Hello everyone,

My wife and I are heading to Italy for a late 1st anniversary on Thanksgiving. Our tentative plans are for 3 days/nights in Rome, overnight train to Venice for a day and a half and then to Florence for 3 days. We will have a total of 9 full days for the trip - we return to Rome the following Saturday for and 11am Sunday flight.

First, does this sound like a "doable" itinerary? I would love to add a day trip to the country side for some hiking or a winery if the weather permits. We will be using the train/bus for all transportation unless renting a car would be good for a day trip or getting from one city to another.

Second, and I know many others have asked about hotels, but I would love some suggestions. We want to be close to the major sites in all of the cities and our budget should average about 150-250EU a night. Is Rome that much more expensive than the other cities??? This will be our first time to Italy. Is there any concern about the weather at this time of year?

Thanks very much!

Hello jpgal3. Congratulations on planning to spend your first wedding anniversary in Italy. That is wonderful.

May I ask a question? Could you list the nights you plan on being in Rome, the nights you plan on being in Venice and the nights you plan on being in Florence. I tried to figure out your itineray from your post but it is a bit confusing. Thank you. Best wishes.

1-1/2 days are not enough in Venice to see even the major sights. A waste of time and money for that short time.

You will have a wonderful time! I do not have any hotel suggestions, and am actually looking for some suggestions myself, so am keeping en eye on this post. I have been to Rome many times and never get tired of it. I would think that Venice might require more than just a day and a half, though.

We were in Venice for only two nights and wish it had been more like three nights. But you have to weigh the things that are important to you. (it is better to go for 1 & 1/2 days then to not go.)

In Venice, we stayed in the Hotel Messner (Dossoduro). The Pensione Accademia is a moderate price hotel that many Fodorites seem to love.

We stayed at the Hotel Paris last year in Florence. It is NOT a place that most Americans would like, but we loved it.

It's in an old building that is still being restored, the elevator was to be replaced but, I gather, still has not been so you would need to climb a few steps to your room. We stayed in the Presidential suite, which according to their website is available in November for €220 a night. Breakfasts were okay but not outstanding. Staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful.

If you would like to experience something of what it must have been like to live in a 16th century Florentine palazzo, this may just be the place for you. If you want fully resored, modern with all conveniences, it's definitely not your choice.

http://paris.hotelinfirenze.com/

Congratulations on your first anniversary. My wife and I will be celebrating our second anniversary on (Canadian) Thanksgiving this year, also in Italy.

It will be our first time in Italy as well, so the only thing I can really recommend is the nice folks at www.sleepinitaly.com. They booked our B&B in Rome, Florence and Venice. Very helpful.

Have fun and happy anniversary!

Bender

here is a link to very comprehensive threads, with more links, all to do with Italy

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34568596

The train from Rome to Venice isn't really an overnight, as the travel time is under 5 hours. You might want to make sure your Venice hotel is expecting you for a late arrival.

Have you already booked your flight?
If not, it would be more efficient to fly into Rome, and home from Venice (even with a change of plane) to skip the backtracking. Alternatively, I'd land in Rome and go straight to Venice (plane or train), then work my way back to Rome (via Florence) on evening trains, and have the last few days uninterrupted in Rome.
By my calculations, that could give you 1.5 days in Venice, 3 days in Florence, and then 4 straight days in Rome. You'll get more accomplished.

I'd skim day(s) from Florence and add to Venice - but that's just me because I adore Venice. As mentioned already, I don't think you can do an overnight train between Rome and Venice because it's only ~5 hour train ride.

Actually I think Venice is more expensive than Rome (generally speaking). For hotel... I loved Pensione La Calcina in Venice and have stayed there twice. On a recent Fodors thread I saw Abbazia Hotel recommended and it looked nice too.
www.lacalcina.com
www.venice-hotel.abbaziahotel.com

We always stay at Santa Chiara in Rome. The location can't be beat and it is in your budget. It is probably the most popular Rome hotel on Fodor's. http://en.venere.com/hotels_rome/pan...ra.html?ref=65

Del Senato is also very popular but maybe a little over buget. Get a room with a Pantheon View!http://www.albergodelsenato.it/ereception.htm

We've stayed at Pension Accademia in Venice and would stay there again. We really liked the location and had the room in the garden and it was very nice. http://www.pensioneaccademia.it/index-e.html
Have a wonderful anniversary. You couldn't pick a better place to celebrate.

Congratulations!

As mentioned already, I'm not exactly sure of the number of days you have allowed or whether you have already booked flights.

The best idea would be to arrive in Rome and fly home from Venice. It would allow you to do everything you wish.

But, if that's not the case I'd recommend the following:

Arrive in Rome
Rent car and drive to Tuscany for 2 nights
(Orivieto, Montepulciano or Siena areas)

Leave car in Florence
Spend 2 nights in Florence

Train to Venice
Spend 2 nights in Venice

Train to Rome
4 nights in Rome

We really liked Florence, but this itinerary would allow you to both, see more of Venice (it's incredible) and do a little touring of Tuscany.

Venice is beautiful. It was everything I had imagined it to be. Would I tell anyone not to spend several nights there? No. But, as far as things to do, places to see, Rome and Florence have it beat hands down, especially Rome. Walk around the square in Venice, tour the church and palace museum, smell the sea air, eat a gellato and you've done the high spots of Venice. I think one night in Venice sufficient. It would be nice if you could start in Rome and end in Venice (or the reverse). As suggested earlier, driving from Rome to Florence would open some lovely opportunities such as Assisi or Siena. Hey, any night spent just about anywhere in Italy should be memorable. Stay in the eurpoean style hotels and save money for the food. Ahh, if there is a bad meal in Italy (logic says there has to be) you may have to really hunt to find it. Maybe overpraise there but I ate really well when I visited Italy. You might look up the hotel Panda in Rome on the internet and see if it works for you. Basic, clean, not expensive for Rome.

This sounds very doable based on my two trips to Italy. We are 35ish and have been to Italy twice in the last three years. We spent, respectively: 7 and 7 days in Rome, 2 and 3 days in Florence, 2 and 3 and Venice. What you will walk away with is a burning desire to at a minimum spend more time back in Italy again, more likely a burning desire to move there.

floy--man, did you miss a lot in Venice! There's a LOT more to see and do there than the Grand Canal and the sights around Piazza San Marco. Travel is expensive and takes a lot of valuable time and energy--it pays to do research before you go to a place so you'll know what it has to offer.

For example:

Author: RufusTFirefly
Date: 03/12/2005, 07:37 pm

A partial list of things to visit, see, and do in Venice:

Piazza San Marco, Basilica San Marco, Campanile, Palace of the Doges, Grand Canal on a vaporetto, Lagoon islands: (Murano, Burano, Torcello), San Michelle, Gondola yard. The Arsenal and the Naval Museum, Corrier Museum, Accademia art museum, Peggy Guggenheim Gallery, numerous art shows and exhibits that are always running, The Ghetto.

Too many churches to list with interesting art and architecture, but...Basilica Santa Mariadella Salute, Basilica dei Frari, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, San Sebastiano, San Pietro di Castello, Santo Giovanni E Paolo, Madonna dell'Orto. Venice's churches have some of Italy's greatest works of art--many free to view by the likes of Tintoretto, Veronese, Titian, Bellini, Vivarini, and Carpaccio.

Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Scuola San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Scuola San Nicolo, Scuola Grande Dei Carmini, Scuole Grande of San Rocco.

Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Ca’ Rezzonico museum, Querini-Stampalia palace/museum, San Giovanni Evangelista, Ponte di Rialto, Rialto market, Ca’ d’Oro, Ca' Pesaro museum, Correr museum, gondola tour of smaller, hidden canals. Opera and concerts at La Fenice. Walking away from the daytripping herds and discovering a quiet, secret city that most tourists have no clue exists.

I disagree that it is better to go to venice for 1.5 days than no to go at all. If you have an interest in venice, make a proper visit...if you don't, then skip it in favour of something else. Actually, anyone visiting Venice outside of the warm months should carefully consider this...not saying that it should not be visited in the autumn/winter...just that you need to know the risks. You do not want to be in venice if it is flooded (as it has recently). I have friends who just returned from there and they were miserable. Luckily it was just a side trip from croatia and so it didn't ruin a large part of their holiday.

for me, staying somewhere for two nights equals only one proper day visiting a place. staying one night somewhere is a waste for me as most of the time is spent traveling, checking-in/settling in, finding your hotel, getting your bearings about town, retrieving left luggage, etc.

Wow! Thank you all for the feedback. My wife and I certainly have a lot more to think about while we make our plans. We have booked our flight already b/c I wanted to use miles - so we are stuck flying in and out of Rome. The idea of heading right out to Tuscany or somewhere close sounds doable. How long of a drive should we expect to have and is dropping a car off in another city a big deal? Thanks again to everyone, I can't beleive how many replies have been posted.

Hello,

Going to Italy for your anniversary sounds wonderful. Congratulations and the best to both of you.

Next March, I am going to Rome for 9 days and I staying at the Hotel Parlamento. I have a friend who has been in Italy several times and has stayed at this hotel at least 3 times. He highly recomended it. According to him, one can walk to almost anywhere in Rome. The website is www.hotelparlamento.it

Have a safe trip.

Concerning the car rental, there will no doubt be a fee for returning it to a different city, but between Rome and Florence it may not be much. Check autoeurope.com for their toll free number and speak to an agent regarding the exact amount as they don't post that with the rental fee.

If the amount is unreasonable, I'd take the bus/train to a town near your accomodation in Tuscany and return it there before going on to Florence.

We did this in Siena and it was convenient as well.