My husband and I are going to Rome for a wedding in September. We only have 5 full days and 3 of them are being spent in Rome. Where in your expert opinions should we spend the other 2 days? My husband has already been to Florence but that seems like the most logical choice (being the closest). He really wants to go to Venice but is that too much wasted travel time? If not, what is the fastest & most scenic way to get there, car or train? Or should we just forget about another city and enjoy Rome?

Thank you in advance for your help!

I don't think it's a particularly scenic ride from Rome to Venice.

By train it's about 6 1/2 hours each way.

I assume you have to get back to Rome.

If you could leave late in the afternoon of your last day in Rome you could get in 1 1/2 days in Venice.

Seems like a lot of running for that short a time.

For a change of pace you might want to try a town in Tuscany.

Even Sorrento in the south is 3 hours or so each way. That may be an idea. Nice town. Still, a day and a half anywhere isn't much.

I'd stay in Rome, maybe do a daytrip or two, which allows you to see other places, without the hassle of moving all your stuff, checking into a new hotel, etc.

Thank you for those ideas, it gives me something to think about!

If we do go to Venice, we would depart from there...

I too would stay put in Rome and do side trips from there with the amount of time you have.

If you can fly out of Venice, I'd definitely go there for the 2 days.

If not, then Rome & Rome.

Since you'll be in Rome, I'd vote for Sorrento and/or Capri. It is much closer than Venice, and it is a magical place. I love Venice as well, but with such abbreviated time, I would definitely choose someplace a little closer, like Sorrento, Capri or even the Amalfi Coast.

There's plenty to do and see in Rome; to me five days isn't enough. If you really want to get out of Rome, I suggest a day trip, such as Pompeii or Tivoli.

Hi melyan, I too would stay in Rome with the time you have. A nice day trip by train would be from Rome to Orvietto, about an hour on the train.
Rome has so much to offer even if you decide to not leave Rome you will have so many sites to see, you won't be bored I am sure. And a wedding to attend in Rome, that will be fun! Enjoy.

My husband and I just spend 8 days in Rome.
We did two day trips by train, one to Florence (one and a half hours ride)
and one to Venice (4 and a half hours)
We thought both were well worth it without the hassle of packing.

Hi M,

> My husband ...really wants to go to Venice. <

So go. It's 4:33 hr.
See www.trenitalia.com.

You might want to fly into Venice and out of Rome.

Just back from a week in Rome, where we spent 5 days last March, too.

I am a restless traveller but I was not bored for a moment in Rome in our.

We walked endlessly, which is very easy in this compact city. But there was still enough to see after our 5 days that we felt we must return this year.

There is more to see in Rome than any other place I have been. Of your three scheduled days in Rome, one of them is going to be taken up with the wedding. You might feel that isn't enough time. On the other hand, there is something to be said for going where your husband really wants to go.

Five days in Rome is nothing, so you should really stay there. Rome is that one and only city in the world where even five months of restless sightseeing could never cover the WHOLE city.

Maybe a day trip to Pompeii. I know many people who have done it as a day tripfrom Rome. We stayed in Amalfi when we did our Pompeii and Ercolano trip.

Rome is an amazing city. There are so many places to explore. We went to Tivoli from Rome as a half day trip.

Do you have the means to go on another European vacation in the next few years that would include Venice? How much regret will he have? I can see either side of this choice.

However, I myself opted against Venice and had a great trip. There are so many great day trips around Rome as well as things to do in the city itself.

If you drove or hired a driver, you could also go to the abbey at Subiaco as well as Tivoli. The Frascati wine regions sounded great. Is your trip early or late in the month? Maybe you want a beach town or the Etruscan ruins near the coast.

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/daytrips.html

http://www.sermoneta.net/castello.htm


Note: The second website I referenced is in Italian. For any websites you find in Italian, open up Google, put the URL (website address) into the search engine. Then when your results come back, don't just open the web page itself. Instead, click the "Translate this page." Google will open your web page in English. The translation is a little iffy at times as it is computer-generated.

Obviously, you could spend all five days in Rome, but I can also understand the desire to see a little more of Italy.

I'd take a day trip to either Orvietto or Spoleto which are both easily reached by train in just over an hour and would be a nice contrast to Rome.

Sure you could spend it all in Rome, but if you husband really wants to go to Venice, that's what I'd do. Book your plane tickets into Rome and out of Venice. A one-way train ride is not that long so I would not consider it "too much wasted travel time" by any stretch.

Melyan: here's a great link for more ideas in Rome:

www.romaturismo.com