sarge56

tastenyc-

You don't mention what time of year you are going. This could really impact suggestions here.

I also suggest that at least one night be dropped from Florence, possibly two. You CAN do a lot there in two days.

My suggestion- If you are flying into Rome, spend 4 nights Rome. Take express train to Florence. (Takes about 1-to-1-1/2 hours. Very fast! You will LOVE the trains in Italy. Extremely easy to use and clean and comfortable. 2nd class seating is perfectly wonderful. Comes with pull down tables, foot rests, hooks to hang up coats/purses, outlets for your plugins. And most trains have a food car. Excellent!)

If you take an early train from Rome, you can be in Florence well before noon. You then can do the Accademia and the Uffizi, then have a leisurely, relaxed evening. Take the bus up to Fiesole for dinner.

Get an early start next day and see Santa Croce, the Ponte Vecchio, Galileo's home, Dante's home, Medici sites (anything else that touches your fancy).

I, personally, would skip Tuscany on this visit. You can only see so much in 8 days. I'd head straight to Venice on the train from Florence mid-to-late afternoon after your one-night/two-day stay.

Arrive Venice late afternoon/early evening. (trip from Florence to Venice is about 2-3/4 hrs.)

Take the vaporetto (water bus) to your designated hotel. Enjoy 3 nights in Venice, 4 if you can swing the extra day.

I think you will get some more direct suggestions if you can tell us three things:

1) The ages/health of you and your spouse.

2) The time of year you are going.

3) What do the two of you like to do? What are you expecting from this trip? Are you into art/history? Or do you just want to relax in some beautiful scenery?

Not knowing those answers- I'm sticking to my suggested itinerary above.

You will LOVE Italy. And if you are like hundreds of Fodorites here, as soon as you are home you will start planning your return trip.

Buon viaggio! (Start learning some rudimentary Italian now. ;] )

ira

Hi ky,

>Ira - The reservation fee for the Uffizi is 4€ and has been for a year.<

True. However, I said that you wouldn't be charged if you didn't use the res.

This is different from the commercial firms that charge you for the res, whether you use it or not.

kybourbon

Here's the current info from their website. There's a clickable link for the buy on line or you can call the phone number.

Opening hours:
Open Tuesday to Sunday 8,15 – 18,50
Closed Monday, New Year’s Day, May 1st and Christmas Day.
Tickets:
Full Price: € 6,50
Reduced: € 3,25
Free admission
Buy tickets on line
Booking:
Firenze Musei, Tel: 055 294883
Booking charge: € 4,00

http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/musei/uffizi/

dickensdad

Other posters have suggested flying into Venice and home from Rome. If you have not already booked your airfare, I would agree with this recommendation. The flights from Venice tend to depart very early in the morning compared to Rome. It is comparatively difficult to get from central Venice to the airport, given that you must rely on water transportation for part of the trip. To me, having to get in the middle of the night to catch your flight home sort of ruins the day before you leave because you have to go to bed early, the day of departure and the day after because you will be so tired. Also, Venice might be more relaxing as a first stop in Italy.

I would skip driving around Tuscany and add time to Rome. Italians like to say Roma, non basta una vita: When you're in Rome, one lifetime is not enough.

lynclarke

I have to vote on slowing down. If this is your first trip to Europe then you really need to assume you will have jetlag. I agree with the others who suggest at least 5 days at your city of origin. And, you need to do your homework. It will be important for you to know all about your neighborhood and where you want to go. Buy streetwise maps now and start studying. English is not spoken every where. I would only go to two places with Florence as a day trip or a one day trip. The best part of Italy is sitting and looking at Italy and the people. If you run from place to place you will only see Italy in the photographs you bring home.
We spent a week in Venice and we were not ready to leave!
Florence suggestion- if you or your husband wants a leather item for a lifetime of memories, use Ira's plan (he is the guru of Italy), and when you take a break around the Duomo walk over to the Leather School. (Scuola del Cuoio). They are in the Monastery of Santa Croce via San Giuseppe. You do not have to go through the church (there is a fee). You walk down San Giuseppe and go in the back gate. It is an experience. Beautifully made leather goods--yes, they are expensive but it will last a lifetime. By the way, they do have little change purses and small items in their showroom they you can use as souvenirs for friends. They will put gold initials or names on the items. My husband bought a leather sports jacket which he wears everywhere. People tend to stand next to him and pat him because the leather feels so good! He loves it.
Please let us all know what you decide to do----even if you do not take our advice! Don't forget to go over to virtualtourist and read some travel stories there. Just my opinion.

cruiseluv

I agree that this being your first trip to Europe you might be best served by not renting a car. IMO, that addas another element of stress into the equation.

I would skip the "Tuscany" part of the trip. I would do 6 days Rome, 2 nights Florence( BTW,that is in Tuscany ), and 3 in Venice.Fly into Venice, out of Rome.

You never explain your problem with trains?? The best way to move between these cities is by Eurostar train.

SmileDarling

Hey, cruiseluv

I'm a total Italy novice so I was wondering why you would recommend to skip the Tuscany countryside portion of the trip.

Also, why is everyone recommending to drop a night from Florence? Any specific reasons to drop a Florence night and add it to either Rome or Venice?

ira

Hi SD,

>Also, why is everyone recommending to drop a night from Florence? Any specific reasons to drop a Florence night and add it to either Rome or Venice? <

Because the OP isn't doing Rome or Venice justice.

You can hit the highlights of Florence in a day.

You can spend weeks in R or V.

deke

For what it's worth,on our first trip (7 days) to Italy we spent an entire week in Rome and never ran out of things to do. We were centrally located so we walked everywhere from the Vatican & Colessium and everything in between - fantastic trip. Our second trip (9 days) we started in Florence went to Sienna/Tuscany then over to the Adriatic Sea to meet cousins by Ancona, then to Assisi and finally Rome. Because we took my sister along who has problems walking, we drove. I did not have any problem driving and like my Italian cousin said "here in Rome our driving rules are more like guidelines and not as strict as in the USA". What that means is that they may not stay in their lane and you have to be able to anticipate. But after driving in Rome at night in the rain and during rush hour - I feel I can probably drive anywhere now. If you stay on the main roads you should not have any problems (be sure you carry Euros with you to pay any tolls). Actually I had more diffiulty in England in the Yorkshire Dales with their narrow roads which were lined with stones and the constant fear that I would run the left side of the car off the road since I was driving from the right side of the car

As others have suggested I would add days to your Rome stay and drop at least one/two from Florence/Tuscany.

Sono un grande viaggio!

deke

Sorry forgot to mention this before. Do you know how to drive stick-shift (standard transmission)? When I went to pick up my car in Florence they told me they did not have any automatic transmissions left - so I opted for stick (which got me a bigger car at the same price). Automatic transmissions are not as readily available in Europe so I have learned. So if yuo need automatic be sure to get a guarantee.