Hello all, my fiance and I are traveling to Italy on January 14, 2008 for our honeymoon. We just booked our package so we are now overwhelmed with books about our destination. We will be in Rome, Florence and Venice. I would like as much wonderful information as you can give me. We have never been to Europe, so we are quite nervous, but excited too. We will be staying at the Impero in Rome, the Monna Lisa in Florence, and the Savoia Jolanda in Venice.

Congrats on your upcoming nupitals!

I was very overwhelmed about where to start planning our trip. At least you're won half the battle by selecting your destinations and lodging.

Here are some resources that have tremendously helped me:

A. my fave guidebooks that I refer to frequently.

1) DK's Eyewitness Top 10 (for Venice and Tuscany (Florence)}. These are excellent quick sources. And they're compact too!

2) Access (Venice & Florence-1 book for both places) I love all Access guidebooks and get one for any place we travel. It's well formatted with little tidbits that I don't find in other sources.

3) Pauline Frommer's Italy (this is the daughter of the Frommer guidebook guru. Her book/approach is fresh and modernized.

(my husband and I are in our 40's and these guides gave us more contemporary and modern info while covering the basics).

B. Definitely use your concierge for info. They can book your reservations for museums, tours and restaurants.

C. Check out the Travel, Fine Living and Food Network Channels (Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe, Francesco's Head to Toe-Italy, Giada's Weekend Getaways, Rick Steve's, Globe Trekker) for fresh looks at Italy destinations.

D. Ask alot of questions on this site. There are alot of gurus on this site that will steer you in the right direction. Before you ask, use the "search" feature to see what's already out there.

Have fun in the process...

Ciao!

P.S. There is a recent thread posted called "April/May 2007 Research and Tips" which is a wealth of info. The writer combined all logistics and info from their trip and placed it on one thread. I haven't seen any other thread with more info at your fingertips than this one. It also contains lots of links and caveats.

Congratulations!

FOr starters, you can read the information under 'Destinations' for each of these cities.

How long will you stay in each place?

If you search this board using key word combinations like "rome restaurants" you'll find lots of great info. You should also look into making reservations at the popular museums, particularly in FLorence (Uffizi and Academy), and the Borghese gallery in Rome (one of my favorites). Most of this can be done online.

Well - going in January should help with not being mobbed by other tourists - but the chilly weather and very short days (and shorter hours on some sights) can be a problem.

I would be careful about checking the opening days and hours of the things you want to see/do the most - and worry about that as much as about getting advance tickets.

Thank you all for your prompt responses. We will be in Rome for 4 days, Florence for 3 and Venice for 2. I know that going in January could be a problem fortunately I have been able to access the hours and days open. The dates we are going, pretty much everything is open, except for some restaurants. If there is anything else you recommend, something that you have to do, or eat or see. Please let me know.

Congratulations to both you and your hubby to be!!!

If you are interested here is a link to some itineraries I put together for Rome.

http://www.passagetoroma.com/trips/index.html

Have a WONDERFUL honeymoon!!!

dave

Using the search feature on this forum will yield tons of great info.

Cut and paste the information into files for each city over the next few months. Organize, discard the duplicates, then use it to plan a loose itinerary.

Take it with you and discard the sections for each city as you leave t lighten your load.

I have been working on just such a file for my upcoming trip to the Big 3. While my 16th visit, I am taking friends and family who have never been so have been busy assembling a document they can take with them on the trip.

Italy is a fabulous choice!