tonywaston

We plan to make Rome our base city. We plan to take day trips;
1. starting by taking the train to Florence, stay all day in Florence then take a night train to Venice.
2.. spend the day in Venice & then take a night train to Milan.
3. Spend the day in Milan and then take a night train returning to Rome.

Do you think this is too much to do in 3 days? Will we be able to truly enjoy the 3 cities that we visit?

thanks

adrienne

It's insane! No, you will not be able to enjoy these cities when you give them a partial day. If you only have 3 days stay in one city.

You're taking a night train from Venice to Milan? They are 2.5 hours apart. If you take a night train you'll have to transfer in Bologna at 2AM and sit in the station for 2.5 hours.

tonywaston

Our total stay is 10 days. Arriving Oct 5th and departing Oct 15th We will have an apartment in Rome & we want to visit Florence, Venice & Milan. What do you suggest we do in order to visit the 3 cities?

janisj

We don't give awards for the most <i>'creative</i>' itineraries. But if we did -- you'd win

This is nutty. Sorry, don't know how else to say it. But I am a bit confused -- you say you are basing in Rome and taking day trips. But I don't see any day trips out of Rome.

Why not spell out the full itinerary (including Rome days) and we can help you w/ what's doable/not . . .

janisj

Oh -- I didn't see your second post.

You are renting a flat in Rome for 10 days? Have you pre-paid? Can you change that?

adrienne

Where did you get the idea about taking night trains for short runs? There aren't any real night trains. If you need to see Florence, Venice, and Milan then stay in hotels. Sleeping in train stations won't give you the best start to the day.

francophiletasmania

It's easy to forget just how much time travel from city to city takes and how tiring it can be. All you will remember when you get home is sitting on trains, the rest will be pretty much a blur.

Like other posters above, I think this attempt to do so much in such a short time is unhappy travelling. Choose one city to add to Rome and spend the time there. Venice is a fair distance away and deserves more time so would suggest Florence as your add-on. There is so much to do there and you will have a chance to get a feel for the city. We regularly stay at least 2 weeks in any European city and sometimes 6 to 8 in Paris and it is a wonderful way to absorb what a particular European city has to offer. Remember the old joke about fast travel: If it's Monday, it must be Belgium"?

adrienne

franco - it's Tuesday in Belgium! LOL

janisj

Sure, two weeks in one city is wonderful (two months is even better) -- but let's be practical here.

The OP has 10 days total.

Now - you booked a place in Rome for 10 days -- yet want to see 3 other cities. That is like renting a house in San Franciscoand using it as a base for LA, Las Vegas and San Diego. Ain't happening.

So what is the point of 10 days in Rome? You could do 7 days in Rome and 3 days in Florence - or - 7 days in Rome and 3 days in Venice - or - 5 days in Rome/3 days in Florence/2 days in Venice. Something like that.

J62

I think in 10 days you have time to go to 3 cities maximum, not 4. Trains from Florence to Venice are only 2hrs and depart every hour on the 1/2 hr all day long.

You can find schedules at www.trenitalia.com

kybourbon

>>>What do you suggest we do in order to visit the 3 cities?<<<

I suggest you cancel the apartment, forget Milan, book three nights Venice, two nights Florence and the rest in Rome (leave Rome until the end if that's your departure).

No night trains for those cities. You could day trip from Rome to Florence as it's only 90 minutes by fast train. The other cities are too far to day trip from Rome.

mamcalice

When is your trip? Have you already purchased your airline tickets? If not, consider open-jaw tickets into Rome and out of Venice. Spend a week in Rome in your apartment, taking one day trip to Florence. At the end of your week in Rome, train to Venice and spend 2-3 days. Fly home from Venice. Forget Milan this trip.

TDudette

DH and I met a fellow in Rome who took his family to Florence for the day. It was a long one (left at 6 a.m.-returned at 10 or 11). They were OK with that as a day trip. We stayed there 4 days and have returned several times to see things we missed. Not sure I'd suggest that as a day trip if you love art especially.

DH and I took a day trip to Milan from Verona. Shorter day than above but we did see "Last Supper", Duomo (and walked the roof), Gallaria and La Scala museum. That was a do-able day trip for us.

Venice is a romantic favorite of mine so bear that in mind but our first trip included only 2 days in Venice and we got ourselves back there "toot sweet" and stayed there 2 weeks!

To answer your question, I'd leave Venice off as a day trip, think very hard about what you want to see in Florence before you try one day there, but say Milano is possible if you plan well and get advance tickets to "Last Supper".

tonywaston

Thanks everyone for your responses. We have purchased our airline tickets and placed a deposit on the apartment. We felt we were being a bit aggressive in our schedule. We will check the train schedules (thanks for the link) and plan a less aggressive way to see the other 3 cities. We really want to see the last supper in Milan, experience Venice and visit the statue of David in Florence.

Mimar

We really want to see the last supper in Milan, experience Venice and visit the statue of David in Florence.>

So why did you rent an apartment in Rome for your whole trip? Maybe you can shorten your stay in the apartment.

And maybe you can change your airplane tickets for not too much money. Say fly into Venice or Milan and out of Rome.

It is possible to do Florence as a day trip from Rome, especially if all you want to see is the David.

I think you need to do some more research about Italy and especially about the cities you want to visit. All you seem to know are the prime tourist spots, not even the secondary ones. Are you sure you don't want to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa too?

All the trip planning I've ever done required cutting out things I really wanted to see. This applies to approximately 15 trips to Europe. There is never enough time. Expect to return.

P.S. You need a reservation to see the Last Supper.

tonywaston

I have my my reservation to the last supper. What i would like know is it possible to do Venice and Milan as a day trip from Rome.

janisj

"<i>What i would like know is it possible to do Venice and Milan as a day trip from Rome.</i>"

No

And not as two different day trips if that's what you really meant.

You book an apartment for <B>10 straight days</B> and then reserve the Last Supper? Hard to figure what you were thinking or if you looked at a map first.

Contact the landlord and ask to shorten the apartment to 6 or 7 days. If that is allowed w/o losing your deposit -- then you can work out the rest.

janisj

And by 'the rest' I don't mean Venice and Milan and Florence. I meant work out something else.

Since you were already prepared to 'eat' 3 days of your apartment- in the grand scheme of things you may not need/want to shorten the booking. But you simply can't <i>do</i> Venice/Milan/Florence in 3 days (or 4 days for that matter)

Mimar

A daytrip is one day out and back to your base. It's 4 hours by fast train to Venice, 3.5 hours to Milan. Both of those are too long for a daytrip.

You could go to Venice, have an afternoon there, take the 19:50 train to Milano, spend the night, and return to Rome the next day after seeing the Last Supper.

Caveat: I think this is nuts. You miss the point of Italy. All you're doing is ticking off sights without really seeing.

adrienne

<< is it possible to do Venice and Milan as a day trip from Rome. >>

The only way this is possible is to see nothing.

Leave Rome on the 6:45 train and get to Venice at 10:33 (the first train in the morning). Have lunch and leave Venice at 13:50. Arrive Milan at 16:25.

Will that give you enough time to see the Last Supper?

Leave Milan at 23:20 and arrive in Rome at 7:16.