The electronic configuration of rare earth ions allows for optical transitions which have characteristic emission lines that are both sharp and numerous. These unique optical properties have many prospective uses in a variety of technologies, such as LEDs, displays, and lasers. This potential has sparked extensive research on the behavior of rare earth ions in various matrices. Among these, sol-gel derived host materials have become increasingly interesting due to their ease of fabrication and cost efficiency. While rare earth ion sol-gel silica materials have been extensively researched, there has been little study done on titania as a rare earth ion host despite many promising photonic properties: high transparency, semi conductivity, high refractive index. In this presentation, we will report on rare earth ion (Eu3+, Tb3+, Sm3+) doped titania thin films. Using sol-gel synthesis, films were fabricated by both dip-coating and spin-coating onto a silica substrate. Optical and structural characterizations were performed using SEM, XRD, and various spectroscopic techniques. We will show that luminescent properties of these materials are strongly dependent on rare earth ion concentration, calcination time and temperature, and degree of crystallinity of the titania host matrix. Additionally, we fabricated rare earth ion doped silica-titania multi-layer matrices. Examples of such optically activated 1-D photonic crystals will be presented together with their photonic properties.