We want to travel to Italy for the first time the 10 days after Christmas. There are 6 of us ranging in age from 18 to 75. Should we go then, and could we see Rome, Florence and Venice? It is myself, husband, 3 children and my mother. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I'm not sure what kind of suggestions you're looking for such as hotels, sights, restaurants, time in each city ect..

Do you have 10 full sightseeing days, or is one day on each end the day you fly? Are you arriving from a transatlantic flight?

How is your mother in terms of mobility and energy? Venezia has lots and lots of stairs and bridges, and Roma is difficult when it comes to walking. Very uneven streets.

I would suggest you cut one city, and I'm going to suggest that it be Roma unless that is the one city you most want to see. Firenze (Florence) is flat and has many, many, many indoor attractions, all within easy reach of each other if you get bone-chilling rain.

Venezia is peaceful in these low months, and the lagoon tends to moderate the winter chill. It, too, offers many indoor sights. That said, you will want to walk outside wherever you go, so everybody should be packing long underwear, fleece lined waterproof shoes (if you have them) and pick a solid hotel with plenty of nice, central heating.

Give yourselves plenty of time to recover from the flight when yuo arrive.

I wanted to know if it was a good time of year to travel and would 10 days be enough time to see those 3 cities. 10 days total, including travel time.

Many north americans think of Spain and Italy like Florida or Mexico, it can be quite chilly after Christmas, so be forewarned, I did All three this summer with 12 days and it went well, I also included Sorrento, so its definetly doable as long as you fly into either Venice or Rome. The other consideration is transport if you are driving which is just as easy as in any big NA city you will need either a mini van or two cars for the size of your party. If you are taking trains and busses then the ten days may be a bit tight IMHO. All I can tell you and this is coming from someone extremely well travelled that once you visit Italy you are ruined nothing else compares, you will not regret the investment.

I am a five star traveller so I stayed in san Clemente in Venice and the Cavalieri in Rome OMG both exquisite hotels, although its more important you go, whether your hotel is 60E or 600E the expericence is most important.

mardog1981,

It is a good time of year to travel to Italy if you want to avoid crowds of foreign tourists and if you don't mind chilly, often rainy weather.

I don't think you have enough time to see all 3 cities. A large group like yours, traveling with someone 75, will lose a day each time you relocate, and you have to allow at least a day to recover from jet lag.

So one day mainly lost to receovering from jet lag, two more lost traveling between cities, another day lost to catching your flight. That leaves you six days to see 3 cities.

Were I determined to do that, I would fly to Rome, spend 3 nights, hire a van and drive to the immediate outskirts of Firenze. Spend 2 nights, drive to Venezia, drop off the car, fly home from Venezia.

Or you could try it backwards: Fly to Venezia, spend 3 nights, pick up car, drive to Firenze for 2 nights, drive to Orvieto, drop off car, take train to Roma, leave from Roma.

But bear in mind this would be the equivalent of spending 3 nights Manhattan, 2 in Washington DC and 3 in Miami. You'll see something -- but I doubt you'll really see much. You'll be too busy organizing everybody in the morning, figuring out you're next move, trying to race from one famous "sight" to another -- and it will be tough if it rains.

If you are trying to satisfy demands that "we MUST see" fill in the blank if we are in Italy, I suggest that you trust the fact that slowing down and really absorbing 10 square miles of Italy is better than trying to "hit" three cities in 10 days in winter (when days are short and cold).

Hi M,

With 6 people and 10 days, I woould limit the trip to 2 cities.

Venice and Florence,

Venice and Rome

Florence and Rome

in that order.

I think some people daytrip to Florence from Rome. You could 'check off the Florence box' without losing a day changing hotels.

Or you could just drop Florence off all together.