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
Hello,
We are planning a trip to southern France and northern Italy this upcoming October and would like your advice. We are planning a 14 day trip, and will probably fly into Nice/Marseille and fly out from Milan or Rome. How many cities can we visit ( we really do like to explore and enjoy the cities rather than just ‘visit’ them). We were thinking of basing ourselves in Cannes and then maybe Genoa and Florence. We would really love to see Provence, Nice, Monaco, Cinque Terre, Florence, etc… Also, what do you suggest is best/most practical means to travel between these cities (train vs. car rental).
Any help would be much appreciated. Love you articles.
Timmy,
In my opinion, you can experience the main highlights of most cities in 3 nights, or perhaps 4 nights for large cities like Paris or London, or Rome even. So if I were you I’d shoot for 4 or 5 cities if you have 14 days to work with. For smaller cities like Venice or even Florence, you can really get a feel for the main highlights in 1 or 2 nights, as long as you have most of the day for sightseeing.
So first off, I’d recommend basing yourself in Nice, probably at one of the hotels near the train station. Nice is a large beach town with great museums and an abundance of hotels, while Cannes is much smaller and hotels tend to be far more expensive. Also, Cannes has a nice shopping district and a sandy beach (unlike the pebble beach in Nice), but otherwise there isn’t much to see or do there. From Nice you can also visit Monaco in only about 20 minutes, and it actually has far more to see and do compared to Cannes (although hotels are even more expensive). You can have a good visit to all 3 cities in only 3 nights because Cannes and Monaco are only about 20 minutes from Nice by train and each is small enough to appreciate in half a day.
If you want to spend time exploring Provence then it would mean extra days, and unfortunately I have little experience there myself so you’ll be best off getting advice on that elsewhere.
Once in Italy, you might want to stay for a day or two in Genoa, although it’s not really known as a top tourist town. From there you could head into the Cinque Terre for maybe two nights or just visit by train during the day. The Cinque Terre towns are scenic and a pleasant look into simple Italian village life, but the main things to do there are hike between the towns on a hillside trail, or sit on the beach, and in October I don’t think it’ll be beach weather there. The town of Vernazza is the most photogenic and you can do a nice visit in only a day or two.
After that I think you’d be best of basing yourself in Florence. Not only is Florence a major tourist city on its own, but it’s close enough to Pisa and Siena for efficient day trips, not to mention the various Tuscan hill towns nearby.
For this type if trip you’ll definitely want to focus on trains, and the individual tickets within Italy are reasonably priced (and even cheaper if you buy online in advance). However, if you want to explore Provence or other more rural regions in the area you might want to rent a car for that part at least. Generally speaking, if you are going city to city then trains are the best choice because parking is difficult and expensive anywhere near the cities. But if you want to visit wineries or small towns and this sort of thing, a car can be great because parking is almost never an issue and you can go a lot of places that the trains don’t go.
Let me know if this helps and I’ll be happy to try to offer more specific advice as your planning is coming together. -Roger
Hi Roger, great site here mate. Love all the feedback. I am looking at a 3-4 week trip starting in mid July. First time to mainland Europe. Looking to fly into Paris or Rome and out again from one of these two cities.
I noticed you mentioned that about 60 euros a day is about right for France when it comes to accommodation and food, what would you suggest it would be for Spain and Italy? Looking at cheap-mid range hostels and the occasional evening out, not dirt cheap but certainly still on a budget? Is 60 euros per day manageable for France, Spain & Italy?
I was also wondering is it safe to wait until arriving in Paris, stay a few days and then figure out train passes over there to move across the region or is it best to pre-purchase?
Thanks for your help.
Darren,
Thanks. This site is actually based on the budget information for each of these cities and countries, so I invite you to have a closer look at any of the City pages like this one for Barcelona or this one for Rome. I’m not sure which €60/day reference for France you are referring to, but that would definitely be for a hostel bunk and “budget” meal choices for the most part. More specific information can be found on the Europe Backpacker Index, which tallies up the typical costs for backpacker visits to 56 different European cities. That total also includes transportation, attractions, and some entertainment into a daily budget, and it’s all broken down by city.
You’ll notice that the typical costs for Paris are quite high, yet the rest of France is a bit cheaper. The same is true in Rome, with the rest of Italy (except Venice) being more affordable. Barcelona and Madrid are pretty similar. I think those other pages will answer all of your questions, but feel free to follow up if you have more.
The train tickets issue is another large and complicated one. I have long articles about whether a Eurail Pass makes sense for you, and how and when to buy train tickets online in advance. Long story short, you can’t buy a rail pass once you arrive in Europe, and buying individual tickets bought on travel day are usually very expensive. You might want to buy a Eurail Pass, or at least buy a few train tickets online in advance. I’m happy to help you sort that out if you still have questions. Best of luck. -Roger
Hi Roger,
You have done wonderfully well in all your analysis; very informative as well. My husband, daughter and I are planning to travel to Europe for the first and which to travel to Spain (7 night) France (7 night) and Italy (12 night). We leave from Nigeria to Spain and return home through Italy – Venice or Florence. Our base will be Barcelona in Spain, Paris & Nice in France and Florence in Italy. We love shopping a lot especially for clothes and shoes. I want to know the best places to get them for reasonable prices. I also want to add places where we can do day trips and return to base.
Edna,
I’m not really a shopping expert so I won’t be of much help with that. I do know that all of those cities have the big chain stores (H & M, Zara, etc), and prices should be similar from city to city.
The best cities for day trips in Italy (since you’ll be pretty busy just seeing the cities in Spain and France with only one week in each) are Florence to visit Pisa, Siena, and the Cinque Terre, not to mention the Tuscan hill towns nearby. The other place to base yourself is Sorrento, which is just south of Naples, and MUCH more pleasant. It’s ideal for day trips to Naples itself, the Pompeii ruins, the Amalfi Coast, and the island of Capri.
By the way, if you are flying in or out of Venice you should also check fares into nearby Treviso Airport, which is usually cheaper. And the closest cheap airport to fly into near Florence is the Pisa Airport. Have a great trip. -Roger
Hi Roger,
I will be traveling to France and Italy for the first time in the summer and will be staying for a total of 17 days. I plan to visit Paris, Nice, Rome, Florence and Venice. The thing is, I will be flying in and out of Paris.
I have made a rough itinerary but would like some feedback:
3 nights Paris
Fly to Rome
4 nights Rome
3 nights Florence
1 night Venice
3 nights Nice
3 nights Paris
Do you think it is too crammed? I understand the train rides between Venice and Nice and Nice and Paris will be quite time consuming.
Alternatively, I was thinking of changing the order of the cities. I am also considering flying from Paris to Venice, train to Florence, train to Rome, fly from Rome to Nice and then train from Nice back to Paris. What do you think?
Thanks!
Olivia,
I think your original plan looks excellent, and I don’t think it’s at all too crammed. It looks like you’ve allowed enough time for sightseeing AND the longer train rides, which are also pretty entertaining in that part of Europe.
Your alternate plan could also work pretty well, but I think you’ll enjoy the longer train rides much more than you’d enjoy the extra flight. If you were only allowing 2 days in some cities then the flight might be a good way of speeding the travel part up. But since you have 3 or 4 nights (except for Venice) and 6 nights in Paris, I think doing most of it on the ground will be the best strategy.
To be honest, six days in Paris is longer than most first-time visitors spend, so you could add an extra day or two somewhere else on the route, and still see everything in Paris in 4 or 5 nights. You are going to have a fantastic time, and it looks like you’ve planned really well so far. Feel free to follow up if you have more questions. -Roger
Thanks Roger! I will be following your suggestion, train rides over the extra flights.
Just one last thing, do I purchase the train tickets online?
Olivia,
Yes, assuming you are ready to lock in dates and times and want the lowest fares, then buying online is best. This article explains how to buy European train tickets online, with links to all of the official websites.
Excellent itinerary suggestions ! Thanks for posting !
Hi Roger
I have enjoyed reading all the information on the above messages and found it very helpful. I’m going to Europe with a friend (2 ladies) for a dream we have had to go to Tuscany. Our itinerary is as follows:
5 nights in Majorca for a wedding
3 nights in Barcelona
3 nights in Rome
8 nights in Florence
1 night in Venice
We plan on basing ourselves in Florence to do a few day trips to Sienna and other hillside towns. I’m very keen on arranging a minivan guided tour to Cinque Terre. Do you think it is ok to do a day trip there and go back to Florence or perhaps stay our last night there and take the train to Venice for our night there. I’m trying to work out how best to fit the Cinque Terre in. Also, do you have any view on accommodation? We are looking at renting an apartment through Air BNB. I was wondering if this is safe or is it best to stay in hotels. We thought an apartment would be a better experience for us to do our own thing. Thanks
Sheree,
Florence is a fairly compact city so I think 8 days is quite a long time there, even if you are going to spend several days doing side trips. You can see the main sights in Florence in 3 days or so, and then a day trip to Siena and one or two hill towns would work well. You might also work Pisa into the trip, which can be seen in only a few hours.
As for the Cinque Terre, I think since you have enough time I’d spend 1 or 2 nights there, probably in the most scenic town, which is Vernazza. The main things to do there are to hike between the towns (although the path is not always easily passable, and it is steep in places), or to sit on a beach in a couple of the towns (even though the beaches aren’t really great by international standards). Aside from those things, the main draw is that towns like Vernazza are like going back in time to a simple and authentic era. For that, I think you really need to stay overnight to appreciate it. On a van trip in one day you’d be rushing around and you’d mostly be seeing other tourists all day, while in the morning and evenings, things are quiet and serene.
Airbnb should be a good option in the cities you are visiting, especially for a longer stay in Florence. For a 1 or 2-night stay a hotel might be better because they tend to be more central and you can come and go as you please, while in an airbnb you have to arrange a time to arrive and get the keys from the owner and all of that.
You’ll probably want to fly from Barcelona to Rome and then take trains within Italy. If you do fly, buy your ticket as far in advance as possible for the best fares. The train rides within Italy will all be fairly short and inexpensive, so buying them once you are there might be best. Those cities are all so close that they are no more than 2 hours or so apart. I’m not sure I answered all of your questions, so please feel free to follow up and I’ll be happy to try again. -Roger
Hello,
We are planning a two week backpackers trip. How much pocket money do you think is enough?
Please help
Tifny,
I’ll be happy to try to help, but I’m not sure what you mean by “pocket money.” If you mean how much do you need each day after you’ve paid for accommodation, food, and transportation, then it tends to be a personal thing. But if you are wondering how much you’ll need each day for accommodation and food and everything else, then in France and Italy you’ll need about €60 per person per day if you want to enjoy yourself, or less if you are willing to eat street food and pizza for most meals.
If you have a more specific question, let me know and I’ll take a shot at it. -Roger
hallo Roger,
i very happy to find your article. i am planing to have a tour in Europe in October for 18 days, with my family and relatives. we are all 8 adults, all visit Europe for the first time.
we are planing to visit this places: Rome, Assisi, Florence, Venice,Milan, Lourdes, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam.
do you any suggestion how to arrange the trip..??
then, i have read from your recommendation above, that renting car is a bit expensive than trains. but considering our number, 8-10 persons, do you recommend to take car, at least from city to cities in Italy? and in Paris alone?
thank you very much for your kind assistance.
charly mi,
For that list of cities I think you’d be best off starting in the north and going south, which will also help with the weather since it will get nicer as you go south rather than getting worse as you go north. The most logical route is Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Lourdes, Milan, Venice, Florence, Assisi, and Rome. Or you could fly into Berlin and then go to Amsterdam next, and on the same route.
Berlin and Lourdes are both quite out of the way, and if you removed one or both of them your total distance traveled would be quite a bit less, but both have a lot to offer so you might just keep them both in.
I normally recommend against renting cars in Europe to go between the big cities, but in your case it might actually be your best bet. My guess is that two small cars that hold 4 or 5 people each would be cheaper than one large van that held all 10 people, but it’s worth checking both. The fuel you’d need to buy would be about the same either way, since their small cars tend to be very efficient while the vans really aren’t.
You wouldn’t want to use a car to drive around and see the sights in most of the cities in your list because parking is very expensive and hard to find. But for your drives to/from Berlin and Lourdes and even Assisi, having your own vehicles could be very efficient. You’ll just have to check rental rates and factor in that fuel will cost about €2 per liter, and see how the numbers add up. There will also be toll roads in France and Italy, but the tolls aren’t too high.
The other major factor to consider is overnight parking within cities. If you want to stay at hotels in the city centers, which is highly recommended in most cases, you might pay about €30 per night for parking. But if you are okay staying a bit outside the city center, you can probably find good hotels with free parking. The challenge then is that it might be a 30-minute tram ride into the city center for your sightseeing, so you’ll probably only want to do that once per day, which can take some of the fun out of visiting an amazing city like the ones on your list. In other words, if you are staying in the tourist center you can do a walking tour right after breakfast and then rest in your room for a bit, and then go to a nearby museum or other sight after a memorable lunch, and then relax a bit more in your hotel before going out for dinner and another walk around town. But if you stay on the edge of town, you’ll have breakfast and then go into town for sightseeing. You’ll see several things and start getting a bit tired so you head back to your hotel. At that point it probably feels like too much trouble to go all the way back into town for dinner, so you have food at or near your hotel and then stay in for the night. For these reasons, people who stay in the city center usually end up seeing and doing much more than someone staying on the edge of town in the same number of days.
So driving from one city to the next might be cheaper than taking the train for 4 or 5 people, but once you get there you’ll either have to pay a lot for parking or really push yourself to maximize sightseeing, or save money by staying on the edge of town and see fewer things.
Also, driving in the middle of the cities on your list would be stressful, so you’d really want to do as little of that as possible. Driving in and out might be okay, but driving from your hotel to a central museum or cathedral would be traumatic. I hope this helps, and let me know if you have other questions. -Roger
mistakenly hit the the submit button there, anyway, so we have decided to leave the amalfi coast for another trip, our next holiday, we will dedicate 1 week between rome, Venice and pisa, an a week for the amalfi coast.
Once again thanks a lot for your advice, it’s really helped us a lot, will update you on how it went on our return
Jawad
Hi Roger
Need a bit of advice, me and missus are flying into paris and out of Malaga for our 13 day trip. Our initial plan is to spend 2 days in paris, fly out to Rome and stay there for 2 days, 1 day in Venice, 3 days in Sorento and the amalfi, we will then be flying out to Barcelona and will spend 2 days there, at then we will spend 2 days in seville and on the final day fly out from Malaga.
Big question! Do you think we are cramming too much in our trip and will end up with just a blur of a holiday or you reckon we can work it out by tweaking our existing itnerary?
Will really appreciate your advice.
Cheerios
Jawad,
Yes, I do think you are trying to cram too much into 13 days, but I don’t think it’s impossible to do. The main issue here is, and sorry if you’ve read this before because I type it often into these comments, that a “transit day” only counts as maybe 25% of a sightseeing day. In other words, on every day that you are going from one city to another, you’ll be lucky to spend even a few hours and see one good sight on that day. Even if a train ride is only 2 or 3 hours (as is the case between the major Italian cities), you’ll still be spending another couple hours packing up and checking out of one hotel and then finding and checking into the hotel in your next city.
It looks like you have about 6 transit days in your 13 total days, so that means you’d be spending almost half your holiday going between places, and the other half actually enjoying the places you are visiting. On a 13-day trip, I’d recommend no more than 5 total cities, or maybe 6 including a small city like Venice that is close to other cities.
Also, I am often asked about “minimum number of nights” in each city to at least see the main highlights, and a few of your stops fall short of my minimum recommendations. For example, Paris, Rome, and Barcelona are all very large cities that are absolutely packed with famous highlights. I recommend a minimum number of 3 nights in each of those, partly because that really only translates into two full sightseeing days. If you cut it down to 2 nights, and one full sightseeing day, you’ll need to skip things like the Louvre, Vatican Museum, and the Picasso Museum because you’ll be leaving after only seeing a few things.
So I’ll recommend 3 nights in Paris and then 3 nights in Rome. If you are going to Sorrento/Naples/Amalfi you’d want to do it after Rome because Venice is in the opposite direction. I’d actually recommend saving Sorrento for another visit, and going straight to Venice for 1 night. Then you can fly to Barcelona from Venice (or nearby Treviso Airport) for 2 or 3 nights. You might still have time for a day or two in Seville, and it’s small enough that one full day could be worthwhile.
Hopefully this is the sort of advice you were looking for. You could change things around in other ways, but I think this is most efficient. Feel free to follow up with other questions if you have them. -Roger
Hi Roger
Thank you very much for your advice, we sat down last night and decided that we will do 2 full days in paris, 3 in Rome, 2 in Barcelona and the rest in Andalucia. So we have decided to leave the amalfi coast for another trip, our next holiday, we will dedicate 1 week between rome, Venice and pisa, an a week for the amalfi coast.
Once again thanks a lot for your advice, it’s really helped us a lot, will update you on how it went on our return
Jawad
(I’m happy to help, and please do let me know how it went when you get back. -Roger)