My wife and I are taking our first trip to Italy in June and needed some help and suggestions on the best way to spend the trip. June 7-20
We are flying into- Rome 4 nights
Travelling to Florence for 3 nights

Our final two nights in Venice and a 2:00pm flight out of Venice.

We have 3 nights between Florence and Venice to plan.
Two areas we would like to see in addition to the above is some of the Tuscany wine country and the Cinque Terre region.

So the question, what would you do with your 3 days if this was your first trip?
Would you spend any extra time in one of the primary cities?
Sienna? Other areas of Tuscany? Cinque Terre?

Also , with the time we have we were planning on taking high speed trains between the major cities. Is that also what you would advise.
Thanks for any and all help.

I took a train from Florence to Rome last March. Took about 2:50 and was fantastic.

I suggest you check out the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. A bridge spared by Hitler's army during WW2. Beautiful. Also Michaelangelo's David,Il Duomo, museums, gelato etc.

Rome is great as well...Trevi Fountain,Colosseum,Pantheon,Galleria Borghese to name a few.

Check with www.nomadicandy.blogspot.com for more information, as he has traveled Italy many times. enjoy.

I'd choose Cinque Terre *or* Tuscany.

Cinque Terre take longer to get to but are well connected by train and/or boat.

Tuscany is lovely (and very different from Cinque Terre), but if you only have three days, you'd have to rent a car to fully enjoy it.

Definitely travel between major cities by train.

You are going to LOVE Italy! IMO three destinations is plenty for a two week trip. I would add a day to Rome and two days to Venice. There is so much to see and do in both of those cities. You can do a day trip or two from Florence into the Tuscan countryside / wine country. You can rent a car for a day or hire a guide (which is a lot fun if you can fit it into your budget.) There are a lot of wonderful hill towns in southern Tuscany. And many, many places to enjoy the local wine.

>>what would you do with your 3 days if this was your first trip?<<

I'd rent a car upon leaving Rome and spend the 3 days taking in the lovely Tuscan countryside. I'd turn the car in in Florence.

Therefore the 3 days would fit between Rome and Florence, not between Florence and Venice.

I agree with Tuck in destinations, but I would do it a bit differently--something like this:
Arrive FCO--4 nites in Rome
Train to Florence---2 nites, but not Mondays
Get car--drive to Tuscany base---3 nites
Drive to Venice--drop car---3 nites

Almost the same, but you do not have to drop the car and train to Venice the same day. That is a good first trip to Italy. Plan for 2 and 3 now since you will return. We head back for our 15th in Sep. Have fun !

Let me say first that june is a fantastic month for a trip to Italy. You can choose every location you like, be sure it is the best time to go there.
Train is the best transport, except for the route between Rome and Florence: renting a car you could have the chance to make the trip in 2-3 days, enjoing the beautiful landscape and stopping in Siena and in some other medieval cities in northern Lazio, Umbria and Tuscany (Bolsena, Orvieto, Montepulciano, San Gimignano...).
Another chance is making one or more stops between Florence and Venice. The railway line gets trough interesting town as Bologna, Ferrara and Padova.
Cinque Terre is another fantastic choice, especially if you like hiking. It's a little off-the-track if you have to go to Venice after Florence.

hi, morrowd

I'm with bob here. it gives you a nice mix of town and country. But if you could bare it, I'd drop Florence and do 5 nights in Rome, 5 in the tuscan contryside, then 4 in Venice. believe me, once you've been in Florence for a day or two, you wont' remember what painting you saw where. if you give your brain a rest with a spot of R & R, you'll enjoy what you do see so much more.

italy will still be there.

regards, ann

Thank you all for these great options. So, what I'm hearing is to possibly leave the Cinque Terre for a future trip and stay on course doing the major cities and the wine country. That looks to make for a relaxing trip. Thanks again.
Any new ideas are welcomed as well.

CT is nice but worth taking on a future trip if it means taking you too far out of your way. Italy is about relaxation. Definitely enjoy the vineyards!

If it was me I would stick with just the major cities adding a day to each location. From Florence I would do a daytrip to some locations in Tuscany, Siena being my first recommendation. If you really wanted to spend more time in Tuscany then I would do annhig's suggestion of dropping Florence and spending those days in the Tuscan countryside. With only 13 nights I would limit myself to 3 locations. You don't want to move around too much - sit back and enjoy.

Bob's idea is great. Add at least one night to Venice. Take a day from Florence for Tuscany.

morrowd,

I completely agree with Bob. That's a very nice trip, giving you a nice break between the major cities. I also agree on the use of days. 2 days in Florence is fine for starters.

Remember, you must have gellato at least once a day!

Buon viaggio

I agree with Bob, but would spend only 2 nights in Venice. Spend more time in Tuscany and Rome. Florence only needs 2 nights as well.

Hi M,

I would add 2 nights to Venice and 1 to Florence.