Hi. Will be making our first trip to these cities in Italy in June (have been to N. Italy/Lake Como area previously) We will be there for 11 full days, with an additional 1/2 day in Rome on arrival and a short morning in Venice before departure. At present I am thinking 5 nights Rome, 4 nights Florence and 3 nights Venice. Included in the 4 nights in Florence is the thought of an outing to Pisa/Lucca and/or Siena.

I'm torn between just spending good time in each of these cities vs. trying to add some additional cities. I like big cities - NYC is my favorite, but also wonder if we'll miss out by not staying in/visiting some of the smaller towns. Ideally, it would be nice to know I am going back next year and could spend a week or two traveling the countryside, but am not sure when we will be back again. (Too many places to see.)

We usually travel at a good pace during the day to see the sights, but also like to be based somewhere and have time to relax and enjoy where we are and be able to explore more off the beaten path and get a taste of the local flavor.

I know there has been a lot of itinerary help on this forum but any further insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Hi Wanderfar,

We will be doing 11 days in Florence of which 5 will be in the city itself.

My personal preference would be to spend 1 night in Rome, add 1 night to Venice and two nights to Florence so that you can see Siena, Lucca and Pisa, and maybe one more town.

You might want to spend an afternoon/evening in Fiesole, just outside Florence.

Ira, thanks for your reply. I would love to spend more time in the towns of Tuscany, but for a first trip feel we need to spend more time in Rome than just a day. Other possibilities might be:
Rome 5 nights
Lucca+Pisa 1 night (Thur)
Florence 3 nights
Venice 3 nights

Rome 5 nights
Florence 3 nights (+ Siena)
Lucca + Pisa 1 night (Sun)
Venice 3 nights

or

Rome 5 nights
Florence 3 nights (+Lucca/Pisa)
Siena 1 night (Sun)
Venice 3 nights

I guess what I am trying to figure out is is it worth it to just daytrip to some these places based out of Florence or are we missing out not to stay over in one of these smaller towns. Again, any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi again,

Many folks have reported that Siena is much nicer at night after the tourists have gone home. So you might want to stay overnight there.

Many folks have also suggested that you can do both Pisa and Lucca in one day and return to Florence.

I'm not the sort to spend only one night in a hotel if I can help it, so I would include Siena as a daytrip from Florence, which returns us to your original plan.

Wanderfar, you will be glad that you decided to spend more time in Rome. It is such a wonderful city with so much to offer. Besides the major attractions, there are fabulous neighborhoods to soak up the local flavor. Five days will fly by.

But if you want to see Pisa, Lucca and Siena, I would suggest that you consider taking one day away from Rome and add it to Tuscany. Otherwise, you would be racing from one town to another in just one day and wouldn't allow much time for exploring. Siena is an excellent overnight stop. We arrived late one afternoon after a day of driving through Tuscany. It is a lovely town at night to wander around in.

Of all your itineraries, the one I like best is:
Rome 5 nights
Florence 3 nights (+Lucca/Pisa)
Siena 1 night (Sun)
Venice 3 nights

No matter which you choose, you will have a terrific time.

Carol