My wife and I spent five nights in Rome in September 2004. It was our first visit. We adored it. We could easily have stayed two more nights. I did not think Rome was hectic at all. Busy, yes. Hectic, no.

We then went on to four nights in Venice, which was a terrific contrast and afforded a much slower pace where we could relax.

Terrific trip - consider Venice over Florence if you only have time for two cities.

- dwz

PS Hi Eloise

My husband loves Florence, so we have to go there. We were thinking of combining Venice with a future trip to Switzerland.

I’m seriously thinking about spending at least 10 days in Rome, with maybe a side trip or two. I thought about doing the usual Venice-Florence-Rome triad, but I’ve done that, usually giving Rome short shrift, because it’s the end of the trip and I’m tired. I think it might be very worth while to concentrate on just Rome for a change. Plus, I’ve grown a little tired of doing the three days here, two nights here, four days here scurry. I’ve focused on Paris the last three years, and I still want to go back.

I agree, you would not get bored spending a week in Rome. You can do some day trips (Pompeii). You may also consider spending 1 night on the road in a smaller town in between Rome and FLorence. We spent a night in ORvieto. It was nice to be in a small hilltop village for a change of pace. We took the Oriveto underground tour which my kids liked.

Your kids have a great age for a trip like this, and Italy is a very kid-friendly country. My son still talks about Italiy and he was 10 when we went (5 ys ago).

I've been on repeat visits to London, Paris, and (esp) NYC. To me, trying to see Rome is like trying to see those 3 all at once. Trying to do it all in 3 days of course would be stressful.

Like many cities, some of your best memories will be just hanging out and not worrying that you only did 12 of your 50 "must dos".

A week is absolutely not too long. <b>Parts</b> of Rome, however, are hectic.

More than any other city, I feel that which neighborhood you base yourself in has a huge impact on whether you find your week in Rome to be relaxing (see &quot;hanging out&quot;, above). For example - personally, I would not stay near the Spanish Steps, Via Veneto, or the Colossium. You'll pass through these areas in the course of your weeks sightseeing anyway. Coming back to a quiet square afterward is quite restorative. I'm particularly fond of Via Giulia and Via Coronari.