Should I stay a night in Siena?
 

Itinerary = 2 nts Venice + 3 Florence + 2 Cinque Terre + 3 Rome
Or?
itinerary = 2 Venice + 2 Florence + 2 Cinque Terre + 1 Siena (to cut the travel to Rome in half?) then afternoon rail to 3 Rome

planning only one day of must see museums in Florence and two days museums in Rome. Mostly we want to enjoy the culture, the food, the scenery and the pasta and wine :)

We visited Siena on a day trip from Florence...it was enough time for us.
I would add a night to magnificent Venice.

Everyone has a different view... when we lived in Rome, Siena was my wife's favorite city and we often drove, trained, cycled, or took the bus to Siena. We stayed overnight every time we went...

With only 10 nights, even the four locations you are planning is a lot... so with reservation, I would suggest not spending the night in Siena. You just don't have the time given your multiple stops.

Each time you change cities, generally you lose 1/2 a day due to checking out, traveling, and checking in... And, with a little admitted bias, I certainly would not cut time from Rome. Living there three years I still have 50+ "places to see" on my list! Good Luck!

Will you be terribly jet-lagged on your one full day in Venice?

What time of year are you going?

Thank you for the replies! Without Siena:

Day 1 arrive Venice at noon
Day 2 leisure Venice (any suggestions for our anniversary dinner?)
Day 3 Florence by rail
Day 4 Uffizi and Academia morning
Day 5 leisure Florence
Day 6 Monterosso CT by rail
Day 7 leisure CT
Day 8 Rome by rail
Day 9 Vatican, Sistine Chapel
Day 10 Colosseum

Fly home day 11

Agree with above posters; Siena is a lovely town, but would not spend a night there. rineurope makes a good point; you cannot move cities without losing at LEAST a half day. Particularly if you don't want to get up in the middle of the night and take the first train between cities. I know; I have tried it enough to know that you really want to minimize the number of re-locations if you have minimum nights in Europe.

BTW, I like your desire to people watch and enjoy the pasta and wine. We have been to Florence about 10 or so times and still find new restaurants to try.

Mostly walking around, eating, visiting shops and enjoying where we are

Jean It will be end of September. Thanks PCtraveler. The sea is a MUST for me, and Sorrento is just as crazy to work in the schedule... and a lot more expensive.