hi everyone!

my husband and I (late 20's) are going to italy for the first time in Feb. We don't have much vacation, so we will only be there 5 full days. we are flying into Rome.

we would like to do a sidetrip to florence, maybe two days.

The current itinerary we are thinking of is:
Day 1, 2 in Rome (scavi tour, vatican, borghese, context rome antica rome tour,trevi, spanish steps)
Day 3 - take train to Florence - visit the uffizi/accademia
Day 4 - tour with Luca for winetasting in chianti region, back to florence at night
Day 5 - train back to Rome, do whatever (shop, eat, walk around)

My husband and I love wine and to eat. that's why we really wanted to go wine tasting and have some truffles...but is this too ambitious of a schedule? should we axe the tour and just spend two full days in florence?

I am a notorious overscheduler. i could do 20 things in one day from 5am to 2am and love it, but my husband has already made me promise him only 1-2 main activities a day.

Thanks!

Hi

I think it is important to not try to cover to much...I know it is tempting to do everything when you finally get to visit Italy but it is supposed to also be a vacation
My wife and I went to Rome in July last year and we stayed 5-6 days just in Rome. I have posted a trip report with pictures and links on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm . I have also made an interactive Rome Google map that you can find on http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy_map.htm . On the map I have marked attractions and places where we went to eat. If you like wine you should try out Nick's wine bar.

I hope that this can help you a little in your planning. Get in touch if you have any questions

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I've visited Florence four times and Rome once and have done many of the things you've mentioned so I think I've a good idea of the time it takes to get things done. I'm also an overscheduler. If the Scavi Tour is important to you, you should have requested a reservation by now but, if you haven't, do so right away. You'll have to leave your schedule flexible until you get confirmation of a date/time from the Vatican. You can easily do the Scavi and Vatican Museums/Saint Peter's on the same day. Then do the evening walk. On the alternate day, do the Context Antica Roma Walk; I took this walk last month and it was excellent (my docent was Adam). Depending on the time of the walk (9am or 1pm)you can schedule the Borghese Gallery which in my opinion is a must do as the Bernini sculptures are sublime! You can certainly see Accedenia and Uffizi on arrival day from Rome. Reserve your entry times now. I'd recommend Accademia first (schedule this for about 1 hour from train arrival time or 1 1/2 hours if you have luggage to leave at a hotel). After Accademia, stop for lunch and then have a nice walk through Piazza Signoria. Pick up your Uffizi tickets about 15 miniutes before your reservation and then enjoy your visit until you either have to tear yourself away or they throw you out! I understand your love of wine but Tuscany in February - well, I'd stay in Florence. You can always take a wine tasting tour or class right in town and there are wine bars with delicious wines-great open bottles that you can buy by the glass for E4-E12 a glass (of course, you can also buy those rare and expensive bottles). Also, two of the great Tuscan wineries, Antinori and Frescobaldi, have upscale restaurants that get excellent reviews (I haven't had the pleasure, myself)and serve wines matched to foods. By staying in Florence, you can visit the Bargallo, the Duomo, Bapistery, Museo Opera del Duomo (here is another Michelangelo Pieta)and still have time to walk around, have another nice lunch, do a little shopping. Some might recommend you spend another day in Rome and just do a day trip to Florence; others may recommend you skip Florence this trip. I think what your considering is doable but I'd save wine country for another time. I loved Rome but Florence...ahhh.

Dem:
Generally I would say that schedule looks busy but doable. But, on another thread you said your dates are Feb 18-23 (Sun-Fri). Which is Day One? Have you checked winter hours and closing days for all those sites? It also looks like you may be arriving in Florence on Carnivale Tuesday or Ash Wednesday. Check schedules around those events, too.

One other thing (I hate being such a downer!). We were there last February and it was really, <i>really </i>cold in Florence. Much more so than Rome. We hardly saw Florence because the weather drove us inside.

Travelling in winter has its benefits. We loved it. But do check your plans carefully around winter schedules and be prepared for uncooperative weather.

we fly out on the 17th, get there the 18th at 8:30 am and then leave at 11:30 am on the 23. so really we have 18-22 as days....

interesting insight. coldness is a reasonable fear, although i live in the east and I have my under armor cold gear!

hmmm are there any wine tastings that we can do at wine bars? just to understand the area wineries?

thanks guys!

Amy

I just checked some notes from our trip.

The Vatican museum is closed on Sunday. On the winter schedule they close at 1:45pm other days, so you'll want to visit in the morning. The Scavi Tour is also closed on Sunday.

The Borghese is closed on Monday. The only Antica Roma tour that fits your schedule is at 3pm Monday.

You could do Borghese Sunday afternoon; Monday morning Vatican; Monday afternoon Context Rome. Try to get the Scavi tour for Thursday if you can get back from Florence in time. The only thing is, the 3pm Context tour runs 4 hours, most of which will be after dark that time of year. [There's a Wed 9am tour you could take if you stayed in Rome.]

I don't know how big Carnivale is in Florence or how it might affect your train travel Tuesday morning. You might check with your hotel.

thanks jeanne!

I have the scavi tour already booked for Monday morning at 9 and Antica rome for 3:00 in the afternoon, so we'll do scavi/vatican in the morning and antica in the afternoon.

Great idea about Borghese on sunday. we'll probably be a little tired from the overnight flight...so one museum will be quite enough for us.

hmm i didn't think about the tour at night. does that mean i won't be able to see anything?

I imagine there are lights. I would write and ask them about it before booking. A night tour could be beautiful. But bundle up...the wind is quite frosty in the open area around the Forum.

When we were there Rome's narrow passages were dark by 4:30. The open area around the Colosseum may stay light til 5 or so.

Are you visiting the Vatican museum (Sistine Chapel) or just Saint Peter's?
If you want to do the museum, I can recommend Angel Tours which meets in front of Saint Peter's at 11am. The timing might work well for you.