<BR>My mother and I are planning a one-week trip to Italy in late April or early May. There is only one slight problem...we cannot decide where to start. <BR><BR>Should we spend the entire week in Rome, or stay in Rome for a few days and then go on to Venice? I have also heard that Florence, Milan and the Amalfi Coast are wonderful. <BR><BR>Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated!

If you have only one week, I'd suggest using Florence as a base to see Florence itself and some of the nearby large and small towns and countryside. a week is much too short oa time to cover a lot of territory. I would not include Milan on such a very short first trip.

Hi Melissa,<BR> Yes, Yes, Yes, yes and yes.<BR><BR> We need more information. <BR><BR> I gather that this is your first trip to Italy, you will have to study up some more on what each place has to offer and how it might fit in with what you like to do.<BR><BR> I suggest that you limit yourself to one home base and do day trips from there.

Italy is way too big with too many diverse five star attractions to see in one week. I'd focus on just two cities or areas instead of running all over the place and turning the trip in to a blur and a packing/unpacking nightmare.<BR><BR>Here are some options for 7 days (not including arrival and departure days)&quot;<BR><BR>- fly in and out of Rome and see Rome and the Amalfi Coast<BR><BR>- fly in and out of Milan and see the Lake Como, Milan and Florence.<BR><BR>- Fly in and out of Milan and see Florence and Tuscany.<BR><BR>- Fly in and out of Venice and see Venice, Vicenza, Verona and Pradua.<BR><BR>- fly into Rome and out of Venice (or reverse) to see those two <BR><BR>- Fly in to Venice and out of Milan to see Venice, Milan and Florence.<BR><BR>There are other options. Hope I have not confused you. <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

hmmmm...well, a week ain't much time.<BR>this is just my opinion......<BR><BR>Florence-skip it unless you're really into art/museums.<BR><BR>Venice-you can't miss Venice...it's one of a kind. really didn't find a lot of activities, but enjoyed just walking around. Venice was a lot larger than i expected.<BR><BR>Rome-this could be a seperate vacation. spend a day walking the Forum/Colossuem. St. Peter's Basillica is amazing...The Vatican (museum/chapel) was a giant crush of humanity......OK if you can stand that type of thing.<BR><BR>if i did it all over again, i would stick with Rome/Venice combo.

One week is really short especially if it includes travel time and time to get on the right time zone. <BR><BR>I would stick to one city if you want to see Rome and do it right. There is plenty to see and more for one full week in Rome. <BR><BR>If you want to do multiple cities maybe Venice/Florence would be a great combo. Everyone you talk to about going to Italy will ask you about Venice or Florence when you return....moreso than Rome. <BR><BR>But if you include Rome just do that city. It is fabulous and you will leave not having seen all you want to. The other thing to consider is the hassle it is to move form one hotel to another and the transportation. Flying into Rome and moving into one hotel for one week will be a lot less trouble and time consuming than moving around a lot as this takes time you could be doing something else.

Are you ready to be knocked out of your socks! Italy will definitely do it... I agree with everyone that Rome itself could take up an entire week, even much more. I was in Italy 2 years ago for 10 days &amp; did Venice (fabulous - every tiny little church is a museum in itself, the neighborhoods are glorious, the charm indescribable), then Florence with a day trip to Sienna and only 2 days in Rome. If I had it to do again, I'd spend more time in Sienna &amp; surrounding area, and save Rome for another trip. Evem though Florence isn't as charming to walk around as Venice, I wouldn't have missed it for the art, the architecture, the food, the art, Michealangelo, etc.

Well, Venice, Florence, and Rome all have airports that you can fly into and out of. I definitely dislike Venice, but that's just my personal opinion.<BR><BR>What do you want to do? Do you want to see the Vatican and lots of Ancient Rome? Do you want to see the Renaissance? I personally would fly into Rome, spend a few days there and then travel to Florence, flying out of Florence. This way, you only have one schlep in Italy, and you're not going everywhere doing everything.<BR><BR>I suggested a similar itinerary to another person in another thread (can't remember which), but it goes something like this:<BR><BR>Day 0: USA --&gt; FCO (Rome airport)<BR>Days 1-3: Rome<BR>Day 4: Travel to Florence (it'll only take you about 2 hours, but this way you can spend an additional half a day in either Rome or Florence)<BR>Days 5, 6, 7: Florence<BR>Day 8: FLR --&gt; USA (Florence airport)<BR><BR>To fly out of Florence back to the USA will require a change of planes at a European airline's hub, like LHR or CDG.

Melissa: First of all, you are going to one of my very favorite countries. As for a week, I would be tempted to spend the time based in Rome with side trips. On our first visit to Rome we stayed 5 nights and still did not see all that we wanted. Have fun and the food is wonderful.

You are going to get so many different opinions-so here is mine. Venice is a must and I also liked florence alot. If you like small towns,wine, food then do venice for two nights, train to florence for one night, rent a car and explore Tuscany for the rest of the time. Fly out of Florence if possible. If that is too busy for you or you aren't into the small town, wine food, driving thing then you could do two nights venice, short flight or train to Rome and spend the rest of your time in Rome.

for only a week i would make a home base in rome or just outside of rome. my trips to italy have convinced me that, outside of the beauty of rome and florence, the charm lies in the smaller places less touched by tourism. personal favourites: sienna, lucca, todi, spoleto.

We too are also going to Italy in late March for the first time. We hope to do Venice, Cinqueterre, and San Giamignano, possibly a day in Florence. I hope we have the time to do it all! My friend's niece lives in Vicenza just outside of Venice so we'll probably stay with her one night. Any recommendations where is best to fly into? should we make Florence/Tuscany our home base?

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I would suggest Florence and Venice, or else just Rome. If you find yourself tired of Rome, you can always daytrip to Florence or to Pisa or to Lucca or to Pompeii.

Could you possibly take two weeks? Even extending for another a few days would help.If only one week possible fly into rome 3-4 nights and then train to venice 3-4 nights fly home.I think your trip is too short for day trips.

<BR><BR>If you want to see two great cities, I'd suggest Rome and Venice. They're only about four hours apart by train.<BR><BR>If you want to see one great city and some spectacular scenery, I'd suggest Rome and the Amalfi Coast.

I vote for Florence (with a day trip to Siena) and Venice. Can I come with you?