Good ideas for a 3 day trip to Rome
 

After four days in Paris we are going to spend three days in Rome. We would like to see the Colosseum and take a day trip to Florence... Is there a way to get to Florence by train and catch a tour there to save on time?

Yes, the train to Florence takes around 2.5 hours, I think. But with only 3 days in Rome, I think I would stay there. Three days is such a short time that, unless you have been before, you will only scratch the surface.

I hope your travel day from Paris to Rome is not included in the days you say you're spending in both cities.

The fastest train between Rome and Florence is actually only 90 minutes each way, but I agree with mamcalice, especially if your trip is during the part of the year when sunset is early or at the height of tourist season when crowds are their largest. IMO, there are more things to see and experience in Rome than Paris.

3 days IMHO is minimum for Rome. The VAtican, St Peter;s and Castel Sant Angelo will take a full day. Ancient Rome - Forum, Colosseum, Capitoline etc will take another full day. And if you want to see anything else - Borghese, Renaissance Rome, explore the squares, fountains and neighborhoods that will take another full day.

If you really want to see Florence, get tickets in advance for the Uffizi and the Accademia and take a very early train. A tour in Florence makes no sense - since everything is within easy walking distance.

Stay in Rome. Your trip planning involves racing through two of the greatest cities on earth for extremely minimal amounts of time and shortchanging yourself by thinking you can actually leave those cities and go elsewhere. Not a good plan.

Another vote to stay in Rome. It is possible to do a one day trip to Florence from Rome but I think you would end by being frustrated in both cities. 3 days in Rome is really barely enough to see some of ancient Rome, the Vatican and other areas like Piazza Navona at an enjoyable pace

www.ostia-antica.org my fav www.eurocheapo.com/rome other
great tours tips. Day trip to Florence too far for me but doable with www.viator.com/rome if budget is good or privately on fast train 80 euro RT seat61.com/italy
Good luck!

Thank you so much!!! We wanted to stop in Florence on the way to Rome but the package wouldn't allow for that. Let me see what we can do.

we meet again, vrmsjm! first of all you are going to be in Paris for 4 days and want to spend 2 of them somewhere else, now you've got just 3 days in Rome and you want to spend a day of it in Florence.

apart from anything else, you are going to be very tired after all that travelling - do yourselves a favour and slow down. honestly, you won't run out of things to see and do in Rome in 3 days - I know someone who has been more than 50 times and is still finding new things to see and do.

Completely agree! 4 days in Paris and 3 days in Rome (I hope you are excluding travel to and from these places in those times) are just going to allow you a sneak peak of these great cities. Running around doing day trips thinking that you should see places because you are close is a flawed logic. You will spend the entire time running around and being on trains, planes, and in stations and airports. Slow down and enjoy the places you WILL be in - Paris and Rome! Leave the other places for your next trip when you can devote proper time to them to enjoy them as well!

Folks here are right. There is so much to see in Paris and Rome that 3 or 4 days is barely adequate. it's hard to explain how time-consuming Rome can be. I love Florence, but there again, there is so much to see! Leave Florence for another time.

And especially if the 4 and 3 day plan includes travel!

I just did a double-take. Do you really mean you only want to see the Colosseum in Rome? If that is the case, why go? Or is this a checklist of "must-sees" you are working from, and that's the only thing on your list that's Roman? Do you realize that entire fat guidebooks are written about Rome alone?

Are you going to Florence just to take a quick look at the David?

Our first trip to Rome was only 3 days and seemed to be over in a blink of an eye. If you spent your entire 7 days in either Paris OR Rome, you would not be bored. In fact, you'd still leave wishing you had more time. You'll be surprised.

Thank you for the Comments!! Charnees- yes this is a check off list type of trip. We don't get much time off for work right now and instead two short trips to the islands again we wanted to achieve our goals in a basic level. So yes we would like to hit Florence to pop in on David. We think that in light of the responses, we will Stick to Rome and only travel out if we figure time while we are there. Thank you for sharing your responses, we are going to have a great trip thanks to all of you. I will post how it works out!

So yes we would like to hit Florence to pop in on David.>>

I can't believe that someone would really think it worthwhile to cut into such a short trip to Rome [only 3 days] to spend 3+ hours on the train just go and see a statue [not even the David] but if you do decide to do this, the best time to get into the accademia [which is where the statue of David is] seems to be later in the afternoon.

as you won't be able to book, that is probably your best bet.

I very strongly suggest that you get a couple of good guide books and review them to see exactly what sights you want to see in both places. I have traveled all over europe and have yet to see a single object that is worth trekking to a new city for.

You have very limited time in each city - and you should be sure you know in advance where you want to go and what days things are closed - to make the most of your time.
And be sure to take time out to relax - sit in a cafe with a glass of wine and watch the world go by.

I update my Paris log so I wanted to follow up with this one as well and say thank you to everyone who made suggestions. Tours in all the cities allowed us to see the must sees and in our down time we discovered some cool things. I'd go back to Rome to visit the Trevi fountain but really look forward to seeing other areas of Italy.