A group of friends are renting a house in Tuscany for 2 weeks next September in the ValD’Orcia area. We have stayed here before and loved it! Husband and I are going to add 3 days to the end. Should we spend them in Rome or Venice? We have never been to either. Suggestions?

Personal preference, but I'd pick Rome for a few reasons.

You're more likely to get a lower r/t fare by flying into and out of Rome.

Flights from Venice back to the U.S. (assuming that's where you'd be going) tend to leave at extremely early hours.

Rome is easier to reach from the Val d'Orcia.

I like Rome much more than Venice.

It is indeed a personal preference. I prefer Venice. The ruins from ancient Rome are outstanding, however and if seeing that stuff in Rome intrigues you more than Venice, go for Rome.

Echoing the personal preference line, so know what kind of things you like the most. Venice overwhelms the senses, is romantic, art is everywhere, is very walkable, and can easily fill 3 days with exploration. IMO it is a place that should be experienced at least once in a lifetime. September, particularly the last weeks of the month are a great time to visit. Summer crowds are mostly gone so sites will be more accessible. It also has the outer islands to visit. For me, it is one of my happy places. With climate change and rising seas, who knows how much longer the city can survive?

OTOH, Rome, a much larger city is a city that is much more than its ruins. In Rome I enjoy the anticipation of discovering something wonderful around the corner even when the neighborhood I am walking in appears mundane, like the neighborhoods in other big cities. History is almost everywhere and some of the architecture is spectacular, particularly in the plazas. Three days in Rome will leave you wanting to come back for more.

Unless you plan to return to Italy in the future, perhaps consider taking a few days off of Tuscany and visiting both

Both cities have excellent dining and lesser tourist oriented restaurants. Those in Venice tend to be around Piazza San Marco while there are many excellent smaller places in the neighborhoods.

Rome is so much more than just ancient ruins... But you won't know which city you prefer until you've been to both. I suggest you look into the logistics of getting from your Val d'Orcia location to both cities. Then compare your flight options home from both and the r/t fare (in/out of Rome v. open-jaw into Rome and out of Venice).

What a wonderful "problem" to have! I assume you are going to do more than simply sit around for two weeks in Tuscany and will have seen Florence and Siena, etc, correct?

I might be slightly more inclined to see Venice than Rome but I've been to both and agree it ends up being a matter of personal likes/dislikes.

IMO there's nothing quite like San Marco after most of the day visitors have left...magical at dusk but that may just be me.

Rome is a great city.
Venice is a unique city (and I don't use the word "unique" lightly or often).

Make your choice according to your interests.

This is excerpted from a Harvard Study by Melissa Fien:

"No Amount of Money Can Save Venice: The History and Future of Venice’s Flooding

The water which makes Venice the most majestic city in the world now threatens the city’s very existence. On November 4 1966, a flood hit Venice so hard that Venetians every day since have lived in terror for the next big flood. And, Venice does continue to flood. St. Mark’s Square and other areas of the city were flooded 101 times in 1996 and 79 times in 1997.1 Then, on November 6, 2000 Venice experienced the third worst flood since 1900 with ninety-three percent of the city being covered in water. Experts say that it is no longer a matter of whether Venice will flood , but simply when the flooding will occur.

2 The "acqua alta" - the high waters that cause the flooding - are here to stay. And to make matters worse, the sea levels are rising. The combination of these factors will inevitably lead to the sinking of Venice.

For a number of years, Italy has been posing a system of mobile dykes and floodgates called MOSE as a solution. However, even Venice officials themselves do not believe that MOSE will actually provide a long-term solution.

3 Global warming means that the floodgates will eventually be up almost all of the time, ultimately sealing the city from the sea. While a decision regarding the MOSE gates will be made in the next year, many doubt that MOSE will actually save Venice from sinking. Therefore, at the moment Venice is inevitably doomed."

Time will tell whether this is an overly pessimistic view, but I think not - it is only a matter of time and no one really knows the time frame. What is difficult to refute is that Venice is suffering from more floods, more often. Therefore, I would choose Venice, while you can.

Thank you for your responses. Rome is more convenient as we can get direct flights from Boston. I have always wanted to see Ancient Rome. But on the other hand I totally appreciate that Venice is an intriguing city and may not always be there! I have no idea when we will get back to Italy so the dilemma continues.

As we have been to Val D’Orcia before and seen quite a bit in the immediate vicinity ( yes, we have been to Florence and Sienna) I guess we could take the train to a Rome for a day ( or maybe spend a night) and at least get a taste then bite the bullet and fly out of Venice ( although I have heard some horror stories about flying out of there.) Flying into Florence means a stopover on the way over too. Not sure of the drop charge on the car if we fly into Rome and then drop the car in Florence ( and take the train to Venice) or drop the car in Venice. Anyone with any experience on dropping cars in alternate spots?

I've never driven in Italy, but I've done numerous one-way rentals in Europe, and I've found that there tends not to be a drop fee if the rental period is long enough - longer than a few days. In any event, you can get quotes on car rentals now and see for yourself what the fees might be. Try websites like Auto Europe and EconomyCarRentals for example. You need not actually rent from them (especially not a site like Auto Europe that charges you for the rental up front, even if refundable later), but you can at least get an idea of prices and fees.

For Venice you can fly into Milan and from the airport take the train to the central station and then transfer to a train to Venice.

Last month we picked up a car at Rome airport and dropped the car at LaSpezia. Either there was no drop fee or else it was extremely reasonable. This was only a three day rental, and we used Auto Europe.

Honestly, in your shoes, I'd steal a night or two from the two weeks you will have with friends and add it to your 3 extra days.

Solomon's decision, as applied to your problem: Add three days at each end and see both.

I have flown in and out of Venice a number of times with no problem. A couple of days ago. I flew from Venice to Frankfurt leaving in the afternoon, changed planes and flew back to Dulles. Very pleasant trip in Economy plus United.

They forgot to charge me for my scotch and soda!

<i> Not sure of the drop charge on the car if we fly into Rome and then drop the car in Florence ...</i>

I assume you'd be using the car during your stay in the Val d'Orcia. If you fly into Rome, I'd take the train to Florence and rent the car there.