I am flying to Rome in early April and spending two nights there and then heading to Florence to see my daughter who is studying there. I will be in Florence from Sunday night til Thursday. Is it possible to visit Assisi for a day trip from Florence? My second weekend there I would like to go to Venice and my daughter would like to see Cinque Terre. Is that too much traveling for a 3 day time period? We would leave Florence on Thursday night and return there on Sunday. Can I take my itinerary day by day in Florence or should I book the sites I want to see in advance. There's a lot of discussion about avoiding queues by purchasing tickets in advance. Thanks for your help. This is my first time in Italy.

Hi vsjoanie, just to clarify, when you leave Florence on the Thursday night and return on the Sunday, are you hoping to go to Venice AND Cinque Terre in that time frame?
They are in opposite directions, I don't think this is possible. Just pick one, and if it were me, it would be Venice.

As to your questions about buying tickets in advance, with such a short trip I would. Do you want to waste ANY of your precious time in Italy standing in a huge queue? I know some people have been lucky going late in the day or early in the day or at lunch time but I wouldn't count on it. Italy is a very popular destination and Florence in particular is jam packed with other tourists.

Assissi is about a two to two and a half hour train ride from Florence..each way which seems like a lot of travelling for a day trip when there is so much to see in Florence itself.

Have fun and watch out...Italy becomes addicting!

There are early trains from Florence to Assisi, but the total travel time is 3 or more hours each way because it's not just the train ride. You have to also ride the bus between the Assisi train station and the town.

The 3-day trip to both Venice and the CT would involve a lot of train sitting and not much time to see either destination. I would pick one destination or the other, but you decide. Check the train timetables to see which order maximizes your time best.

http://www.fsitaliane.com/homepage_en.html

Forgot your other question about pre-purchasing tickets. I assume you mean the Uffizi, Accademia, etc....

I would do it. Or, rather, I'd ask your daughter to do it. You're only in Florence a couple of days, and you don't want to spend lots of time standing in lines.

And, BTW, the little CT/Venice trip would involve at least 12 hours on trains.

Thanks so much for your feedback. We will definitely get our tickets in advance. I think we'll focus our weekend in Venice and I'll just have to plan another trip to Italy to see Cinque Terre and Assisi and so much more.