Hi, my husband and I will have 14 days to travel between Paris and Rome. (excluding airport days) Neither of us has been in either city before. We want to see the sights and also get off the beaten path a bit, just exploring neighborhoods, etc. Any suggested itineraries, and best way to travel between destinations? Where should we stop in between?
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
So you have 14 days that will include Paris and Rome? Or are the 14 days exclusive of Paris and Rome?
Posted by
OP
Los Angeles, Ca, US
5 posts
We have 14 days including the time we will spend in Paris and Rome.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
We need a little more info before you can start getting helpful suggestions. What time of year will you be going? What sorts of things do you enjoy doing? Do you have any sort of mobility issues? Do you have any budget specifics (trying to do this on a shoe-string, or willing to splurge, for example)?
Posted by
OP
Los Angeles, Ca, US
5 posts
Ok, we will be traveling early July. We are active and of course we want to see the tourist sights, but we also like things such as exploring a small town, hiking, walking, coastal towns, perhaps renting a bike for the day or something like that. We are teachers so we do not have unlimited funds, but perhaps more than shoe I would imagine spending a few days in Paris, but beyond that, maybe see some French countryside, Italian coastline.
Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Have you read any guidebooks (in particular, the Rick Steves books)? They're really good for first time travelers to Europe. You can read through them and pick the places that really jump out at you. Given that, I would suggest bookending with four nights in Paris and four nights in Rome. That gives you six nights in between. (Think in terms of nights per location, not days - it's simpler). Given what you've said you enjoy, I think you should do the Cinque Terre and Venice, with three nights in each. Those four locations will give you a very wide range of experiences and will allow you enough time in each place to enjoy it. So that would be: Paris - 4 nts CT - 3 nts
Venice - 3 nts Rome - 4 nts The challenge with that itinerary is getting from Paris to the CT. You would probably fly to Pisa or Florence, and train from there. Perhaps someone else will suggest a stop between Paris and Italy that would appeal to you. Paris is the only part of France that I've been to and I'm completely enamored with Italy so I'm not the one to recommend other places in France. You're probably going to get a good number of other suggestions on this board. Happy travels.
Posted by
OP
Los Angeles, Ca, US
5 posts
Thanks for the suggestions. I will definitely be doing some reading, and further research.