I am in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Italy and have made a first pass at an itinerary. Please let me know what you think - adjustments based on logistics, alternative places to visit, whatever input you have is greatly appreciated.

The trip will be next year in the summer (due to my school schedule), and it will be just my husband and I - we are early 30s, interested in the outdoors, history, architecture, culture, a bit of shopping, good food, casual places, music, low key night life, relaxation, hiking and wandering around, and photography. We want to balance sightseeing and relaxation so that we see some good stuff, but aren't so rushed that we can't get a feel for the places we visit.

Day 1: Arrive in Rome

Days 2-4: In Rome - visiting Capitoline Hill, the Collossium, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Vatican, Pantheon.

Day 5: Train to Venice

Days 6-8: In Venice - visit Piazza San Marcos, Rialto Bridge, cruise the Grand Canal, explore the neighborhoods, take a gondola ride, visit Murano, Burano, and Torccello.

Day 9: Train to Cinque Terre

Days 10 and 11: In Cinque Terra, basing ourselves in one town, planning to visit the others. Plan - hang out by the beach, swim, hike some of the trails, take the train to visit the different towns.

Day 12: Train to Florence, stopping for a few hours in Pisa.

Day 13: In Florence - I am sort of overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to decide what to do in Florence. Our time is so short here.

Day 14: Fly home from Florence

Hi J! Good to see you here on the Europe side.

I think you have a great start! Have you considered flying out of Venice, though, so you don't have to backtrack? Maybe Rome-Florence-Cinque Terre-Venice? Or, if you're trying to break up the intensity of Rome and Florence, you could substitute a small Tuscan hilltown (Pienza, Montalcino, etc) for Cinque Terre. Rural Tuscany is just as picturesque, there's still great hiking, and it may not be as crowded. Of course you won't have the swimming, but you live in CA, right?

Have fun planning and I'm sure you'll have a great time.

I guess I would cut out the trip to Cinque Terre and add the time to Florence. I realize that this doesn't leave you with much time for relaxation but it is a shame to limit your visit to Florence to one day. At the very least, if you go to Cinque Terre, I would plan to leave as early on day 12 as possible and not stop at Pisa. I think if you search this forum for views on Pisa you will find that most do not think it worth taking time from other wonderful sights. Otherwise, your itinerary sounds about right for a quick 14-day overview of major Italy destinations.

Sounds great, but agree you should blow off Pisa. You can see it when you return to Italy...and you will return.

Depending on what time you get to CT, you might just want to do two nights and a full day, which would give you an extra day in Florence for a more relaxing end to your trip. Have fun.

I agree--end in Venice if you can and try hard to get the Delta flight at noon--many of the connecting flights leave at 0700 or earlier. Too much travel time with your current itinerary. The trip to CT will eat time from venice. I see this as a 4-3-2-4 itinerary--starting in Rome and ending in Venice.

You may want to consider travelling in the evening by eurostar to Venice so as to allow the days to be spent productively in each location.

Enjoy the planning - I'm finding that not only is it more enjoyable, if possible, than the trip itself, but it lasts much longer, as well.

When I was looking, I found a lot of flights at Rome, Venice, and Pisa, but few at Florence.

I also think you are squeezing quite a lot into your two weeks, so I would eliminate a few of your stops. CT first comes to mind, as it does not seem to satisfy as many of your interests as the other stops.

My suggestion would be to fly into Venice, then take a train to Florence, then take a train to Rome, and fly home from there. Pisa is an easy day trip from Florence, so you could certainly see that if you want. I would keep Pisa as a possible site; you may find so much to interest you in Florence that you won't want to take the time to see Pisa.

Florence is a very small city in beautiful hilly terrain, and I think you could do your hiking there (you will do a lot of walking in any of these destinations).

The only reason I suggest Venice Florence Rome instead of Rome Florence Venice is that a lot of departing flights leave Venice very early in the morning, and a lot of people get concerned about getting to the airport in time, although the Alilaguna boat has worked for us.

Enjoy your trip.

Enjoy your trip.

I agree that you should out CT and spend more time in Florence. I would do Venice-Florence-Rome in that order as Venice is much more low ke and would be a good introduction to your trip. Rome is a big city and I love it but I usually end my trips there instead of starting them there.

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I'd cut a day from Rome and cut a day from Cinque Terre and add it to Florence with a day trip to the Tuscan countryside. Agree with the others on starting in Venice. Maybe something like this:

1: Arrive in Venice
2-3: Venice
4: Train to Florence
5-7: Florence, including daytrip - not to Pisa but to Siena or another Tuscan town!
8: Train to Cinque Terre
9: Cinque Terre
10: Train to Rome
11-13: Rome
14: fly home

Thanks for all the responses so far. I hadn't thought of starting in Venice, but it make sense. And since it seems a lot more low key than Rome, if we have any jet lag to overcome, it seems like a more laid back place to do it.

If I were to cut out CT and do Venice, Florence, and Rome, then we would be in the cities almost the entire time, except for a possible day trip out of Florence. This doesn't seem like the right balance to me, but I have never been, so I am not sure. How urban is Florence?

For day trips out of Florence, how is the transportation? Would we be better off to rent a car or are their trains?

Jocelyn - I do live in California, but I don't swim in the ocean here - I did a lot when I was a kid, but the water is cold and rough, which I don't really enjoy anymore The Tuscan hills are a tempting idea though.

I would be reluctant to rent a car in Florence. First, it is a very small city, but there is a lot of traffic, and I would call it creative. I would not want to participate in that game. Further, you would almost certainly have to pay to park the car, adding to your costs.

Public transportation, particularly in Italy, Switzerland, and France, is far superior to what we have in the US, and you can get anywhere on a train or bus, not to mention taxis.

Because Florence is compact, it is very easy to get into the "country" environment. In fact, a commonly recommended activity is to take the bus to Fiesole (spelling not warranteed) to see the ruins and enjoy drinks and dinner with a view over Florence and environs. It is a short bus ride; it took me longer to find the bus than to ride it.

Do not limit yourself to the big 3--you want to see rural Italy as well. I think the CT is very doable, just not from Venice. Start at either end, but do the CT after Florence.

J--Florence is a zoo in the summer. Traffic packed, noisy, polluted, hot and humid (one of the hottest areas of Italy due to its particular microclimate), crowded. Most of the popular tourist sights are in a relatively small area in the center of the city, so it is quite congested.

If you're a huge Renaissance art and architecture fan, you won't mind so much. If not, it's still Italy.