itinerary for italy/spain/france

[hooplah]

here is my tentative itinerary:
Wednesday 6/24 Home -- Rome
Thursday 6/25 Arrive 1:30pm rome
Friday 6/26 rome
Saturday 6/27 rome
Sunday 6/28 rome --florence
Monday 6/29 Florence
Tuesday 6/30 florence
Wednesday 7/1 Florence -- cinque terra
Thursday 7/2 cinque terra
Friday 7/3 cinque terra -- Florence
Saturday 7/4 Florence -- FLY to Madrid
Sunday 7/5 Madrid
Monday 7/6 Madrid
Tuesday 7/7 Madrid -- Granada
Wednesday 7/8 Granada -- Malaga
Thursday 7/9 malaga
Friday 7/10 malaga
Saturday 7/11 malaga -- Nice
Sunday 7/12 Nice
Monday 7/13 Nice
Tuesday 7/14 Nice
Wednesday 7/15 Nice
Thursday 7/16 Nice
Friday 7/17 Nice
Saturday 7/18 Nice -- Paris
Sunday 7/19 Paris
Monday 7/20 Paris
Tuesday 7/21 Paris -- Home

ok so the malaga and nice are times I have to be there due to family obligation, along with Paris, so that isn't changeable. But the rest is up for change

Should I fly from Florence to Madrid, and then train to Malaga...or should I fly to Barcelona and train to Malaga?

Also, if I were to fly to madrid (which is what I'm leaning towards) Should I stop in Granada or Seville on my way to Malaga?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Oh one more thing, when should I buy my plane ticket from Florence to Madrid or Barcelona? Any websites you know of where I could get a good deal on that flight?

THANKS FOR THE HELP! This is my first time traveling, and i'm going solo, and i'm female, and i'm damn excited!

[pinknic38]

Originally Posted by hooplah

THANKS FOR THE HELP! This is my first time traveling, and i'm going solo, and i'm female, and i'm damn excited!

ROCK ON!!!!

Well I preferred Barcelona over Madrid, but it all goes in who you ask. Both are amazing cities and I can't say you'd have a terrible time if you picked one over the other. I do, however, strongly recommend a day trip to Valencia (or longer if time permits). It it totally my fave city in Spain, hands-down.

Sounds like an awesome trip though! I've not been to Italy myself but a lot of tpunks have and can chime in about the Italy leg of the trip.

[hooplah]

thanks for the advice. how long of a train ride is it from madrid to valencia? and from valencia to Malaga?

[offhegoes03]

I was only in Madrid for one night, so that may skew my opinion, but I feel like Barcelona has a lot more going on. You can go wander down las ramblas, go to a bunch of cool bars, hang out at the beach, etc. Not to say Madrid isn't cool, I just didn't spend much time going out there, so I can't really say whether it's better or not. Sevilla is really cool, so I'd definitely recommend stopping off there. It's got a lot of cool things to check out in a relatively small area. Plus there's a really cool hostel there (Samay Sevilla Hostel) that was recommended here on the boards. It definitely made my trip that much more enjoyable.

I don't have much advice for the rest of your trip as I never went to Italy or Southern France, but it looks like you're leaving plenty of time for each of your cities. Good luck!