We are planning on spending 3 days in Rome, 2 in Florence and 2 days in Venice, and then going north to Austria... Will having a car in Rome be more of a hassle? How is parking, parking fees, etc in Rome?

Thanks
Renee

I think so! All of the major sites in Rome is within walking distance. Any reason why you need to have a car?

Drove in Italy, but I would definately advise picking up your car outside Rome center and doing the tourist area by subway and bus. Last time we visited Rome then went back to the airport and picked up a rental car and headed north. One time drove to the Cinecitta area of Rome and rented a hotel room with an underground parking lot, then took the subway to the center, but that was just an additional bother and we were
not able to just walk around at night in the beautiful areas in the tourist section.

Reneey, you definitely don't need a car to see Rome, Florence, and Venice. (In fact you can't drive in Venice anyway as you know!) Rome and Florence are old cities with narrow roads and driving and parking within the city is crazy, you definitely want to avoid it.

If you choose your hotels carefully, choosing hotels with nice central locations, you can walk to many sights. If you get tired you can take the public bus, which is cheap. Taxis within the city of rome aren't too bad if you get them from the official taxi stands...we paid about 5 euros for 4 people to get a taxi between the Vatican Museums and our hotel (Hotel Nazionale a Montecitorio on Piazza Montecitorio, rome.) By the way this hotel is very central, a great hotel! Other hotels near the Pantheon in rome are also very well-located.

Florence is more compact than Rome, and we walked everywhere in florence, didn't take any buses.

You might also consider choosing to see just Rome and Venice, or Rome and florence. 3 days is barely enough time for rome, and 2 days aren't enough for florence and Venice.

Take the train between Rome, florence, and Venice. It's great and relaxing! We took the Eurostar which comes with seat reservations. There's a pleasant dining car on board also, though don't leave your luggage unattended if you go to the dining car. We took turns going to the dining car.

Agree with Melissajoy. Keep car use to minimum, stick with train if possible.

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Are you planning on seeing any small towns in Italy or just the cities? With the number of days you mention you don't really have time. Therefore, I'd agree to not have a car at all in Italy. You most definitly do not want one IN any of those cities, and parking costs will add to the already high cost of renting a car in Italy. Wait till you get to Austria if you need a car for that part of the trip. I love having a car on trips, and driving in Italy is fun. But if I was just doing cities I would skip it. It won't save you any money over trains in Italy.

However, if you do insist on renting a car, I suggest you do it in Orvieto, which is about an hour north of Rome. Rome and London are the only cities I will NOT drive in.

From your schedule it looks like you are starting in Rome and heading north.Not sure what your total trip looks like, but your "straight line" will give you a snapshot of some of Italy.
I think all will agree that you should not pick up car until you are leaving Rome.
Most will recommend that you don't pick up the car until leaving Venice.This is especially true if you plan to "autostrada it" from city to city.
If you plan on a couple Tuscany small town stops on your way from Rome, you really will need a car.
While I'm in agreement that it looks like you are not giving each location enough time,you didn't ask our advice about that.

Thanks everyone. Based on your recommendations, we have decided to take the train between cities and pick up the rental car in Venice.

Thanks,
Renee

Hi Renee,

Are you planning on picking up a car in Italy and dropping it in Austria? There is usually a hefty charge for international dropoff.

If you are going to Vienna, there is a very nice train ride over the mountains.
Departs Venice SL at 13:18 and arrives Vienna Sudbahnhof 21:02.

Good point ira. If they are planning on leaving it in some countries the cost can be prohibitive.