My husband and I are considering a trip to Rome and Florence in February. 1) We only have 8 nights...would it be too ambitious to visit each city (3 nights each) and a night in a Tuscan village (Sienna?). 2) We weren't planning on renting a car. Is it feasible to travel by bus? 3) It appears hotels in several towns are closed in Jan-Feb. Will most hotels, museums, etc. be open in Rome and Florence? Sienna? I was in Rome for a very short period about 10 years ago and many sites were closed for reconstruction so I don't want to miss out again. Lastly, is it generally very rainy in February in these cities?<BR><BR>Thanks for any help!

Oops...I see someone has asked for similar information below. I didn't see it until after posting my message.

I would do 4 in Rome and 4 in florence. Really no reason to spend a nite in Siena.This way you don't have to pack and unpack and save time Of course visit from florence by bus (only 1.3hrs)and go early so you have a full day and have dinner at the cat and dog(make reservations).Take train from rome to florence(euro)takes about 3 hrs.wouls recomment Hotel Casi in florence.Expect rain and cold weather.

Hi, Liz. I did Rome, Siena and Florence on a 2-week trip in October. Eight nights is doable but it really depends on you and how much of each place you want to see. Three nights in Rome will give you 2 full days - dedicating one day to ancient Rome and one half to visiting St. Peter's. With the other half you could do any number of things - shopping, strolling, Vatican Museums, Borghese Galleries, etc.<BR><BR>I know I was experiencing serious jet lag on my trip for a couple of days, so you might want to add one night to your first destination and, depending on how much you want to see Tuscany, do only one night in Siena. <BR><BR>I didn't drive either. I took the train from Rome to Siena, used the buses to visit neighboring towns, and took the bus to Florence from there. If you are only going to spend 2 nights in Tuscany, you will get along fine without a car.

Liz: I've had good-luck twice in Feb with the weather, sunny with daytime temps ~60F/15C in Rome. You could do this loop (Rome-Florence-Siena) with trains and buses. Rome-Florence is 1:35 on the Eurostar train. Rome-Siena is ±3hrs by train with a connection. Florence-Siena by Express SITA bus is 1:15. And Siena-Rome-Siena by this company is 2:45 <BR>www.lazzi.it/senaautolinee/index_e.htm For the train schedules go to www.trenitalia.com (use Siena, 1 "n"). It wouldn't give Feb's timetables yet, it's updated twice a year (Jan & June), so just use a Jan. day that coincides with the "day" of the week you want to travel. Everything will be open with shorter hrs, but most museums are closed on Monday. Regards, Walter