If you could only take one trip to Italy in your life time; Where would you go and what would you see?
 

Italy is packed full of so many wonderful places.Which are your favorites to see, if you could only go once, and why?

There are so many beautiful places in Italy. But, if I had to choose just one, it would be Venice. Purely magical!

If I had only one change to visit Italy, the strongest draw would be to see my ancestoral village (which I did visit). The reason? To satiate a life-long desire to see my where my roots were from.

Sicily: great variety in a single region, influence of so many different cultures throughout its history, climate, and 1/2 of my roots

Simple, if I could only go once, I would go and stay! You didn't say we HAD to come back.

Easy one: ROME. Everything else I could find in some way or another someplace else, but the majesty, history, and uniqueness of Rome makes it THE must see in Italy (IMHO).

That said, I would cry my heart out if I could not see Assisi, Pompeii, and Venice again.

I'm torn on this...have been there once and visited Rome, Venice and Florence. After weighing all of the facts I would choose Rome and here's why.

When my wife and I try to plan our return trip we say that we would hit all three again. When we both had to pick only one city (over a night of drinks we play these 'what if' games) we both picked Rome.

The history is incredible. Yes the other cities have history as well, but not thousands of years of history. From virtually every time period since Caesar (and before), there is something to be seen. And the Vatican, even for non-Catholics, is incredible. Just walking around the piazzas at night, down the alleys or sitting by a beautiful fountain makes enduring the traffic and crowds worth it all.

So for me and Mrs. mdtravel (not a dr by the way) it would be Rome, but we would side trip it to some other wonderful city.

If I had to rank the three that we saw it would be:
1. Rome
2. Venice
3. Florence

For natural splendor, warmth of the people, and simply prepared foods like the excellent lemon gelato in Positano, I'd have to pick the Amalfi Coast.

I haven't been everywhere in Italy, but having been to Rome and a few other places, I have to say Rome. Tuscany was beautiful, Venice was fabulous, but Rome has marvels on a scale unequalled in my travels.

On the other hand, the question is where you would go if you could only take one trip. Doesn't specify how long a trip, doesn't specify how many places you should see. So I say I would have to include Rome in this trip for the ancient sites, the Vatican, and the evenings hunting down the most congenial trattoria on the winding streets. Then I would expand it with a day trip to Pompeii and some time spent in the countryside, maybe Tuscany or Umbria, finishing up in Venice for its otherworldly quiet and the amazing effect of its filtered light.

Rome, without a doubt!!!

Recently returned from our first trip to Italy, and while it was all wonderful, if I had could only go to one city, it would be Rome. They say that "all roads lead to Rome", and after being there, it's easy to understand why. The history, the beauty, the magic of the ruins, it was wonderful. However, I will say that being able to see David would be worth a trip to Italy in itself, so Florence is another must.

IMHO, the Lakes !
Big cities are not my thing.

Dayle is right; however, nobody who goes to Italy once will ever be satisfied until they return.

"To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything." (Goethe)

These words still hold true today. Hands down it's Sicily for me but I don't call myself Sicula for nothing.

Rome and then Venice.

How long a visit?

I would visit the Blue Grotto on the Isle of Capri. I've been to Capri twice (day trips only) and could not get into the Grotto either time due to high tides. :-( Next time I will stay a few days in Capri so I can catch the tide at the right time.

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas so far.I really love the idea of not coming back. ;;)

ira, I really didn't have a time frame in mind for this question.However, when I do get to take my first and perhaps only, trip to Italy it will probably be for about 2 weeks. As all of Italy looks so wonderful it will be very hard to narrow it down.That is why I am wondering what your favorite places are.

Venice, because there is simply no where else like it.

Dottie, my husband and I had the same dilemma as you when we made our first trip to Italy. We had only two weeks and wanted to see everything!! It was really hard trying to pare down our "gotta see" lists.

In the end, we divided our trip into three segments and started in Rome, trained down to the Amalfi Coast, and then went up to Umbria. I'm very happy with the wonderful things we saw, even though we missed the biggies like the Tuscan countryside, Florence, and Venice. Some people are aghast that we didn't see the David or the canals of Venice. (Sometimes I'm aghast, too!) But I've come to the conclusion that Italy offers so much splendour all around that no matter what you choose to see on your trip, it will have been worth it. It's a beautiful country.