First off, is it too late to plan a trip to Italy for the Christmas break? Second, if we have 10-14 days where would you go? Two adults and a mature 5 year old daughter, all of our first trips to Italy. What would be the best city to spend Christmas Eve and Day in? Where is the best place to spend New Year's Eve?

Thanks!

It's not too late, but give us more of an idea about you. You chose Italy so you must have some idea of why you want to go there or an inkling of what you'd like to see.

Well, I am half-Italian, so that's the first reason. The other reasons are because we love food and we want to show our daughter the world.

We almost always go to Rome for Christmas, missed last year, but back again this year. 2 years ago we took the whole family, daughter, step-daughter, SIL, 2 grand kids.

Some years we will go down to Naples/Paestum, others up to Milan at the end of the trip.

The DH, DD, 2 teen-aged grandsons and I leave Christmas day for Italy. DH and I have been before (we were there just last October), but it's a first trip for the rest of the family. We've decided to concentrate on two locations. 3 nights in Venice, train to Rome and 5 nights in Rome. We've booked apartments in both cities.

We'll be in Rome for New Year's eve, but I haven't even begun to plan yet. So far, I've only secured the air tickets, apartments and requested a Scavi tour. Can't get train tickets on Trenatalia yet.

My advice would be to consider flying on Christmas day rather than Christmas eve or the day before that (as it seems from your post you are planning to do). We've flown on Christmas before for a few reasons: First, the planes are never full so there's always room to stretch out. Second, we find good rates for Christmas day. For example, we got R/T tickets from Columbus, OH for $502 total (purchased in early June).

Good luck!

So you are interested in food and value the family connection. Do you have any items on a wish list? ("I love art and must see David" or "I must see the Vatican" or "I want to shop") Just looking for some ideas to narrow the possible choices. In 14 days over this holiday period I'd want two or three hotel (or apartment) locations at the most.

I do love to shop and I would like to show our daughter and myself the "highlights" {that are appropriate for her age, of course.} Love art, love architecture. In Rome, if we see the Vatican, great, but it's not a must. Love the water, but since it's December I probably won't waste our time trying to make it to the coast.

There's some amazing art in the Vatican, and I find St Peter's really interesting architecturally. If you love art and architecture, I'd make the Vatican a must - you don't have to be Catholic to appreciate what's there.

That aside, I would check out some guidebooks and see which cities/areas of Italy appeal to you. As ellenem said, two or three locations would probably be the max I'd do, especially with a five-year-old. Since you specifically mention art, I might start with Rome and Florence.

I would spend Christmas Eve & Day in Rome to take advantage of going to mass at the Pantheon or Vatican.

We were in Florence for NY's Eve and it was quite festive. We left Venice just before New Years and it was filling up with people, so I imagine they must have quite a party there too. But Florence was wonderful

Bear in mind that New Year's day is a day off for Italians. It's basically their Thanksgiving. We went to Pisa on NY's day because everything in Florence was closed. The Leaning Tower was open on Jan 1st.

We spent Christmas and Nrw Year in Venice and loved it. Here's the report of our time there:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...st-verbose.cfm

You would do well to stick to an itinerary that is based around using trains, since that time of year can see snow in hilltowns and rural areas. I think Rome is an excellent choice for food lovers although I think you will want to avoid New Year's celebrations there. Venice can be great with small children (no cars, lots of water), but you'll have to work hard to get great food. For an offbeat choice, Bologna is cold, cold, cold, but it has great food and porticoes to protect, a manageable number of interesting sights and no tourists. You might look into a trip that is Rome/Bologna/Venice.

Be aware that the Christmas holidays and New Year's are a time of intense use of public transportation by traveling families. Book train tickets as soon as you hit the ground in Italy, or in advance.