planning a trip to ital 5/22 to 5/26 in 2002. is this a good time of year to go? is there a better time of year (fiscally speaking)? what should i see in such a short time?

Wow! That is one quick trip! Well, weather-wise, May is usually quite lovely, so you should do well on that front. Some prices do creep up a bit for hotels, but depending on where you might be going (Rome, for example), the difference might be pretty negligible. Many hotels rate "high season", though as June through August or September, some raise prices as early as Easter. You're doing yourself a great service, though, to do your "homework" early, thereby lessening the likelihood of any disappointments on your trip. Do you have specific city (or cities) in mind? <BR>BC

radarsmith, <BR>I tend to go to italy in the European spring/Autumn when prices are lower and there are less crowds. Winter is best price wise but gets very cold. <BR>Four days in Italy is obviously very short, and it depends on if your flying in or not. <BR>Four days in Rome will allow you to just scratch the surface if your into history. <BR> <BR>Four days in Tuscany, travelling around by car sounds possible, heaps of great little towns and not much crazy traffic. <BR>Entry airport is Pisa. <BR> <BR>My favourite of all time is Venice, but it tends to break the bank in May.

With only 4 to 5 days I would go only to one city. It would appear that you would have no time to travel between cities.

May is a fine time to go to Italy.. but if you are really short on funds, I suggest April or my favorite month March! That is the best for us, in terms of Air fare, hotels,,,but you do play dodge ball with the weather. If I were you I would pick a city and stick to it. If this were me, and I only had a few days,,,, and keep in mind if travelling from the US, you loose a day on the trip over... if you leave on say, Wednesday night sometimes you don't actually arrive until Friday Morning, if you have a stop over or something. Having said that, if that were my trip, I'd either go to Venice which is really expensive no matter when you go, but magical and worth it, IMHO, or Florence, and maybe take a tour of the outlying areas for one of your days.. I'd leave Rome for another trip. Bon Voyage

Well I think this answer depends on a few things... if this is your first trip to Italy and if you will not have an opportunity to go again, I would honestly consider 2 places if you are not concerned with seeing every single attraction there is, and enjoy experiencing the area in general. <BR> <BR>For instance, Rome and Florence could definitely be enjoyable if you were to spend 2 days in each place. It is a quick train ride between the two cities. Just narrow your "must-sees" to about 1 to 3 attractions per day (depending on if it's a museum, etc.), and you could still have a wonderful time while experiencing two totally different places. Just some food for thought.