posted
My wife and I are vacationing in Europe for about 2 weeks in the beginning of July. (please pardon and spelling issues)
We are going to Paris for 3 nights, overnighting by train to Florence for 1 night,are in Florence for 4 nights, and finally staying in Rome for 4 nights.
Generally speaking, we have an idea of basic things we want to see and do, but I just need help organizing them by proximity to each other, and weather dependence. For instance, we don't want to criss-cross the cities when certain attractions are within close walking distance and such, almost like making mini-itineraries. Also, grouping these by rain-factor I think would be a good idea. We don't need a super-tight schedule, just basic ideas that we can implement as we arrive there in order to maximize our time.
Paris - half day, two full days, half day.
Basic things we want to see: the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Arc d'Triomph, Seine boat tour, Sacre-Couer at sunset (thank you hatracker!), and the Champ Elyses.
Florence - half day, three full days
We have this pretty set already. We are taking a day trip to Venice, a wine/cooking class tour in the Chiante region. That leaves us a day and a half to actually explore Florence.
Rome - half day, three full days
This one seems to be the trickiest. Possible sites: The Coliseum, Vatican, St. Peter's, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Palatine Hill. My Rome list doesn't seem complete.
Also looking for lunch/dinner recommendations in all cities. We are interesting in good food for a decent price, nothing to break the bank.
I appreciate all help, planning vacations is rigorous, especially to other countries from the US!
posted
We had a similar itinerary when we went in 2002 (actually it was even more compressed). I found the "If you have only X days" guides in Frommer's very helpful as far as grouping activities.
<edit>We found the restaurant recommendations in Frommer's were pretty good as well, particularly the suggestion to splurge on lunch and try to economize on dinner. My favorite was Le Cafe du Commerce, where we went for lunch after seeing the Eiffel Tower.</edit>
<edit2>I see the Frommer's site I linked originally was just the recommended third days; I've gone back and added the links for the first two days as well.</edit2>
posted
About the Louvre, beware that the two hour tour proposed by Frommer's is veeeery short for the number of things you can see there. Same with Musée d'Orsay, although it's a bit more doable in two hours.
Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Just my opinion, with the caveat that I like seeing the area more than the sites...
When in Florence, day trip to Piza/Cinque Terre (my fav...park at top of Cinque Terre national park and walk down, if you are in decent shape and no small kids) OR When in Rome, day trip to Pompeii/Amalfi Coast (http://www.amalficoastcruise.com/#!__about-us)
Florence was just OK for me. Really liked Venice, Cinque Terre, Vatican Museum (get a guide)and Amalfi Coast.
Don't be afraid to drive (if you have a car). I live in Atlanta and it is worse than anything I saw in Italy, except Amalfi Coast. Amalfi Coast is pretty scary, but amazing (every picture I took looks like a professional shot).
Posts: 317 | Registered: Sep 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Corwin: About the Louvre, beware that the two hour tour proposed by Frommer's is veeeery short for the number of things you can see there. Same with Musée d'Orsay, although it's a bit more doable in two hours.
You'll have to compare spreads and fees too in case yours are significantly different from mine. But generally, converting physical cash either there or here has a pretty bad rate. Traveller's cheques are getting more inconvenient, but are still worth the added security when you're going somewhere risky. But the places you are going should be fine for cards, just double-check that you have the right number of digits in the PIN (and maybe tell them before you go).
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
Agreed. I don't recall what we did back in 2002, but in trips since then I've definitely found it simplest (and cheapest) just to use my ATM card or my credit card. It's fairly quick to call and find out the relevant fees (or at least it was for me); I think I was charged approximately 2% surcharge on all purchases.
It's also a good idea to let the credit card/bank card company know you'll be using your card in a non-standard location for a couple of weeks so they don't tag the activity as suspicious.
Posts: 2926 | Registered: Sep 2005
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