singitkash,
My daughter spent a semester in Florence and absolutely loved it!

I tend to agree with Kenderina who suggests Florence because it is a smaller city & you won't have the feeling of "being lonely". The town is full of students and English is heard everywhere. If you are from a small town, this might be your best "first" city to visit solo in Italy. However, having said that, I personally disliked my short visit there because of all the students & tourists. It had a boardwalk/fleamarket feel to me. It all depends on what you are looking for. I liked Rome. I loved Venice, but then 50% of Venice's tourists are Italians, so it has a more "Italian" feel to it. Only a scant 3-4% of Venician tourists are Americans! Try and visit it.

Hi singitkash,

I have been following your thread. Please keep us posted on what you decide.

I agree with above and would not purchase a Eurail pass - so easy to just buy a ticket as you need them when you are there. I don't think you would get your money's worth with a pass.

You have some great information in which to make your decision. I greatly appreciated and admired Rome, but I fell in love with Florence. Just keep reading, you will know which is best for you! I too, grew up in a small town. You will love Italy.

Again, please keep us posted, I feel like you are part of us now and we will ALL be wondering.

Best wishes and enjoy the moment because your semester will fly!
Tiff

ttt for singitkash

Thanks everybody for so much information! It's great to hear opinions for both sides which proves that each city really is worth visiting!

Elms79- I WILL be studying at Richmond so I was really excited to read your post. I'm going with the AIFS group and recently noticed that 99% of the Florence participants would recommend the program to their friends (compared to 89% of the Rome participants). Those who've gone to Florence seem to REALLY love the city... I keep going back and forth on the city I like the best but I think the best suggestions would come from somebody who had participated in the same program I will be going into...

So right now, Florence does seem like a wonderful option...

But then again, so does Rome. :|

Greetings singitkash ~ I have thought of you and wondered over these past couple months if you made any final decisions????

Best of luck to you! Tiff