrowing it down from there. Maybe we will save Florence for another trip.

Last year I did Milan (1), Florence (3), Siena (2), Assisi (2) with side trip to Orvieto, Rome (4), and Venice (3). Here's my take on Orvieto.......I saw it in 2.5 hours and feel like I do not have to return.....maybe because I had just been in Siena and Assisi. I may be a minority here, but I would say, save it for the next time.

As most other readers have mentioned, this plan is aggressive. Since you're in your twenties, be ready for quick glimpses of everything and enjoy. Pack light (no more than a carry-on size suitcase, and small backpack), and be ready for hiccups in your plan due to strikes/late trains/etc. If that happens, adjust your plan as you go. Sometimes the unplanned portions of a vacation turn out to be magic memories. Rick Steve's books will help you see the highlights for short visits. Take advantage of making museum reservations as listed in his books when available (especially Florence & Rome). I can't say if Italy v. France is better as that's a personal preference. I've been traveling to Europe for work & vacation for 30 years, and have found that when younger I did trips like yours, but now I prefer to slow down and spend more time in each spot. Have fun!