FIrst time to Italy
Jun 12th, 2008 | 09:47 AM
#21
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 240
Likes: 0
Have your sons do some of the planning from cultural & journalists websites such as www.elegantetruria.com which has tips for younger travelers, unique musueums,food, and www.wantedinrome.com to get a feel for the city.
Rome will then mean more to them and they probably will want to stay there..with maybe an outing to Tivoli, Orvieto,Ostia Antica or Viterbo.
Rome will then mean more to them and they probably will want to stay there..with maybe an outing to Tivoli, Orvieto,Ostia Antica or Viterbo.
Jun 13th, 2008 | 07:03 AM
#23
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,265
Likes: 0
<<I didn't know that you could do a day trip in Florence on the way to Rome.>>
Some people wouldn't recommend it, but it worked for our situation. My niece had no preconceived notions about what to do or see. This quick look at Florence would not be everyone's choice, but my niece wanted to see as much of Italy as possible, yet not go crazy checking off sights. Since I know Florence well, it was easy for me to lead us around and make careful choices about what to do or see.
Our day from Venice to Rome:
We left Venice on a train at about 8:30AM. The trip to Florence is about three hours, so we arrived at about 11:30AM, just enough time to check our bags at the train station, stroll a little, and then have lunch at a favorite restaurant.
After lunch we visited the Duomo and Baptistery, strolled through the center past the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi, crossed the Ponte Vecchio, strolled some more. My niece all of a sudden got interested in seeing David, so we headed to the Accademia. The line was long, but, since she wanted to, we stood in the line for a while. After 30 minutes we estimated how fast it wasn't moving and gave up. We visited the San Lorenzo cloister and then spent a bit of time shopping the outdoor markets there. Add in a gelato break.
We caught a train to Rome around 5PM. The trip is 90 minutes, so this would get us to our hotel on time. We could have gotten an even later train to Rome, but we had specific check-in times at our hotel.
Some people wouldn't recommend it, but it worked for our situation. My niece had no preconceived notions about what to do or see. This quick look at Florence would not be everyone's choice, but my niece wanted to see as much of Italy as possible, yet not go crazy checking off sights. Since I know Florence well, it was easy for me to lead us around and make careful choices about what to do or see.
Our day from Venice to Rome:
We left Venice on a train at about 8:30AM. The trip to Florence is about three hours, so we arrived at about 11:30AM, just enough time to check our bags at the train station, stroll a little, and then have lunch at a favorite restaurant.
After lunch we visited the Duomo and Baptistery, strolled through the center past the Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi, crossed the Ponte Vecchio, strolled some more. My niece all of a sudden got interested in seeing David, so we headed to the Accademia. The line was long, but, since she wanted to, we stood in the line for a while. After 30 minutes we estimated how fast it wasn't moving and gave up. We visited the San Lorenzo cloister and then spent a bit of time shopping the outdoor markets there. Add in a gelato break.
We caught a train to Rome around 5PM. The trip is 90 minutes, so this would get us to our hotel on time. We could have gotten an even later train to Rome, but we had specific check-in times at our hotel.
