3 girlfriends and myself are planning a first trip to Italy in early May of 2010. We are not interested in doing a lot of driving. Is there one best place to locate to see city and country? Someone has suggested we station ourselves in Florence and take day trips from there. Any thoughts from Italy travellers?

Sounds like a good plan. Try to include train trips to Rome and Venice.

It depends on what areas you want to visit. If you stay in Florence, you could do day trips to other towns in Tuscany or even Umbria, but you couldn't realistically day trip to Rome, Venice, the Amalfi Coast, the lakes, etc. If you have time, maybe you could pick several "bases" and from which to explore. You could also travel by train and/or bus if you don't wish to drive.

Hi,

You haven't written about how many days you have.
In any case driving in Italy is a different ball game.

Italy is a vast country and seeing it by making one city as a base is not practical. But, you will find the real Italy away from the big cities.

You can try a combination of train in between the bases and Car. You will have to rely on public transport in the cities.

If you have to, then you can base yourself at 2 places
1. Florence or Milan- Day trips to Portofino, Cinque Terre, Genova, Pisa, Turin, Venice, Como.

Then move down south, Spend a few days in Rome.
Move further down south,
2. Sorrento- Amalfi coast.

Italy is very beautiful, charming and enchanting. You will love it, whichever way you go.
Best luck.

I beg to differ with a lot of the above advice.

Italy's cities are surrounded by countryside, and trains and buses easily get you out of the city into beautiful places.

Where you base really is a very subjective call, based on what kind of people you are.

You can either base yourself in a small town with good transportation connections to big attractions for daytrips

or

You can base yourself in a big city and day trip into smaller towns surrounded by pretty countryside.

I also want to correct the impression that Milan or Florence is a good base for day trips to Portofino, le Cinque Terre or ANY of the places mentioned by Paragkash. All of them are hours and hours away by train.

You won't love Italy if you pick a city base when you'd rather be in the country, or vice versa. And you won't love Italy if you are relying on its trains and buses unless you keep your ambitions for covering ground modest.

That said, I also want to correct the impression the Rome is a difficult day trip from Florence. it's not. It's quite doable.

The three of you first need to identify what kind of Italian "city" you want to experience and what kind of Italian "country" you want to experience.

Hi P,

>Is there one best place to locate to see city and country?<

No.

Really? I think Florence or Siena or Pisa or a small town in Tuscany is an excellent location to use as a base for seeing many of the great urban achievements of Italy plus access to a very beautiful countryside, or vice versa. I feel the same way about Perugia or a small town in Umbria. Rome, Napoli, Sorrento and Salerno all strike me as great urban bases for access to countryside and fantastic historic and artistic sights.

Big towns I wouldn't pick are Venice and Bologna, or Genova or Milan.

Maybe you are saying there is MORE THAN ONE great place. But you can pick ONE place and experience the peak of Italian urban achievement and enjoy beautiful countryside -- 30 minutes to an hour from each other. Sometimes in the same location.