Paris, Aix, Nice, Florence, Sicily- what to see?

[warthog]

Big trip coming up in October sans kiddos. Start in Paris, then Aix en Provence, Florence, Taormina, Palermo.
I have been to Paris several times, wife has not. Both of us have been to Florence. The other two are new to us. We have a loose itinerary with a couple cool tours scheduled, like the night tour of the Louvre, where they bring you to all the good stuff and feed you wine.

What really stood out to you in these spots? We are looking for non touristy cool stuff, but are really just ok exploring and sitting at cafe's.

[m2711c]

check to see if there is anything happening at the Teatro Antico di Taoramina. The sound there is fantastic and the view is awesome, especially if Mt. Etna is spewing in the background....truly a great place to see a show.

[warthog]

Cool, thanks. Just what we are looking for.

Looks like they have Opera going on when we are there. Might have to give it a try.

[old goat]

I don't know what you've seen in Paris but a concert in St. Chappelle on a sunny afternoon with the light streaming through the stained glass is something to do if you haven't done it.

[Meathelmet]

Driving south? If so, when going to Aix-en-Provence, drive through Gorges du Verdon. Spectacular.

[yellofin]

Saint Antonin Sur Bayon is beautiful and has a hiking trail.
It’s in wine country and olive trees everywhere. It’s on the way to Aix

[Benny Profane]

Vivoli is best gelato in Florence, maybe anywhere. And the San Marco monastery there is sublime.

Are you driving?

[Ripzalot]

Driving south? If so, when going to Aix-en-Provence, drive through Gorges du Verdon. Spectacular.

2nded. maybe take a rafting trip down the river too. super cool!

[Woodsy]

When in Nice go up to Viieux eze, amazing midevil village.

Also Monaco is worth a 1/2 day just to experience the Monaconess of it.

[old goat]

When in Nice go up to Viieux eze, amazing midevil village.

Yeah--midevil. They exiled heretics instead of burning them.

[warthog]

Thanks for the intel.
No car in Paris, but my sister lives in Sceaux, and works in Paris. She will be our guide for some of the time there.
Flying from Paris to Nice, driving to Aix.
Flying from Aix to Florence via Barcelona(never been hope they have a nice airport, since it is all we will see) Will have a car in Florence.
Flying to Sicily- might do the overnight train that rolls and then floats on a ferry, but not sure yet.
Driving to Palermo, so we will have a car in all of Sicily too.

[warthog]

Yeah--midevil. They exiled heretics instead of burning them.

Trying to avoid the full evil spots on this trip, being so close to Halloween and all.

[east or bust]

Enjoyed Florence enough the first go around to return? I know I did.

What have you done/seen in Florence already? I may be able to suggest some things.

[PNWbrit]

Trying to avoid the full evil spots on this trip, being so close to Halloween and all.

Palazzo Vecchio

[Benny Profane]

Thanks for the intel.
No car in Paris, but my sister lives in Sceaux, and works in Paris. She will be our guide for some of the time there.
Flying from Paris to Nice, driving to Aix.
Flying from Aix to Florence via Barcelona(never been hope they have a nice airport, since it is all we will see) Will have a car in Florence.
Flying to Sicily- might do the overnight train that rolls and then floats on a ferry, but not sure yet.
Driving to Palermo, so we will have a car in all of Sicily too.

Wait. A car IN Florence? Why? Nothing but a hassle.

[PNWbrit]

Wait. A car IN Florence? Why? Nothing but a hassle.

^ This.

[m2711c]

Driving to Palermo, so we will have a car in all of Sicily too.

If you’re driving across Sicily, you should go check out Mt Etna. There are ski area on both the north and the south side. The northside is in the town of Linguaglossa, And the town of Nicolosi is the closest to the southern ski area.

The places are very different. There’s a lot more woods at the northside and a lot more of the volcano type landscape on the southside. The southside ski area gets wiped out by lava every few years or so, but they keep rebuilding.

http://www.etnasci.it/

If you feel like hiking in and around the volcano, they can help you out there. They run all kinds of guided tours.

https://www.guidetnanord.com/en/




The interior hill towns on the east side of Mount Etna get almost no tourist traffic at all. They’re very beautiful and picturesque. They all have the church and piazza In the middle of town with little shops restaurants and cafés surrounding it. that’s where everybody will be going for walks and socializing in the evening. Because they rarely see any tourist, the locals are usually very friendly and are interested in talking to the strangers that just came to town.

That’s really true for most of the island. The more you go to the center, the less of the tourist you’ll see. Most of the tourist stick to the stuff around the outside edges of the island.

Also remember, the people have been living on that island for several thousand fucking years. You don’t really need to spend a lot of money to go see antiques in a museum when there are literally everywhere around you. Lots of roadside stops will be around some sort of archaeologically interesting areas.

[warthog]

Enjoyed Florence enough the first go around to return? I know I did.

What have you done/seen in Florence already? I may be able to suggest some things.

Duomo, duomo, more duomos, lots of pictures of Jesus. Siena, Fiesole, stuff like that.

We have a parking spot at the hotel. The car is to explore the countryside, so we will be outside Florence a lot, exploring areas we may want to visit again later. Florence is just a home base in Tuscany, somewhere we are relatively familiar with.

[warthog]

If you’re driving across Sicily, you should go check out Mt Etna. There are ski area on both the north and the south side. The northside is in the town of Linguaglossa, And the town of Nicolosi is the closest to the southern ski area.

The places are very different. There’s a lot more woods at the northside and a lot more of the volcano type landscape on the southside. The southside ski area gets wiped out by lava every few years or so, but they keep rebuilding.

http://www.etnasci.it/

If you feel like hiking in and around the volcano, they can help you out there. They run all kinds of guided tours.

https://www.guidetnanord.com/en/




The interior hill towns on the east side of Mount Etna get almost no tourist traffic at all. They’re very beautiful and picturesque. They all have the church and piazza In the middle of town with little shops restaurants and cafés surrounding it. that’s where everybody will be going for walks and socializing in the evening. Because they rarely see any tourist, the locals are usually very friendly and are interested in talking to the strangers that just came to town.

That’s really true for most of the island. The more you go to the center, the less of the tourist you’ll see. Most of the tourist stick to the stuff around the outside edges of the island.

Also remember, the people have been living on that island for several thousand fucking years. You don’t really need to spend a lot of money to go see antiques in a museum when there are literally everywhere around you. Lots of roadside stops will be around some sort of archaeologically interesting areas.

Mt Etna is definitely on the list. My wife's mother's maiden name is Taormina, so you get an idea of where they might be from. My grandfather's family is from Mellili, so we will be checking that area out as well. I am told if I tell anyone my last name there, and mention that my family settled in Middletown CT, it is very likely we will be immediately adopted and fed. We will see.

[Benny Profane]

Duomo, duomo, more duomos, lots of pictures of Jesus. Siena, Fiesole, stuff like that.

We have a parking spot at the hotel. The car is to explore the countryside, so we will be outside Florence a lot, exploring areas we may want to visit again later. Florence is just a home base in Tuscany, somewhere we are relatively familiar with.

Don't drive to Siena, take the bus. It deposits you at the top of town, not the bottom, as the train does. Bus is nice. The Duomo is a must visit, and it has an excellent art museum. Climb to the top of the wall next door for a view of Chianti and eastern Tuscany.
Drive to Volterra. Slowly. Try to drive down to the Val D'Orcia.