Rome-Florence-Venice-Lauterbrunnen-Paris

Looks pretty good. Just a couple of notes. 1) most museums and public attractions are closed on Mondays in Florence. 2) One one-day tour of Tuscany, among many, that you might consider is the one by www.caftours.com (Grayline) that tours both San Gimignano and Siena. About 90 minutes in San G. and about 4 hours in Siena with a guided tour. 3). Have you booked your stay in Lauterbrunnen? Mid-April is when many hotels in the entire area close for "shoulder season" to transition to the upcoming summer crowd from ski season. Make sure that yours is open. Also note that this is the time of year when they spray the high upper pastures with liquid manure.

Wowliquid manure?? That sounds really bad. Is this just an area that we should avoid at that time? I knew about the Florence museums and Mondays so I figured that would be the day we'd go to Tuscany. I'll check out that suggested tour. Are you aware of The Best of Tuscany tour? It's got some great reviews on Trip Advisor.

I was just being informative. You most likely won't detect any odors in Lauterbrunnen. If this is the only time you have to visit, it's a great time as this area should not be missed. You can still easily get to Muerren, Gimmelwald, Wengen and the two mountain tops. Can't guarantee any weather but you will be just fine.

It still amazes me that one can take a fast train between Rome and Florence (1 hour 30 minutes) or Florence and Venice (2 hours), and it can only cost €9,00 each (with advance purchase)! Wow! If only it didn't cost soooo much to get to Italy (sigh). You spooked me with your intro, but you've actually allowed some time in each location; I was expecting 1 1/2 days in Rome, 4 hours in Florence, LOL! What does "Tuscany" mean to you? Is that a day trip to Siena (by bus or train)? A guided winery tour? You could easily spend the day in Florence, then give the extra day to Venice. I try to leave a city as early as possible, within reason. So, you could easily have two full days in Venice. That's easier since the Florence station (and Venice station, for that matter) are centrally located. Be on a train as soon as possible after breakfast (or take breakfast on the train with you); you could leave in time to arrive at your new location just when the sites are beginning to open. You can speed things up by checking out of your hotel the night before, if you're able. I lean towards allocating the extra day to Florence...but it's a tough call. It depends on your interests. Unless I'm missing something in the train skeds, that Venice - Lauterbrunnen leg is gonna be a killer. Have you already picked out a particular routing for that day? Lauterbrunnen - Paris is a little better...

Thanks for your insights, Eileen. You and I must think alike since we have put the extra day to Florence. And of course we're planning on getting early trains from both Rome and Florence. Tuscany, I know, you could spend weeks in but for us it's going to just be taking a day trip to see the area, really. Just thought we should at least see it. I actually posted about the Venice to Lauterbrunnen trip to start with--have never done any train travel in Europe so I'm rather intimidated. Larry and others offered some great suggestions. I think those connections will be the toughest of all that we have on the trip but Lauterbrunnen looks so beautiful that I just really wanted to do it. And luckily my husband agrees! I'm just about ready to book the flights and then do room reservations. So exciting! I've found apartments in both Paris and Rome that look great so that will help a lot.