Ok, right now our plans are 3 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Rome and then back to Florence for one night before we fly home.
Our trip is Dec 13-Dec 19th.
Do you think we should just stay in Florence for 6 nights and take day trips around the city? Or just keep the plans we already have.
Is is hard to get from Florence to Rome and back again to Florence? Is it worth the time to visit both cities?
Any help would be great.....
Wendy

With only one week I would do Florence and day trips to the countryside, or maybe to Venice for a couple days. Rome is such a huge city I don't think 2 nights does it justice, save Rome for another time is my suggestion.

If you really want to do both cities, it would be better not to split your stay in Florence. Upon arrival in Florence, continue on to Rome to get to the furthest point at the beginning. I would then spend 4 nights in Rome and 2 back in Florence (or 3 and 3). This means two hotels instead of three, which will save you a lot of time.

Definitely stay in Firenze. We just got back (you can check my trip report for details), but found that Florence is a great hub. Have fun!

That back and forth thng does take up a lot of time--why were you thinking of doing that?
I'd say, 2-3 nights in Rome at the beginning, remaining nights in Florence at the end. It is a short train ride (90 minutes or so) between F and R.

Both cities have been travel destinations for centuries, of course they are each worth it.
You won't have much time, but even a taste will probably have you wanting more.

well the thing is that we won this trip, and the first 3 nights we are comitted to Florence. I really want to see Rome. we will have Friday afternoon and all day Saturday to see Rome, Not sure what is open on Sunday. But we will be leaving for Florence on Sunday. I'm not really into the churches and stuff. I just want to see the Ruins, Forum, and maybe the Vatican just to see the Sistine Chapel. Do you think it is Doable?

wenpop, Sistine Chapel was not open on Sunday when I was there three weeks ago. Have fun.

Hi wen,

> I really want to see Rome. <

Then GO!

It's under 2 hr by train.

The Vatican museums won't be open the Sunday you are there. Try for Saturday, and enjoy your visit.

wenpop, if you decide to go to Rome (my favorite place in Italy!), I suggest that it is more practical to see the Ancient Rome area in one day (Roman Forum, colosseum, Pantheon, etc.) and, if you have a second day, see the Vatican Museums / St. Peter's basilica the second day. They are on different sides of the city, and both areas are rich in wonderful and time-consuming things to see and enjoy.

Since your time is limited, and you basically have to fly into and out of florence, I suggest you see the museums in Florence, and skip the vatican museums in rome, instead see St. Peter's basicilica...even if you think you don't like churches, the gigantic scale of the inside of this church is so awesome your jaw will literally drop, don't miss it. Go on your own with a guidebook. If you can see the Sistine chapel in the Vatican Museums without waiting in long lines to get into the Vatican, then go ahead, is my advice. but remember both the VAtican Museums and Florence are full of museums with art, and you can get over-museum-ed!

I think the Ancient rome area, with the Pantheon and the colosseum and the roman forum, might be a better contrast with the museums of florence. PLus in Rome add the wonderfully atmospheric and walkable area all arond the Pantheon, which includes the Trevi fountain.

If you want to spend a little more money, consider hiring a private licensed tour guide for your family for a walking tour of the Ancient rome area (Pantheon, inside Colosseum, Roman Forum, etc.) That's how we did it and really loved it that way. WE booked 3 or 4 hours with Francesca Caruso, whose name and e-mail is in the rick steves Italy guide. Her e-mail is [email protected] She was 40 euros per hour for the family group in June 2004. Fluent in english and italian. since you would have so little time in Rome, a private guide would ensure that you would have an enjoyable half-day tour without getting lost, and then you could use the rest of the day to see more of the areas she shows you on your own. Also the Trevi fountain is not far from the Pantheon, and the Pantheon will be included in a tour of the Ancient rome area.

I would tell you to spend all 6 of your nights in florence, because there's plenty to do there, except that after 3 nights in florence during very crowded days in June, I was ready to leave! I liked rome better. (Others will tell you the opposite.) In fact 2 nights in florence would have been plenty for me, the only thing I saw there that is absolutely un-missable is Michelangelo's amazing David in the Accademia museum, in my very subjective opinion, this is my own experience, others will experience florence differently.

Well I guess I'm not being fair to you. After all since you won the trip to florence, it's not like you can change it to a trip to rome! So make the most of it, research and choose the sites you will enjoy the most. What time of year are you going? I thought florence was dreadfully crowded during our days in June, during the pitti uomo (a national fashion show) and the calcio storico fiorentino, which are local ball-game playoffs in florence bringing more crowds and fireworks and a parade. Yes, the parade and fireworks were cool, but it was so crowded, even at midnight when everything was closing up the ponte vecchio was still full of people! I felt claustrophobic. But if you are going in a less crowded season to florence, you may find florence very charming and wonderful.

Enjoy Italy!

Hi Wenpop. Other possible options...

Could you change this to an open jaws flight into Florence and out of Rome? It would be worth any supplemental charges imo if you can.

Would it be possible to spend your last night in Rome, and then take the train from Rome direct to the Florence airport? Of course, it would have to be an afternoon/evening flight. But as Ira pointed out, it's a short train ride and that adds almost a full day to your trip since you would not have to backtrack into Florence and check into another hotel.

Love Florence, but I would not spend all 6 nights there. Go to Rome.

We have gone to Florence every year for the last four years or so, spending anywhere from 3 to 7 nights, and have never regretted a minute of it. It is NOT crowded in the winter, and there is certainly a lot to see, including some of the world's greatest museums.

Is there a chance that you will go back to Italy? If so, I like the idea of staying in Florence, taking a day trip or two to add interest to the trip.

If you think you will ever go back, then plan on seeing Rome then. I think Rome is great, but Florence is great too. And 6 nights just aren't that many.

In winning the trip, did you win a nice hotel stay? If so, making the most of that would influence me, for hotels in Italy are expensive, and they are especially expensive in Rome.

What sorts of things do you like? I've been doing work in Florence, and have a pretty good knowledge of the city. Do you like museums, shopping, are you foodies? You mentioned that you don't want to see "churches and stuff" in Rome: does that hold true for Florence, also?

If you do decide to go to Rome, I like your original idea of going mid-trip, as your trip is arranged for Florence.

I'm not sure if we will ever get back, unless I win another one. In Florence we will be staying at the Hotel Westin Excelsior. We won the prize through Samsung and my husband get's to carry the Olympic torch. The group is taking us to Sienna one afternoon and 2 evenings they are taking us on a night tour of Florence. but our first day we have made reservations to see the Uffizi. In Rome we are staying at the Hotel Hiberia, near the Forum. We will arive by train at 10:30 tour the ruins and stuff and maybe walk around the city and see the fountains the first day, On Saturday take a bus to Vatican City and find something to do there.... Then Sunday afternoon we will take the train back to Florence to rest before we will have to fly out on Monday. Sounds good, right?
wendy

Having spent 3 days in both Florence and Rome in May, each basically for the first time, I found that 3 days in Rome was, perhaps 1 day too short, and 3 days in Florence was fine, provided that you don't really care about Siena, San Gimignano et.al.

For Florence there is one telephone # for the Uffizi, Accadademia, Medici Chapel and Barghello (Ira has provided this number a number of times on this site) and if you plan properly, you can pre-arrange all of the important sites at your leisure, and still have enough time to see Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo/Baptistry and to shop at the San Lorenzo market without going totally crazy.

For Rome, you may obviously have to miss something, but you can consider touring the Forum/Colosseum on 1 day with a reputable walking tour company (Context/Enjoy Rome/ Romewalks etc.) and do the same on day 2 in regards to the Vatican/sistine chapel.You should also be able, in the balance of the 3 days to see Moses, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Trastavere, and Campo Fiore/Piaza Navona. Trust me, it is all doable if properly planned, and it will give you a basis for when you are able to return to these 2 cities for a longer and more relaxed holiday.
For now, I would suggest that you plan a somewhat whirlwind trip - if a relaxing holiday is what you were planning, you could consider Acapulco or Miami, but if your choice is Italy, then I do really suggest theat you prepare for a whirl-wind "best of" trip, so that the next time that you are able to go there, more on your own terms, you will be able to pick and choose based on some of your own experiences and knowledge.

When I first went to Rome and Florence last May, I had no idea as to when or if I would ever return, but as luck would have it, my wife and I are now taking her daughter to Europe as a graduation present, so we will be able to rely on our own whirl-wind holiday last May as a basis for spending a more leisurely paced and knowledgeable time in Italy this summer.
I guess, however, that the main point is, when we thought that we may not return in the near future, we made sure to do all we could in whatever little time that we had, and thanks to planning, we were able to have an axhaustive, but absolutely memorable and fabulous holiday.

By the way, I cannot emphasize enough the value of travelling at night so as to leave the days for touring the sites and exploring the cities.

I hope that you have a great time!

We just got back from Italy and although I love cities I personally found that 3 days and nights in Rome was plenty for me. It is a busy city but beautiful in many ways. Be careful crossing streets!
That said we did the Vatican one day and the Ancient Ruins another with the last day spent shopping. It was enough although I know there was way more we could have done.
Good luck with all your puzzle pieces. Enjoy your time and figure you will probably fall in love and want to go back because there NEVER is enough time to do it all justice!