Venice is another interesting one. Roughly said, most of Italy's "classics", including Venice, Milan, Florence, Cinque Terre, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, are all located in the north (see the Northern Italy map on the right), whereas the sunny gems such as Naples, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily, are in the south. I can help more with the itinerary if you like. Nights 6, 7: Camogli, Italy (specifically we stayed in Ruta di Camogli which was just above Camogli). It truly is the best way to visit the country and enjoy just how vastly different the landscapes are across the peninsula. Some of these links are affiliate links. Good way to wind down after busy trip? Whether you are coming from Venice or from Rome, this is the point on your trip that youll be able to catch your breath a bit. Train to Venice 4 nights Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy, but its small, cascading hillside towns make the atmosphere intimate. Hotel rooms in Paris (especially in prime locations) tend to be quite small, and Airbnbs will be small as well, although not as small as hotel rooms. I find that I get exhausted easier as I got a bit older. Barcelona, Southern France Yes, its a tourist experience, but its also still incredibly unique and wholesome to run away to the city and get lost in its alleys for a few days. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); My wife and I will be celebrating our 35th anniversary next year. featuring the one Michelin starred Restaurant Le Saint-Martin. Play with the http://www.viamichelin.com chosing prefered route and discovery route and see what it offers you. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-116190854', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Europe for my husband and I, and we had an amazing time on this trip. I start my first trips doing road trips. If you wish to see mountains, you could drive your way up to Annecy on the French side of the Alps either by the Route des Grandes Alpes or by the Route Napoleon for example. However, the travel time is the longest. ): Piedmont: at least 2 nights (Piedmont is a large region, so depending on how much you want to see, you could easily extend this a couple of nights) Lake Como: at least 1 night Bologna: at least 1 night Florence: at least 2 nights Verona: at least 1 night Lake Garda: at least 1 night (or even a day trip from Verona & you stay in Verona 2 nights) Dolomites: at least 2-3 nights. You could probably do all three of those things on a guided trip from Rome. If you are fine with this, then no problem. They have an excellent breakfast buffet as well, and plenty of amazing restaurants nearby. I will not go into it in this overview article. My husband found most of the driving was fun (Im glad he was driving, hes a confident driver whereas Im more of a nervous wreck kind of driver). So you won't really have time to explore small towns and countryside. No one regrets their first visit to Rome, but many swear that itll also be their last. Now to some information about the individual places visited on our northern Italy and southern France journey and where to stay and dine in style. And also if your mas is not too far south of (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? I live in northern Italy, so the area not only has a special place in my heart, but Ive also happened to travel all around it! Depending on your interests in Naples and Sorrento, you could spend one more day in Rome and do a day trip to Naples and/or Pompeii from there. Our first stop was the Lake Orta region Italy I use Omio for purchasing train tickets or go straight to the Trenitalia website. Id fly into Paris and spend 3 or 4 night there and then take a train down to Nice for 2 nights there. After all, this nation is the cradle of European civilization established by the Roman Empire and carried on by the Roman Catholic Church. This trip should include Pari, the south of France and the Amalfi coast definitely. I think the train only takes you to Sorrento and then you have to take a bus or a shuttle to Positano, but Im sure youll figure that all out. I will sprinkle in extra tips and suggestions based on my own experience (so you dont have to make the same mistakes I have) and extra destinations as well so you can play with how much extra time you have and be informed about other places in the area well-worth seeing. Really appreciate any comments/suggestions you have. This is a hilltop stone village below the ruins of an old castle. While the drive from (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? WebThe plan would be to fly into Venice for 3 nights, then Courmayeur for 2 nights, then proceed with the original trip (2 nights in Manarola, 4 nights in the Tuscany area, then 3 You don't say where your mas is south of Avignon, but if not too far I would rent the car on arrival and go there directly if you can add 1 more night. Ill cut out the Lake Como part as you suggested Planner, and get there hopefully as part of a future trip to Italy. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Luxury hotels, Michelin dining & things to do along the route: Northern Italy & Southern France 11-day road trip itinerary, From place to place in northern Italy and southern France, 5. There is an airport in both Venice and Milan so you could start your itinerary in either place. Then youd take a high-speed train to Nice and then perhaps a local train to the destination of your choosing. If you are spending several weeks exploring Italy then perhaps youd want to spend a night or even two in Pisa. All of that said, Rome is absolutely a must-visit, although you wont be blamed for hustling through the city quickly and efficiently so you can spend more time in the relative serenity of anywhere else. The big question when planning a trip is always: how long you should spend in northern Italy? The point is, Venice is very frustrating during those hours, so to appreciate the city its important to work around them at least a bit. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-112592926', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Europe and France in particular has such a concentration of things to see and do that every 15 - 30 km you will find a new village, town, castle, abbey, a natural beauty of some sort. I just wanted to come back and thank everyone on the forum for their helpful replies. Not only on this thread, but also having read so many other c You definitely need to consider it for your next trip. Many do advise against driving a car right after a long flight. I have done it plenty of times for both personal and business trips. I find that I In addition, I will go into what to do in the particular places. For a 4-day Switzerland road trip itinerary, check out this post. Train to Nice 2/3 nights Your email address will not be published. Youll find both French and Italian are spoken here because of how close the two countries are. I just find that you will be doing a lot of driving in a short amount of time passing by so many great places along the way. 2 nights means just one full day of sightseeing in all those places. And you find here also the one Michelin starred Nove Restaurant. Your email address will not be published. Dive deeper into the Val Brembana to the north of Bergamo to visit the villages of Branzi and Cornello dei Tasso. Suggestions? These two countries contain several of what I consider to be the best cities in Europe to visit for anyone, so its just a matter of narrowing down where to go and how much time to spend in each place. On a quick visit you can hop on the local bus in Sorrento that takes you through Positano and Amalfi to Salerno. This will be our first time in Europe. On site there is also a sister hotel where you find the Restaurant Nancy Bourguignon. And this is true for our first destination, Lake Orta. If so, what would you recommend we eliminate? Ok, I will plan for 3-4 hrs from the arrival time at CDG to the time for the departure with the TGV. I would only use the bus option if you are opting for a slow travel itinerary and have lots of time to spend in Italy, this way you save money but arent wasting half your vacation trying to figure out the buses.