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Day 1-Arrive in Milan around noon. Fly to Naples later that day
Day 2 Naples/ Amalfi Coast area
Day 3 Rent a car and drive to Rome
Day 4 Rome
Day 5 Drive to Florence
Day 6 Florence with a side trip Pisa
Day 7 Drive to Venice with a possible stop in Bologna along the way
Day 8 Fly to Nice, stay in Cannes
Day 9 Drive to Monte Carlo/Spend the night
Day 10 Drive to Milan
Day 11 Fly Home
I did a similar but less hectic trip three years ago (no Rome or south Italy but include Provence/south France) and here are my suggestions:
1) Skip Pisa, there is nothing there.
2) Skip entire France. There is enough interesting to keep in Italy, No point of driving to Nice just to "be" in a different country. Save it for your next France trip.
3) not sure if you HAVE to fly from Milan since you don't plan to visit it. But I guess it is because flight is cheaper. I flew from Milan too for the same reason.
4) Naples and Amalfi can't be done in one day. If you visit Amalfi and Positano, it can easily cost you the whole day. Be prepared to see Naples only during night, as I suppose it is a good base for Amalfi coast.
5) Rome requires two full days. And given your time constraints, I recommend skipping the Vatican. Yes, I know, the Vatican! The museum is like a zoo with cramped little rooms. It is not worth your time and money unless you are very interested into art. I regretted spending an entire day there. Lines after lines (I booked ticketed online already).
6) Florence is very nice. I suggest spending two days there. One day, and you end up remember nothing but the Duomo. I wish I spent more time in Florence and appreciate all the architecture, culture and history, not just the big name attractions.
7) 1-2 days in Venice is enough as the sheer size of crowd in a small area makes you dizzy. You feel like in Disneyland, not a historical city.
8) You could still drive to Cinque Terre, instead of the French Riviera. Trust me, it is amazing and you will always remember it! And if you depart from Milan, you could take a train right into the mountains. Otherwise, the drive is very difficult.
so 1-2 days in Cinque Terra from Milan, then 2 days in Florence, 2 days in Rome without the Vatican, and then two days in Naples/Amafi. then 1-2 days in Venice,
Milan - Cinque Terre - Florence - Rome - Naples/Amalfi - Venice - Milan
It is very far from Naples to Venice (8 hours), and you might consider a one day car rental, and fly to Venice. You don't need a car in Venice anyway, and public transit from Venice to Milan is easy. In that way, your total driving time is less than probably 12 hours. but if you want to keep your car all the way, that's fine too but you won't have much use for it in places like Venice.
It sounds like people are happy to crowdsource suggestions. Post any specific questions and you will probably get some good feedback.
Right now we're thinking of flying to Paris, then a flight to Rome and finally a train to Florence and possibly Venice. Right now I'm inclined to just leave out Venice but I may have to talk my sister into that. I'm thinking 3 full days each in Paris and Rome and splitting the remaining time in Florence and Milan
Right now we're thinking of flying to Paris, then a flight to Rome and finally a train to Florence and possibly Venice. Right now I'm inclined to just leave out Venice but I may have to talk my sister into that. I'm thinking 3 full days each in Paris and Rome and splitting the remaining time in Florence and Milan
I did a similar but less hectic trip three years ago (no Rome or south Italy but include Provence/south France) and here are my suggestions:
1) Skip Pisa, there is nothing there.
2) Skip entire France. There is enough interesting to keep in Italy, No point of driving to Nice just to "be" in a different country. Save it for your next France trip.
3) not sure if you HAVE to fly from Milan since you don't plan to visit it. But I guess it is because flight is cheaper. I flew from Milan too for the same reason.
4) Naples and Amalfi can't be done in one day. If you visit Amalfi and Positano, it can easily cost you the whole day. Be prepared to see Naples only during night, as I suppose it is a good base for Amalfi coast.
5) Rome requires two full days. And given your time constraints, I recommend skipping the Vatican. Yes, I know, the Vatican! The museum is like a zoo with cramped little rooms. It is not worth your time and money unless you are very interested into art. I regretted spending an entire day there. Lines after lines (I booked ticketed online already).
6) Florence is very nice. I suggest spending two days there. One day, and you end up remember nothing but the Duomo. I wish I spent more time in Florence and appreciate all the architecture, culture and history, not just the big name attractions.
7) 1-2 days in Venice is enough as the sheer size of crowd in a small area makes you dizzy. You feel like in Disneyland, not a historical city.
8) You could still drive to Cinque Terre, instead of the French Riviera. Trust me, it is amazing and you will always remember it! And if you depart from Milan, you could take a train right into the mountains. Otherwise, the drive is very difficult.
so 1-2 days in Cinque Terra from Milan, then 2 days in Florence, 2 days in Rome without the Vatican, and then two days in Naples/Amafi. then 1-2 days in Venice,
Milan - Cinque Terre - Florence - Rome - Naples/Amalfi - Venice - Milan
It is very far from Naples to Venice (8 hours), and you might consider a one day car rental, and fly to Venice. You don't need a car in Venice anyway, and public transit from Venice to Milan is easy. In that way, your total driving time is less than probably 12 hours. but if you want to keep your car all the way, that's fine too but you won't have much use for it in places like Venice.
See my highlights in red above.....I would skip Pisa and even consider skipping Naples. Doing France on a separate trip would be a great idea, because there is a lot to see there, too. Rome is BIG and CROWDED and BUSY -- we didn't do the Vatican and I'm so glad I didn't waste any time there. We aren't Catholic and we aren't into art or museums, nor do we like long lines. I have had NO regrets that we didn't spend any time there. Venice is an amazing city that I wish I could have spent more time in (including Murano and Burano), just because there are no cars and you can walk and walk and walk, just exploring. You might consider a train when going into Venice, because the parking of your rental car is going to be expensive.
If you are in Milan for any length of time, look for the giant bronze horse outside the Hippodrome, I think it is. My cousin, Brian Booth Craig, was lead sculptor on that horse!
Most of all, have a GREAT time!!! I love Italy, have several friends there, and have actually found (and stayed with) family members in the Veneto region north of Venice. It's an amazing country!!! (And be sure to drink LOTS of cheap wine!!!)
I would love to but my sister and I have never developed a taste for wine. I blame it on my first taste being communion wine. I would love to develop an appreciation for wine but I'm not sure if it's just too late or if not, how to go about gaining it.
Milan is where we are flying in and out of. This ticket has already been purchased
Quote:
Originally Posted by shellymdnv
Right now we're thinking of flying to Paris, then a flight to Rome and finally a train to Florence and possibly Venice. Right now I'm inclined to just leave out Venice but I may have to talk my sister into that. I'm thinking 3 full days each in Paris and Rome and splitting the remaining time in Florence and Milan
So Milan>Paris>Rome>Florence/Venice/Milan
Better. I would still skip Paris, as that adds a fair bit of complexity to your trip with two more flights. But it is your trip. It would be tiring, but possible.
Skipping the wine is sad, as Italy has some great wines. Terrible beer, but great wine.
Rome can easily take 3 full days. Not an arrival day, a full day, and a departure day, but 3 days with no traveling. I too would skip the Vatican, but some people seem to like it.
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