Want to see Florence, and then spend the rest of our time in smaller towns. Which airport?

Just some random considerations to help you sort through it:
If you fly into Rome, you can then pretty much immediately hop on a train to Florence, but I would not want to embark on a very long drive after an overnight flight (there are some nice places within an hour of the airport I could definitely start a trip off with).

If starting with Paris, it would depend on if I was breaking up the trip en route to Milan/Turin by train or whether you wanted to insert another flight into your trip (I hate doing that).
So, I think we'd need to know how long the total trip is and how many stops you plan to make--to me, it's always about overall balance. I like a direct flight when I can get it, but I don;t have any qualms about one layover if the schedule is good (those Lufthansa schedules are typically very efficient if that is what you are looking at).

With the current transportation uncertainties caused by strikes, staffing shortages, flight cancellations or schedule changes, and other issues, I think it makes sense to take a direct flight whenever possible, reducing the number of airports you have to deal with.

You could take the direct flight to Rome, and spend the arrival night near the airport in the little town of Fiumicino, right by the beach. You can get outside for a walk on the beach and have a nice dinner before bedtime. My sister and her family do this every time they visit Italy, even when they are not visiting Rome, because of the direct flight from LAX. They highly recommend it.

Next day you return to the airport (a cheap taxi ride) and take the train to Florence. There is a direct train departing FCO for Firenze at 13:53, taking 2 hours 18 minutes, if you want to avoid changing trains. If you wish to go earlier you just change trains at Roma Termini.

By deferring this train ride to the day after arrival, you not only get time to rest and recover from the flight, but you can save a lot of €€€ by purchasing your tickets 2-3 months in advance to get the lowest discount fare. Right now, for a ticket in mid-May on the direct train, you could pay a Smart fare of €18,90 per ticket instead of the Base (regular walk-up fare) of €64. The trains with a change T Rome Termini are more expensive.

Hello Laurie,
I think you need to decide on a direction and then plan accordingly. France > Switzerland > Italian lakes can be done by train given the time and assuming some of the scenic Swiss train routes are part of the adventure. Then fly home from whatever airport you want to.

If you decide to fly into Italy and make your way north there are some considerations. Rome is the obviously the biggest airport but it also lies outside the city so you'll have either a taxi or train ride just to get into the city - and the train station - itself. I would plan on staying over for a night with this plan otherwise you have a flight > train > Rome train station > fast train to Florence but fast trains need to be specifically reserved which means you'll need to reserve one with enough slack in your schedule that you're sure you won't miss it etc.
The same is largely true for Milan Malpensa (MXP) which is way outside the city and while less true for Milan Linate (LIN) the travel options into Milan Centrale are less organized from LIN. So either city I would suggest getting a room, crashing out and spend the next day getting SIM cards, battling jetlag etc before moving on. I think Milan is logistically easier with many hotels adjacent to the main train station, multiple phone companies have stores in the train station and so on.
There is no effective difference in the fast train times between Rome and Milan.

The big airports in the north are Milan and Venice but Pisa, Florence and Bologna all have airports that service European cities so that might be worth looking into. Pisa is probably the busiest and the airport is a short tram ride from the train station and a little over an hour to Florence by train. So for all the hassle of getting into Rome or Milan you could be in Florence instead if you can fly into Pisa.

Just some logistical considerations, sounds like an amazing trip,
=Tod

Thank you all for your suggestions so far! This is exactly the kind of help I was hoping to get! The route we’re taking depends on whether we’re going to be able to meet up with friends near Paris or not, so that’s still up in the air.

These are wonderful suggestions to consider. We will not be driving at all, depending on trains and planes. I like the idea of going from Frankfurt to Florence because that’s really where we want to be. I hadn’t thought about that as a possibility.

I appreciate all of these ideas and look forward to any more that come along as we plan this trip!

Thanks,
Laurie😊

It’s best to spend some time with a detailed regional guide that gives train and bus info, as small towns can be very challenging without a car, but Siena and Lucca are good options. I just assumed you were picking one up for the portion outside Florence. Piedmont is even more difficult than Tuscany, but I spent a few days in Asti and Alba without a car (and frankly regretted it). Lakes area has adequate transit.

Valadelphia, thank you - you're thinking what I'm thinking. We were hoping to use trains to get to cities like Siena or Lucca, and only rent a car in the Piemonte region for a short time. Then back to the trains again. We spent time in Torino, but without a car, so we were limited as to what we could explore in the countryside there. Now we want to go back!

We are thinking we might take the ferry from Stresa up to Lugano, spend a short time in Switzerland, then take trains to Colmar region, then Paris. It's all in dream stage right now - but that's the general path we'd like to take between Florence and Paris, either north to south, or south to north.

Laurie

The Ferry from Stresa will take you to Locarno on Lago Maggiore, not to Lugano, which is on a different lake.

But that is OK, because from Locarno you can take the Treno Gottardo, one of the few trains that goes over the Alps instead of under them in a deep tunnel. It is my favorite train in Switzerland.

https://www.mystsnet.com/en/experiences/scenic-routes/treno-gottardo/

It connects Locarno with Luzern or Zurich, and from there you can head to Basel and on into France (Colmar).

That sounds great Laurie, you can get your countryside fix in Piedmont with a car, and there are plenty of towns in Tuscany that can keep you busy.

Thank you, Lola! I was relying on my memory and got the wrong city on Lago Maggiore! Oops. It’s been a few years!

We’re looking forward to exploring these beautiful places!

Laurie😊