shannon

I will be in rome for 4 days and would love to do a day trip to florence. It appears to be about 2 hours by train though. Anyone attempted this? I know a day is not enough but I want to pack in as much as I can. Any tips?

Alice Twain

Do not do it. One day in Florence is far too little time and four days in ROme are far too little time too.

gac

Alice is right. Nevertheless, if you still want to do it, I suggest taking the very first morning Eurostar train to Florence, and return on an evening Eurostar. Travel time is 95 minutes in each direction. Chech schedules and fares at www.trenitalia.com

Tom

You know what you want to do so much better than someone else. I'd say go fo rit. Make sure and get reservations to the Uffizi and Accademia, of course.<BR><BR>My first visit to Florence was a &quot;day trip&quot; from a villa less than sixty miles away, and I had a fantastic day. And you will be able to get into and out of the city faster and easier on your 95 minute train ride than I could in one third the distance, shackled with a car.<BR><BR>I've been back to Florence since for a two night stay, and I actualyl went back to most of the same leading attractions and enjoyed them even more than the first time. Plus new places of course. Knowing where the train station is, and how comfortable the Eurostar connection is, I think you can make a great visit to Florence. You can spend as little as 4 hours, or as much 12 hours there, and not regret for a minute that you subtracted one day away from Rome to do it.<BR>

coachboy

It's about 90 minutes each way, by high speedtrain. <BR><BR>If you leave say at 7:00 am and go back after dinner, around 10ish, I think you'll have a great time.<BR><BR>Don't listen to those people who say one day is too little. Often the most memorable experiences are those with some urgency and spontenaity. (sp?)<BR><BR>Just don't try and do EVERYTHING in one day. Go to the uffizi, walk around, see some churches, do some shopping, eat.<BR><BR>Ciao<BR><BR>Coachboy

Alice Twain

coachboy:<BR><BR>I will not dispute about urgency, but you can't have nay spontaneity in a one day visit to Florence, you just do not have time for beeing spontaneous! You speed from one &quot;must see&quot; and the next and en up with seeing nothing at all. It would be much better to buy a big photo book of Florence, at least you would see the same small amounts of &quot;must sees&quot; (usually a bunch of tourist traps) but you will be able to do so with less crowd in front of you and more time to &quot;study&quot; what are seeing. Spontaneity takes time to be turned into action, you need the time to explore, to get lost, to forget about the world; and you can't forget about the world if you have to take the last train back to Rome.

RAE

Shannon, <BR>It's your vacation, so don't listen to those saying don't go. If this is the time you have, it's the time you have. In terms of tips, the train station in Florence is just a short walk to the Doumo, so you won't waste much time in transit, once there.<BR><BR>If you are planning on seeing either/both the Accademia museum and the Uffizi, you might want to consider having a reserved time. This will help you avoid waiting in line. I'm sure the conceirge at your hotel in Rome can help with this.<BR><BR>For lunch, I'd highly recommend La Moussacce (sp.?) restuarant. It's just down the street from the back of the Doumo. Get food, reasonable prices, communal tables and a good mix of locals and tourists. <BR><BR>Have fun.<BR><BR>

Ken Slanker

A one day trip to Florence is great. Hour and a half going; same coming back.<BR>Get there early, come back about 8/8:30. One of the other posters said get reservations for &quot;the David&quot; and Uffizi in advance (avoids standing in long line).<BR><BR>We did it! Loved it! Also go to Ste. Croce. Coffee on the train going; drinks coming back. Great trip.

Vita

I did a day trip to Florence from Rome but I had been to Florence before. All I did this time was visit the Duomo, Santa Croce, go to Piazzale Michelangelo, walk around, and eat. I didn't try to go back to the Accademia or Uffizi galleries. It depends on what you want to see. I love Florence, but there's also plenty to do in Rome for 4 days.