October 2021 Trip

If you choose Milan, why not fly directly there? (Unless Rome is also on the itinerary. It wasn't clear.) Didn't make the Rome - Cinque Terre so I can't help you there, but I'd rather see Milan for a few days. You can't possibly do justice to Rome in a few days. Better to save it for a trip of its own.

Based on our experience, Nice is nice (ha!) for a few days, and the local train service will easily take you to a number of cute little towns along the coast.

We started in Nice, wound our way through the Luberon, and stayed for a week in Avignon to day trip to Nimes, Arles, Marseille, Pont du Gard, etc. Avignon has great train connections to everywhere, including Barcelona on a fast train. The days we were looking at travelling, the best bet from from Marseille at 10:30 in the evening. I didn't like the idea of arriving at midnight at our hotel in Barcelona. The train took a couple of hours, was direct from Avignon, clean, quiet, and no hassle with airport security, etc. Drive up, get on, and go. Highly recommended.

We need more information to offer and advice. Are you spending any time in Rome?
CT and Milan are apples and oranges, so again need more info to offer a suggestion. To get to either, search Trenitalia website from Fiumicino Aeroporto.

Rome2rio is a useful way to identify options for getting from points A to B. Don't rely on it for specific schedules or to buy tickets, and keep in mind that actual driving times (and maybe also walking times) are likely to be longer than its estimates.

Cinque Terre and Milan are very different choices, no one on this forum can make them for you. It depends on what you're looking for.

At the moment I see Avignon-Barcelona routings that start with a short trip on a local train to Nimes, where you switch to a high-speed TGV. The fastest weekday departure currently listed (there may be more when people can travel freely) is at 12:15 PM and takes a total of 4 hr. 38 min.

The process from Arles would be similar, but the trip to Nimes will take a bit longer. The fastest current option would have you departing from Arles at 12:10 PM, for a total travel time of 4 hr. 43 min.

Flying would not be faster, because you'd first have to get to an airport and hang around for the usual security-clearance time.

There are, indeed, many lovely places you can visit while based in Nice and Avignon/Arles. Most of the places you'd want to visit along the Riviera or in the hills above it can be managed by train or public bus. Provence is a bit more of a challenge. If you don't wish to drive there, you might look into the availability of a one-day bus tour out of Avignon or Arles that would get you to some of the popular small villages in Provence that are difficult--if not impossible--to reach by public transportation. I regret not doing that.

October is outside of peak season. It would be prudent to check the websites of museums and other sights you hope to visit to see what days they are open. There are many nice, small museums (many art-related) in southern France. I noticed during my May 2017 trip through southern France that some of them started closing two days a week in the off-season, and one or two were closed three days a week at some point during the year. There was even a small museum somewhere along the way that didn't open for the year until June!

Rick's guide to Provence & the French Riviera has more detailed information about that area than the general book on France as a whole. I strongly suggest getting a copy. Since some hotels and restaurants may have gone out of business due to the pandemic, you should verify as much information as possible on line.

I’m surprised no one has yet said that if all the time you’re planning for Italy is 2 or 3 days, it would be better to cut it out and add those days either to Nice or Avignon/Arles. There is a tremendous amount to see and do from those locations. You haven’t indicated any interests, but we can be more helpful if you do so.
Barcelona also can be a base for many wonderful explorations. The aforementioned 2 or 3 days could also be added there, depending on what else you are doing.
FWIW, I’m not a great fan of the Cinque Terre. To me, they are overhyped, rather dull little villages in a country full of astonshingly wonderful, beautiful, fascinating towns. I think that mid-October might be iffy for what draws people there, namely hiking and beaches. If the weather is not good, there is nothing to do. Check one of the weather sites to get a sense of what is typical.

I'm with Rosalyn. If you're only spending a couple of days in Italy, you might want to just skip it. On the other hand, if the only reason you are going is to see the CT or Milan, then fly into Milan, and save the train trip from the Rome airport.

Choosing between CT and Milan? Yikes. They are so very different. They're not apples and oranges, they're matter and anti-matter! Do you like hiking? Colorful but crowded villages? Can you climb hills? Is your idea of the perfect evening sitting on the balcony watching the sun set over a beautiful bay, then CT it is.

If you prefer, or would rather experience: great architecture, lots of museums, DaVinci's Last Supper, interesting cityscapes, and your idea of the perfect evening is sitting on the balcony watching the sun set over one of the most iconic cathedrals in the world, then head for Milan.

I've been to both, and frankly, I've been jonesing for Milan. That puts me in the minority on this Forum, but that's okay.

So tell us more about what kinds of things you like, and we'll be as helpful as we can.

I see this is your first posting. Is this the first trip to Europe for all of you?

If so, or maybe even if not, this Rick Steves website has a wealth of introductory information on the places you want to go and the mechanics of European travel. His books go into more detail, but if you don't have any of them, these links can get all of you started with the planning.

Travel Tips on planning, transportation, packing, money, phones, technology, theft, scams, sleeping, eating, health, hygiene, sightseeing and activities: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips

Use Explore Europe to browse countries and the cities within them for details on what to see and do there: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe

Places like...

Barcelona: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/spain/barcelona

Nice: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/nice

I agree with those who say to skip Italy if you have so little (likely jet-lagged) time there and put that time in France or Spain.

You don't say how many total nights you will be in Europe or why you have to be in Barcelona or how long you plan to be there. That could affect answers, and if you decide to drop Italy, posting France questions in France and Spain ones in Spain will likely receive more and better responses.

I also agree that taking a fast train between some of your destinations is actually faster and much less complicated than flying. I'm still fascinated by watching the monitor and seeing that the train is going 300-320kph .

An added bonus is the ability to eat and chat on board as you watch the amazing scenery go by. And if you get your tickets early, you can save a lot of money on them.

This is a link to train travel in France from the expert, the Man in Seat 61: https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-france.htm

There's lots to explore there, including train pictures and getting to other countries, so take your time and enjoy the research.

I love this stuff, so I couldn't resist providing this link for trains from Nice. It has a destination box right up front: https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Nice.htm#top

As for your initial Italy question, I was not at all impressed by the Cinque Terre and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I prefer Milan. There's so much more to see and do there, especially the time of year you're going to Europe.

Fly to Milan, train to CT. Spend 2 days in each. Train to Nice (5 hours). Train to Arles. Train to Barca.

So you are flying into Rome because you already have tickets from a now canceled cruise? Is that right? You're other main "must have" is to be in Southampton England 3 weeks later. First thing I would do is see what can be canceled that you already have booked. Sounds like the flight into Rome and a few hotels in Spain and France. I think you really need to rethink this whole trip. It's just too much for three weeks. You are used to cruises. Traveling by land is a totally different thing.

If money is no object you could consider renting a car but picking up in Rome and dropping off in France (or England) will be very costly. But your other option, to hop from place to place on trains will be very time consuming given how many places you want to stop. It is all doable, and trains in Europe are great. But - what you have is just too much. If Italy is not a priority, at the very least, if you cannot change your flight, then look into a flight from Rome to France. Especially since you not only say that you don't want to do too much dragging of luggage but you will probably not be traveling light due to the length of the total trip (Europe plus the cruise). I would just simplify the whole thing by cutting out several places and have fewer bases that you could do day trips from. Right now you mention eight different places in four countries which is just too much for people who are "sensitive to lots of dragging luggage and lots of stairs". And I say that as a person who is not a 'slow traveler', I frequently do trips with multiple two or even one night stays. But I would not do this trip (and I travel very light, one carry on bag and a day pack).

As others have pointed out, this is a lot to cover. I suggest changing your airline tickets and fly directly to Barcelona and do your Spain itinerary. Many airlines are not charging change fees right now.