I'll be in Italy from October 8-23 traveling solo. After 3 nights in Venice and 3 nights in CT (which I am visiting prior to Florence so as to skip the weekend crowds), I have 9 nights before my 8 am flight out of Rome. Originally I was thinking:

2 nights Florence (interested in almost everything but art overload?)
2 nights Assisi (Perugia, sites)
5 nights Rome (Vatican, Ancient Rome, Borghese, Cappuchin Crypt, Ostia Antica)

Now I'm thinking about cutting a night from Rome for Florence or Umbria. My thought is that I wouldn't want to spend 5 nights in NYC, so why Rome? If I choose Florence, I'd have more time for Baptistery/Duomo climb, Accademia, Uffizi, tons of churches, Pitti, etc.) or even a day trip to Siena...if Assisi, I'd have time for a hike to Spello or to visit Gubbio. What would you choose?

another,

From you comments, it sounds like this is your first trip to Italy. I personally, wouldn't want to spend 5 days in NYC either, less would be fine for me, but then I have been there once before and can make that judgement. I did like NYC, but would only visit in very small doses.

5 days in Rome won't even scratch the surface! Remember, Rome is a few thousand years older than NYC. Everyone has their favorite major Italian city, but there is MUCH more to see in Rome than Florence. Plus, the main sights in Florence are more condensed and you can see a lot if you make res in advance where possible.

3 nts in Venice is good
3 nts in CT is good, if you hit good weather that late in the year and want to hike - if not - move on to Umbria - stay somewhere on the CT where you can check out early if needed
2 nts in Assisi is OK - personally I would do a day trip there and stay elsewhere (Spello, Gubbio, Bevegna, Montefalco)
5 nts in Rome - a great start

Buon viaggio!

Another point to note, particularly for Florence - if you are planning to visit the Uffizi, Accademia, etc then check opening/closing days (ie closed Monday in most cases)and make sure that you plan your visits around that knowledge.

Dayle, why would you not stay in Assisi? I have heard that it is quiet and nice at night, but I'm open to other towns on the Florence/Rome train lines, if you have a suggestion for why any of those towns are better I'd love to hear it. Do you find Rome as "overwhelming" in the sense that NYC makes you kind of want to just escape after a while?

madam, Florence is Friday-Sunday so most everything is open and I've got all the hours down. I'm still debating whether I should just cancel my hotel in CT until I know the weather..but it's such a nice place at 200 euro for 3 nights in Riomaggiore, I'd hate to give it up if I did end up going. I could go to Bologna/Ravenna/Ferrara as a possible alternative...FOOD!

ats, good that you're in Florence on a weekend - just a note in case you shop, on Sunday the shops open after 12noon. All the rest (museums, etc) will be open, and don't forget there will be mass in the Duomo and Santa Croce (and other churches of course) on Sunday at various times (think Duomo is 5pm) which will mean access is limited at these times.

As Dayle noted, weather can be tricky in October, but that's when you're going so I wouldn't let it put you off CT. I once spent 7 days there in September and the usual Autumn/Fall storms of the Med hit for 6 of the days - still got to see everything I wanted, had wicked thunder and lightning shows at night and go to know the caffe/bar owners in some towns quite well as I waited out the rain. You only have 2 full days in CT and Riomaggiore is a good start for some excellent retaurants (including a great seafood one which I think is called Il Controvelaccio but it's on the right as you walk up the main street, blue and white decor - I really must write names down!)and you can easily walk to one or two villages and catch the train back. I'd keep it in your itinerary. No need to go to Bologna for food (well, there is, but next trip!) as you'll find plenty of regional specialties in all the places you're currently going.

I'd like to see you have one more night in Florence, one full day won't really let you see/do much. And if it comes at the expense of Rome then 4 nights Rome will also be fine - considering your reasons stated, I think you'll find 3 full days (and a sneaky half day on arrival day) right for you.

No, I didn't feel overwhelmed in NYC, just felt extremely crowded. Rome is high energy too, but it seems the crowds are mainly at the big tourist sights, not EVERYWHERE. Just a very diff vibe than NYC. I love Rome after 2 visits and my next will include a week there in an apt.

I DID stay in Assisi and I liked it but I LOVED Spello, where I stayed at Palazzo Bocci**** (fabulous). You can see Assisi from the top of Spello. Assisi is all about the Catholic religion (and art of course). Just way too many tour groups and pilgrims for my taste. Yes, I was one of them. It's a beautiful city.

Spello is tiny, very scenic, very quiet, untouristed, fabulous views, and a couple of excellent restaurants. Il Mulino (Plazzo Bocci's restaurant across the street) was wonderful. Lots and lots of flowers in this little town.

I would not say to cut out CT, just know your hotel's cancellation policy, check the weather reports, so you can adjust if you want to.

We stayed in Santa Margherita Ligure for 3 nts and would have loved a 4th. From there we hiked 4 out of 5 towns one day, and visited Portofino another. We really liked SML itself and I would go back.

Hope this helps!

hi, ATS,

I just got back from a 10 day solo trip to Italy [a little bit different to yours as the first week I was doing a language course] and spent the last 3 nights in Florence, where I'd already been twice, the 2nd time for a whole week. Even so, I still found loads to see and do, and I reckon I could have spent at least a week there without getting bored.

I love Rome, but it is a much more diverse and daunting place than Florence, where you can walk all over the city quite easily.

the other thing about solo travel is that it is really nice when you go somewhere and they recognise you and say hello, and start to chat to you. That only starts to happen after a few days, so that is an advantage of staying put for a while.

Personally, I would just go to Florence between the CT and Rome, and really get to know it well. but that's just me!

PS - if you want a splurge, the sunday brunch at the four Seasons in Florence is excellent and a lot of fun. [€70 for as much as you can eat plus wine, water and coffee] they were really good to me as a solo diner too.

PPS - click on my screen-name to see the TR of my recent trip to southern Tuscany and Florence.