We are going to Italy for the first time. We can stay for 10 days or so, obviously I want to see everything but I need to choose an itinerary that will not leave us frazzled. We need to choose a civilised schedule with walking not more than 4 hours a day. If there is an easier or more civilised way to do everything-we want it. Thanks.

Italy is bigger than you think! It would be helpful if you could do some research first and come back with some suggestions, then we can help you fine tune it.

are you thinking about doing it yourselves or a tour? driving or public transport?

the obvious place to start would be venice - plenty of options for seeing the city and the islands of the lagoon at a civilised pace using the vaporetti [water buses].

then you could travel onto one of the lakes - again, there are plenty of boats going across and around them so you could see the scenery at your own pace, getting of and exploring for a little while, then getting back on when you'd had enough.

the big cities - Florence, Rome, probably do require more than 4 hours walking unless you are going to be in a tour bus, so they might not be for you.

but with only 10 days, 4 nights in Venice followed by 6 on, say, Lake Garda, would give you a very pleasant and leisurely introduction to Italy.

good luck!

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makes a wonderful Italian trifecta for first timers...

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Happy Travels!

Hey ju,

>an itinerary that will not leave us frazzled.<

Fly into Venice, 4 nights
train to Florence - 3 nights
train to Rome - 3 nights.

Enjoy your visit.

You didn't say when you are going. I like annhig's suggestion if you are going in the spring, summer or fall. If it is the winter, I wouldn't want to spend 6 days on the lakes. I would consider 4 days in Venice and the rest in Florence with perhaps a day trip to Siena. Florence is very compact and doesn't require walking great distances. If you pace yourselves, you can see Florence in a relaxed and civilized manner. I love Rome but it is a bit hilly and spread out. Enjoy your trip.

I agree with ira but suggest you read up to see if you want to tweak number of days in any one place. For first time, I'd add to Rome but it's so personal.

DH and I did it Rome 5, Florence 3 and Venice 2 and definitely wanted more time in Venice. We loved going from noisy Rome, to less noisy Flo and NO CARS Venice BUT the international flights out of Venice are early in the a.m. Flying INTO Venice will give you more time to see it.

Thanks for all the responses thus far, I didnt want to suggest anything because I wanted others input.
I'm convinced Venice is the place to start. If I took a day trip to Sienna (or overnight trip) what would I absolutely want to see there?

In general the idea of any guided tours didnt seem like something we would want to do but if I am wrong about this, I'm open to suggestions.


Thanks again

ju - a day trip to siena is not a possibility from venice, but you could overnight from there or from Garda.

Alternatively fly into venice and out of Pisa or florence, and visit siena from there.

the Duomo and central piazza where the palio is held would be my priorities.

knowing what time of year this is planned for would be useful - staying on any of the lakes out of season [may to september] would be VERY restful but possibly a little quiet.

A guided tour of Italy in 10 days would definitely leave you frazzled.

You're not revealing your interests nor what time of year you are planning to go so we're all suggesting things that may not suit. I love frescoes so my input is based on that.

Start in Venice for 3 days, including the islands (Murano, Burano, and especially Torcello).

Day 4 - Day trip to Padua for the Scrovegni Chapel (need to make reservations).

Day 5 & 6 - Take a train to Florence and transfer to the bus for Siena. Spend 2 nights there and see the fabulous cathedral (go early to avoid long lines) and then the civic museum with its spectacular frescoes. Everyone is crowded around the campo and the cathedral so elsewhere in Siena is quiet and you can explore w/o masses of people.

Day 7 - 10 - Florence. If there is not enough to hold your interest in Florence (although I can't imagine this happening) you can take a day trip via bus to one of the smaller towns in the area or to Pisa.

Depart from Pisa or Florence.

I've left off Rome from this itinerary as Rome is a very busy, noisy city and unless you have lots of time there to see the major sights plus explore the quiet streets you will be frazzled.