recs for Europe travel: Frankfurt to Rome

Why Sardinia? If she’s never been to Europe, I’d think she might rather see Munich, or Salzburg, or stop in Switzerland along the way to Rome....rather than schlep to Sardinia, an interesting island but rather a backwater, culturally speaking. (It’s not filled with historic sites or amazing monuments or spectacular works of art, though it is an interesting place with its own folkways.)

I’d want to minimize transit time, so I’d pick one place to visit that lie between Frankfurt and Rome: Munich, Innsbruck, Bolzano, Bologna....you can get airfare that is as cheap as rail fare, but don’t forget to account for the time & money you’ve got to waste getting to the airport in each location. I wouldn’t want to try to cram multiple cities into your 4 day window.

Or fly to Florence, spend 3.5 days there, then take the train to Rome.

We were thinking about doing Sardinia or the Amalfi coast to get a little beach time. But the Switzerland option sounds equally as attractive to us. We are researching both of these options and others.

We are hoping that input from this board would tip the scales one way or the other, or offer other ideas we haven't considered

Have you considered the fact that it will be hot af in Rome and even Florence in July? If you don't mind that much time in the heat, fly from Frankfurt to Florence and then fast train it to Rome. Maybe even stop in Orvieto on the way to Rome.

If you want "cooler" temps before ending trip in Rome, consider the Switzerland or Munich stopovers.

You can just head over to Ostia if you want some beach time near Rome. However, there are better beaches a little farther away.

To throw a curve, I’d consider flying to Milan and then exploring the Italian Alps and Lake District. Lake Como is the most well known and expensive but I love Lake Garda and there’s a lot of other smaller and lesser well known lakes in the foothills of the Alps. It will be cooler and still more time in Italy. Then fast training from Milan to Rome.

The problem is Rome is not close to anything outside of Italy by train. I wouldn’t keep taking flights personally. But yes going to the Alps would be a great addition, but also probably too much.

If you chose Switzerland, this day trip out of Zurich is worth the price




Top of Europe

wow...that looks incredible!!

Just re-read your OP, and I want to encourage you to do a bit of planning for Rome. It does not show to its best advantage in the heat of summer, so you'll want to be strategic in your sightseeing/experiences. And be sure that your lodging has AC, or at least a decent fan.

Consider getting an early-as-possible start to your days to beat the heat, esp for major sights like the Forum, or St Peter's Basilica. If you are seeing the Vatican museums, absolutely pay for an early entrance ticket via the groups line, even if you don't want a group tour.

Allow yourself to have a siesta after lunch. Many sights & churches & some shops close for lunch/early afternoon. Take advantage of this closure to either sightsee while walking, take a nap at the hotel, or enjoy a gelato crawl, or get a massage. Hordes of hot tourists will be milling around outdoor piazzas like Navona and Trevi during the immediate after lunch, so avoid them then.

Strolling around Rome at dusk/early evening is a wonderful thing to do; monuments and buildings are lighted, everyone else is out making the passeggiata, too. It's fun to people watch, and drop in for a glass of wine, and keep strolling into the nighttime. Don't overbook your time and allow for relaxation.

All, I can't thank you enough for the outstanding advice and recommendations!! This travel board rocks, tons of wisdom in this thread.

We are using the advice in this thread to build an itinerary. While Sardinia looks pretty cool, we are definitely leaning towards Switzerland now, arriving early Friday afternoon, and then taking a high speed train from wherever we are at in Switzerland to Rome on Monday afternoon/evening, which would give us 4 full days in Rome. Our itinerary is pretty much set in Rome, with built-in downtime and flexibility to modify plans as meets our needs once there.

Have you selected your lodgings in Rome? I encourage you to consider a hotel in the historic center (centro storico), rather than the Via Veneto or outlying areas. Since your time there is fairly compressed, it makes much more sense to stay close in, or in Trastevere just across the river. I don’t have specific hotel recs, as I stay with friends who live there, but know that the major international chain hotels are all too far out of the city center imho. There are a bunch of boutique hotels in the centro storico.

You’ll be tempted to stay near Termini train station.....don’t, unless you’re on a major budget. It’s not awful, but it’s not really charming, either.

Italy is nice