We are getting anxious about our upcoming trip to Italy. We have three days in Florence and two and a half days in Venice to think about. What are the things we must see in these cities.
Thank you.

Fodor's has a "Best in 3 days" itinerary for most cities. Just go to the "Detinations" bar at the top of this page and visit the Florence and Venice pages where you will find links to the itineraries. They are pretty representative of "must see" sights for both cities.

Good advice from mamc. Also, do you have any special interests, hobbies, etc.?

I saw both cities in less time than you have, and I'll tell you, I woulda killed to have three days in Florence, that's for sure!

Venice -- See St. Marks, climb upstairs, have dinner (or drinks) on the square and listen to the dueling musicians who are quite the characters, shop on the Rialto Bridge and the farmer's market. Climb the tower across from St. Marks for a birds' eye view of all of Venice, see the Doges Palace, get lost and find yourself (or your hotel) again. Some people are enamored with the glass, I was bowled over by the prices, but still managed to buy a few things. I was done with Venice in a couple of days, but part of it was our budget limitations meant we couldn't do more or sacrifice other parts of our trip. Venice is expensive, but worth a look...I remember being on the Grand Canal the first time, having arrived by night train in the morning...and thought "Wow, it's like a post card just popped to life".

Florence -- We only had one night there, but we power-toured the city...Climb the Duomo (that is one heck of a painting inside, the "hell" part with the violent images of sticks on fire in people's butt's (no joke) which if you're like me, makes you want to repent immediately).

Go to the Uffizi and the Academmia, where you'll see The Birth of Venus painting by Bottacelli and Michelangelo's David Statue (impressive, but don't miss all the statues trying to "get out" of the stone he worked on that surround the David statue in adjoining rooms).

There's a famous bridge I didn't get to.

We stayed at a place called "hotel enza" that was very nice (service, clean rooms, reasonable $), on a neat street with an open market nearby. Scooters, scooters everywhere.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who have been there for days on end that can give you more ideas too.

I just read a book called "The Birth of Venus" by Sara Dunant that's historical fiction set in Renaissance Florence. I loved it, and wish I'd read it before I went to Florence to get a feel for how the city must have been back then.

Happy travels!

Jules

Author: RufusTFirefly
Date: 03/12/2005, 07:37 pm
A partial list of things to visit, see, and do in Venice:

Piazza San Marco, Basilica San Marco, Campanile, Palace of the Doges, Grand Canal on a vaporetto, Lagoon islands: (Murano, Burano, Torcello), San Michelle, Gondola yard. The Arsenal and the Naval Museum, Corrier Museum, Accademia art museum, Peggy Guggenheim Gallery, numerous art shows and exhibits that are always running, The Ghetto.

Too many churches to list with interesting art and architecture, but...Basilica Santa Mariadella Salute, Basilica dei Frari, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, San Sebastiano, San Pietro di Castello, Santo Giovanni E Paolo, Madonna dell'Orto. Venice's churches have some of Italy's greatest works of art--many free to view by the likes of Tintoretto, Veronese, Titian, Bellini, Vivarini, and Carpaccio.

Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Scuola San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Scuola San Nicolo, Scuola Grande Dei Carmini, Scuole Grande of San Rocco.

Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Ca’ Rezzonico museum, Querini-Stampalia palace/museum, San Giovanni Evangelista, Ponte di Rialto, Rialto market, Ca’ d’Oro, Ca' Pesaro museum, Correr museum, gondola tour of smaller, hidden canals. Opera and concerts at La Fenice. Walking away from the daytripping herds and discovering a quiet, secret city that most tourists have no clue exists.