To plan transportation, visit the individual train companies' Web sites, and don't bother with a rail pass, as it's only good for state-run trains, not the Eurostar or the TGV (high-speed train).
France: http://www.sncf.com/en_EN/html/
Paris metro: http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/
Italy: http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html
Rome metro: http://www.metroroma.it/MetroRoma/HTML/EN
Fast and multi-country trains: eurostar.com, http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/tgv/index.htm
If you plan to walk, you can find your way using Mappy.com, which works like Mapquest but has options for pedestrians or for those using public transportation. It displays landmarks, street views, gas stations and gives walking directions in meters and minutes.
Chowhound.com, a message board-based food review site allows users to post their favorite places to eat. If you have a food question, you can post it under the country or city you plan to visit, and real people who have been there and know how it is to be on a budget can recommend something that might suit you. For more information, search the Web for the restaurants people recommend to get more information on the atmosphere and prices. Rather than buying a big stack of travel guides -- which will weigh you down -- try searching sites like Frommers.com and Lonelyplanet.com for restaurants, museums and historical places. Many momuments and museums -- such as Notre Dame de Paris (http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-) and Florence's Uffizi Gallery (http://www.virtualuffizi.com/) have their own sites where hours of operation, entry fees and deals are posted. City sites are also a big help and often link to tourism offices' Web sites: http://www.museums-of-paris.com/;
http://www.paris-france.org/en/Living/markets/default.ASP; http://english.firenze.net/; http://www.rome.info/.
Know what you'll be getting for your money by keeping track of exchange rates on xe.com. Remember to factor in foreign transaction fees your bank or credit card company charges.
