Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Help needed with daily itinerary for Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris

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Help needed with daily itinerary for Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris

Our itinerary is as follows:

Rome: Aug 11-17 (arrive morning of the 11th, leave early the 17th)
Florence: Aug 17 - Aug 22 (arrive afternoon of 22nd, leave early the 22nd)
Venice: Aug 22- Aug 25 (arrive afternoon on 22nd, leave VERY early on 25th)
Paris: Aug 25-29 (arrive late morning on 25th, leave mid-afternoon on 29th)

During our time in Rome we'd like to spend one day visiting Pompeii (as a day trip) and 1 day on a second day trip (possibly a city beginning with O, forgot the name) plus we'd like to see the Vatican (although we're not religious or Catholic). In Florence we'd like to do a day trip to Siena and San G, and then a day trip or half-day trip to a Tuscan winery.

Are there are major things to see in any of these cities that *must* or *should* be done on a particular day of the week? Ex: ABC is closed Thursdays, or DEF is free on Wednesdays, or XYZ is over-crowded on Sundays. I know it's hard to know without knowing where we will be going, but assume that we've never been to Italy before (we havent) and would love any insider advice to keep in mind while planning an itinerary.

Also, are there any sites or stops that you'd recommend doing when we first get to the city, or toward the end of our stay there? We don't really have any preferences at this point except we think we'd prefer to keep our day trips somewhere in the middle of our stay (not the first day in a city, or our last day).

I appreciate any help you seasoned travelers can provide!

Thanks in advance,

J

May I first suggest you use August 16th a Sunday to travel or use that day to take a day trip to Ancient Ostia or Tivoli. Thre are day trip to Most everything is closed on Sundays and you will have been in Rome for 4 full days. One day should be devoted to the Vatican. You will want to the St. Peter's Basilica, perhaps climb to the top of the cupola and then visit the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. There are tours you can arrange before you arrive so you don't stand in long lines. One day you need to visit the Colosseum Forum and Pallintine Hill. There are combination ticket good for two days so you don't have to get to all three sites in one day. Take a walking tour of the city; you can do your own by looking up walking tours suggestions in guide books or sign up for one for a 1/2 day. The city is wonderful to explore. Think about goinf to the Capotiline Hill Museums thre is so much to see. You can take a day trip to Pompeii but it is a long bus drive and it will be very hot in August. The trip takes aobut a total of 13 hours round trip. I'll add more about Florence i awhile.

You'll be very busy during these days, but it will be such an amazing time! On Sundays, the Vatican is free entry, but very crowded. The Pope comes out on Sundays to bless the city, a very wonderful thing to see, but very crowded. So since you aren't very religious, you may not want to spend your time seeing that. Wine tasting in Chianti is very relaxing and beautiful, a wonderful change from tourist heavy cities like Rom, definitely take time out to do that. I've been in Florence for six weeks studying, and have had the time of my life. There is so much to do here! I've went horseback riding in Siena, visited the beaches of Viareggio, visited EVERY museum in Florence. AMAZING! If you have any questions let me know!

In my preparation for Italy, I went this site, check it out if you'd like!

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it

Hi SB,

>...(possibly a city beginning with O, forgot the name)....<

Orvieto?
http://www.orvietoonline.com/ and http://www.isetteconsoli.it/

It can be very hot at Pompei Scavi in August. Wear a hat and bring water.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))