I've enjoyed reading your messages and have found them full of info. Am planning to travel to these three cities for about 12 days in April. A couple of things I'm wondering: What order of sequence makes sense if I plan to fly in and out of Rome. Also, as I will stay in the cities of Rome and Venice, I'm thinking of staying outside Florence to experience the country, but would driving into the city a couple of days be a pain? Or is it better to stay in Florence and take day trips in Tuscany? I would be grateful for any tips.

Hi, Julie, we did a "formal" tour for a week and then went out on our own. Our tour started and ended in Rome. We picked up a car in Rome and drove to Chianti with stops along the way. Stayed in Castellina in Chianti and explored Chianti. Drove to Florence to drop off the car - a horrible experience <BR>- don't even think about driving in Florence. We walked to the train station and took the train to Venice and then over to the Riviera. I would be inclined to take the train from Rome to Florence, spend your time in Florence and then get a car for a couple of days - the rental agency can tell you exactly how to get out and back into Florence. We rented from AutoEurope here in the US - a stick shift Renault was $113 for the two days. I would then take the train to Venice, spend your time and then take the Eurostar train Venice to Rome. I am including a post from Elaine. She has great travel notes on Florence and Venice as well as the included tip. e-mail her for her notes. You can e-mail me directly if you have questions. <BR> <BR>Author: elaine ([email protected]) <BR>Date: 1/04/2001, 5:54 pm ET <BR>Message: I haven't done this drive, but here is some info <BR>For the Chianti region, there's a great, detailed map available free on the web. <BR>www.monterinaldi.it/en/. Click on "The Map of Chianti Classico area", fill in your name & address on the next screen, and you'll get a map in the mail in a few weeks. It's 1:80,000 in scale, <BR>so it's quite detailed. As a bonus, it shows exactly where all of the Chianti wine estates are located. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps - happy planning.

Last summer we flew into Rome, stayed 3 days, then took the Eurostar to Florence, stayed 2 days, then took the Eurostar to Venice for 3 days and then took the Eurostar back to Rome, stayed overnight at the airport Hilton and departed early the next morning for home. The route and train travel worked very well. We were never on the train for over 4 hours and got to see 3 very different cities (the less time spent in a car/train the better). I would recommend taking the train on this same route and then just hiring a car in florence for the few days that you want to drive outside the city- as previously mentioned you will definately not need or want a car in any of these 3 cities.

Hi Julie, <BR>Let me add a couple of suggestions. I agree that the train, as Jane says, is the best way to go. A car would be necessary only if you plan on exploring deep in the Tuscan country side. A lot of fun, but it would take more time than you have. I reccommend staying in Siena and taking day trips to Florence--a very convenient and quick train ride. Siena itself is great and it is close enough to a bunch of hill-towns and small villages in the area that if you wanted to, you could make a daytrip out of one of them. You'd probably have to take a bus in that case, but it is not as bad as you might expect. They are clean and on-time and take you right through the heart of the country side, where the views are incredible! You can easily take daytrips to San Gimignano, Castellina, Montalcino, and Moltepulciano, just to name a few. <BR>Hope this has helped. Have fun! <BR>

Julie, I personally enjoyed Florence more than Siena and would rather base there than Siena but I am sure that is something you would get a number of opinions on. I agree with the previous posts about the trains but you don't say if you are traveling alone with your spouse,friends etc. I think that makes a difference,if traveling alone the trains are certainly the best. You might also consider not going back to Rome to return, but flying out of whatever your last city is, that will save you alot of time.