Paris to WHERE? Please suggest close, wonderful Italian city

When are you going? One option would be train to Luzern (4.5 hours from Paris if I remember correctly) , spend the night, and the next day take the train to Milan and change there for a train to either Varenna or Verona. We loved both towns, although they are very different. Or you could train to Bern and head to the Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen Valley) for your Swiss stop, and the next day head to Milan (and Varenna or Verona) via Brig. This options involves more travel time.

We are going the first and second week of June. Thought of Bern and Verona. In fact, Verona would be very good to fly home from. We kind of wanted to find somewhere with some neat historical value. Had thought of Milan and The Last Supper, but the rest of the city isn't appealing to us (so commercial). Thanks bunches!

Consider taking the night train from Paris to Milan, getting into Milan well-rested as the sun comes and at a cost cheaper than a hotel. Saves you a day for sight-seeing. Be sure to make a reservation in advance to see Tha Last Supper. We did it in reverse a few years ago and if you've never seen the area arounf Paris waking up to a 6:00 AM early morning fog, well........ If you haven't been to the Cinque Terre you can get there in a few hours by train with one stop in Genoa and it's well worth it. Lastly, take the night train back to Paris, or you could also do it during the day and break up the trip with a day in Switzerland. Happy Travels.

Lots of history in Verona, going back to the Romans. There might be a concert or something in the arena; I think you are a week or so early for opera. We stayed at B&b La Finestra sull'Arena and recommend it highly. We actually had an apartment. Location and host ( Mossimo) are both great.

Thank you! I will check it out!

Cinque Terra is fabulous for a quiet time with beautiful beaches, and fantastic old towns, great hiking/walking opportunities. Check to see progress on restoration after the mudslide last October. Also would highly recommend Florence. There is so much rich history and art in the seat of the Italian Renniassance. You can see a lot in a short time, and it is easy to walk the entire "old" area. Jan

Cinque Terra is fabulous for a quiet time with beautiful beaches, and fantastic old towns, great hiking/walking opportunities. Check to see progress on restoration after the mudslide last October. Also would highly recommend Florence. There is so much rich history and art in the seat of the Italian Renniassance. You can see a lot in a short time, and it is easy to walk the entire "old" area. Jan

I will also say how much I enjoyed Verona. It has plenty to see and do, but is not too large.

I would skip Milan. Verona is wonderful. Lots to see and do. If you would like my fav hotel and restaurants there, send me a private message and I will reply. this year will be my third trip to Verona....one of my favorite places in Italy.

Having family in the North of Italy, and landing in Milano a number of times, I'd still SKIP that city. The Last Supper is the only worthwhile site (in my opinion) worth seeing, and the city is very expensive and light on charm. We now land in Roma and enjoy that city always something new to us old to the world to be discovered. However, it's very far from France. I vote for Verona or Florence. Florence is my favorite city in Italy, especially at night......So that's my vote! Have fun.

Well you have to go through Milan to get to either Verona or Florence when coming from Paris, unles you take a long detour to the east. So you can't exactly skip it. but you can just change trains there and not spend any time in th ecity, if that's what you mean.

Verona!, charming and wonderful. It's on the main train line and easy to see Lake Garda, Vicenza or Padua as well.