Rome/Florence/Venice Advice
 

My husband and I (each 30 years old) have just started planning for our 1st trip to Italy. We were planning to spend 4 nights in Rome, 4 nights in Florence, and 2 nights in Venice.

My questions are:
1. Is that enough/not enough time in each city?
2. Are there any "much see" side trips where we may want to spend a night?

We do not want to spread our time too thin, but really want to see all the major sites. We both heard to not bother with Pisa, is that correct?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Your plan seems fine to me. Mrs. MileKing-to-be and I (mid-30s) took our first trip to Italy in March 2002. We spent 6 nights in Rome, 3 in Florence, and 3 in Venice, followed by 2 in Milan. Looking back, it's our view that Venice and Rome could have been one night shorter each, and Florence (our favorite) could have been a day or two longer. Milan could have been done in a day. We departed from there so 2 nights made sense. We didn't take any side trips this time around, preferring to concentrate our time on the bigger cities. Enjoy!

As you will soon find out, no amount of time is enough time in Italy. I think your itinerary is fine. If you are not big art museum people, you can make take a day from FLorence and add to Venice. I have also never made that trip to Pisa because it just didn't sound worth the time away from somewhere else.

I agree with MFNYC that no amount of time is enough in Italia. That aside, however, we recently did 4.5 days in Florence and 4.5 days in Venice and felt it was perfect. IMHO, the time you have alotted will allow you to see the main attractions in those two cities. I can't comment on Rome.

Some people feel two days in Venice is plenty of time and others will say that 10 days is too short. I think it depends on how enchanted you become with the city, as it is very unique.

Be sure to spend an afternoon in Fiesole, which is only about 20 minutes outside of Florence. The viewpoint there provides fantastic views over the city, and it's nice to get out of the hustle and bustle for awhile.

Happy planning!

Your itinerary is good for your first trip. You can always decide if you want to spend more time somewhere on another trip - like MFNYC stated, no amount of time is enough for Italy.

Because this is your first trip, and depending on your interests, you may consider lengthening either your time in Rome or Venice and deduct a night from Florence. Rome has more to see and it takes longer to do it b/c the city is so much bigger. Venice is so wonderful that you may want 2 full days there (3 nights).

You should probably make a list of your "must sees" in each city, along with the side trips you have in mind for each, to determine if you can change around the days.

Whether you make a change or not, you will find plenty to do and have a great time. I wouldn't complicate it with a side trip on this trip. Keep it simple and make notes for next time!!

In my above message, where I stated "I wouldn't complicate it with a side trip," I meant an overnight side trip. There are quite a few daylong trips from Rome and Florence that you may still want to do.

Can't comment on Pisa, I haven't been.

My husband and I did a similar trip in 2002. As others have said, if you stick to the higlights you should be fine. We DID take two day trips from Florence to see San Giminiagno and Siena, as well as a half-day trip to pisa. We REALLY wanted to climb the tower as it has just re-opened, and were lucky enough to get there in time to buy tickets that day. They limit climbers to 40 per 20-30 minutes, and you must buy the tickets early enough in the morning to do it later in the day. I was glad to have a driver take us there, as he dealt with the limited parking and negotiated (in Italian) an earlier tower climb time with the ticket vendor for us. You'll have a great time, no matter what you choose to do!

You don't say what season you'll be going...or how you've alloted time to get from one place to another.

I feel that, because of the intensity of the sightseeing of these wonderful cities, you need some kind of a mid-trip out-of-town break. It can take the form of a day-trip to say a hilltop town, or a drive thru vineyard country or a coastal fishing village.

You say you don't want to spread yourselves too thin, so I'll suggest - as an alternate - that you do two, not three cities, with the above-mentioned break in between (maybe Cinque Terre?).

Hi
If you have no expectations of traveling to Italy again anytime soon, your itinerary is fine.
If there is a chance you'll do it again, then I'd take TuckH's advice and stick to two cities. You'll get to know them better, waste less time in intercity travel (travel days are at least half lost to sightseeing), and you can take a few minutes here and there to just enjoy, with no itinerary.
With that much time, I'd nix the side trips, with the possible exception of taking a day trip to Siena from Florence.

My husband and I went to those cities in July '03. I think more time is needed in Venice. This was our favorite ciy. Florence does not need as much time, especially if you're not going to visit Pisa, unless you're a big shopper. A couple (2) days in Florence is good enough, unless history is big for both of you. We went to Pisa and enjoyed it. We climbed the tower. We didn't do the church or any other Pisa tour. It was time consuming, but it was something we always wanted to do. Rome requires those 4 days, at least. Have a great time no matter what you do!!

We did the same trip in a week a couple of years ago. I regret not spending more time researching Florence. We zipped through and only spent one night there. "David" was closed an extra day because it was the week after Easter, so we missed it. So, watch holidays and museum schedules. The whole week before and after can be affected. None of my family was totally in love with Venice. Maybe it's because we live near the water in South Florida...I don't know. It's beautiful, but I hope you like to shop and eat, because that's all we found to do. Besides St. Mark's, there is a side trip to Murano, where you can watch beautiful glass being made by artisans. Rome was totally my favorite. If you're into history, especially church history, you just can't get bored. You need to really study the churches. They can really surprise you. We stayed right behind the Pantheon at the Minerve Hotel...incredible location. Right next door, there was a very "plain front" church, which we didn't bother seeing till the last day. Couldn't believe our eyes when we walked in...Michaelangelo's Christ, Carrying the Cross. AND, the dead St. Catherine of Sienna in a glass coffin. The church was gorgeous. We loved the Pantheon's piazza also. I swear the little gelato shop was the same one in Chevy Chase's "European Vacation". Good Luck!

I think you have allowed "just" enough time if this is all the time you have available. I personally would spend less time in Rome and more in Venice but that is just my opinion - and I don't particularly like Rome.

I know you have been told not to bother with Pisa and I certainly wouldn't forfeit one of your nights anywhere to stay there but you can easily do a morning or afternoon tour of the place and although it is very touristy the Cathedral there is well worth your time - I thought it was magnificient.

It's just personal preference. We just spent two nights in Venice and I wish we had longer. It's amazing and a fun place to just hang out and soak in after you do some of the sights. We are both 30 as well. Not much night life if you are into that. One night in Florence was enough for us. However, if you stay in Florence 4 nights you could do some day trips to some of the Tuscan Hill towns. We really enjoyed Tuscany. I think you can get to Sienna and some of the others easily by bus or train from Florence. You may want to consider even spending the night there.

Hi

My wife and I went to our first trip to Italy in June. We only went to Milan and Venice so I can't help you out when it comes to Rome and Florence. But I have posted a trip report with lots of pictures from our stay in Venice on my homepage www.gardkarlsen.com :-) Maybe you can find some useful information there

Have a great trip :-)

Regards
gard
Stavanger, Norway

If at all posible, I'd add a night to Venice. It is not a place one should feel rushed in and regret not having enough time to fully experience its many charms.

Hi 10273eko,

Definately add a night to Venice !

Do not go out of your way to see Pisa -its very skippable with so many other better things to see and do.

I'd spend only three nights in florence and do a daytrip or two from there to Sienna and either Lucca or San G.

Agree with the others regarding Venice. Did a trip similar to yours and spent 4 nts in Florence and 2 in Venice. Saw everything we wanted to in Florence in 3 days and regretted not having another day to spend in Venice. Also, I would do Pisa, though it's a small trek you may regret not seeing it. Was worth it to us. Have a great trip! :)

Oh yes San Gimignano is definitely worth it to add in if you can find the time.