Nancy2361

One week in Italy - 6 nights. Flying into Rome heading to Paris. Any suggestions for making the most of the time in Italy? Do not mind traveling out of Rome, especaially to Venice.

vjpblovesitaly

First thing you should do is get a guidebook. Your question is too broad. You might want to consider staying in Rome the hotel and maybe take a day trip or too. Not necessarily to Venice since it's pretty far.

Nancy2361

I am beginning to look through Frommers and see how I can narrow down. I can only assume a trip to Italy must include Rome but do not think I would want the entire six days there. Will research some day trips and thank you for your

greg

One way to make the most of time is not to backtrack. You can easily do Rome and Venice. If you want to make most of the time and if you fly into Rome, then take a train to Venice, then fly to Paris without backtracking to Rome. You could have also flown into Venice, then take a train to Rome, then fly to Paris. I presume you are already locked into flying into Rome.

While some think "musts" exist in vacuum, I think they exist to accomplish certain purposes. Must visit for what purpose? If you are into high mountains, the Dolomites are must visit and Rome is not. If you want Renaissance arts and architectures, Florence is a must over Rome.

You need to decide whether "you must spend so many days in Rome before heading out to elsewhere" applies to you. Of course there are many things to do in Rome to fill all your time in Italy. You need to weigh if distributing visits between Rome and Venice meets your objectives better than staying put in Rome. The worst mistake from my first trip to Europe was listening to those saying "you must spend so many days here." I was ready to move onto the next destination where I would have wanted to spend more time.

Is this still the planning for your anniversary trip?

Cjar

Greg has it right. For our trip in October it was important to me to see art that I might never get the chance to see again. For my husband it was important to sleep in ,eat good food, drink wine and have an afternoon nap. Figure out what makes you happy. : ) Our visit to Venice included an evening concert. The highlight of Florence was a walk through the Oltrarno district and the Medici Chapel. In Rome my husband loved the Colosseum ( we had an after hours night tour. It gave us goosebumps.) and I could have stared at Bernini's works in the Borghese for longer than the allowed two hours. We also drove through Pienza and Montichiello en route. I would love to go back. I believe any of these are viable options for you. What floats your boat?

adrienne

I disagree that Rome must be included in an Italy trip. Your trip should include what you want to see. If you do decide to visit Rome, 5 days (6 nights) is not too much time there.