Hi my name is Art. I'm planning our 13th anniversary in November 2018, destination Rome, Venice and Florence. I've been reading comments and realize doing all three will be a strain. Since this is our first time abroad together, I want to surprise her. We both like history, culture, museums, cathedrals, and of course good Italian food. Rome is on my top list but deciding on the other two I need a push. I really don't want to jump from hotel to hotel if possible but I'm flexible to make this trip memorable. Any advise will be helpful, thanks!!!

Welcome to Fodors!

While I understand your desire to include all three of these wonderful destinations in a single trip, I think you are right in think that "doing all three will be a strain." Only you can decide on which combination of two to include (or whether to visit just one), but I'll give you one consideration that perhaps hadn't come to your attention: Of these cities, Rome is the one that is easiest to reach for most international travelers, and therefore the easiest of the 3 to include in a future trip -- so deferring it might make the most sense. Florence and Venice can easily fill the time you have. (I wanted more than that!)

One other thought -- and forgive my temerity here -- are you sure your SO will want to be surprised by a fully planned trip?

I'm sure your trip will be memorable no matter what you choose, and congratulations on your anniversary!

I vote for Florence. She obviously loves Art.

Why not surprise her with the basic plans for the trip, a travel video or Italian dinner or something that ties in, but make the trip for Spring when weather will be nicer and days longer, and let her help with the decision making?

I used to give the same advice about not trying to do too much but then last March I went to Italy with a friend who had never been there and we ended up doing the classic "Rome-Florence-Venice" whirl-wind trip and it was great. I always travel much slower but I have to say, if you want a taste if Italy in a week it can be done. You do need to do research ahead of time (and this forum can help) so you don't waste time though. And are you sure you can't squeeze out at least one more day making the trip 8 or 9 days. You're going through the expense and hassle of getting there and one or two more days will make a difference.

Here's the trip report I wrote on that trip - Italy thru new eyes / Chasing the sun in March

Photos and blog - Zenfolio | Isabel's_View | Italy through Fresh Eyes - Chashing the sun in Italy in March - Part 1 Venice

My trip to Italy was that long and I did all three without feeling rushed. Make a detailed itinerary and see if all three make sense for you. If you have to choose between Venice and Florence, I'd opt for Venice.

You have a good idea tp surprise your wife with an anniversary trip. If you do not want to jump from hotel to hotel a cogent strategy might be to just stay in Roma and maybe take a day trip to Florence. Roma is immense and there is plenty to see and do in a week's time.

You never mentioned if this week includes travel time to and from Italy. if you only have seven days then you are down to five days in country. Generally, arriving in-country and then transiting to your hotel will take a minimum of one half day. so now you are down to 4.5 days in Roma. This does not account for the possible jet lag you may experience. If you add two days making the total nine days you will have a more time in-country.

IMHO, less is more and you can always return. Italy will seduce you and you may well want to return.

Buon viaggio,

I realize this is not travel advice and that it is belaboring the point. Some will think your idea to surprise your wife with this gift is wonderful. Hopefully, you know your wife well enough to be sure she will be pleased, but travel is a big deal. I was at a party once where a husband surprised his wife with tickets for a trip. Everyone was stunned when she was not at all excited, said a polite thank you, and was quiet the rest of the evening. I understand it now. They had also been married several years and still he did not see how she felt with no imput on such a big thing. Because DH loves surprises, it took him years and years to believe I meant it when I said I did not like any surprise bigger than a bouquet of flowers.

Are there kids involved or grand children, or a job or pets, or family events or holidays like Thanksgiving? Will she enjoy the winter time experience and such a short, rushed trip? I would be disappointed to say the least, but perhaps there is none of that for her to consider and she will be absolutely thrilled, so I won't mention it again.

Book trains well in advance to score sweet discounted fares over full price fares but such tickets can sell out early as they are limited in number - book at Acquista il biglietto con le nostre offerte - Trenitalia or www.italotreno.com - competing railways with own trains running on same tracks and using same stations. Italo is much cheaper often on same-day fares. www.seat61.com has didactic info on doing just that; www.budgeteuroetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com has general info on trains.

First, how are you counting "7 day vacation"? And where are coming from? Depending on how you are counting days, the number of cities you can visit changes.
If I assume you are coming from the North America, here are some interpretations.

Interpretation #1: 7 calendar days including departure day = 5 nights in Italy
day 1: leave home
day 2: arrive in Italy
day 3 full day #1
day 4 full day #2
day 5 full day #3
day 6 full day #4
day 7 fly home

Interpretation #2: 7 calendar days in Italy = 6 nights in Italy
day 0: leave home
​​​​​​​day 1: arrive in Italy
day 2 full day #1
day 3 full day #2
day 4 full day #3
day 5 full day #4
day 6 full day #5
day 7 fly home

Interpretation #3: 7 duration days in Italy = 168 hours = 6 nights.
day 1 arrival
day 2 full day #1
day 3 full day #2
day 4 full day #3
day 5 full day #4
day 6 full day #5
day 7 full day #6
day 8 fly home

Interpretation #4: 7 full days in Italy = 8 nights.
day 1 arrival
day 2 full day #1
day 3 full day #2
day 4 full day #3
day 5 full day #4
day 6 full day #5
day 7 full day #6
day 8 full day #7
day 9 fly home

With only 7 days I would do:
Venice/Florence
Florence/Rome
Venice/Rome
OR
only Rome

I would not try to do all 3 cities in only 7 days on the ground.

I would LOVE to take this trip.

I would HATE for it to be a "surprise".

I would agree totally with Suze's last two posts. Unless you are 99.999 percent positive your SO likes surprises, I would let her have input.

Free advice, worth what you are paying: Surprise your wife with the trip ITINERARY but book nothing until she approves. Not only will you be a great guy, but you won't make any irreversible errors.

If you have 7 days including travel, either just do Rome or do Venice then Rome.

Thanks everyone for your input. We're leaving from Tampa, Florida, even though I would want to surprise her with this trip, it's also wise to include her in the planning. She will be just as surprise when I present it to her. We will spend 6 full days there, not counting leaving from (Florida and the arrival day). Much appreciation for all advice, we will use a little bit of all to finalize our trip, especially the websites of transportation and other helpful sites. Now, homework time!! Will consider all three
(Rome, Venice, and Florence, with Rome (Roma) being the front runner, either way, its going to be wonderful. Thanks everyone and if you have more to add, hit me up. Once again THANK YOU!!!

Good choice!

Smart Man!

We now know how my full days you have. If you still insist on three cities, it is now a simple math to come up with just how much time you can have in each city.
If you have 6 full days, you take away 2 full days to move between three cities. That leave 4 full days. If you want at least a full day at each stop, it is now a simple math to realize that one city gets 2 full days while other two gets 1 full day each. Do you still want to hit three cities?
To avoid further wasting time = additional half day backtracking hit, look at an open-jaw itinerary. Into Venice, out of Rome, or into Rome, out of Venice. From many cities, these are not interchangeable. Look closely at arrival and departure times for each scenario. Early morning departure from Venice is more painful than the early morning departure from Rome.
If you insist on three cities, it is impossible to avoid "jump from hotel to hotel ." If you are willing to short change the Renaissance art and architecture, one way to avoid "jump from hotel to hotel" is not to stay overnight in Florence. Leave Venice early, store your luggage at the Florence station and visit Florence as a long transit day trip. Retrieve your luggage and take a late train from Florence to Rome. The fast train to Rome runs until about 10pm.

I really love Florence, there are so many different possibilities on things you can do. Dining, culture, music, lot's of museums. You can also find some very great and famous sculptures throughout the city.

I like your anniversary trip idea and plan a lot!
Go for it!