7 days in Italy
 

I realize this is probably impossible but the places we'd like to visit are:

Rome
Florence
Venice
Bologna
Pisa (maybe just for a day trip)

How many days do you suggest we spend in each place?
I'd been told that I can do Venice in a day trip from the family I'm currently staying with in Sicily and that it's rather expensive to stay there any longer.

Is there any you'd dismiss or that you'd prefer?
My mom is an art teacher therefore is really interested in seeing mostly art related things.

Also, what's the best or quickest way to get from place to place?

What time of year will you be traveling? Will you be taking trains only? Have you been elsewhere in Italy before (besides Sicily)?

I wouldn't do Venice as a day trip. In fact, I think an overnight stay -- at least one overnight -- is necessary to really get a feel for this city. There are too many daytrippers during the day. Lodging IS a bit expensive in Venice. Give us your budget per night and maybe we can help. Any art-lover would love Venice.

And Florence is a necessity for an art-lover. With only 7 days I'd drop Pisa and Bologna.

How many days you allot to these places depends on you. I'd fly into Venice and out of Rome, to save time backtracking.

This will be in April. from the 18th-25th

This will be in April. from the 18th-25th.

I haven't been to the mainland yet, but I've been in Sicily for two months and have traveled and will continue to travel all over the island until then. I'm not sure how the train, bus, and other transportation systems differ in Italy. Any ideas?

I am not speaking from experience, but from my own trip planning I am currently working on.

I think that you could do all in 7 days, but may not get to see all you should if you plan to do all these places.

You could easily base yourself in Bologna and take day trips to Venice, Pisa and Florence (may need 2 days). Depending on what time you arrive in Bologna, if it was early enough, you could spend that first day seeing the sights of Bologna. I think Rome really requires at least 3 days, and you could finish your last 3 days there and stay in Rome.

It's a bit of a whirlwind trip, but hopefully you would get to see quite alot!

As far as travel, my research is telling me.....DO NOT RENT A CAR! There are too many zones you are not allowed to drive in in many of the cities, you can't drive into Venice, and the cost is not better than the train.
The train is very inexpensive in Italy and you can get between most of the major cities between 2-4 hours. Check out these websites for information: www.eurorailways.com (for time tables between cities) and www.trenitalia.com for fares.

Hope some of this info is helpful!

Train system is very good. I'd drop bologna, pisa. I would put siena in but not with you time table.

Start with trenitalia.it and log on, this allows you to make more sense of the website which is famously a bit odd to use. Venice, Florence and Rome are all on the same line (the silverarrow is the train that joins them all).
Buying train tickets is easy and con be done online and pick them up at the ticket machines when you want them

Thanks for the inquiries, everyone. I am very familiar with the the trenitalia site, I've been in Sicily for two months!

I would put Rome at the beginning because of the holidays. You really only have time for a couple of cities with only 7 days. You don't want to spend all your time on trains instead of sightseeing. With it being Easter week, you are going to run into crowds and closings.