Tour Guides and First Class Lodging

I don't understand the need/interest in staying outside of the cities. That really doesn't make any sense to me since that will involve more transportation and inconvenience. The center city is where the action is. The guides that Steves' uses are listed in his guide books.

First, costs are not an issue. When you spend $20k to fly to Europe first class, take a 15 day VC Cruise and plan on spending up to 30 days in Italy and Paris, transportation and tour guides are not an issue. As Rick often says in his tapes, staying out of the City is a smart strategy. Recommendations on Hotels/ Vilas and tour guides would be most appreciated.

As Rick often says in his tapes, staying out of the City is a smart strategy. Except what he used to say about Haarlem, that's a new one on me. As far as I know Mr Steves has repeatedly said that staying an easy walk from all the action is his suggested way. That's why virtually all his suggested hotels (and hotel equivalents) are in the centre, or near stations.

At the risk of piling on, I agree with the responses you're getting. In the many years I've been following Rick Steves, his long-time recommendation is to stay in the historic centers of these destinations you list, regardless of how much money you're willing to spend. In fact, the main reason some people give for staying outside the cities is to save money. The exception to the "stay in the center" rule in Italy would be when you want to experience the countryside by staying in an agriturismo. But for cities, it's always to stay in town, in the historic center. CAN you do what you're asking? Yes. SHOULD you do what you're asking? In my opinion, no, especially since money is not a problem for you. It may not be the answer you were hoping for, but I imagine it will be the consensus on this board (with a few exceptions).

Chris, we use a guide for all of our trips to Italy. He is great and handles all of the details and logistics (plus translates for us all day). He is expensive but worth every penny. We just got back from spending 2 weeks with him in Rome, Venice and the Veneto region. Portrait Suites in Rome is fantastic. We have stayed there twice and love it. The same hotel company also owns a hotel in Florence where we are staying next year. Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany is amazing. We just stayed at the Centurion in Venice and loved it.

Chris,
My guess is just about everyone here has an opposite approach to travel as to budget and location with probably the exception of Florence as the surrounding countryside is just as big a draw. I would definitely post your question on TripAdvisor as you will get responses from people that live in and around your destinations that can steer you in the right direction. I always stay in the city centers too but that doesn't make it right for everybody. The only recomendation I can give is a place about 10 minutes from Siena and an hour (or maybe a little more) from Florence. It's Borgo Argenina. They have a really nice website you can check out. It looks like a fairytale and it's incredibley romantic. My husband and I rented one of the cottages for a week and day tripped all over. It was even featured in Travel & Leisure a year or so ago. It's surrounded by old borgos and wineries well worth a stop. They knew of local guides in the area too so getting it set up through your hotel may be the way to go. You are probably going to want a car too if you get too far out of town. Have a good time!

Thanks to all above. We travel extensively and have stayed in city centers. This trip, we are going to find a Hotel/Villa outside the city, enjoy the country side, and take trips to the Cities. Best wishes to all Chris

Try Alistair Sawday's "Special Places to Stay" for Italy. There is an online version as well as the book. Also Parkers for nice villas all over Italy. They will send you a beautiful catalog, or you can browse online.

Glad to hear you're getting some good advice. I was assuming it was your first time to Italy. Happy travels.

This is our 3rd. trip to Italy. We stayed in the City centers in the past. Doing something new this time. However it has been 10 years since our last visit Chris

I think you can get many more answers to your questions on another web site other than this one. Try TripAdvisor as a starter. Most folks here are budget minded, travel light, and stay in B&Bs, Hostels, or 2 or 3 star hotels. Good luck hunting.

Well I am on tripadvisor and I can't imagine that many people will be supportive of the idea of staying outside Paris and commuting into it daily,, its an hour at least if one is in a car,, two hours a day commuting is a waste of time,, which is far more valuable then money. Now , if you are thinking perhaps of staying somewhere completely outside of Paris, but near enough to use the airport on departure and arrival days, then perhaps a stay in a Chateau in the Loire Valley,, you can then hire a private guide to take you around to the Chateaus for sightseeing.

My wife and I lived in Dublin, Ireland for a few years. Thus we traveled to Paris many times. Thanks for your comments.

Replying to your request for guides. If you want to consider "canned" tours, as opposed to a single person who is at your disposal for a predetermined number of hours, I would make two recommendations. In Florence and Venice, a company called Artviva (www.artviva.com) and in Rome, a company called Through Eternity (www.througheternity.com). I would especially recommend their small group, early admission to the Sistine Chapel tour (7 hours). Very cool to be sitting, virtually alone, in the Sistine Chapel! We took a variety of tours from both and loved every minute of it.

Chris: I can make two suggestions: (1) hotel in Venice - the San Clemente Palace Hotel & Resort (http://sanclemente.hotelinvenice.com). It is a 5-star luxury hotel located on an island in the Venice lagoon. The building was originally a women's asylum built by the Austrians. I had the great pleasure of staying there while attending a conference in 2005. The restaurant was absolutely outstanding. (2) As for a private tour guide - In March 2011, we engaged the services of Giuseppe Aulisa of Florence Tour (www.florencetour.com&#59; info@florencetour.com) for a full-day private tour into Tuscany. Guiseppe and his wife, Paola Migliorini, own the company. We worked out all of the arrangements with Paola by e-mail months before we left and Giuseppe was very punctual in meeting us at our hotel in Florence on the arranged day. The way it worked was that Giuseppe dropped us off at the center of several towns, and then we arranged for a time to meet him to go on to the next town. The Rick Steves Florence and Tuscany guide was all we needed to negotiate the towns (Volterra, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, and Siena), so it was pretty easy. We were always a few minutes late getting back to the van, but Giuseppe was very patient about it. I highly recommend Florence Tour if you are considering a day trip into Tuscany from Florence.

It sounds like you should consult a travel agent.