We are just back from 10 days in Rome, Florence and Venice and have recommendations. In Rome, we stayed at the Albergo del Senato which is right next to the Pantheon. It was a wonderful hotel! Every morning, we walked out our hotel front door to see the Pantheon. We did not have any problems with the hotel being noisy but we also did not have a room that faced the Pantheon. The room was very big, nice, and clean and the front desk staff was very helpful. In Florence we stayed at the Hotel Balestri on the Arno River. We had a big room with a view of the Arno which was very nice. In Venice we stayed at Hotel Campiello. This hotel was a little smaller but still very nice and clean. All 3 hotels were in great locations and made it easy to walk anyplace in the cities. I was concerned with pickpockets before we went, but we did not have a single problem. I think that was partly due to the fact that we were there the last 10 days in April which is before the BIG travel season. I was also concerned with how to do the train travel between the cities but that was also easy. We bought our tickets in Italy at the train stations. They have automated booths that you can use to purchase your tickets without even having to talk to anyone. The booths were excellent! The weather was perfect in April for Italy. It was not warm enough for shorts but it was never too cold. We used the travel books to plan our trip and paid for one tour through the company In Italy for a tour of Florence. I highly recommend the tours that In Italy offered if you are short on time. They limit the size of the group to only 6 people and the tour guide is Italian. We ended up with our own personal tour guide in Florence! It was a wonderful vacation!

Cecilie, <BR>Welcome back, I am so glad you had a nice trip. Where did you eat???

In Venice, I can highly recommend the Al Covo restaurant. Florence, Harry's Bar. In Rome, we ate at Rosa Rosa, Estruscan and several places near the Pantheon. We could not get bad food in Rome and we would just stop at little cafes and bars. I did not think the food was as good in Florence.

Cecilie, I just got back from Italy, too, but I was in the north. Since I plan to return as soon as feasible, could you tell me what the rates were for the hotels you recommended? They sound good, but I know it's not hard to find a good hotel if you are willing to pay the earth, and most of the time I am not. Except for Venice, I'd want to pay around the $100/night range if possible. Ciao, kk

We paid around $125 for our hotel in Venice and around $175 for our hotels in Florence and Rome. It was a little pricey but the service, location and atmosphere were worth every penny.

To the tip top

Thanx Cecilie for all the hotel info. Going to all the places you did in August.