didi

It was wonderful!! We just got back this Friday and would like to thank everyone for all of the help in planning. All the hotel suggestions were great and we would definitely stay in all of them again. The hotels were as follows:

Rome: Hotel Del Senato - great view of the Pantheon and great location. Piero who works front desk was so nice and a great help.

Tuscany (Montalpulciano area): Villa Ciccolina -beautiful place and Antonio and Daneli were both wonderful people who work there and made our stay very pleasurable.

Tuscany (Chianti area): Villa il Poggiale - another beautiful place in a good location only about 20 kilometers from Florence.

Venice: Foscari Palace - great location and very nice place. Had a room right on the Grand Canal.

The food was amazing, the weather was gorgeous, the people were wonderful (well, almost all of them), and there are so many incredible sights to see, many of which left me breathless.

My husband and I can't wait to spend our next vacation back in Italy! When we start our planning again we will get more suggestions from all of you here on Fodors.

Grazie millie!

annabelle2

Glad you had a great trip! How long were you there?

travelgirl2

Welcome back. Italy is intoxicating, isn't it? Glad you enjoyed it.

Margaretlb

Isn't it so true, once you've been to Italy you have to return!! My DH and I also loved the Foscari Palace - great breakfast.

didi

We were there for two weeks and, of course, it wasn't long enough! It is definitely intoxicating and I'm still talking about our experiences and am sure I will until my next trip back. People ask "Which place did you like the best?" I couldn't even answer because each are Rome, Tuscany, Venice has their own beauty and charm that makes you want to return. I can't wait to see all the rest of Italy!

spk

didi,
Can you tell me a little more about the Del Senato in Rome. I am leaving for Italy next week and will be staying there for several nights. Thank you,
Susan

jicobrje

my husband and I are going in October for 2 weeks starting in Rome -Florence-Venice-Como and leaving from Zurich. Did you have a car? Did you take side trips or tours? Did you have museum tickets in advance?

didi

Hi guys, sorry I haven't gotten a chance to reply in a while.
Susan - I hope you enjoyed the Del Senato. Please let me know what you thought and I apologize for not getting back to you sooner.

jicobrje - yes, we rented a car in Tuscany. We took a train from Rome to Chiusi and rented a car there. It was definitely needed since we were in Tuscany for a total of 6 nights. We dropped the car off in Florence and took the train to Venice from there. I liked the order in which we did things and would do them that way again.

We stayed in Rome for 5 nights but didn't take any side trips because we were too busy seeing things in Rome. In Tuscany we drove around to all the hilltowns and into Florence for a day. The only side trips we took in Venice were to Murano and Burano for the day.

We booked the Vatican tour with Context Rome which I highly recommend. We also booked the Borghese, Uffizi and Accademia in advance. What time of year are you going?

jicobrje

We are going for 2 weeks in mid September. Spending 3 nights in Rome and 5 nights in Tuscany, one in Venice then on to Como for 3 nights. We don't need a car in Rome and thought of taking the train to Sienna and getting a car there for 5 days.