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ironman · 01-15-2008, 10:38 PM

You don't need 7 days of train for the places you want to visit. I traveled for 2 months all around Europe and got to visit 12 countries in that time using a 15 day Eurail Pass. I've been to all the places you want to visit, I did a North to South, West to East and back to North trip. This is what I did:

1.- I started in Milán (I went there from Monaco), I stayed there for 3 days, and it was enough time to get a taste of the city and get to know all the most important places of the city. Milán is a very nice city but if you're traveling as a backpacker is kind of expensive an not that different from any other modern city in Europe. If you want to get a real taste of Italy I'd cut down time on Milan and use it in other cities like Florence or Rome.

2.- I came to Pisa and Florence after Milán, it was like a 3 hours trip from Milán to Pisa, you get to know Pisa in a whole day but you don't need to spend the night there. We got there early in the morning and left at late noon. At the train station in Pisa there are lockers that you rent for a certain amount of time and are not expensive where you can leave your backpack. Just outside the train station to your left you will find the tourist office where you can get a map of the city that includes a recommended walking route to get to know the city. You can walk your way around the city without using any kind of public transport. The trip from Pisa to Florence takes like 45 minutes by train, there I stayed in a Youth Hostel Hostel, it was a medieval castle, it was beautiful but kind of far from Florence downtown. I got to stay there because I couldn't find any other vacant hostel in the city but it wasn't that much of a problem as there is a bus (public service) whose route picks you up in front of the hostel and leaves you two blocks from the Ponte Veccio. I spent a whole week in Florence and although I was able to visit most of its most important monuments and places, it just wasn't enough, so you must pick the places you want to visit in advance to maximize your time, specially if you want to see the David which is exhibited in The Academy and it does not open everyday, I stayed one more day just to be able to see it and it was totally worth it, The David, The Moses and the Piedad in Florence are by far the most spectacular sculptures I've seen in my life.

3.- From Florence I went to Rome, it was like a 3 hour train trip. Rome is simply amazing but it is chaotic as hell. Public transportation is a nightmare and the sub has only 2 lines, blue and red. I spent another week in Rome and practically never used public transport, I walked like crazy in Rome, there is so much to do in Rome that once again you should plan in advance what and which day you will be visiting. Vatican city is in the middle of Rome and you should spend a whole day on it. If you want to see the Pope, he gives Audiences 2 days a week, it used to be Tuesdays and Thursdays buy¡t if you want to know him you should check in advance. I got to be With John Paul II when I was there.
In Rome I stayed at a friend's house and he told us that in order to taste the best pizza in Italy we had to go to L'Anticca Pizzeria da Michele, they serve only 2 types of pizza: Marinara and Margherita. The catch was that this Pizzeria is in Naples, so what we did was to leave Rome at late noon heading south to Naples where I ran like crazy the 3 or 4 blocks from the station to the pizzeria where I ordered 2 of each types of pizza and returned to the station where the train that was heading north to Venice was already leaving, it was a crazy but totally worth it, in fact the best pizza I've ever had. The trip from Rome to Naples was like 2 hours and from Naples to Venice it was like 5 hours. A direct trip from Rome to Venice takes around 3 or 4 hours.

4.- We arrived at Venice early in the morning like at 4 or 5 and spent there 5 days. Venice is simply amazing and breathtaking.

If I had only 15 days like you, I'd skip Milan and spent most of my time between Florence and Rome and wouldn't buy the Eurail, you won't need it as purchasing the individual trips would be cheaper because the distances you will be covering are not that long.
Always travel at night and buy a good travel book like Let's Go Europe (the one I used) or The Lonely Planet. They will let you organize your trip and are full of useful information including train itineraries that are a must for this kind of trip.
Have a great trip!!!

01-15-2008, 10:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
ironman Smithers, release the hounds Location: Guatemala, Guatemala	You don't need 7 days of train for the places you want to visit. I traveled for 2 months all around Europe and got to visit 12 countries in that time using a 15 day Eurail Pass. I've been to all the places you want to visit, I did a North to South, West to East and back to North trip. This is what I did: 1.- I started in Milán (I went there from Monaco), I stayed there for 3 days, and it was enough time to get a taste of the city and get to know all the most important places of the city. Milán is a very nice city but if you're traveling as a backpacker is kind of expensive an not that different from any other modern city in Europe. If you want to get a real taste of Italy I'd cut down time on Milan and use it in other cities like Florence or Rome. 2.- I came to Pisa and Florence after Milán, it was like a 3 hours trip from Milán to Pisa, you get to know Pisa in a whole day but you don't need to spend the night there. We got there early in the morning and left at late noon. At the train station in Pisa there are lockers that you rent for a certain amount of time and are not expensive where you can leave your backpack. Just outside the train station to your left you will find the tourist office where you can get a map of the city that includes a recommended walking route to get to know the city. You can walk your way around the city without using any kind of public transport. The trip from Pisa to Florence takes like 45 minutes by train, there I stayed in a Youth Hostel Hostel, it was a medieval castle, it was beautiful but kind of far from Florence downtown. I got to stay there because I couldn't find any other vacant hostel in the city but it wasn't that much of a problem as there is a bus (public service) whose route picks you up in front of the hostel and leaves you two blocks from the Ponte Veccio. I spent a whole week in Florence and although I was able to visit most of its most important monuments and places, it just wasn't enough, so you must pick the places you want to visit in advance to maximize your time, specially if you want to see the David which is exhibited in The Academy and it does not open everyday, I stayed one more day just to be able to see it and it was totally worth it, The David, The Moses and the Piedad in Florence are by far the most spectacular sculptures I've seen in my life. 3.- From Florence I went to Rome, it was like a 3 hour train trip. Rome is simply amazing but it is chaotic as hell. Public transportation is a nightmare and the sub has only 2 lines, blue and red. I spent another week in Rome and practically never used public transport, I walked like crazy in Rome, there is so much to do in Rome that once again you should plan in advance what and which day you will be visiting. Vatican city is in the middle of Rome and you should spend a whole day on it. If you want to see the Pope, he gives Audiences 2 days a week, it used to be Tuesdays and Thursdays buy¡t if you want to know him you should check in advance. I got to be With John Paul II when I was there. In Rome I stayed at a friend's house and he told us that in order to taste the best pizza in Italy we had to go to L'Anticca Pizzeria da Michele, they serve only 2 types of pizza: Marinara and Margherita. The catch was that this Pizzeria is in Naples, so what we did was to leave Rome at late noon heading south to Naples where I ran like crazy the 3 or 4 blocks from the station to the pizzeria where I ordered 2 of each types of pizza and returned to the station where the train that was heading north to Venice was already leaving, it was a crazy but totally worth it, in fact the best pizza I've ever had. The trip from Rome to Naples was like 2 hours and from Naples to Venice it was like 5 hours. A direct trip from Rome to Venice takes around 3 or 4 hours. 4.- We arrived at Venice early in the morning like at 4 or 5 and spent there 5 days. Venice is simply amazing and breathtaking. If I had only 15 days like you, I'd skip Milan and spent most of my time between Florence and Rome and wouldn't buy the Eurail, you won't need it as purchasing the individual trips would be cheaper because the distances you will be covering are not that long. Always travel at night and buy a good travel book like Let's Go Europe (the one I used) or The Lonely Planet. They will let you organize your trip and are full of useful information including train itineraries that are a must for this kind of trip. Have a great trip!!! __________________ If I agreed with you we´d both be wrong Last edited by ironman; 01-15-2008 at 10:48 PM..