Traveling across Europe honeymoon

MadHops21

Is Florence the type of city that you pretty much walk to everything without taking a cab (within the city)? Where you walk in the alleys that cars don't drive down, but it's usually for cars? I'm trying to think of that one scene in National Treasure 2...

delujm0

MadHops21 said:

Is Florence the type of city that you pretty much walk to everything without taking a cab (within the city)? Where you walk in the alleys that cars don't drive down, but it's usually for cars? I'm trying to think of that one scene in National Treasure 2...

The train station in Florence is right in the middle of the action...we walked everywhere the whole time we were there.  it's also a good base for a day trip to Tuscan wine country (you'd have to do a group bus tour or hire a car for that though).  it's not the top notch of Italian food (too much of a touristy area); i had much better meals in Bologna, Siena, Rome, and even Venice.  But if that's not a factor, Florence might work for you.

CMGragain

We walked everywhere.  In most older European cities, everything tourists want to see is together in the downtown area.   Cars don't fit well in these old cities. 
Rome is the exception to the walking rule.  It is spread out, and you will need to use cabs or public transportation.  This is why Vespas are so popular in Rome.  Parking a car is impossible.
I would recommend 5 days in London, and then Venice - Florence - Rome.

MadHops21

I was unsure about Florence (blame Jersey Shore), but the more and more I hear about it, the more perfect it's sounding more like what we want- no cars, just walking the city and seeing everything. I'll put that on our list. 

London

Venice (FI grandpa was born here)

Florence

Rome

(Maybe Sicily) 

climbingsingle

MadHops21 said:

I was unsure about Florence (blame Jersey Shore), but the more and more I hear about it, the more perfect it's sounding more like what we want- no cars, just walking the city and seeing everything. I'll put that on our list. 

London

Venice (FI grandpa was born here)

Florence

Rome

(Maybe Sicily) 

FI and I were in Florence last year - just for one day. We're going back for our HM. I can't wait. 

MadHops21

@ClimbingBrideNY what would you recommend to do in Florence? We aren't wine drinkers, so we aren't doing the wine tasting. 

climbingsingle

We only spent a few hours in Florence and then went wine tasting. But we did see Ponte Vecchio which was cool. I did lots of shopping there. We went to the Basilica of Santa Croce and walked around the surrounding area too. There was a ton of stuff we didn't get to do, like seeing The David. 

delujm0

Florence has a lot of top notch museums, and also good shopping.  The bridges over the river are really pretty, as are the squares and the churches....there's plenty of stuff to fill up at least 2 days even if you're not a big wine drinker or shopper.

 

If you really want to do something with a small(er) town feel, do Siena.  It is BEAUTIFUL and has some of the best food in Italy.  You would have to cab it from the train station to the main square (very long very hilly walk otherwise) but the "city" area and the views over the hills of Tuscany are pretty great.  FWIW, if i went back to Italy, i would stay in Sienna and just take a day trip to Florence from there (to hit the major museums and do some light shopping).

JennyColada

Florence was absolutely my favorite city that I've been to in Europe (about a dozen in various countries!).

I wasn't yet a big wine drinker, but had a WONDERFUL time tasting all the gelatos and shopping and going to museums.

I walked everywhere.

I stayed here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187895-d299928-Reviews-Hotel_Canada-Florence_Tuscany.html

It's not fancy by any means, but clean and affordable and a great location!

CMGragain

You really need to buy Rick Steves' Italy guidebook.    The trains go directly to Florence from Venice, and from Florence to Rome.  Easy trip!  DH thought the best part of Florence was walking around the streets after dark and listening to all the young Italian people socializing.  The Rick Steves book will give you other ideas, and the book covers Rome and Venice, too.

WinstonsGirl

I will also defend Paris.  I've been numerous times and I've loved it.  Yes, people speak English as it's better than many people's French, and they're not one to waste time trying.  But I love the vibe of the city.  Ditto for Amsterdam, which I thought was beautiful.  I only spent 2 days though, and wish I had more time.  

I didn't enjoy London or Italy myself.  I found not enough to do in London without spending a lot of cash.  It seemed like a lot of the sites were look at a building sites (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc.) versus other cities were you could go inside and see other things.  Southern Italy was where I encountered the rudest people, and kinda creepy too, so I was happy to get back north.  I did love Venice though, and Pisa was pretty cool, though touristy obviously.  

I think you're doing too much.  Pick a couple of cities and spend 3-4 days in each at least.  The travel will be exhausting.  I know it wasn't on you list, but I'd also recommend Edinburgh, which is one of my favourite cities.  It's so beautiful.  Have fun on your trip

[Deleted User]

I think it depends on how much you want to see in each city. If you feel that you can see everything you want to see in 1 day in each city, it might be doable, but you're probably going to be exhausted by the end of the trip. I would recommend checking out all the cities you have listed & make a list of the things you would want see in each city, you know that I gotta see it places. Then look at your list, can you see everything you want to see & allow for the time to travel from city to city? If not maybe cut a few cities out & pick 2 or 3 that are closer to each other so that way you can limit travel time from city to city.