My husband and I will be going on an Eastern Med cruise that departs from Rome on August 24 and returns to Rome on September 3. We want to add 8 days to explore Venice, Florence, and a little bit of Rome either before or after the cruise. Not sure how we're dividing our time in each city, so I'll probably solicit advice about that in another thread. We have some pros and cons for going before and for going after, and we can't decide which is best. So I thought I'd throw the question to the travel experts on this site and see if anyone has any strong recommendation one way or the other. Thanking all of you in advance for helping us resolve this.

I assume you are talking about next year, since your stated dates have long since passed for this year.

On your cruise, does it go to Venice, since you said it was to the eastern Med. What kinds of things interest you. Have you been to Italy prior to this?

These are all things that will help us give better advice.

dave

I would definitely add the days on at the end of the trip.

No question -- definitely add your Italy time after the cruise. Weatherwise & madding crowd-wise, August is not best time to visit. Both city centers of Venice & Florence are small and easily can get choked with tourists.

I would also definitely add time at the end. August is so hot, and September might be a little cooler. That being said, since you are departing from Rome, I would go at least a couple of days ahead and see a bit of Rome before the cruise.

Before: You are at the peak time when families can travel. You have to deal with small shops/restaurants closed for the summer. Very difficult to find accommodations if you later decide to head out to vacation destinations such as CT.

Agree, definitely after. Will still be very busy, but probably better than August.

Okay, so it seems like after is the consensus. Yes, these dates are for next year (2012), but it never hurts to start planning early. I'm one of those travelers who likes to do lots of research so I make the most out of my travel time.

To Dave: Unfortunately, the cruise does not go to Venice. We have been to Italy once before. It was also as part of a cruise itinerary (Western Med), which unfortunately didn't give us much time in any one place. It gave us a lay of the land, and we want to see things much more in depth this time. We have never been to Venice, so that city is completely unexplored territory for us. We had one day in Florence - a Monday - so all museums were closed. Ugh. We love art, museums, architecture, gardens, walking, dining, wine...pretty much the whole gamut. Oh, and shopping, too!

In Florence, we saw the Santa Croce church, Giotto's bell tower, and the Duomo. Briefly ran onto the Ponte Vecchio for a photo. It was very much a running-around-like-chickens-with-our-heads-cut-off kind of visit. In Rome, we also had one day and covered a lot of territory: Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Square. We did not, however, get to go inside St. Peter's due to some papal gathering. Another ugh moment.

Would appreciate any suggestions of what to see/do/eat in any of these cities as we craft our itinerary.

I don't get greg's comments at all. What small shops closed for the summer? Why more difficult to find accommodations in September than in August when every Italian is on vacation?

Ok, this may seem crazy to some (and I love Rome, have been several times), but based on what you said about art, architecture, walking etc., and the fact that you have been in Rome before, you could do

Rome, two days: Make it a point to go inside St. Peter's and do not miss the Borghese Gallery. It really is beautiful. Lots of other great things to choose from.

Florence, three days: Spend time in the Uffizi, see David in the Accademia, really look at the Baptistery doors. Pick one other museum (especially good: Bargello and Duomo, but really depends on your interests) to explore. Take a day trip to Sienna. Don't miss the cathedral there.

Venice, three days: In addition to an overwhelming array of art and architecture, museums and churches, and lovely walking; consider an evening concert in one of the churches, riding a vaporetto on the Grand Canal late at night, going out on the balconay of San Marco for view of the Square. taking a gondola ride, getting up very early for one of the markets. With only three days, there is so much in Venice, don't try to do any day trips to any of the islands.

Are your plane tickets in and out of Rome already set? And not changeable? If not, you could fly out of Venice or Pisa (easy train ride from Florence). That would obviate the need for another stop in Rome -- and the trip back there.

I like Sassafras' suggestion of 2 days Rome/3 days Florence/3 days Venice. Use the train to get between cities.

Fall or Autumn depending on your linguistic preference and Spring are wonderful times to visit Italy. Your September dates are nearly perfect so it is good that you are choosing that month. Considering your interests, I also think that sassafras hit it just right.

I'd prefer September because it should be a little cooler and there should be fewer tourists.

We haven't made any airline reservations yet. Thinking about getting to Rome a day early to see the inside of St. Peter's and maybe Borghese Gallery as well. Are there also gardens at Borghese that you can tour? So then when we are done with the cruise, we can immediately take the train to Florence, spend some time there (how many days are enough for Uffizi, Accademia, Piti Palace w/Boboli Gardens, and shopping on the Ponte Vecchio?), then take the train to Venice (is 3 days enough here? make it 4?), then fly home from Venice.

Have no idea if this is a reasonable plan. Have heard flying home from Venice could be trickier and more complicated than flying home from Rome, but we don't want to have to take the train both directions.

The recommendation to avoid flying home from Venice is a general comment, and does not hold true for all cases. Your particular flight might be an exception, so you should look into it.

For people returning to U.S. two factors generally work against coming home from Venice 1) very early morning departures and 2) time it takes to travel by water, at some point, to the airport.

I'm not sure that I'm convinced that you ought to do the whole of your trip after the cruise - you could split it up either by flying into venice and spending time there and in florence before the trip, and rome afterwards, or if the flight times are better this way, vice versa.

BTW, please don't spend too long shopping on the Ponte Vecchio - there are far better, nicer and cheaper places to shop, for example the shops on the road facing the Pitti Palace and the little lanes running off it, as well as the area north of santa croce and east of the Duomo, not to mention the san lorenzo market.

as for gardens, i much preferred the Giardino Bardini to the Boboli [it is also in Oltrarno.] and is on the same ticket if you buy your ticket at the Bardini.