Kevin11235

Hi

I have 9 days in Italy with my wife and two teenage kids. I will be arriving in Rome early in the morning on Dec. 2nd, departing in the afternoon on Dec. 10th.

My plan is to take a train to Florence upon arrival, spend a few days there and then return to Rome for the rest of the trip.

I would like some advice:
- How should I appportion the trip?
- Should I bother to take a 1-day trip from Florence to Venice?

Any advice, tips would be very much appreciated.

Thanks, Kevin

suec1

If you do not have your flights booked I would advise flying into Venice and departing Rome.

NO to the one day trip to Venice but IMO Venice would be more interesting to teenagers than Florence (unless they are into art and really enjoy museums.) But to Venice and back in one day from Florence is alot of travel time. If you can't book open jaw flights, I'd suggest training from Rome and stay in Venice for 3 nights - it will be a bit chilly and dark early in December but Venice is so unique, I'd go for that before Florence. Maybe stop by Florence for a night on the way back to Rome if you must enter and leave thru Rome.

jan47ete

We spent 2 months in Venice, Florence and Siena and Perugia area in Oct/Nov 2009, and would agree with suec1. Venice and Rome are much better for teens although out of our 2 months, 1 month was in Florence and I LOVED it, for the family V and R would be great. jk

Kevin11235

Hi suec1

Thanks for the very prompt response

Unfortunately, the flights are already booked, so it's in and out via Rome.

suec1

I am figuring that you have 8 nights? So my suggestion would be to land in Rome and immediately go to Florence for 2 nights, on to Venice for 2 or 3, then back to Rome to finish and depart. Jiggle the nights around according to the interests of your family and your tolerance for transiting. Enjoy!

annhig

Hi Kevin,

definitely agree with suec. We took our kids to all 3 when they were teenagers, and they definitely preferred Venice and Rome to Florence.

assuming you are arriving from the US, you will get to Termini [the main train station in Rome] during the morning sometime, and should have no problem picking up a train to Venice, where with any luck you will arrive mid afternoon..

for details of times of trains, see www.trenitalia.it.

I suggest 3 nights there, then getting the train back to Rome for the rest of the trip.

have a great time!

Lexma90

I love Italy, love art (paintings, primarily) and history, but would suggest that you allocate your time between Venice and Rome, and possibly skip Florence, due to your limited time (it's a fact of life: there's never enough time to do everything you want on a vacation).

That is, unless you're very interested in Renaissance art, which is where Florence excels. We took our 10yo DD to Italy two years ago, and she enjoyed all three cities very much (she als, including Florence and the major museums and other landmarks there, but when asked to say what she liked the best about the trip, will say Rome and Venice before Florence.

bardo1

Arriving early in the AM in Rome, even after customs/immigration and getting to the train station in Rome, you'll still be at your Venice hotel mid-afternoon.

Dec 2-4 (3 nights) in Venice.

Return to Rome via train in the afternoon of the 5th for the next 5 nights (Dec 5th-9th).

Five nights in Rome is NOTHING. It's 10x the population and size of Florence, has 10X as many churches, museums, sites, etc. But if your teens are determined to see Florence, you could either do it as a day trip from Rome or even en route from Venice to Rome (if you left early enough).

bardo1

Oh, if you couldn't get enough sleep on the plane sleeping on the train on route from Rome to Venice is easy and worthwhile.

niente

I'd skip Florence, for a number of reasons.
As others have noted, Florence doesn't have a lot of pull for teens.
Your first-day itinerary sounds a bit hectic, with boarding a train for Florence right away.
It would gve you more time in Rome and Venice, which I think the kids would enjoy more.

It's a judgment call.

ellenem

I agree with the plan to head straight to Venice upon arrival and then return to Rome.

If you feel you want a taste Florence, on the day you travel from Venice back to Rome, you can stop in Florence for a few hours. You would buy two train tickets: Venice-Florence, and then Florence-Rome. At the Firenze SMN station (the main station in Florence), there is a baggage Deposit room where you can store your luggage while you stroll the town.

Kevin11235

Thanks for all your replies. They have been most informative.

Many of you think Venice is more interesting than Florence. I must admit I have not had the time to do detailed research, but from what I know, the main attraction with Venice is the canals. So why is it so much "better" than Florence?

The boss (aka as the wife) thinks we should prioritize Florence, so we will need good reasons to do otherwise

mamcalice

I don't think anyone is saying Venice is more interesting than Florence, rather that it might hold more appeal for teens. Venice is unique and exquisite but Florence is the most interesting city in Italy to me. No one can tell you which is "more interesting" or "better". That is up to you and your family. Each of you should do some reading and decide what is best for your family.

ellenem

We think Venice is better for teenagers than Florence, not better for everyone than Florence. If you and your teenagers are big fans of Renaissance art, then Florence may be the better choice.

Venice and Florence have similar things to do and see . . . art and other museums . . . churches . . . markets . . . shopping . . . dining . . . but in addition Venice has canals (180 canals, 400 bridges) and public transport by boat (no automobiles) that will charm your teenagers.

kybourbon

My teen liked Florence better than Venice. Depending on your teens ages, they might be interested in the science museum or the nightlife in Florence. There are some easy day trips by train (Pisa) or bus (Siena,Volterra, San G.).

I usually like to stay at least three nights most places, but if you don't mind changing locations you could stop for a night (or two) on the way to Florence.

12/2,3 - Orvieto
12/4,5 - Florence
12/6,7,8 - Rome

or
12/2,3,4 - Florence
12/5,6,7,8 - Rome

JBX

If your teens are 'Jersey Shore' fans, then they may want to check out the nite spots where the "Guidos & Guidettes" hung out while filming the show in Florence. Accckkk ..... that alone may be a reason to take Firenze outta the itinerary.

Lexma90

DH, DD and I find Venice fascinating because it's such an incredible city. I love to walk and walk, seeing all the interesting buildings and architecture.

And while I would say that's the number 1 thing to do in Venice, there's plenty else: the Accademia; San Marco (which has a great museum inside, in addition to the church itself); the Doge's Palace; the Guggenheim. Many, many gorgeous churches and other buildings with art in situ: Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni; Scuola Grande di San Rocco; San Zaccharia; and Chiesa Santa Maria dei Miracoli are my favorites.

Florence, of course, has a great deal as well, IMHO the Uffizi, one of the western world's best art museums. And the Accademia (David), Bargello (statues), Pitti Palace, jut to name the main museums. All excellent. And tons of wonderful churches here, too. But I don't find the city itself as captivating. And, while it won't be as much of an issue due to the timing of your trip, many more tour groups in Florence than in Venice.

Neither city is better, it's just that we enjoy Venice more, and over numerous trips to Italy, have returned to Venice more than to Florence. (I'm not mentioning Rome, which we love too.)

Peter_S_Aus

Venice is more intimate than Florence, has more quaint, odd-ball things (but that's just my opinion). And you can send your kids off for a day exploring on their own with no concerns for their welfare.

I wrote a sort of Venice quiz for teenagers - it's here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-teenagers.cfm

Or try these excessively wordy trip reports for a taste of what we see in Venice, what grabs us in that amazing place:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...st-verbose.cfm


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Peter_S_Aus

Just a little taste for your teenagers.



It’s unlucky to walk between the pair of columns by the Basin of St Marks, near the Piazza in Venice.

One column has the winged lion of St Mark atop, and St Theodore, with his foot resting on a crocodile, is on the other. The origin of the crocodile is uncertain, but many theories abound. The columns were looted from Constantinople and took some removal and erecting, being about 20 metres tall and monolithic. Legend has it that there were three columns, but one was dropped into the Basin of St Marks. The remaining columns were erected in 1172, as it took 150 years to figure out how to raise them.


The erection was overseen by Nicolo Barattieri, also engineer for the first Rialto bridge. He sweated them into place by rigging them with wet rope, and as the rope dried, it tightened and lifted the columns a couple of millimetres. Pack columns with dunnage, re-rig ropes and repeat the process – many times. Ingenious. For his efforts, Nicolo was awarded a license to operate gaming tables between the columns. To curb the gaming the authorities used the air space above the tables for public executions, which were not infrequent.


A contemporary account says, “This morning ... in the piazza I saw the spectacle of two drowned men, three in the stocks and two hanged”, as though this was somewhat routine.

This rather spoiled the place as a gaming venue, and it’s still unlucky to walk between the columns. I don’t walk between them, and I’m not even a gambler.