My wife and I are thinking of a trip to italy this coming year, will be there 24 mar to 08 apr, planning to fly into rome and spend at least 6 full days there, then some time tuscany, (see leaning tower of pisa a must) , then finish in venice, and fly out of there to home.

would very much appreciate any tips on how to divide up the 16 days we will have to see the destinations listed.

Also would this date be too close to easter (08 apr) where we may encounter huge crowds in rome?

My wife and I are speedy travelers, so bear that in mind with my reply. Six days in Rome is way too long. 2-3 is better and you'll still have time to see everything there. Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, south of Naples, are beautiful, but the opposite direction you are planning. Florence, Sienna, and St Gigmagno (sp?) are all nice. Florence is worth a couple nights and you could do day trips from Florence via bus/car. Bologna, Lucca, and Cinque Terre are all day trips from Florence/Pisa as well. The Leaning Tower is neat, but you'll be fighting for photo ops with the hordes of tourists no matter when you go. Venice is a great last stop for two nights.

Trains in Italy are very good and reasoably inexpensive. We've used trains, buses and driven (driven while living here in Europe)

I don't know about Easter and crowds in Italy as I haven't gone then.

Hi - mrfreeze - I like your basic plan a lot, including the 6 days in Rome, which imo is not too much at all.
You are starting in the right place, as you want to be out of rome before easter week starts [we were there for the week after easter last year and easter week is worse, i gather]. Should you get bored with rome itself, you can do side trips to tivoli and ostia antica for example, which would each take a day or so.
Then I would go to Tuscany, say Siena, and use that as a base, alternatively stay in a an agroturismo somewhere. Pisa can be done in a day trip from siena.
I would then allow myself 3 full days in venice before i flew home.
Hope this helps.

Hello mrfreeze, with the nice amount of time you will have I personally think staying in Rome for six days is ideal. Even with six days you can't see "everything" but you sure will be able to see a lot plus you will have time to enjoy outside cafes in the interesting piazza's and just absorb the Roman life.

With ten days left I would spend at least three or perhaps four night in Venice which would give you six or seven nights in Tuscany.

Bologna is a wonderful city and you could either stop there on the way to Venice for lunch or for an overnight visit.

You will be in Rome before Easter week since you are staying there first. Actually I have been in Rome during Easter week and Easter Sunday and Monday I didn't find it to be a problem at all.

Have fun finetuning your trip. You are planning it quite well. Best regards.

Hello,

I think 6 days in Rome will give you time to see the main sights but also will make you realize that there is so much you will miss by not having more days. I guess this just means you will have to come back ;-) After Rome you can take the train to Florence for two or three days and then on to Pisa. From Pisa you could spend two or three days in Tuscany and then on to Venice to finish out your trip.

Alternately, if you want to reduce the amount of hotel changes, you could use Florence as a base, after your 6 days in Rome, and take day trips to Pisa and the surrounding areas. Then from Florence you can take the train to Venice. I suggest this only because I hate to pack and unpack every two days, so I tend to stay longer in one place and do day trips from there. With the train system being so good in Italy it is really quick and easy (not to mention inexpensive) to take the train to the surrounding towns.

Hope this helps, Donna

I also think 6 days in Rome is not too much. I spent 5 nights there last Sept as part of a 17-night trip, 11 nights in March and I'm going back for 9 more nights over Christmas. You could go from dawn 'til midnight for 6 days and not see everything. (Of course, I don't recommend that!) Here is my idea of a good breakdown:
5 nights Rome
3 nights somewhere in Tuscany (I highly recommend Pienza. It's a good location for visiting other hilltowns, good restaurants, good shopping. Very quiet at night, though, if that's something you don't like)
3 nights Florence with a daytrip to Pisa
4 nights Venice

Have a great trip!

I thoroughly second Susan's intinerary (though I <i>might</i> take a day from Rome and add to Tuscany).
Sounds like a dream trip to me!

Six days in Rome is great and I think the worries about Easter are unfounded. I was in Rome when the last Pope died and 4 million people showed up without notice. They all headed for the Vatican. I headed for the Jewish quarter. It worked out fine! The piazza San Pietro absorbs a lot of people.

The tower in Pisa is one of the most beautiful architectural structures, and the adjacent cathedral, bapitstery and other monuments there are also stunning. Pisa also has other Renaissance churches of note, and once you get away from the super-touristy area around the tower, is an interesting and pleasant Italian city. So plan to spend a full day there.

Hi Mrfreeze,

I too agree roughly with SusanP's outline and that 6 days in Roma is NOT too much. I would:

6 nights Rome
train to Orvieto or Chuisi and get a rental car
4 nights Tuscany (not too much!)
maybe see Pisa by driving &amp; turn in car at Empoli
train Empoli to Florence 2 nights
4 nights Venice

My first trip to Itay included the week prior to Palm Sunday (week before Easter week). Venice was wonderful, nearly deserted, a little damp with partial sunshine, wore coats but no hats or gloves needed, no rain. Very atmospheric!

Florence was a screaming zoo with hoards of student tour groups (of all ages)on field trips out for spring break along with the regular tourists. This was in the days before Uffizi res and we waited in line for 2 1/2 hours. Make Res!

Rome was busy, but not bad since it's a big city anyway. Sistene Chapel and many sights closed on Palm Sunday, but once mass was over, we toured St. Peter's and we were treated to a wonderful Rennaisance (I can never spell that) parade in the piazza. Great traditional costumes. Then we got to see the Pope.

Tuscany should be nice and uncrowded with the fields green. Red poppies probably won't be out that early.

I'm so envious just thinking about it.
You've got a great start. Make your lodging res now, you'll get the best choices, with mid to low season rates.

Also - I think the only train res you would really need in advance would be to Venice, from where ever. Many Italians go to Venice for holiday weekends and the trains are jam packed!

buon viaggio!

Dayle, That's a good schedule, too, except mrfreeze has 15 nights, not 16 (which is why I gave him 5 nights in Rome instead of 6).

Well,
he could aways claim his flight was canceled, right? That would be a completely believable excuse these days!:-&quot;

Dayle, Yes, anything for an extra night in Italy!

Thank you all very much for the great advise, Dayle, you noted that venice can be very crowded on holidays, is easter weekend likely to be a bad time to be there?
Thank you

Bill

Bill,

Since I have not been in Venice exactly that weekend, I really can't say. I'm sure there are other Fodorites here who have been there during Easter week.

When I was there at the end of May a few years ago, the ES from Milano Centrale was completely full. People getting on in Verona had to stand for the next 1 1/2 hours. Although I was traveling on a Thursday, I was told it was busy due to an Italian holiday weekend.

Italians do a lot of traveling and sightseeing themselves during Eastertime, most especially Easter weekend. (Monday is a holiday for them as well.)

If you plan to take the trains, it's good to reserve your seats in advance, and you should book your hotels fairly early as well.

In Venezia, the most crowded areas are around piazza San Marco and the Rialto bridge between 10 am and 5pm, which is when the tour buses and cruise ships dump a lot of people into Venezia. If you plan to visit those places at some other hour you can avoid the worst of the crowds.

If you are in Venezia on Easter Sunday, you should make an effort to actually attend a High Mass at the Basilica San Marco. It will be a dazzling affair.

I like Susan's plan too, but my &quot;somewhere in Tuscany&quot; would be Siena. Even if you don't stay there, I would highly recommend you visit and have at least one dinner at either Trattoria Fori Porta or Trattoria dei Pepei.