I have a group of six first timers planning a trip to Italy. We are all in our mid to late 20's and want to see what Italy has to offer.

Any suggestions on where we should stay? We are traveling in either July or September for ten days...what cities should we stay in or places we need to make sure and see?

Rome is generally considered a "must see" if you are going to Italy for the first time. With only ten days and six people, I would pick two places max. Either Rome and Florence, Rome and Venice, or Rome and Amalfi Coast-Capri.

"...want to see what Italy has to offer. "

Just too general a question. Do some research and come back with questions.
Rome, Venice ,Florence, Siena, the Umbrian and Tuscany hill towns, the Piedmonte, the Lakes area, CXinque Terre, Capri...
With only 10 days, you can't see it all,so start elliminating and then please come back.

Hi F,

Time to go to the library and get some travel guides.

You can also look up Italy under "destinations".

There are no "must-sees" anywhere. What interests you is dependent on what sort of person you are.

I think you should take ira's advice -- get some ideas from guidebooks or online resources. Then if you need help with working through those ideas (for example, developing a workable itinerary) come back with questions.

Ok everyone is right about different preferences etc but generally must see's for Italy are Rome, Florence and Venice.
Of course Italy is so beautiful that there are lots and lots of places where you could go.
But as a first timer, i would suggest Rome and Florence. (or Rome and Venice)

Rent some travel videos of the country. Italy has such a range of large and small cities, beautiful country side (Tuscany), and mountains. It's like asking "what can I see and do in California"..

Ahem... sorry, but I'd expect people who are planning a trip to Italy to have heard of Rome, Florence and Venice.

With 1o days I would recommend Rome and Florence with an inbetween stop in one of the small villages in Tuscany or Umbria (Pienza, Orvieto?).

As for when to go -- I'd pick September hands down.
July will be beastly hot, and many of the places will be wall-to-wall tourists. (For example, Florence.) You won't really like it as much as you should.

September, after school starts, will be cooler and less crowded. Of course, sometimes they get some heavy rains late in the month. But 10 days iin the middle of the month would probably be fine.

Charnee

As first-timers to Italy, I would say that you should absolutely commit to travel by train.

I agree with the previous posters who said that you should go in September and you should focus on Venice, Florence and Rome. If you choose only two of those three cities, however, I would suggest that you choose Venice as one of the two cities. Florence and Rome are both great cities, but Venice with its setting and its canals and pedestrian stone pathways is truly in a destination category all by itself.

If you fly to Milan, a great place to stay en route to Venice is Verona. You take the train from Milan to Verona, spend the night there, and then take the train the next day to Venice. The historic part of Verona is charming.

Once you have chosen one or two other major destinations, you can plot your train journey on a map and get off and on at smaller cities and towns along the way depending on the interests of the group.

To get from Milan to Rome, there is an express train as opposed to the local train that makes many stops.

I agree that the Amalfi coast is an awesome destination, but I'd suggest that you save it for a later trip because you really need a car for the Amalfi coast.

You'll have a great time wherever you go!

My vote would definitely be Rome and Venice. Travel by Eurostar. Florence is nice and has a lot to offer but Venice is incredible and not to be missed. JMHO.