short trip
 

If you only have about 8 nights in Italy, what cities would you definitely recommend visiting?

Hi doo,

Florence and Venice.

Pick any quadrant of the United States, and tell us the number and name of the cities you'd choose to visit, and then it will provide a basis for answering the same question for Italy.

He who says New York, Boston and Washington will have a different answer from the person who says Newport, Rockport and Kennebunkport.

Las Vegas for the entire 8 nights? Or split it between Carmel and Healdsburg?

These are four different, and all equally good answers to how one might spend 8 nights without an excess of travel in between each night.

Best wishes,

Rex

Hi
How about a little information on what interests you, what led you to plan a trip to Italy in the first place? Also, what time of year would you be going, and what's your budget like?

First, anytime you travel between cities you generally lose at least half a day, sometimes more. So, keep the intercity transfers to a minimum, and/or travel between them in the evening so as to lose less sightseeing time. Two cities would be best, plus a daytrip or possibly two.

Do you like art, especially Renaissance?
Florence is Renaissance art and architecture heaven, plus it has great shopping. It is also small, and very very crowded in the summer. For the major museums like the Uffizi and the Academia, timed reservations are possible. florence can lead to daytrips to other towns like Siena, or other places in Tuscany.

Venice is also small and crowded in summer, much less so in off-season. At its worst it has a theme-park feeling with daytrippers and high prices. At its best, in the off-season or in the summer evenings, it is magical, still expensive, but magical, and unique to use an overused word.

Rome is a large and bustling city, with roaring traffic zooming by both modern and ancient structures, some right next to each other. It is not a tranquil place, nor magical in my opinion, but it has architecture from the ancients forward, it has marvelous museums and churches, the Vatican is full of treasures, and the food and shopping are great.

From Rome you can daytrip to lots of places easily: Lucca, Orvieto, even Florence.

Rome to Venice is a 4.5 hour train ride, only an hour by plane.

If it were me, I'd spend the week in Venice.

Rome. But that's me. Why are YOU going to italy?

I want to experience the culture in Italy and have a relaxing trip. I am going in August. Is the weather awful then?

Ok
You already know that August will be hot, especially in Rome and areas south.

If by 'relaxing' you mean 'tranquil', then you could spend some time in smaller towns in Tuscany or Umbria, and avoid the crowds that make Venice and Florence, for example, a bit nuts in the summer. Rome can be crowded with tourists in August, I'm told, but it's larger and so can handle visitors better. Many of the locals will have left on their own vacations so that may balance out the population. A number of restaurants may be closed in August, but many stay open, and all the attractions (museums, etc) will be open.

How about Rome and one other city or area, such as Tuscany (Siena makes a good base) or Florence, or go north to my beloved Venice, but neither F or V will be particularly tranquil at that time of year.

<<I want to experience the culture in Italy and have a relaxing trip. I am going in August.>>

Every place you need to fulfill this objective is within a 60 mile radius of the town of Garda.

Verona, Trento, Bassano del Grappa, Sirmione, Malcesine. And who knows how many more I have never visited.

You won't even be able to see it all in eight (days and) nights.