France and Italy: Best 2 to 3 week itinerary for first-time visitors
France and Italy make for a perfect first visit to Europe, but there are so many potential places to visit that planning well is extremely important. Of the two, Italy is a bit more straightforward because it has a “Big 3” of tourist cities consisting of Rome, Florence, and Venice. France, on the other hand, has Paris, but beyond the capital it can be hard to know where you should go.
These two countries contain several of what I consider to be the best cities in Europe to visit for anyone, so it’s just a matter of narrowing down where to go and how much time to spend in each place. In the article below you’ll see the best option to string together a tour of these countries in two or three weeks. There will be options and decisions you’ll have to make based on your own tastes, but no matter how you do it this should be an unforgettable trip.
This article was most recently updated in August, 2022.
How many cities to visit?
This is perhaps the most challenging question when planning an itinerary. Newer travelers always assume that more is better and overly-seasoned travelers always preach that virtually any city anywhere deserves at least a week. As with most things, the best answer probably lies somewhere in between. If you only have two weeks per year it would take a lifetime of trips to explore even half of Europe at the slow pace, so it makes sense for newer travelers to move at a good clip.
There are many reasons why fast travel might be your best option, but only up to a point. With only a few exceptions, 3 nights per city is a good minimum even for those wishing to see as much as possible, or 2 nights in the smaller cities.
If you are going to France and Italy for sure then start with Paris and Rome as the foundation and add cities in between to the degree you’ll have time. France is a deceptively large country so travel will eat up some time unless you are flying or taking the bullet trains.
>>>Going just to Italy?: Here are the best first-time Italy itineraries for 3 days to two weeks
Flying in and out
Unless you are starting from elsewhere in Europe, you’ll want to carefully choose which airport to fly into. It used to be that Paris was one of the cheapest, and it’s still competitive, but it doesn’t rank high on the list of European cities that are cheapest to fly into.
Two one-way tickets is ideal
It used to be that round-trip tickets were always much cheaper than two one-way tickets, but often that is no longer true. Sometimes the one-way flights are exactly half the round-trip fare, sometimes a bit more than half, and other times they are double. It’s hard to predict so it’s worth comparing them yourself.
The first thing to try is this:
- (your city) to Paris one-way
- Rome to (your city) one-way
Compare that to this:
- (your city) to Paris round-trip
- (your city) to Rome round-trip
If the two one-way flights are within US$150 or so of either round-trip, then they are your best option. If the round-trips are much cheaper then your best option is to buy one of those as well as a one-way flight between the cities (for around US$100) for just before you fly home. It would cost more on the train and also take 14 hours, so flying that last part is the way to go unless you are planning on using the last leg of a Eurail Pass on an overnight run.
Getting around once in Europe
Flying around in France and Italy doesn’t make much sense. The flights on low-cost carriers can certainly be cheap, but most major cities are only 2 to 5 hours apart by train, so riding the rails is faster, more pleasant, and far more scenic.
Even on trains, you still have three main options:
- Buying a France-Italy regional Eurail Pass
- Buying individual train tickets in advance
- Buying individual train tickets one at a time when you get there
If you are under 26 you can qualify for the 2nd Class Eurail Pass, which will be ideal for many people. If you are over 25 you have to buy a 1st Class Eurail Pass, and those are probably only best for those with a bit more money to spend.
Best cities in France and Italy for first-time visitors
Paris (minimum 3 nights but even that is rushing it)
Obviously you’ll want to visit Paris, and it makes sense to either start or end your whole journey here. If it’s your first stop you should add at least one extra day to help deal with jet lag, but you should plan on staying as long as possible because the French capital is one of the world’s great (and most beautiful) cities by any definition.
It’s true that you can’t just all of France by just visiting Paris on your first trip, but it’s still not a bad idea because this city is the center of almost everything and even the areas surrounding it are filled with great sights, amazing histories, and plenty of things to do. It’s almost impossible to get a bad meal in the city and most of the food is reasonably priced considering the quality. Be prepared for a small hotel room, even if you pay a lot, so it’s more about paying for the location rather than for a luxurious and large place to sleep.
The sights in Paris are almost all worthwhile, but don’t think you have to spend an entire day in the Louvre in order to enjoy it. In fact, I highly recommend taking the 3-hour double-decker sightseeing tour (run by several companies) on your first day in order to see at least the exteriors of all of the famous landmarks. If you want to go inside at least a few of the big attractions you might consider getting a Paris Pass, which also covers the bus tour and a cruise on the Seine.
Spend at least three nights in Paris itself and if you have extra days you might do a day trip (tour buses are a great choice) of the nearby Loire Valley. It’s filled with famous castles and palaces where the rich used to live outside of the city, and many are available for tours.
Paris to Nice by train: About 6 hours
Provence region (optional 2 or 3 nights)
Probably the most efficient first trip to France along with Italy is to spend a few days in Paris and then head to Nice (see below) to explore the French Riviera, but if the beach scene doesn’t interest you, or if you are coming in the cool months (the beach areas are pretty dead from November through March) you might instead stop in the Provence region. This area is famously where Van Gogh was based and got his inspiration, and also home to a Papal Palace where 7 popes lived during the 1300s.
The main city is Arles and that is probably the best base, although Avignon (where the Popes lived) is also very tourist friendly and could be a good choice. In fact, Avignon is the beginning of the famous Côtes du Rhone wine road, which connects a series of hill towns with amazing scenery and of course wine tasting. Something like this might be better for a second or third trip to France unless you’ve got weeks to spend here. Provence is also known for its cuisine, as it stands out even within a country where the food is amazing virtually everywhere you go.
Paris to Avignon by train: About 3.5 hours
Avignon to Nice by train: About 3 hours
Nice, France (minimum 2 nights)
Nice is the largest (and cheapest) city on the Côte d’Azur (AKA French Riviera) so it’s the perfect base to explore this stunning part of the world for a few days. It can still be quite expensive during July and August, when most French are filling their own beaches, but in other months it’s not too bad.
Nice has a famous beach (made of pebbles rather than sand), but it’s also an important cultural capital with great museums and a thriving food scene. You could easily spend 2 or 3 quick days in Nice alone, but you might also consider spending a few hours in Cannes and/or Monaco, which are both only about 30 minutes away by train in either direction. The cheaper hotels in Nice are near the train station anyway, so that’s something to consider if you want to visit all 3 places in one short trip.
Nice to Milan by train: About 5 hours
Nice to Venice by train: About 7.5 hours
Milan (1 night or just skip it)
Milan is famous, though that alone is not enough of a reason to stop there. If you skip it you won’t be missing much, or you might stop for one night just to break up the journey a bit. On the plus side, Milan has one of Europe’s most photogenic gothic domes at its heart, and it’s the home to Da Vinci’s Last Supper (if you make reservations well in advance).
The down side, however, is that Milan is mostly a business/financial city that isn’t as charming as the rest on this list. It’s one of Europe’s fashion capitals as well, but the casual visitor wouldn’t notice. Worst of all, accommodation in Milan can be insanely expensive if there is a trade fair or event in town. If you are coming through in between fairs and events, hotels can actually be unusually cheap, so it’s worth checking rates if you are considering stopping. Generally speaking, I recommend skipping Milan at least on your first trip.
Milan to Venice by train: About 2.5 hours
Venice (1 night minimum, 2 nights maximum)
Certainly one of the most beautiful and unusual cities on the planet, Venice is something that everyone should see, though it can be a bit tricky. The thing is, between about 10am and 5pm every day of the year, the main walkways in Venice are a slow-moving parade of more tourists than seem possible or even safe. Many of them stay in hotels nearby on the mainland, while many others just come in for the day on part of a bus tour. The point is, Venice is very frustrating during those hours, so to appreciate the city it’s important to work around them at least a bit.
The trick is to stay at least one night, if not two, on the main island itself. Perhaps surprisingly, Venice shuts down early, with most restaurants and bars closed by around 10pm. But in those evening hours as well as the morning hours on the following day, the place can feel magical and like a fairy tale destination. Venice is also quite compact so seeing the main highlights in 24 hours isn’t difficult. Depending on your budget, spend one or two nights on the main island and you’ll be quite satisfied by the time you leave. You’ll be sick of the crowds by then anyway.
Venice to Florence by train: About 2 hours
Florence (2 nights minimum, plus side trips)
With fewer than 400,000 residents, Florence feels more like a small town than the others, even though it’s much larger than Venice. As the largest and most central city in Tuscany, Florence is a cultural capital filled with famous museums, cathedrals, and other sights, but it’s also the ideal jumping off point for day or overnight trips into some of the nearby hill towns.
Whether you are coming from Venice or from Rome, this is the point on your trip that you’ll be able to catch your breath a bit. It’s also the cheapest city on this list so lingering here will be more affordable in addition to relaxing. The cuisine here is, of course, world famous, and it can get even better and cheaper if you spend a day or two in one of the many scenic villages in this part of Italy.
From Florence to Rome it’s only around 90 minutes by train, so another easy and pleasant travel day.
Pisa (a few hours on a day trip at most)
If you are spending several weeks exploring Italy then perhaps you’d want to spend a night or even two in Pisa. But for a quick trip where you are trying to include as much as possible, Pisa is best for a day trip. It’s about an hour by train or bus from Florence, so you can literally do it in half a day there and back. And being honest, the Field of Miracles (which includes the Leaning Tower) is definitely worth a look, but the rest of Pisa doesn’t really stand out.
Regardless of your starting point, you can go to the Pisa Centrale train station and walk about 25 minutes to the Leaning Tower area, or take a train to the Pisa San Rossore train station and 7 minutes to the Field of Miracles. There are also bus tours from Florence that take you all the way there, but those come with the slowness of large-group travel.
Cinque Terre (1 night, optional)
If you were to be spending all 2 or 3 weeks in Italy and saving France for another trip, then you’d want to considering spending at least a day and perhaps a night in this stunning little group of 5 towns perched on rocky cliffs overlooking the sea. They are on the west coast a bit north of Florence, so they are a bit out of the way if you are headed to Rome. Of the 5 towns, Vernazza is probably best for a short visit and it’s definitely the most scenic.
When you see a photo of these villages it’s hard not to be drawn in so if you are in that group you could add a day or two in this area either before or after Florence. Note that the scenic footpaths connecting the towns are partly closed down at times due to instability, so a quick tour by train or even by boat might be a better option.
Florence to Rome by train: About 90 minutes
Rome (minimum 3 nights)
Again, it makes the most sense to start and end your visit in Paris and Rome, and if you are starting in Rome you should add an extra day just to get your footing. Similar to Paris, Rome is crammed with amazing sights too numerous to mention, but unlike Paris, Rome can be a frustrating place to visit. No one regrets their first visit to Rome, but many swear that it’ll also be their last. It’s the traffic and general sense of chaos (multiplied by the summer heat) that wear on visitors.
All of that said, Rome is absolutely a must-visit, although you won’t be blamed for hustling through the city quickly and efficiently so you can spend more time in the relative serenity of anywhere else. The Eternal City is also quite expensive, especially by Italian standards, which is another reason to save only a few days there rather than a full week.
Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento/Amalfi Coast (optional up to 4 nights)
The “big 3” in Italy are Rome, Florence, and Venice, and if you have time for only 3 cities those are the obvious ones to choose. But if you want to dig deeper into Italy and you have enough time, your next best choice will be to base yourself in Sorrento and use it to explore Naples, the ruins of Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, and the island of Capri.
Naples is a large and gritty city that has an unfortunate reputation for pickpockets and other street crime. In reality, any daytime visitor who uses the typical precautions will be fine. Naples is also famously the birthplace of pizza and home to one of the world’s best archaeology museums so it’s worth a day trip for sure. The great news is that Naples is very easy to visit from nearby Sorrento, which is a lovely and friendly place where most people know English.
Stay in Sorrento
To reach Sorrento you’ll take a train to Naples and then change for a one-hour local train (known as the Circumvesuviana) to its final stop. Once you are checked into a hotel there, you can take the same train back to Naples, or an even faster boat. Halfway back on the Circumvesuviana you can jump off in front of the stunning Pompeii Ruins. Those in a hurry can spend half a day in Naples and a couple hours seeing Pompeii and be safely back in Sorrento for an unforgettable dinner.
Amalfi Coast and the Island of Capri
Not only is Sorrento the perfect base for a visit to Naples and Pompeii, but it’s also the gateway to the Amalfi Coast and a short ferry ride from the touristy island of Capri. On a quick visit you can hop on the local bus in Sorrento that takes you through Positano and Amalfi to Salerno. You’ll see all the famous and amazing Amalfi Coast views, and you can return either by bus or boat for an ideal day out.
The other main nearby attraction is the famous tourist island of Capri, which is best known for its Blue Grotto attraction. The ferry from Sorrento only takes 20 minutes each way and leaves hourly most of the day. This is another easy and ideal day trip where you can have breakfast and dinner in Sorrento and a wonderful time in Capri in between.
Filling in the rest of your itinerary
If you have only two weeks total then the above minimums will also pretty much be your maximums, give or take a day. But if you have three weeks you will be adding days to these cities or adding new cities altogether. Honestly, if this is your first trip to these countries, you’ll really get the most bang for your buck by adding extra days in Paris or Florence or both.
Rushing around for two weeks can be exhilarating, but rushing around for three weeks can really start to get exhausting. It’s better to plan to go slower and if you are getting bored you can do a day or overnight trip to something nearby. But you won’t get bored, and if you do you are probably doing it wrong.
Cinque Terre photo by World Walk About on Flickr
Hi Roger,
Sorry for the late response. Thank you so much for your useful information, Still working on our itinerary ideas. Thanks again
Hi Roger, I love your site its exactly what I was looking for first visit to Europe. I’m from NY and I would love to have a really nice vacation with my family, however I’m concerned about my 6 yrs and 12 yrs old kids. My 16 yrs old daughter and I are really excited, but not sure if this trip will be worth it if my other 2 kids are not going to enjoy it as much as me. Do you think I should wait a few more years to make this trip or would be okay if I bring my little ones? In 2 years my older daughter would be going to college and I feel it would be harder for me to make this trip since saving money for college will be my priority.. Any advise will be greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
Sindy
Sindy,
I’m glad you find this information useful. I was born in Los Angeles to an American father and a German mother. I did my first tour of Europe in the summer when I was 4 and my second when I was 8. I barely remember anything from the trip when I was 4, but I remember quite a bit from the trip when I was 8. My family went again when I was 12, but at that age I didn’t feel like another trip would be more fun than staying home with my cousins, which is what I opted to do. In my case, those early trips were something I was always able to brag about a bit to friends and such, as none of them had ever been farther than Mexico or Hawaii, and I’d toured Europe twice before I was 10. And that traveling inspired me to do more traveling, and eventually become a travel writer for a living. So for me, those early trips were invaluable.
I guess every child is different, but my best guess is that the younger ones would get a LOT out of such a cultural experience, even if it didn’t seem exciting at the time. I can understand why staying at home with friends would sound more appealing than spending weeks in a foreign country at those ages, but years from now I’d also guess that the young ones would be proud of having toured Europe and would thank you for it. Let’s hope so anyway. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help. -Roger
hi roger,
i will be booking 3 weeks off for travel in the fall when things tend to slow down in Europe, just wondering if you could give some advice on the top places to visit or how i could tweak my itinerary to see some amazing sights. I plan travelling from Portugal through Spain stopping in Madrid and Barcelona, then through the southern part of France(saving Paris for a separate trip with London) such as Montpelier, Marseilles, and nice. Then i would be off to Italy for the 2nd half of my trip heading from nice to Milan , to Venice to Florence, to Rome and possibly Naples if i have the time.
i would like to get a look into these 3 locations, but half of my trip will be spent in Italy, i have made a list of certain monuments , museums etc. id like to see but i’m sure you know of some amazing places you could give some insight on so i could tweak my itinerary to fit those in.
Thank, Ty
Tyrone,
My main suggestion for your trip is to plan on spending 3 nights in most of the places you visit. There are some smaller towns such as Venice where 1 or 2 nights is all you need, but nearly all of the others on your list will require 3 nights in order to experience the highlights. One issue is that a day that you travel from city to city will be mostly spent doing that rather than sightseeing, so you can’t really count it as a day there. That leaves two full days in each city to wake up and see and do as much as you can, and spend most of that third day traveling again. If you change cities after two nights then it’s really one day sightseeing followed by one day traveling followed by one day sightseeing and so forth. In other words, you literally spend half of your trip on trains and in train stations and walking to and from your hotel.
Now, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples are all within about two hours of each other by train, so you can get in some sightseeing on those travel days, but still, the process of checking out of one hotel up until you are checked into your next hotel and ready to go out will take 4 to 5 hours of the middle of the day even for the closest cities.
With that in mind, Lisbon, Madrid, and Barcelona are all large cities that would require 3 nights. My recommendation for the absolute fastest visit to Italy is 24 hours in Venice, 2 nights in Florence, and 3 nights in Rome. So really you have to decide which places are most important to see on this trip. Marseilles, for example, isn’t much of a tourist city. That’s true about Milan as well, although it does have a few interesting things to see.
Once you figure out how many stops you can make, then you can decide which places would fill those slots and be easy to reach from each other. I think you’ll be able to create a pretty good itinerary with that in mind, and I’ll be happy to offer comments if you are interested. Best of luck with this. -Roger
Hi Roger,
Could you please look over our itinerary and see what you think, any advise would be great. My husband and I have two weeks to visit France and Italy excluding travel time from Australia in September. We are thinking, fly into Paris 6 days, we would like to go for a surf as well so somewhere near Hossegor for 3 days, 2 day Monaco. 1 day sorrento /Amalfi coast and 2 days Rome then home. Thanks Kathy
Kathy,
I’d recommend no more than 4 or 5 days in Paris since you have other places to see. That is plenty of time to see all of the top sights, and it will allow you more time elsewhere. I’d never heard of Hossegor, but if you are surfers I can see the appeal. It looks like the trains don’t get very close, so it might be tricky to reach unless you drive.
From there it would be another very long trip to Monaco. Monaco is a gorgeous town that you can thoroughly explore in about 6 hours or so, and the hotels there are all very expensive. I’d recommend staying in Nice, which has much more affordable hotels and is about 20 minutes away from Monaco by train.
It would then be another very long trip by train to southern Italy, so flying into Naples is probably best for your trip to Amalfi. You are really skipping around a lot and you might want to consider switching to some stops that are easier to reach from one another. The way it is now, you’ll be spending nearly an entire day getting from one place to another. Also, Rome is huge and packed with top sights, so I hope you can allow 3 days for it. I’ll be happy to help more so let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Hello Wade! OMG! Thank you so very much for creating this and giving me and Many The opportunity to stimulat my Imagination. Thanks for sharing lots of great content, value with your specialized knowledge, giving lots of great suggestions and ideas to create the experience of a lifetime, with your blog, answers and recommendations.
The support, help, assistance I am wanting is for the experience of taking The vacation of a lifetime for my mom who will be 81 this year. She’s always wanted to go to Italy and so I actually. My grandfather, her father was born and raised in Naples. Because of this Naples of course is a must. I am in the beginning stages right now of planning and putting together our itinerary. We are going to Italy, Europe this September-October. I am thinking between 2-3-4 weeks is how long we will be there.
Because of my mothers age she really will not be able to walk for long periods of time without resting when she needs to,
I took 4 long pages of notes using a legal pad from your blog and answers to members of the community here. I was actually only thinking of investing a day or so in Paris for the Mona Lisa and The Eiffel Tower. Nice, Cannes, and Monaco might be a great addition.
Here are some musts that I want for us to experience in addition to Naples: The David in Florence, The Last Supper in Milan, The Mona Lisa in Paris, of course The Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum.
I’d love for us to at least take day trips to Assisi, Padua, The Amalfi Coast. Pisa might be really cool for a half a day trip.
My questions for you are: 1. if our vacation experience is 2, 3, or 4 weeks, what would you choose for our itinerary if it was yours?
2. I want for us to stay at Airbnb locations most of the time because I feel we will be able to receive an authentic traditional Italian, European experience like the locals. In the above mentioned choice cities, towns are you able to give suggestions as to what neighborhoods or parts of the town would be best for us to experience it? We will most probably be using the train most of the time getting from one location, town or village to the next. Using local buses and trains, Lyft, or Uber for closer locations
We would be departing from New York City and ultimate destination will be back in New York. In your opinion, guesstimate, what do you think the investment would be for this Italian, European experience, including airfare?
I was going to take her last year for her 80th birthday but when Italy had their first earthquake last year she says I’m not going anywhere I don’t care. I talked her into it.
My company is opening up 7 more countries, expanding internationally this year, we are opening up 5 countries, and I think , and will be 2 of the first European counties that will be opened, I think I will be able to write off this whole vacation, which is an added Bonus
Thank you so very much in advance for your time in response to my question.
In gratitude and Appreciation,
Thomas
Thomas,
I’m glad you found this website as well, and I’ll be happy to try to help. I’ll answer the questions in order…
My advice is to stay 3 nights in nearly every city you visit. Paris is large enough that 4 nights is probably better. Rome is also quite large, but it’s also somewhat chaotic and I think 3 days is enough for most people, although 4 could be better because the Vatican takes nearly a whole day by itself. So when you are choosing the length of your total trip, I’d start with the cities you definitely want to visit and plan on about 3 nights in each. Then if you think the trip could be longer, you can add one or more cities that can easily fit on your existing route.
2. One challenge with using Airbnbs in European cities like this is that it’s rare to find an apartment with a location in the tourist zone. In other words, you’ll find dozens of hotels clustered around the main train station and the main city squares and some of the tourist attractions, but an apartment rental might be half a mile from any of those things. And if there IS an apartment right near the main city square, it’s probably even more expensive than the nearby hotels.
In Paris my favorite hotel neighborhood is Rue Cler, which is right next to the Eiffel Tower park. There are many hotels and almost no apartments around there. I have “Recommended Hotels” articles for most of those cities on this website, and you’ll see a link to each article in the middle column of each City page, such as this one for Paris. In those I discuss the neighborhoods I like best for hotels.
As far as the total cost is concerned, that can vary wildly from one visitor to another. You should look at the totals I provide on the Europe 3-star traveler Index. Each one is an estimate of how much each city costs per person, per day, traveling with two to a room. Most cities are around US$100 per day, but that’s for staying in 3-star hotels and doesn’t include shopping. Your flights from NYC into Rome or Milan or Paris should run about US$700 per person round-trip in autumn, or maybe a bit higher if oil prices go up in summer.
I might have missed some questions. Feel free to ask again or new ones if you have other specific questions before your trip. -Roger
I am meeting my husband in Paris in April, first time in europ, I am interested in Paris and London, and I may be flying(leaving to come home from the Toulon airport). Originally I was thinking Paris London and Brussels, but I still think Rome, we only have 10 days, what would you recommend?? Looking at best way to travel, don’t mind the idea of the train, but don’t want to spend too much time on one. Thanks
AngelaR,
If you only have 10 days then you have enough time for Paris, London, and one other city. I highly recommend 3 nights in any city you visit, and 4 nights in London or Paris can be better if you have the time, though 3 will be good.
So you’ll visit London and Paris for sure, and you’ll want to take the Eurostar train between them as it’s the fastest and most convenient way of going. Buy your ticket soon or as early as possible to get the best fare and most options.
If you decide to go to Brussels then you can take a train from Paris or even a Eurostar from London. But honestly, I’m not a huge fan of Brussels, except for the compact city center around the Grand Place (main square). Brussels is mostly built for business travelers and government employees, so it’s expensive and there aren’t many great attractions. I prefer the smaller town of Bruges, which is just an hour away from Brussels by local train. You can take a train to Brussels and spend an afternoon there on your way to Bruges for the night.
Another option is Amsterdam, which is far more interesting than the other two, and also a reasonable train ride from Paris (a bit over 3 hours). London, Paris, and Amsterdam make for a great trip and each is very different from the others.
Rome is truly an amazing city to visit, so it might be your best bet since you are already interested in it. You could easily fly to and from Rome from either London or Paris. The train ride is too long and flying is cheaper anyway.
By the way, I also have an article where I recommend visiting the 5 “greatest” European cities before visiting many others. That list includes London, Paris, Rome, Venice, and Amsterdam. So I’m sure you’ll have a great trip. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Roger. I think i have finalised the travel plans. Could you please cast your knowledgable eyes over the itinerary and advise any changes you see necessary. If possible could you advise the must sees at each city within the days allocated. Thx Russell
Rome (Arrive Morning) 11,12,13,14 Leave On 14/4/2017
Florence (Morning/Lunch) 15,16 Leave On 17/4/2017
Venice (Morning/Lunch) 17,18 Leave On 19/4/2017
Paris (Lunch) 19,20,21,22 Leave On 23/4/2017
London (Lunch) 23,24,25,26,27 Leave on 28/4/2017
Thanks Roger. Appreciate your assistance.
Russell
Hi Roger, we are a family of 3, two adults and 15 yr old, and we are looking to travel to Italy, France and England in April this year from Melbourne Australia. We have not been to Europe before. We are looking to travel into Rome and start a 15 day holiday. Could you please give ideas for an itinerary including your thoughts on how to travel between destinations. Also, will we have issues finding moderately priced accomodation that will fit the three of us.. Love all the feedback you give and have really enjoyed reading the different holidays people are planning. Thanks Russell.
Russell,
I’m happy you’ve found this information helpful and entertaining. If you’ve got 15 days for those three countries, you’ll have plenty of time to hit all the highlights. Here’s what I’d do:
Fly into Rome and spend 3 or 4 nights there. Normally I recommend 3 nights, but depending on when you get in and possible jet lag, a 4th night might be good. After that take the train to Florence for 2 or 3 nights. Then take a train to Venice for 1 night, as discussed in the article above.
From Venice Airport or nearby Treviso Airport you can fly into Paris for 3 or 4 nights. From Paris you can take the Eurostar train to London where you’ll spend your last 3 or 4 nights. If you need to be back in Rome for your flight home you can book an early-morning flight for a low price out of one of London’s smaller airports. Or if you can book a flight into Rome and out of London, all the better. That gives you 12 to 16 nights worth of suggestions, so you can stay longer in several of those places, or perhaps add another place if you really want to.
As for modestly price accommodation for 3 people, you should probably focus on Airbnbs or other apartment rentals. The hotel rooms in Europe’s largest cities tend to be frightfully small, often with just a bed and a bit of room to walk around it. In beach destinations it’s not too hard to find rooms with 3 singles or 1 queen and 1 single, but that is rare in the cities. But in apartment rentals you not only get more room, but often a sofa-bed or another small bed in another room. In April you should be able to find some good choices around €100 per night, or a bit more if you want to be in the heart of a tourist area. The one challenge with apartment rentals like that is that most of them are a bit away from the tourist heart. Still, in your case it will be worth it. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Hello Roger, wishing you a fantastic 2017
Fortunately I came across your page soon enough while planning for a euro trip. I can’t enough thanks a comprehensive yet crisp article useful for first time travelers to Europe like me. I thought I’d share a draft itinerary I came up with in the reverse order from 26 April to 13 May. We are traveling from Bangalore/India, the currency exchange is not quite favorable, so we’d like to stick to budget options where possible.
Could you comment on the itinerary?
23 april – Arrival at Rome
2 nights
Sorrento
Pompeii
Island of Capri
Amalfi coast
2 nights
Florence
Pisa ( option )
3 nights
Cinque Terre
1 nights
Venice
1 nights
Nice
-Cannes
-Monaco
3 nights
Paris
check in
5 may
check out
13 may
8 nights
Shouldn’t we spend some time exploring places in France? Lets say between Nice and Paris for couple of nights? 8 nights in Paris could be too many.
We bought Paris pass for four days, need to book accommodation and start rest of the planning.
Awaiting your comments and tips to make it a great experience, pretty excited planning the trip itself.
Thank you
Binu
Binu,
I’m glad you found this website as well. I’ll be happy to try to help.
First off, I’d really recommend 3 nights in Rome if at all possible. It’s a very large city with so many important sights that you’d be missing many of the best ones if you did it in only 2 nights.
Sorrento and the sights around it are really nice, but in only 2 nights you’d really only be able to pick one of the sights. To get from Rome to Sorrento and then from Sorrento to Florence, it would take most of the middle of each of those days. So you’d really only have one full sightseeing day for Pompeii or Amalfi Coast. In other words, you might save Sorrento for a future trip and stay 3 nights in Rome.
Florence with a possible Pisa day trip in 3 days is good. You might also skip the Cinque Terre. Everyone says it’s gotten so crowded that it’s no longer enjoyable. In fact, the local authorities are talking about limiting visitor numbers to combat the problem. Honestly, they are just 5 small fishing villages and not really as special as their reputation suggests.
Venice in one day is ideal, especially if you can spend close to 24 hours there. Three nights in Nice is also great, and it will take some time to get there from Venice.
Paris for 8 days does seem too long. It’s a large and wonderful city, but after about 4 days you’ll have seen all of the sights that interest you most. The Paris Pass will be very helpful, so if you stay 5 nights in Paris you’ll have 4 full days to do everything, including a half-day trip out to Versailles.
If you want to make more stops in France between Nice and Paris, you might consider Avignon and/or Bourges. Both of them are smaller towns with excellent sights. You could spend one night in them if you can get there by noon or so, or two nights if you arrive later than that. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Thanks a ton Roger, appreciate your help.
We will extend our stay in Rome for one more night — as you mentioned in the article, we may never come back to this city.
Will skip Cinque Terre – its a bit off route as well.
We will try to cut a day from Florence and add one more night at Sorrento. Would that make sense?
We will add Avignon and/or Bourges by cutting down two nights from Paris. We will try to do 5 nights in Paris including Versallis or Disneyland on 5th day or take one more day for Disneyland.
Can’t thank you enough for your invaluable guidance – Roger.
Thank you
Binu
Hi Roger, would it be possible to complete the visit of Pompeii on our way to Sorrento than going back to Pompeii on another day? Would it be a bad idea? I am thinking we can drop our baggage in a cloak room and spend 2-3 hours at Pompeii site. That way we get to spend one full day taking that Amalfi bus trip another day at Capri.
Binug,
Yes, I believe that would be a good idea. I don’t specifically remember if there are storage lockers or a left luggage desk, but I would think that there would be because of this exact situation. And fortunately, the entrance to Pompeii is maybe 300 meters from the train station. Pompeii really is a mind blowing sight, so it’s worth the trouble. -Roger
Thank you Roger, that was super quick. I have this confusion about travel time between Nice – Avignon – Paris. Google maps shows about 12 hours, rail Europe shows much less but it doesn’t show a fare to stop at Avignon. What would be best mode of transport from Nice to Paris including Avignon (what would be the travel time)?
Thanks a ton!
Cheers
~binu