Help for a newbie planning her honeymoon
 

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for early September. We'll be spending 4 days in Florence, 4 days in Venice and 4 days in Rome. I've been to Rome before, but not Florence or Venice. We've already booked our hotels (on Starwood points), but are looking for suggestions for not to miss places and experiences as well as romantic off the beaten path spots.

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but other than seeing the Domo and David, Florence does little for me. I think Siena is one of the world's most wonderful cities. There is a winery near Siena, near the town of Vagli-Agli, called Die Vole, which is an absolute must do stop, perfect for a honeymoon.

Hi Lil,

Congratulations.

Lovely honeymoon trip.

In Florence, take the no 7 bus from the train station to Fiesole (20 min) in the late afternoon. See the town and watch the sun set over the valley from the terrace of th Bar Blu.

Have dinner on the town square in Fiesole.

Walk along the Arno at night (preferably with a full moon)

Don't skip a gelato stand. In Florence you eat it from a cup, not a cone.

You must see The David. The Ufizzi is also recommended.

Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations

The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) then 055-294-883 8:30-18:30 M-F and 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time. You will get an English speaking operator and in 2-3 minutes YOU CAN RESERVE FOR BOTH. This is through the reservation service at the Uffizi and costs beyond the normal entry fee only about 1.60 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.

If you dont have time to go to Fiesole, defiantly clim (about 5-10 minutes) to Piazza Michelangelo. What a great view of the sunset and a great bar serving drinks along with a band.
We jsut got back from our honeymoon on Sunday and I must say you will not be dissapointed.
We took a trip in Florence though accidental tourist it was a wine tasting and cookign class, by far one of the b4est parts of the trip my husband loved the wine tasting and learning about the process of making it and olive oil and well the cooking was my favorite. teh guides were great.

in Venice definatly do a gondola, we did one in the back allies and I probably would suggest doiung it of the grand canal over the one we did, you will see more of "the sights" but it also was nice to be alone and quiet on the back canals.

Our favorite part fo Rome was the Vatican and the papal mass, were both catholic and it felt like we sealed the deal even more with the papal blessing.

Best wishes you will have ablast and defiantly an unforgetable honeymoon

I agree with the poster above who recommends a winery tour at Dievole. The vineyard and its accommodation are lovely and would make a wonderful stop on a honeymoon. That said, I love Florence and there is much to do and see including the best food in Italy. Don't miss Fiesole, a small town perched above Florence with wonderful views of the city. There are some very nice outdoor cafes to enjoy lunch with a superb view. Your itinerary sounds great and you are going at a wonderful time.

We preferred taking a gonola through the back canals as opposed to the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal can get pretty choppy with the vaporetto and other power boat traffic. Besides, you can take a vaporetto the length of the Grand Canal for a fraction of what a gondola would charge.

The gondola is a great way to see parts of Venice that most people never even imagine exist. Be sure to have your camera along.