We arrive into Rome at 9am on a Sunday and have to get our car and drive to Florence. How long will it take us and what time should we reserve to see the Accademia that day? Would 4pm give us ample time to get there, check in, and change?

i don't know where you're flying from but you may be very tired to do all that traveling then a musuem in 1 day.

Timewise, it won't be a problem at all. The drive from Rome is pretty quick. I would plan the "strat" time as 11:00. The Accademia is a fairly small museum, so it shouldn't exhaust you. You might also consider going to a museum or church that foesn't need reservations, like the Bargello. <BR>As a side note, I was just in Italy for two weeks, and drove from Rome to Flornce, up the coast through Pisa. If you have't seen the tower, you might consider doing that. The drive to Pisa is about 3 1/2 hours and then about 1 1/2 hours from Pisa to Florence. Make sure you have very good city maps. We found it hard to make our way ONTO the autostrada. Also, always follow the signs telling you where to go and not what you think is the best/shortest route.

We just did the Rome-Florence drive last week. The car rental agencies are in the parking garage at Fiumicino - easy to find. It takes about 30-45 minutes to get from the airport to the A1 autostrada up to Florence. Once on the A1, you can zip right along (we saw cars going close to 100 mph - not kmh!). Don't forget there are tolls to pay once you get off the A1, so have some euros handy. <BR><BR>Side note - Are you dropping off your car in Florence? Of all the drives we did in italy, finding our car rental agency was the worst! We had rented with Avis and were to drop off at the train station (SM Novella). Turns out their office is several blocks away,not in the terminal as we'd been told, and they closed early. We had to drive back out to the airport to drop off the car and then take a cab into our hotel. Thank goodness for the Florence map I bought at Barnes & Noble before leaving home! That said, you should plan about 2.5 - 3 hours for the drive. I think a 4 pm reservation would be OK - even later would be alright. The Accademia had some of its exhibits closed when we were there. So, we just zipped in and spent 30 minutes looking at the David.<BR><BR>You might consider, as we did, booking the Accademia for first thing the next morning. That way, you can meander through the back roads of Tuscany en route to Florence - the towns of Orvieto and Cortona are lovely!<BR><BR>Hope this helps!<BR>Beverly

I agree with M. Why try to put so much in one day? It will take you a few hours just to get on the road from the airport. The drive from Rome to Florence is about 2 hours. Driving to the city center from the Firenze Sud or Firenze Certosa highway exit will take at least 30 minutes, and making one's way to a hotel in the center is not an easy feat unless you are familiar with the city. Save the Accademia for the following day.

We drove from Rome to Florence (stopped in Orvieto along the way) and arrived into Florence around 7:30pm. Well, it was dark and our 1st time in Florence. We were given directions to hotel to drop car off (hotel would prk it). WE DROVE AROUND IN CIRCLES FOR 2 FULL HRS trying to find the hotel on those streets. <BR><BR>I've gotta tell ya, both of us drive ALOT in Los Angeles and thought we'd have no problem. My friend was nearly reduced to tears with exhaustion and disbelief over this nightmare driving experience in that city. Cars and scooters wizzing by from every possible direction (forget about the idea of lanes!), one-way streets that are about 20 ft wide with cars parked on both sides (facing both ways), someone on your tail honking to get you to hurry up, and scooters squeezing by whenever they can. We just drove in circles trying to get down the right street. It was absolutely THE most ridiculous experience we had in Italy. And we're professional, intelligent women who drive everywhere in the States! (I'm not exaggerating here) <BR><BR>Lesson learned: If we ever drive from Rome again, we're parking the car at the train station and avoiding the madness!<BR><BR>Just thought I'd share our experience, for what it's worth. <BR>-Laura- <BR>

Why not take the train from Rome to Florence and get your rental car when you are ready to leave Florence.

Thanks for all the help. One reason we are trying to get the museum in on Sunday is that I read it is closed on Mondays.<BR><BR>