Spain-France-Italy in Mid-July 2011

I think it's too much to do in 15 days. You can easily do 4 days in Barcelona, 4 in Madrid and a week in Paris. That's my favorite trip. Save Italy for another trip.

Thanks, Ambrosia. I was little afraid to hear that truth;) Ok. Well, I definitely want to do Italy though. What about France and Italy (and cut Spain)?

Char: That is easy enough to do. 6 days in Paris, TGV to Milan on Day 7 connect to a train for Venice (long day). Day 8 Venice. Day 9 Train Venice to Florence. Day 10 & 11 Florence. Day 12 Florence to Rome, Days 13, 14 Rome. Day 15 fly home from Rome (get an open jaw ticket, USA into Paris, Rome to USA). You could also, especially since you'll be going in mid summer, do a mostly France trip. Fly into Nice, spend 5 days on the Cote d'Azure, TGV 5 hours to Paris, spend the remainder of the trip in Paris minus daytrips or one-night overnighters to places such as the Loire, Colmar, and Reims. Or, as a third option, you could do Paris-Nice-CT-Florence-fly home from Pisa.

I would recommend San Sebastian over Madrid if you have a choice... plus it's right by the French border so you can easily do some of France that way too. We did Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastian this summer and all 4 of us loved S.S. the best. Madrid was okay, but it honestly just felt like a giant (HOT!) city. I would've traded a few of those days for the gorgeous beach of San Sebastian! Plus, the Basque culture is very interesting and the tapas (pinxos) are amazing and totally different than anywhere else. I'm sure wherever you go will be amazing though - have fun!

Hi Roe: Thanks for the detailed advice. The step-by-step information is extremely helpful. I'm definitely going to consider these routes. I hadn't considered Cote d'Azure[INVALID]now I just might!

Hello Kira: San Sebastian sounds like a beautiful suggestion. I think we'll be doing France and Italy during this trip. When we visit Europe again, we'll focus on Spain and Portugal. Thanks for the scoop on SS[INVALID]will definitely keep that in mind!

Since you're going in mid-summer, my suggestion would be to start in Rome and work your way north. The admittedly shaky theory being that you're moving away from the hotter weather rather than towards it. Something like Rome > Florence > Nice & Cote d'Azur > Paris. I'd save Spain for next year's trip. To try to see all the places you mentioned in 15 days is too much.

We were in Rome last July and it was really hot and humid with busloads of tourists everywhere. You felt like you needed a shower twice a day. We stayed in between noon and 7PM because of the oppressive heat. I've been to Rome before and I can say I would avoid it in the summer months. I'd stick to Spain and France, but there are better places than Madrid. You don't want to spend too much time getting from place to place. Or maybe you do if you want to write!

Hi Char. Are you dates flexible at all? I would try to do last week in June, fly into Rome first, do Rome , and maybe Venice( I think places like Rome and Paris need at least 4-5 days, where as one can get a good taste of Venice in 2-3) . Then fly ( Vueling or Ryan or Easyjet) to Paris for last week( first in July). Hotel prices are a bit lower in July then June in Paris often, and as noted Italy can be so hot,get there earilier in summer then later.Paris is worth at least 6 -7 days on its own, simply put, there is so much to see and do in Paris, that one wants to allow for a few daytrips out of Paris also, Versailles being a great one, but I could suggest at least one or two more then may interest you.Fly back to Seattle Open Jaw, no back tracking. YOu can drive up to Vancouver BC and fly on Airtransat, they do cheap open jaws.

Char, it's good that you've dropped Spain from this trip, as that would add too much to the transportation times for such a short trip. One question - is this your first trip to Europe? If so, I'd highly recommend pre-reading the Guidebook "Europe Through The Back Door". It will provide you with a lot of information on how to travel "well" in Europe. ¶ Using open-jaw flights would be the most efficient travel method. As someone else mentioned, starting in the south and working north might be advisable, although in July I don't think that will make a lot of difference (it will likely be hot everywhere). Starting in Paris would provide a more "gentle" culture shock than starting in Rome!!! ¶ In your planning, be sure to allow for losing a day at the beginning and provide a travel day at the end. Do you have 15-days total or is that your "time on the ground" in Europe? ¶ Be sure to allow for transportation times in changing locations, which will usually be AT LEAST half a day in each case. There are several ways you could structure your time, depending on your interests. One route to consider would be to start in Paris (day trip to Versailles), Nice, Cinque Terre, Rome, Florence and Venice. This particular Itinerary provides minimal transportation times between locations (assuming you'll be using the TGV and other fast trains), and will allow you a quick visit to each place. If you wanted more "in depth" at a particular spot, I suspect you'll have to drop one. This also assumes open-jaw flights, inbound Paris and outbound Venice. ¶ Incidentally, photography is also a main focus for my travels, and one of the highlights of my trip this year was attending a photography workshop in Tuscany. ¶ Given your location, you could take a drive up to ETBD and talk to the experts there to fine-tune your Itinerary. Good luck with your planning!

I love all of your suggestions! From considering the summer climate, heading from France to Italy, yes, I have the RS Back Door guidebook;)... Ken, the 15-days includes travel for now, but that's still up in the air. Thanks for bringing that part up, that would definitely play into our time.