Suggestions or recommendations for a trip through Ireland, France and Northern Italy?

[ali_ohli]

My hubby and I are starting to plan a long vacation in Europe this June. Can you ladies help us?

The premise: With any luck, this will be our last big adventure before kids, so we're definitely looking to live it up -- all the good wine, good food, strenuous hikes and romantic hotels we can pack into 21 days (read: anything you can't do with little kids in tow).

The Ireland part is kind of random; we were originally planning to see France and Italy only, but then my dad offered to host the whole family for a week in Ireland so we tacked that on to the beginning.

Here's our working itinerary:

- Fly from Chicago to Cork, Ireland

- 6 nights in Kenmare, Ireland with my family (my parents are renting a house)

- Fly to Paris, spend 4-5 nights there (day trip to Versailles)

- Train to Cannes or Antibes, spend 3 nights there with daytrips into Provence and the Riviera (rent a car)

- Train(s) to the Cinque Terre region of Italy, spend 2-3 nights there (which town should we stay in?)

- Train(s) to Lake Como, spend 2-3 nights in Bellagio or Varenna

- Train to Paris, fly back to Chicago

What do you think? I would love to hear opinions, suggestions, recommendations, etc., if you've been to any of these areas.

Thanks in advance!

[olive]

Hi Ali,

My husband and I just spent 3 weeks in Italy in October. We spent about 5 days relaxing in the Italian Riviera. We loved Cinqueterre -- it is absolutely an amazing part of the world. We didn't stay in Cinqueterre we stayed in Santa Margherita Ligure. It was a short train ride from the CinqueTerre which we hiked in one day! If you want to stay in Cinqueterre my favorite town was Vernazza. It was a lovely, small and very quaint town but packed with tourists hiking the five towns.

Santa Margerhita is only about 3 km from Portofino as well (you can take a boat ride there which is fabulous!) In Santa Margerhita we stayed at the Grand Hotel Miramare which is a very elegant old world hotel right on the water. Our views were incredible of the harbor. My favorite part of Santa Margherita was the fish market. If you stand outside the fish market at 6:00pm you can watch the fisherman come in from the day of fishing with all of their fresh fish and all of the residents and businesses would come to the fish market and bargain for their fish. I've attached some pictures for you below of the different parts of cinqueterre. The first two are of Vernazza and the last one is Manorola. It is really worth the trip! Please let me know if you have any other questions!

http://images.snapfish.com/3458%3B8%3A96%7Ffp336%3Evq%3D3239%3E9%3A%3B%3E254% 3EWSNRCG%3D323332%3B69%3A%3A%3B5vq0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3458%3B8%3A96%7Ffp47%3Dwp%3E2324%3D337%3D573%3D323 333748272%3Avq0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3458%3B8%3A96%7Ffp64%3Dwp%3E232%3A%3D%3A9%3C%3D345 %3DXROQDF%3E232423%3A78%3B%3A93wp1lsi

[tlew12778]

I can only tell you about northern Italy since I live there. Actually I was just on the French Riviera last November so I can chime in there too...

I would drive from France to Cinque Terre. It's only about 2 hours and you'll probably spend more time on the train since you'll have to change somewhere along the way I am sure.

I didn't go to Cannes or Antibes bc we stayed in Eze. We stayed for 2 nights and did Nice, Eze, Montecarlo, Cap Jean Ferret and a couple other small towns around Nice. Cannes is like 45 min away from Nice and we didn't feel like driving that far when there was so much to do locally. I would definitely recommend Eze. It's a cute little midieval village on a hill. You can't drive into it bc it's all pedestrian only. This is Eze:
http://www.puisatier.com/uk/galerie01.jpg
http://images.snapfish.com/3453%3B57923232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3232%3E%3B%3A%3B%3E44 4%3E2323%3B%3A%3B535%3A%3C6ot1lsi

We also stayed in Santa Margherita Ligure when we went to CT but next time I will stay in Vernazza. We paid 110 euro for the night in SML but we later found a B&B in Vernazza for 85 euro a night so we'll be staying there next time.

I've never stayed on Como bc we only live 30 minutes away but my fave town on the lake is Cernobbio. Bellaggio and Menaggio are equally nice. I have never been to Vernazza.

[scarlett74]

http://www.lacolonninacinqueterre.it/

It's in Monterosso, maybe the less nice of the 5 towns of Cinqueterre but it's the biggest.
I love that hotel, we stood there in 2002 for 3 nights.
You can visit the Cinqueterre by feet (there's a long pedestrian way) or take the train between one town and the other.
You should anyway walk down "la via dell'amore" (love's way) that it's the most known and easier way. (between Manarola e Rio Maggiore)

[STLwed]

I've spent time in Paris and the south of France. I had a week of vacation in Paris (after a week of work) and a week of work in the south of France where I managed to squeeze in some sightseeing (plus I hit Paris again for a weekend on the way home). Paris definitely filled the week vacation, and we took a day trip to Versaille too. Stay near a metro and you'll be able to do everything you want very easily. Our hotel was in a nice neighborhood (not touristy, where people actually live) and across the street from a metro so it was great to get the feel of the "real" city. I'm sure you can find a ton of info on what to do there, and it feels like we did it all! If you have any specific questions on sites, I'd be happy to answer.

The south of France is amazing!!! I can't wait to go back to actually be a tourist. We were staying in a little town called Orange for work
http://www.europa-pages.net/maps/Provence-Cote-Azur.gif

we flew into Marseille and drove up. We also saw Arles and Avignon - Avignon is amazing with the palace of the popes. Even the little town I was in had a 2000 year old roman arc de triumph and an amazingly preserved roman theatre - that is still used! In fact, what I loved the most about the whole region was the roman ruins. It's so different from Paris, and so amazing. The countryside is gorgeous. Having a car to see all the small towns will be great - though their roadsigns can be a bit confusing. They even have a very different French accent if you know French at all.

If you have any other specific questions please let me know - I love the whole country and can't wait to go back for vacation only (vacations with work are never as fun - but definitely cheaper!)

:)
Liz

[ejs]

I love Ireland! It is so beautiful. We really enjoyed the Dingle Peninsula. If you go there, you must go see the Cliffs of Mohr - they are amazing.

I think there is a thread on Ireland in the travel section. You can probably get some other ideas there.

eta: here is the thread: http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=5649&highlight=ireland

[Layla]

My favorite C.T. village is Monterosso. It's the largest, has the best restaurants, and the best beach. You'll never want to leave!

[Lilla]

DH and I spent about 3 weeks in the northern half of Italy last fall. We loved the Cinque Terre - so romantic and beautiful! We stayed in Monterosso (forget the hotel name at the moment) and really enjoyed it. It is not as touristy as Vernazza and has great restaurants. You must hike the trail that connects the 5 villages - unbelieveable scenery.

When we were in Lake Como, we stayed in Varenna which I'd say is a bit more of a down-to-earth-village as compared to Bellagio. Don't get me wrong, Bellagio is wonderful, but I thought it was a bit more touristy as compared to Varenna. We stayed at Hotel Villa Cipressi (http://www.hotelvillacipressi.it/eng/hotel.htm). Do yourself a favor and pay the extra money for one of the water view rooms. They also have a really nice garden you can stroll through.

As far as Ireland goes, be sure to get to the Cliffs of Moher as long as you'll be in the western part of Ireland. Also consider doing a day trip to Dublin via train.

Just out of curiosity, why do you plan to take the train all the way back to Paris before flying home? Are you planning to spend some additional time in Paris? If not, you could consider flying out of Milan which is very close to Lake Como.

[alegria]

I can't help much with most of your trip, but my DH and spent several days in the Cinque Terre region of Italy in May.

We traveled with Rick Steves' book and were so grateful! Based on the book's recommendation, we chose to not make reservations. We arrived in Riomaggiore and located a place that rented apartments by the day. We ended up getting a 2-bedroom, 1-bath apartment with a kitchen for 120 Euro (we traveled with another copule, so 60 Euro per couple). It was an amazing experience, and we were glad to be able to "live like the locals," as opposed to staying in a hotel, which we did in Venice, Florence and Rome.

Vernazza was my favorite town to visit for meals and sight-seeing, but we found it very easy to get around from Riomaggiore as well. On the day we did the hike, we rode the local train all the way to the last town (Monterosso) and hiked back to Riomaggiore. OF course, the views and the overall experience were amazing!

I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time.

[ali_ohli]

Thanks for all the input, ladies!

Just out of curiosity, why do you plan to take the train all the way back to Paris before flying home? Are you planning to spend some additional time in Paris? If not, you could consider flying out of Milan which is very close to Lake Como.

That was the original plan, but it's wayyyyy more expensive to leave from Milan.

[tlew12778]

I would fly back to Paris with ryanair or easyjet. You can use www.whichbudget.com and see if you can find a company that flies into CDG so that you don't even have to deal with changing airports. 2nd choice would be Orly bc I know that Beauvais is WAY out of the city.