I want to thank everyone for their helpful advice so far.

We are planning a honeymoon to Italy in late Oct-early Nov for 11 days. Our original plan was Rome 3 days, train to Florence 2 days, drive to Tuscany 4 days, train or drive to Venice last 2 days. We were then considering swapping the order of Florence and Tuscany, if we decide to stay in Southern Tuscany.

Now I am thinking--Maybe we should skip Florence?? (I was there and Venice 10 years ago, fiance has never been to Italy). We added Venice at the tail end, so my fiance could see it. If we skipped Florence, we could add those 2 days to Tuscany, maybe even staying 4 days Southern Tuscany(Pienza area), 2 days a little North (Chianti area). Can you do a day trip to Florence from the Chianti area? Also, I've been reading on TripAdvisor that Florence is very crowded and dirty. Will it be crowded at the end of Oct/beginning of Nov? We're from NYC, and we're already going to Rome, so we don't necessarily yearn for crowded cities... So, what do you think--should we skip Florence?

Well, here's just one person's opinion of course, but. . .

Florence is probably my least favorite of the Italian cities. I loved seeing the David, the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, and a few other things, but as it a city I found it to be charmless and clogged with tourists day and night. While Rome may be crowded, I still feel the tourists are in the minority -- not so in Florence.

If you've seen the highlights of Florence and your fiancee is ambivalent about them, I'd say skip Florence and add them to the rest of Tuscany. Or if you end up in norther Tuscany, you could go into Florence for one day and hit those highlights.

When you say Venice for 2 days, I hope you mean you're there 2 nights?

I'm sure you'll get alot of posters who disagree with me, but I was less than thrilled with Florence. Oh it is a gorgeous city - the Duomo and the David are spectacular. But I found it dirty, crowded, and rude. It was one of those places that I always wanted to go to, and I while I liked it, I wouldn't go running back. What if you extended your stay in Rome a day or two and took day trips to Pompeii and that area?

Patrick,

Yes, we are staying 2 nights in Venice. Not a lot of time, but a unique city, and worth a peek. Thanks for your reply.

epnyc

Personally, unless you are absolutely going to be devastated if you don't see the Duomo, David, Venus, and Salvatore (Ferragamo) I think you can easily miss Florence.

I love the city but it isn't the end all and be all, especially if you prefer smaller towns and countryside settings. There is a lot more to Italy than Florence, Rome, and Venice, but unfortuantely most folks think that these three are the absolute essence of any Italy trip, or that's what they did, and end up insisting you are crazy if you miss any of them.

There are people who LIVE in Italy who have never been to Florence so why should you?

Have a great trip.

I am for skipping Florence too. If you have real hesitations about it, especially having been before, that should be enough to skip it. Personally, I would make sure to have at least three days in Venice, even though you have been there. Great for a honeymoon. As for crowds in Florence, I have been in mid-October, and it wasn't all that bad (was just after 9-11 though). I loved Rome much more than Florence; it did seem a little less touristy and had so many great things to see and do.

Don't know where, exactly, you are planning to be around November 1 and the weekend around it, but keep in mind that it is a major holiday (All Saints Day) on which many Italians return to their ancestral homes. It's been a number of years now, but we were traveling through towns in Tuscany/Umbria around that weekend and found some of the historic towns to be a lot busier than we'd expected. We also had a very hard time finding (desirable) places to stay on short notice. Just a heads up... probably a good idea to lock something in sooner rather than later.

Lori, once again we were posting at the same time. When are we going to start traveling together? I think we are almost always on the same wave length. But I'm surprised how much support we're getting today. Usually people nearly attack me when I even suggest skipping Florence -- so many people's "favorite city".

As you have been before, and already have an opinion, then I would say you are correct to want to skip Florence.

Florence will always be special to me. It was the first time I had been to continental Europe, I visited at the last minute, with no planning, and no preconceptions.

I was amazed by the city. It started my love affair with Italy. Yes the volume of tourists can get to you, but in terms of art and rennaisance history, can any city match Florence?

Based on advise like that posted above I skipped Florence on my first trip to Italy. But on my next trip I did include it and I absolutely LOVED it. I don't know why it gets such a bad reputation. Obviously the art and the major sites are fabulous, most people do admit that, but I also like the city itself. I just loved walking around it. I was there in July for 6 days (last year) and yes, it was crowded, but no more so than Rome or Venice certainly. Everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion but for some reason the majority of posters here don't love Florence and I think that's too bad.

I think your original plan has a nice mix of places. Are you planning on renting a car? Since you don't need or want one in Rome, Venice or Florence, it would be possible to do the whole thing by public transportation, using Siena or Florence as a base to visit the smaller towns in Tuscany. Just a thought.

First, I want to point out that Florence is IN Tuscany!

I would be very upset to skip Florence on a FIRST trip to Italy, but really this is going to come down to your fiance's interests. If he has no interest in medieval and Renaissance history, Florentine sculpture, etc., then I guess he wouldn't miss Florence.

Florence can be overwhelmingly crowded and polluted, but I think late October-early November will not be a bad time there at all.

I haven't been to Rome since I was 25 and I am overdue to give it another try, but in my two visits when I was young, I didn't enjoy Rome as much as Florence.

There's a lot to be said for traveling off or shoulder season like you are. I've seen Florence both off season and in peak, and there is a huge difference in the crowds that everyone complains about. I would not recommend skipping Florence if crowds are the reason you're using to skip it. I find it beautiful and charming, but much, much more so in the off season. I can't imagine seeing Rome and Venice and not seeing Florence, myself. I prefer it to Rome, definitely, which is much more the big crowded dirty city than I feel Florence is. Have you asked your fiance before deciding, perhaps it has something of interest to him, since he's never been!

Amyb,
Thanks for your reply. Crowds aren't the primary reason we would consider skipping Florence. More so because it would be a more relaxing trip to make fewer stops--less (un)packing, checking in/out, training/driving. I loved Florence when I was there 10 years ago, but neither of us has ever been to Rome or Tuscany, and Venice seems like a more unusual place for my fiance to see (and we have a flight booked out of Venice)--so if were to skip somewhere, it would be Florence. I'm asking here because I am really torn, not because I don't see the virtues of FLorence. And, yes, of course, my fiance and I are discussing this before we decide.
epnyc

Skip Firenze?!? Well, if you find art
"boring", then skip it for more time in
Venice. If you are at all interested in
art, don't miss it on your honeymoon.
And as long I am being disagreeable, may I add...I can't figure out what is so romantic about that damp city of Venice! Traditionally, it has been a favorite spot for honeymooners in Europe, but I don't see it.

Florence can't be missed, BUT get your
tickets at Uffizi and David(a la Rick Steves) ahead of times. Waiting in lines isn't romantic even in off-season.

Yes, and Nov. 1-2 are important days, more Italian tourists those days for sure.

We weren't blown away by Florence. Yes, yes, the art is a must-see, yadda yadda, but we just didn't enjoy the ambience. Florence is lacking a certain charm that other Italian cities have in abundance.

I really liked Florence when we visited last August, and in fact preferred it to chaotic ( and dirty) Rome, but you're only talking about two extra days.

With that in mind, I'd suggest day tripping to Florence from Tuscany, and adding the extra time to Venice, which is one of the most romantic destinations in Italy, if not the world.

I posted a longer message above, but you may havemissed it if it was slow to slow up. Therefore I am re-posting one comment in that longer post: Florence is IN Tuscany. (Tuscany is a region. Firenze (Florence) is both a province within the region and the capital of that province. Unless you'd BOTH been there, or the one who hadn't been has NO interest in the history or art, I think it would be a mistake to spend several days in the region that Florence is in and skip Florence.

cmt-
Thanks for your replies. I understand that Florence is a part of Tuscany, I suppose I really am making the distinction between busy city and more relaxing and smaller and/or rural towns. As I stated above, I have been to Florence 10 years ago, and loved it. We are only considerring skipping Florence to have a more relaxing trip, and not try to squeeze too much in to 11 nights. If we did skip Florence, we would add thoughs days to the Tuscany countryside, not to Rome or Venice, for the same reason.
epnyc

Add one day to Tuscany - use it to daytrip to Florence. Add one day to Venice - use it to feel like you're in heaven

Then from your sampling of Florence, fiance can decide if it is worth coming back to someday.

Easily intimidated by implications of mental defectiveness if you don't go there??? (I told you they'd come up and they already have..several times now).

I hope not: your honeymoon, your memories, your priorities, and your time, and your MONEY!