Hello,<BR><BR>First time to Europe and will be spending two weeks in Italy. Please give me your opinion on my itinerary. I am flying in/out of Rome.<BR><BR>Rome (3), Florence(2), Sienna(2), Venice(2), Amalfi Coast (3). <BR><BR>Thanks!<BR>

That's alot of moving around --- I'd drop Siena as an overnight destination. Rather stay in Florence for 3 nights and do Siena as a daytrip from Florence.<BR>

No, no, drop Florence overnight, do as daytrip from Siena and stay 3 nights in Venice.

Agree with dropping Siena and making it a daytrip from Florence. This is assuming you like a little more to do at night. Florence is still charming, but more of a city with tons of great dining options. We spent four nights there without leaving for any day trips and had a great time. We enjoy doing a couple sites a day, but also having down time just to wander, hang out or whatever.<BR><BR>Siena has great sites, is charming, but a little more limited in the entertainment options. Again, our preference is biased towards a little larger towns.<BR><BR>Also, I think you can cover most of the sites in Siena in one long day (including spending some great down time in the prettiest Piazza in all of Italy IMHO). We had a great lunch there the other day at Osteria Le Logge (order the malfatti).<BR><BR>I would do 4 nights in Florence and do a day trip to Siena. The only other suggestion on your trip is you're missing several great small hilltowns (Cortona, Orvieto, Montalcino, etc.)

As you can see, it really depends on your own tastes. Personally, I don't think you're spending enough time in Rome. The itinerary isn't bad if you just want to experience a little taste of different parts of Italy, but I think it will be tiring. I'd suggest dropping either Amalfi or Venice and adding the time to Rome and Florence.

3 nights in rome, 3 nights in amalfi, 3 nights in florence(dedicate a day to driving through chianti south to an afternoon and dinner in siena)3 nights in venice. Rome is amazing, but you can get th ebasics in pretty quickly and then move out out of there, its too busy. In Amalfi, make sure to get to Positano, Ravello, and Pomepeii. I did an identical trip last time, but instead of florence, staged out of san gimignano for tuscany, felt like we weren't too rushed and had a wonderful time.

You didn't mention which days of the week you will be in Florence. Know that the museums close on certain days so be sure you schedule allows for that. I would extend the Florence stay to 3 and cut Sienna to 1. There is much more to see and do in Florence and three nights will give you enough of a taste to want to return. How are you traveling from town to town? Train, car?

You'll be exhausted! I suggest dropping Siena and Amalfi. I did Rome 4 nights, Florence 3 and Venice 4. Looking back, I'd stay florence 4 and Venice 3. And I was very tired at the end, so much train travel, packing/unpacking. You can do Siena and San G. in one day trip.