Hello,
I want to go from Paris to Venice by train stay for two days (is this enough time), train to Florence for four days. Then, Id like to visit, Tuscany, Rome and fly back out to Seattle out of Naples.
How long should I stay in each of these cities? I have two weeks to do all of the cities above. I am a solo traveller and have never been to Italy.
I would appreciate any and all help regarding stays, and length of time!
Thanks so much,
Lisa Bonner
Seattle, Wa
A quick search on Bahn.com (the international version of the Deutsche Bahn Website which covers all of Europe) suggests the Paris to Venice train takes more than 10 hours. My limit on a train is usually six. I am not sure how long you will be staying in Paris before this trip but I would suggest flying rather than waste a whole day. For me each change of city takes up 1/2 a day with check out, travel and check in. I usually plan two major sites a day in each place since I like cafes and having time to hit targets of opportunity in each location. There is never "enough time" to see these cities even in several visits so you have to decide what you want to do before you assign days (and nights in each place which is a better measure of how much time you will be on the ground). If you are new here you may want to check various people's trip reports to get some ideas on high profile destinations. Or watch Rick's shows for each of your destinations. Welcome to the forum and good luck planning.
Paris to Venice is a long trip by train, but it is interesting and good value of you do it right.
You can learn about the different routes and how to book them here:
https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/paris-to-venice-by-train.htm
Some of the routes go via Switzerland, giving you some nice scenery half way.But if a day of travel is to much maybe look at a flight
Within Italy taking the train is a no brainer. There are two companies: Trenitalia and Italo. There websites are:
www.trenitalia.com
www.italotreno.it
Or you can use www.trainline.com, which will show both, and which also understand English names of places.
You don't have time for Naples
Paris 4 nights
Venice 3 nights (you lose a day on the train)
Florence and towns in the Tuscany region 4 nights
Rome 3 nights
Fly out of Rome
The most realistic way to get from Paris to Venice by train is to take the train from Paris to Milan and then from Milan to Venice. Fortunately the fast trains from Paris to Milan are running again - taking about 7-8 hours - and there are many Milan to Venice trains which take about 2.5 hours. So you're looking at about 10 - 12 hours to make this trip but it is possible.
If you want two full days in Venice that means spending 3 nights which is the minimum I'd recommend to explore Venice - especially because you won't be getting into the city before 5:00pm or so your first night.
Fast trains easily connect Florence, Rome and Naples so that is pretty straightforward but you will need to expand further on what you mean by "Tuscany". Florence in is Tuscany but if you mean the rural, hilltown Tuscany of films you find these places are generally not well served by mass transit. You can either rent a car or take organized tours from either Florence or Siena to explore these areas. Siena is well served by trains and buses and is often many people's first taste of "Tuscany" for that reason.
There are two train companies in Italy - the state run Trenitalia and the private run .Italo that only runs fast trains between big cities.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html (Use Italian names for cities - Firenze for Florence and Roma for Rome - for best results)
https://www.italotreno.com/en
Fast trains have reserved seating, multiple classes and you can buy tickets ahead of time at a (sometimes significant) discount trading flexibility for price. Both companies have apps that let you buy and store tickets as well check trains in motion. I recommend getting at least the Trenitalia one if not both. You can generally only buy fast train tickets about 2 months ahead of time so assuming you're traveling until later in the year you can put off worrying about booking those tickets until you're closer to leaving.
The Man in Seat 61 is a great resource for looking into European trains and train travel.
https://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm
Hope that helps, have a great trip,
=Tod
With only 2 weeks, the itinerary laid out by Jazz+Travels seems the only workable one. And with time being a precious commodity on this short trip, I wouldn't waste a whole day sitting on a train. Take an early morning flight from Paris to Venice on one of the budget airlines.
