Hi all. I am 'another' italian honeymooner and am trying to plan for the first week in november. We have 7 days (6 nights) and want to choose 2 locations. Question: Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, or Tuscany (Sienna)? Which two would be best for never having been to italy before? Thanks!

Florence, with one day trip to Siena, followed by three nights in Venice.

But of course, it all boils down to what is your motivation to want to go to Italy in the first place? My answers reflect logistics, my own familiarity, and perhaps... "mainstream" preferences.

Others might have put destinations further south higher on the list - - in November.

Whatever your choices, congratulations on your new life together in marriage... and...

Best wishes,

Rex

kd04-

First of all, congratulations on your new marriage!

For honeymoon, definitely Venice for the romance (but I am not sure if it gets flooded in November). With only 7 days, I would choose Venice + Florence. I don't think you will enjoy CT much with Nov weather, and to tour Tuscany, you'll need more time than 7 days.

If you are an art lover, I'd say definitely Florence. I agree with being in Venice for romance.

I go with Rex's suggestion.

Venice also has a lot of great art, not to mention fascinating architecture.

Another vote for Rex's suggestion. I don't think I would want to stay in only one city on a first visit. Siena is an easy day trip from Florence; Florence will give you great art and, of course, so will Venice, but Venice will also add romance.

The Cinque Terre is absolutely spectacular, but not in November. It will very likely be cold and stormy and you may not even be able to hike the trails between the villages.
November is also the "flooding season" for Venice but it's really not bad at all, in fact it is a very fun experience walking on the wooden benches around St. Mark's Square!! It won't prevent you from experiencing all Venice has to offer, that's for sure ;-)
So... maybe somewhere in Tuscany for half the trip and then Venice for the last 3 nights?
(we stayed in Venice for 4 nights on our honeymoon this past June - magical...)

I vote for 2-3 nights in Venice and then 3-4 nights somewhere in Tuscany. You could daytrip into Florence for a day and still see some of the quaint hilltowns and villages. We did a June/July honeymoon, starting out in Venice, then on to Tuscany, then to Positano, and finishing in Rome. It was all fabulous, but Tuscany was the place that most captured our hearts.

Venice and Siena are very romantic places for a couple to spend the night...to spend several nights...We were there in June, so I can't tell you how the weather will affect you in November, but I do know our gondolier in Venice told us that Venice floods in the winter...when is the winter in Venice?

A very romantic hotel in Siena is the Palazzo Ravizza...get a room with a garden view...I saw a lot of couples falling in love all over again in the garden of the Palazzo Ravizza...From our room on one of the upper floors we could see down into the garden, then out over the walls of Siena, and into the stunning hills of Tuscany. Soooo romantic. No day-trip to Siena can equal the experience of throwing open your shutters in the evening and in the morning and having this glorious view just stunning your senses and putting you in the mood for romance! The Palazzo Ravizza is within the walls of Siena, by the way, and a short walk from another hotel called the Hotel Duomo.

We also were in Florence and Rome, and Sorrento. Had hotels in these 3 cities as well. Personally, I didn't find Florence romantic...I found it crowded, smoggy, trafficky, and annoying...but again, this was in June. I found Siena far more romantic than Florence.

Rome was both romantic and exciting. We stayed at the Hotel Nazionale a Montecitorio on Piazza Montecitorio near the Pantheon. Very central location, lots of great walks at night. Walked to the Trevi fountain and the spanish steps and Piazza navona.

Have a wonderfully romantic honeymoon.

I think you will need to research the weather in November, and that might help with your decision. As I said, we were there in JUne.