My husband and I are planning a trip to France and Italy for our 25th anniversary. I want to do as much as possible since it may be my only chance to see these countries (5 kids at home). We come to Paris on May 9 and fly out on May 17. My wishlist is Paris (love the idea of the Big Tire Bike tour), Mont St. Michel and the French countryside (we love food and wine tasting) and in Italy I would like to see Cince Terre and then either Rome or Venice or Tuscany area. I know it is a lot but I would rather get a little taste of all of this goodness than to feast for days in one place. OK, all you seasoned travelers...give me the truth. What is the most I can do and live to talk about it! Thanks ahead of time.
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(1) change your plane ticket to be open jaw. Fly into Paris and return home from Rome. Actually, I prefer flying into Rome and returning from Paris, but...
(2) make sure that you%26#39;re on Paris time well before you leave home so that jetlag is no factor
(3) May 9th Arrive in Paris.
(4) May 10th. Take a day tour to MSM
(5) May 11th. Take a day tour to Beaune for the countryside %26amp; wine business
(6) May 12th. Easyjet oneway. Paris Orly to Pisa. 18h50-20h25. Taxi to Cinque Terre. $80 per person airfare. Taxi = $$$. 1.5 hr flight time + 2 hrs transit to/waiting at ORY + 1 hr PSA arrival overhead + 1 hr taxi = 5.5 hr travel
(7) May 13th. CT.
(8) May 14th. Train to Rome. (about 5 %26quot;Italian hours%26quot; of train travel)
(9) May 15th. Rome.
(10) Fly home from Rome.
There. You%26#39;ve done it with one day to spare. Now it is debatable what you%26#39;ve done and whether you will live to talk about it. I know people who have so it%26#39;s possible.
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Whoa! That last response exhausted me. Spend at least 2 days exploring Paris. THe Metro is easy to use ans there are also %26quot;on %26amp; off%26quot; bus tours your hotel will have info on.
With so little time, I%26#39;d take a 1 hour TGV (fast train) ride to the Loire Valley or a 1 to 1/2 hr. ride to Beaune to taste wines. I%26#39;m having a senior moment, but I think the name of the company is O Chateau (do a websearch) that also does wine tastings in Paris.
The Easy Jet suggestion for getting to Italy is great - just don%26#39;t have alot of luggage. Check the weight restrictions as they vary wildly from airline to airline.
honestly, I%26#39;d do one country this trip. I know you want to see as much as possible, but that is an American disease. Vacation is supposed to be about relaxing- not if you spend most of your time travellig between destinations. If you picked a couple of destinations in France (Paris and either Burgundy or Loire Valley) you%26#39;d have varied experiences, yet not be exhausted. Mont St. Michel is pretty but VERY touristy, not really worth a day.
I know you want to see alot, but have some fun. We have gone to France repeatedly over 6 years, and still haven%26#39;t seen everything or gotten bored. Don%26#39;t fall into the 2countries in 8 days trap!
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OK, I don%26#39;t want to be exhausted and we are flying using FF tickets and couldn%26#39;t get a ticket out of Rome. I tried for days but it didn%26#39;t work out. So...Should I maybe just spend most of the time in France and just do Cinque Terre in Italy. I have heard so much about it and read so much about it. It sounds like just what we like to see. And it is not too far from France. Would that be doable?
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Yep. I gave you a whirlwind built on your constraints and wishes; but that was about the only way to do it if you%26#39;re not Al Gore with private plane waiting for you everywhere.
No, as the crow flies, CT is not far from France. However, as the Italian train creeps along through the terrain, it takes a while.
If you see CT, you could always Easyjet back to Paris from Pisa or Nice if you%26#39;re ambitious. Dropping Rome makes that more reasonable.
Both Milan and Florence are also budget airline possibilities to/from Paris. Those two places, and Nice can all form triangles with CT.
Venice and Rome are also budget airline possibilities to/from Paris but will take a bit longer to get to CT. Checkout Easyjet%26#39;s website for ideas. It%26#39;s really easy to use.
Great going with the FF tickets. That%26#39;s my kind of airfare!
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There%26#39;s also a night train between Paris and Nice. It%26#39;s not bad. You save a night of hotel and your sleep is really productive. You%26#39;ll wake up in the morning seeing some countryside or French coast zipping by. If you%26#39;re travelling two together, there is a good discount available. Unless you somehow get a super discount, it may be cheapest just to get one of these train tickets from the booth at the train station (in Paris, you%26#39;ll look for Gare de Lyon).
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