15 Days in Italy & France — Couple's First-Time Grand Tour

Check into hotel near Trastevere or Centro Storico

Drop bags, freshen up, and orient yourself to the neighborhood.

Wander Trastevere

Explore cobblestone lanes and stumble upon Piazza di Santa Maria.

Gianicolo Hill at Sunset

Walk up for a panoramic city view — Rome's best free vantage point.

Colosseum

Enter early to beat crowds; skip-the-line tickets are essential.

Roman Forum & Palatine Hill

Included with Colosseum ticket; allow two hours for both sites.

Circus Maximus

A short walk — see the ancient chariot racetrack from street level.

Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità)

Pop into Santa Maria in Cosmedin for the famous marble mask.

Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

Arrive at opening; the Sistine Chapel crowds thin early.

St. Peter's Basilica & Dome Climb

Climb the dome for Rome's best elevated view; basilica is free.

Piazza Navona

Baroque piazza with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers.

Pantheon

The best-preserved ancient Roman building; interior is free to walk.

Trevi Fountain at Dusk

Visit late afternoon — still busy but better lit and less frantic.

Borghese Gallery (if pre-booked)

Rome's best sculpture collection; Bernini originals in intimate rooms.

Termini Station departure

Board Trenitalia Frecciarossa to Florence Santa Maria Novella.

Arrive Florence, check in

Hotel near Duomo or Oltrarno keeps you central and walkable.

First look at the Duomo

Walk around the exterior of Florence's cathedral; exterior is free.

Ponte Vecchio & Arno riverbank

Cross the medieval bridge at golden hour; best light of the day.

Uffizi Gallery

Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera are the unmissable anchors.

Piazza della Signoria

Open-air sculpture gallery outside Uffizi; free and chronically underrated.

Mercato Centrale

Two-floor market; upstairs food hall is a solid affordable lunch stop.

Accademia Gallery — Michelangelo's David

The David is 17 feet of marble genius; give yourself an hour minimum.

Piazzale Michelangelo

Walk or take Bus 12 for Florence's signature hilltop panorama.

Drive or bus to Siena

Rent a car or take a SITA bus; Siena is 75 minutes from Florence.

Piazza del Campo, Siena

The shell-shaped piazza is arguably Italy's most beautiful public square.

Siena Cathedral (Duomo)

Striped marble interior with Pisano pulpit and inlaid marble floors.

Drive through Val d'Orcia

If you have a car, the cypress-lined roads near Pienza are iconic Tuscany.

Return to Florence

Head back with time for a quiet evening in Oltrarno.

Duomo Climb (optional)

Climb Brunelleschi's dome for Florence's best rooftop view before leaving.

Train: Florence to Milan, then Como

Frecciarossa to Milan (1h45), then regional train to Como San Giovanni (40 min).

Arrive Como, check in

Stay in Como town or Bellagio; both have lakefront charm.

Lakefront passeggiata

Walk Como's waterfront promenade; rent a boat or just watch the light.

Brunate funicular

7-minute funicular to hilltop Brunate for panoramic lake views at sunset.

Ferry to Bellagio

Take the public ferry from Como; 75-minute scenic crossing to the lake's jewel.

Villa Melzi Gardens, Bellagio

Lakeside botanical garden with Japanese pond and neoclassical statues.

Explore Bellagio village

Wander steep alleys (salite) lined with boutiques and gelaterias.

Villa Balbianello (Star Wars location)

Anakin and Padmé's Naboo scenes filmed here; book a boat from Lenno.

Ferry back to Como

Return via ferry; evening light on the mountains is exceptional.

Morning stroll along Como waterfront

Final lakeside walk before catching the train; everything is close.

Train: Como to Venice

Regional to Milan, then Frecciarossa to Venice Santa Lucia (2.5 hrs total).

Arrive Venice, check in

Book a hotel in Dorsoduro or San Polo — avoid the tourist-saturated areas near the station.

First vaporetto ride — Grand Canal

Take Line 1 vaporetto end-to-end for a 45-minute floating introduction to Venice.

Rialto Bridge at dusk

Walk to Rialto as the market closes and the crowds begin to thin.

St. Mark's Basilica

Go at opening to beat the lines; the golden mosaics are extraordinary.

Doge's Palace

Gothic masterpiece with Tintoretto's Paradise — one of the world's largest oil paintings.

Cicchetti bar crawl, San Polo

Hop between bacari (wine bars) for small Venetian bar snacks and prosecco.

Gallerie dell'Accademia

Venice's premier art museum; Bellini and Carpaccio in their original context.

Zattere promenade

Wide waterfront walk in Dorsoduro; best gelato in Venice is here.

Vaporetto to Murano

Line 4.1 from Fondamente Nove; watch a live glassblowing demonstration.

Murano Glass Museum

Skip if time is short; the free glassblowing demos are more memorable.

Ferry to Burano

Vaporetto Line 12; 40-minute crossing to the photogenic lace-making island.

Wander Burano's colored houses

No agenda needed — every street is a photo opportunity.

Return to Venice, evening in Cannaregio

Explore Venice's least-touristy sestiere along the quieter northern canals.

Final Venice morning walk

San Polo before 9 AM is empty — see the real Venice without crowds.

Venice Marco Polo Airport departure

Fly Venice to Paris CDG; most direct flights are 2 hours.

Arrive Paris, transfer to hotel

Take RER B from CDG to central Paris; book a hotel in Le Marais or Saint-Germain.

First walk — Île de la Cité

Cross to the island, see Notre-Dame's exterior reconstruction progress.

Le Marais evening stroll

Explore the Jewish quarter and Place des Vosges before dinner.

Louvre Museum

Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory — budget three hours minimum.

Tuileries Garden walk

Walk through the formal gardens toward Place de la Concorde.

Eiffel Tower

Book summit tickets ahead; the view from Trocadéro is actually better than from the tower.

Champs-Élysées to Arc de Triomphe

Walk the boulevard and climb the Arc for a 360-degree city view.

Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur

Climb early for hilltop basilica views before the portrait-artist crowds arrive.

Place du Tertre and surrounding streets

Bohemian square where Picasso and Van Gogh lived; skip the overpriced portraits.

Musée d'Orsay

The world's best Impressionist collection; Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir in one building.

Seine riverbank stroll

Walk the bouquiniste book stalls between Saint-Michel and the Pont des Arts.

Eiffel Tower sparkle show

Every hour at night the tower lights up for 5 minutes; watch from Trocadéro.

Morning at a Parisian café

Sit at any zinc-topped bar; order café crème and watch the city wake up.

Sainte-Chapelle

The 13th-century Gothic chapel with the best medieval stained glass in existence.

Final Seine walk or shopping

Pick up a scarf at a covered passage (Galerie Vivienne is beautiful and free).

Head to CDG Airport

Allow 90 minutes minimum from central Paris to CDG including check-in.