robmm1978

Yes.. yet another italy honeymoon thread.. (sorry!)

My fiance and I will be in Italy from September 16-26, 2007. We're both 29, from NYC.(used to walking, crowds, and nightlife)
It's our first trip to Italy.. we both have been to Europe before.

I'm posting to ask for some most do/must see suggestions while we are there. We'd like a good mix of sightseeing and relaxation.. if there is such a thing..

Here's our 'itinerary' so far -

9/15-16 - over night flight into Rome (quicker & cheaper than flying to Florence).. then taking the train over to Florence.
we'll be in Florence for 4 nights, staying at the Tourabuoni Beacci.


9/16 Florence - will be jet lagged from flight, looking for low key sight seeing suggestions

9/17 Florence - museum/sightseeing day - any must do suggestions?

9/18 Florence - booked a tour guide to take us through Tuscany villages and vineyards..

9/19 Florence - ideally looking to take a trip to Pisa - would this be worth it? or are we better of exploring more of Florence/ other areas in Tuscany reachable via train?

9/20 - AM departure for Amalfi - train to Salerno, ferry to Amalfi. Staying at the Hotel Luna Convento for 3 nights.

9/20 - relaxing afternoon in Amalfi.. hoping weather will be cooperative for beach..

9/21 Amalfi - thinking about an excursion to Capri/Blue Grotto - is this doable in a 1/2 day? full day? any other recommended sights in Capri?

9/22 -Amalfi - relaxing day to check out some local sights.. any recommendations? Any suggestions on good restaurants/nightlife in Amalfi? I realize it's a pretty small quiet town.. so anyone with suggestions feel free to chime in.

9/23 AM Ferry to Salerno - train to Rome
staying at the Hotel Adriano

Rome afternoon sightseeing - probably an informal walk through some of the city to get acquainted..


9/24 - Rome - Rome tours - so much to see, so much to do.. what's the best way to hit the major attractions- tour guide? bus tour? can you cram the Vatican/Coliseum in a day? or two?

9/25 Rome - depending on previous day, more Rome tours - anyone have a good suggestion of a tour company to use?

9/26 Noon departure back to NYC

if anyone can help me out with any of this, please respond.. i've done my fair share of research and have some ideas in mind.. but i'd like to hear from those of you who've done it..

thanks!

sessa

Congratulations! We did Italy for our honeymoon last year, but went from Rome north. We had to cancel our night in Pisa due to a train strike, but from things I have heard we did not miss anything (we were able to see the tower on the train to CT so it was almost as if we were there-ha ha).

Florence has David (Accademia), Uffizi Gallery, Duomo, Ponte Vecchio (great shopping!), and much more. It was not our favorite city (2 nights was enough), but it's all personal preference.

As for Rome, we are not tour people so we hit all of the "must sees" on our own and walked pretty much the entire city.

You will want to get to the Vatican early to avoid the crowds. We did this in the morning as well and then walked to the Coliseum afterwards. It was a day very well spent.

If you need a guidebook, I suggest Rick Steve's, as he has great suggestions on the attractions as well as lodging and food (which is most important!!).

Others on here know way more about Italy than I do so I am sure you will get some great advice!

ira

Hi R,

>ideally looking to take a trip to Pisa - would this be worth it? <

Well, if Pisa is your ideal. It will be worth it.

I would choose Orvieto or Siena instead.

Enjoy your visit.

kireland

When you get to Florence you could walk from your hotel (I've stayed on the same street so I know it is walking distance) down to the Arno River and get a glimpse of the Ponte Vecchio. This will get you excited! If you are up for it walk across the bridge and pick out something gold to buy as a remembrance of your honeymoon. The Accademia is also fairly low key in that is is doable in an hour or so (many people like to spend longer at the Uffizi). You could arrange for tickets in advance and be able to walk right in on the afternoon you arrive. Seeing 'David' on day one would be a great way to start Florence. Piazza del Republica is close to your hotel and is a nice place to sit in a cafe on the square with a glass of wine/aperitif/coffee and people watch. If you're foodies you could have a long lunch at Villa Antinori, which is a great restuarant owned by the Antinori wine family and it is on Tournabuoni. There! Lots of suggestions for a low key first day!

We did the Vatican in the morning and the Forum in the afternoon - so yes you can cram both in if your not the type to spend hours poring over art (in the Vatican). We did not take a guided tour at the Vatican and our chief interest was the Sistine Chapel - we did advance book a tour of the Forum and I would defnitely suggest this. It covers a lot of ground (even just the Colisseum is huge) and without a guide I think we would have thought it was just a bunch of old buildings!

I hope this gets you started. I'm sure others will jump in with lots of great ideas. Have fun!

gruezi

We spent 8 days in Rome in June. I was traveling with 2 teenagers and my challenge was to see a lot yet make it fun and not too tiring. Although we loved the Sistine Chapel and I loved the St Peters Dome the whole Vatican tour was exhausting, crowded and even with a tour group a real rush through when we finally got in there... The reason to use a tour group is to avoid the even longer lines. Hopefully these won't be as long in September. If you have someone who wants to buy you a really nice wedding gift have them treat you to a private tour...that would be the real way to go...

For honeymooners, there are some beautiful spots without the endless lines and aching feet. I remember being pretty tired after the whole wedding thing and wanting to take it kind of easy.Plus you'll be all relaxed from Amalfi (I'll be there in Ravello celebrating my 20th anniversary the same week you are there! We were married in NYC in an UWS church - reception at OIBL in the village...)

My favorites:

See the Pantheon - no waiting, beautiful, ancient - we went 3 times to see it in different light...I think it's free entrance too... on the walk to Piazza Navona which is a great spot to sit and have lunch or a gelato and watch people and the vendors...

Galleria Borghese - small, beautiful art gallery in a pretty Roman park. Call for reservation in advance and ask when the english speaking tourguide is there. In and out in less than 2 air-conditioned hours and you will see some great sculpture. If you like this you can see more at the Musei Capitolini but it's a lot bigger and not any more special...Walk from Borghese toward Piazza Popolo for a great view to the Vatican and down on the square. There's some touristy but very nice cafes on the piazza = Rosati or Canova - we liked
the one on the SW corner better...

The Roman Forum is also ancient and beautiful but we only had a tour for the Colliseum and Palatine hill - I preferred the Forum to the other two but had trouble figuring out what was what there and would have liked a tour of the forum but just walking through there is good too...The Colliseum tour was not very good (think I would skip paying for that and do it myself) We did watch Gladiator in our hotel room that afternoon as a break from the heat and walking - fun to see both the same day

San Clemente...close tie with the Pantheon for my favorite... beautiful ancient church within a more ancient church including some catacombs and a Mithreum (sp?), garden with fountain, easy, no line, pretty and don't have to be religious to feel spiritual here. And if it's hot, it's cool in there. This was really special.

Trevi Fountain - it is not overated - see it very early in morning - you know on the way home from a late night... and in the daytime too... you'll probably walk past it more than once depending where your hotel is...there were some other great fountains but you'll see plenty just by chance - don't miss this one.

I'll leave the nightlife to some younger souls...there's plenty of it and shopping too...

Eat lots of gelato it's really amazing.

American Airlines was showing "Roman Holiday" on my way from NYC to Zurich last week. I had never seen it before and it brought back some great Rome memories...

enjoy!

ellenem

Congratulations on your marriage and good work on your good itinerary.

To answer a few of your questions . . .

9/17 Florence - museum/sightseeing day - any must do suggestions?
I enjoy the Baptistery of the Duomo. It's a quick visit and great if you enjoy mosaics. If you're not interested in mosaics, perhaps skip it. Try to fit in Santa Croce church--full of art and famous dead people, leather school attached.

9/19 Florence - Ideally looking to take a trip to Pisa - would this be worth it?
Worth it depends on you and how much you really want to see it. You could easily visit it in half a day by train. When you return to Florence, take the #7 bus from the train station to Fiesole and have the afternoon and sunset time from its scenic overlook.

other areas in Tuscany reachable via train?
As Ira suggests, Siena (by bus) or Orvieto (by train) may interest you, although you'll have just spent the previous day with a guide seeing similar things.

9/24 - Rome -can you cram the Vatican/Coliseum in a day?
I prefer to do the Vatican and Colosseum on two different days, though depending on your interest each could take half a day. Even so, I'd still do them on separate days and use the other half of those days to see less busy sights (stop in a few churches, sit at a cafe, stroll, shop)

sessa

I just wanted to add that while we did the Vatican and Coliseum in 1 day, we did end up going back to the Coliseum a second time because we were so fascinated by it. So, as ellen recommends, doable in one but probably better to split them up.

Ninkette

Don't forget to check on the days/hours when museums are open. For example, some museums may be closed on the Monday you are in Florence (like the Accademia - so no David if that is your museum day).

In Rome, we really enjoyed walking by Trevi fountain, the Colosseum, etc at night - very romantic. We had dinner with friends and walked through the city just enjoying it and didn't even realize it was 1am until we got in a cab and I glanced at my watch.

Fairfieldgirl

Speaking of Trevi Fountain at night, are there any good restaurants for dinner near that/Pantheon/Piazza Navona that anyone recommends?

kireland

Go to Da Baffetto (near Piazza Navona) for dinner. Sit outside and have unbelievably good Roman style pizza. If there is a line up, wait, it is worth it!

Ninkette

We had dinner outside at Matricianella, not too far from Trevi Fountain. I had some divine gnocchi in a cream sauce. Most of us had a chicken dish recommended by the waiter that did not live up to expectations, but the rest of the dinner was very good.

bobthenavigator

Congrats ! You have a good plan for a rookie.
I have 2 suggestions. I would forget Pisa and bus to Siena instead. And, it will not be easy to get to Capri from your location. I would subsitute a day with Gennaro and Salvatore--not to be missed. Google that name--you will find them.

Amy1110

My fiance and I went to Italy two years ago, and we are going back to Tuscany for honeymoon in November. We are also in our late 20's. One of our favorite restaurants during our 25 day trip was La Giostra in Florence. We liked it so much, that we are going into Florence from our base in Chianti one night on our honeymoon just to eat there. It has a really nice atmosphere for a honeymoon and great food.

As for Pisa, I was there once in college, and personally I thought it was a waste. It is really a quick photo op that makes sense if its on your way to somewhere else. This time, we are flying into Pisa, so we will quickly take a picture in front of the tower because my fiance hasn't been there, and then move on to Lucca, which I hear is great (though we've never been). If you guys are into wine, I would rent a car or take a bus down the Chianti Road toward Siena and stop at some vinyards. We enjoyed the tour and tasting lunch at Verranzano.

On our last trip to Italy we were in Rome for 3 nights, and we did the Vatican one day and Ancient Rome another. We did guided tours of both, which I think made it a little more interesting.

Congratulations and have fun!

robmm1978

thanks for all of your very helpful replies..

i think i'll take the consensus advice and skip Pisa-- i've heard that it's basically the tower and nada - i just wanted to have that confirmed. Instead.. i'll look to plan a day trip.

Is getting from Amalfi to Capri really that difficult? isn't there direct ferry service? (followed by a separate boat ride to the blue grotto?) IF the conditions aren't right for the grotto - does anyone have any other good suggestions for how to spend our time at Capri?

Also- thanks for the heads up with the museums and days of operation - i completely overlooked that..

Anyone with any tips for the town of Amalfi itself?

thanks again for all the replies..