Is a Day Trip from Rome to Florence Advisable?
 

Thanks to the good advice from many Fodorites, we have settled the Italy leg of our European vacation, at least as to flights and cities. We are spending 3 nights in Venice (in July) and 4 nights in Rome. My question now is whether we should spend one of those days and do a train trip from Rome (or Venice) to Florence. By the train schedules, it looks like the trip from Rome is about 1.5 hours. It would be a long day--would it be a worthwhile day trip?

Hi g,

It is doable, however I suggest a daytrip to Orvieto if you get tired of Rome.

It's not quite so far and won't be so wearing.

Also, lunch at I Sette Consoli is more than worth the trip.

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((I))

Your train from Venice to Rome will go through Florence. You could stop off for a couple hours and see how you like it. (I'm assuming you're taking to train between Venice and Rome. I'm not sure about baggage storage facilities in Florence SMN.) However, with only 4 nights 3 days in Rome, I wouldn't give up a whole day for Florence. There's too much to see and do in Rome. If Florence was really important to you, you already be going there.

Yes, we are taking the train from Venice to Rome. Is it possible when buying our tickets to schedule a later train from Florence to Rome? Would it all be on the same ticket or would we buy them separately?

Just a few hours in Florence will do neither you nor the city any favors: the minimum time to spend there would be 3 days. The trip Venice to Florence is only about 1.5 hours by train, 3 by car, and to Rome about 3.5 hours, 5 by car. If you're not going to spend some days in Florence, or can't, go back another time and make Florence one of your destinations. It is the seat of the Renaissance in Italy; there is entirely too much to see, do, touch, feel, learn there to only devote a few hours. You'll come away with nothing for your trouble.

When we took a day trip from Rome to Florence it took us about 1.5 hours on the train. We left early and came back late, caught a cab at the train station back to our hotel.

It was a nice long tiring day but we had a wonderful time in Florence.

Thanks, SeaUrchin.

What all did you see in one day? Do you feel that you got at least a sense of the city? Ira recommended Orvieto instead, but the travel time to Florence really isn't much longer. Have you seen Orvieto and if so, which of the two would you recommend?

If you want to do Florence as a daytrip, I would leave Venice quite early in the morning, take the Eurostar to Florence, store your bags at Santa Maria Novella train station, and then stay for as long as you want before proceeding onwards to Rome. You wouldn't lose any time backtracking as you would with a daytrip.

We stopped once for a day in Florence. Took an 8AM Eurostar from Venice which got into Florence about 1100. Had lunch at the Antinori Cantinetta which was quite good. Met with our guide and toured the city until our 1900 train to Rome.
Later that year it turns out that none of my family had much of a memory of Florence. Went back to Florence and stayed a week.

HI desertgirl, I've been to Orvieto and it is really wonderful too and a lot closer to Rome. It is just that to me Florence is magical, I didn't like it much the first time when I was there for about three days then I spent just a day there on another trip and fell in love with it. I have been back about four or five times.

This last day trip from Rome was because we just had to see "our buildings" again and eat at our favorite restaurants.

I think you can get a feel of it, maybe read up on the Medici family history, Lorenzo and the whole group are fascinating. Someone mentioned a tour guide, that would be a good idea.

A day trip, if you decide to go, will give you a taste of the city and hopefully you will want to return and really explore.

On another thread Ira just gave some good restaurant recommendations. Let us know what you decide!

"Just a few hours in Florence will do neither you nor the city any favors"

The truth to that statement depends on you. Will you have the opportunity to see Florence in the near future if you can't go this time? For me we had one day in Florence and loved it. We saw 2 great museums, did some shopping and walked to the top of the duomo. It was going to be a long time before we came back so we were glad we saw it.

The accuracy to Sandra's statement depends on you and hour travel habits.

My reason for taking a day trip is that I do not think we will get back, at least for a long time (eight years of college lay in wait for my children and our wallets). And after much reading, research and the advice of fodorites, I decided to divide our stay between Rome and Venice to minimize the number of hotel changes.

I saw Paris for the first time in about 24 hours and the beauty stayed with me for years, until I took my husband back with me for a second visit. Even then, it was just as lovely as I remembered. So I think a day trip would be better than none at all.

Wekiva, you said you saw two museums in Florence--which ones?

During our 8 hours in Florence we saw the Accademia and Ufizzi and went to the Duomo. Since your time is limited I would recommend paying a bit extra and reserving a spot at the Accademia. We went 7 years ago so I can't remember where we made the reservations (back then it was all faxes and phones...none of this newfangled internet...ha)

If you won't be back for a long time I would definitely see Florence. But this also depends on you feeling comfortable you can see what you want to see in Vince and Rome.

We saw most of what we wanted to see in Rome in 2 full days and plan on seeing Venice in one full day (w/ 2 nights) in a few weeks...but of course we like the whirlwind style of travel. We will see things more slowly on our 3 and 4th trips. :)

We spent a little bit more than that, but accomplished a lot. We hired a guide through Vatican Tours and Beyond who bought tickets for us to the two major museums, met us early in the morning (she could meet you at the train station), walked us through the highlights and gave us art history lessons in the museums--all in 3-4 fast hours. It was wonderful to at least have a taste of the city. You could then see the river in the evening and take a late train back to Rome. Not the ideal way to see Florence, but better than nothing.

In July it is likely to be incredibly hot (90s or even 100) and guaranteed to be incredibly crowded.

Thanks, Wekiva and Amart--I will look into the advance arrangements. As to the temperatures, the expected heat was a factor in limiting our stay in Italy to one week, although we live in the desert and are accustomed to both heat and humidity. The rest of our vacation will be in the UK. The crowds we will just have to deal with; between work, summer jobs, school and other commitments, this was the only available time for us to go.

If you want to go to the Uffizi, get a reservation for it. The last time we went to Florence (2001), we just walked right into the Accademia in the late morning; the Uffizi seems to always have a line.

Hi dg,

Since it will be years before you get back, I go along with WT's suggestion, leave Venice early and store your luggage at SMN station. The 06:32 arrives at SMN at 09:21

This walk is downhill from the Accademia to the Ponte Vecchio.

Starting from the train station walk NE on Via Nazionale to Via Ariento. Go right to the Central Market.

Leave the Central Market on Ariento and continue to the Capelle Medici and San Lorenzo.

From the church, go E across the piazza and continue to via Ricasoli, Go left (N) to the Accademia and the David.

Head S on Ricasoli to the Duomo, the Baptistry and the Museo.

Go S on via del Calzaiuoli to Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi.

Go S to the river. The Ponte Vecchio is on your right.

You should have time for a couple of gelatos, lunch and a glass of wine.

You can return to the train station by bus or cab if you are too tired to walk.

See http://www.ataf.net/Default_EN.asp for bus schedules and maps.

Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations
The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 1016868 (dial around number), 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) then 055-294-883 8:30-18:30 M-F and 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time. You will get an English speaking operator and in 2-3 minutes YOU CAN RESERVE FOR BOTH. This is through the reservation service at the Uffizi and costs beyond the normal entry fee only about 3 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.

You will not be charged for the reservations unless you use them.


Have a nice day in Florence.

Absolutely do a day trip to Florence. Who cares if you can only be there for 8 or so hours, it's a small enough city that you can get a feel for it in that short amount of time.

It sounds like you have younger kids since they still have yet to go to college, and if that's the case, I would skip the Uffizi. You don't have much time, and most kids feel that once they've seen one famous painting, they've seen them all! (At least that's how my sisters and I felt when we were younger).

I would do as others suggested and get off the train in Florence as you're switching from Venice to Rome. I would visit the David because your kids will appreciate that, see the Duomo, have lunch in Piazza Republica, walk over the Ponte Vecchio, and then just wander around the city until you're ready to get on a train and continue to Rome.

It'll be a long day, but very worth it. While Siena is advisable for a 1-2 day trip, I was there for 3 weeks and had a great time. It all depends on your travel tastes- but I recommend going, especially because you won't be back in the near future.

I, too, would skip the Uffizi and opt for David. Much more doable, and would go either first thing in the morning, or I've gone the last hour or two before closing and only stood in line for a bit. The other people traveling with me also agreed on where they would go in they were there a day.

Wow--thanks, fodorites! Ira, your walking tour sounds wonderful. I have put it into my "notes" section for Italy. My kids, daughter 17, son 14, will probably want to opt out of the Uffizi, but we will definitely see the Piazza Republica and David.

As to the train--do I book the tickets as two separate trips (Venice to Florence and Florence to Rome), or Venice to Rome? Are departure times flexible leaving Florence on either the Eurostar or Trenitalia?