Should we spend six nights in Florence?
 

In early 2004 I was planning a fabulous trip to Italy. Two weeks visiting Florence and driving through Tuscany. By, alas, it wasn't meant to be. We ended up buying a new home and remodeling, putting travel plans on hold. But on a whim I just called Delta to see if I could redeem my reward points on a trip to Italy and (to my great surprise) I can fly roundtrip to Florence. We'd leave the US on November 10 (only two months to plan!!!). I was so excited by this news, I forgot to ask about flying into Florence, out of Venice. So my question to you travel experts is this...

Should I stick with my reservation and be in Florence for six nights? I have been before for three days, DH has never. Maybe we could do a side trip? If so, suggestions as to where would be much appreciated. Keep in mind that I still plan to (someday!) do my driving trip through Tuscany.

Or should I try to change my reservation and head to Venice (which I've also visited, but not DH) for a few days?

By the way, we are in our mid 30's (if that matters) and we could look at churches/architecture for days on end! And although my husband's degree is in art (his final thesis was actually on Florentine art!) we can't really spend more than a few hours a day in an art museum. Love, love, love tours - hearing all of the interesting tid-bits you don't get from a guidebook.

You guys have been awesome helping me plan prior trips and I look forward to your comments!

Wow. This is a tough one. I'm trying to ignore my own personal bias AGAINST Florence, as it sounds like that is really the place for you. But I'm always hesitant to spend my vacation no matter how short without at least a little variety. My advice would be to forget the Tuscany driving (as you say -- do it another time). But if you can fly out of Venice, I'd spend four nights in Florence and two nights in Venice. (Actually "I" wouldn't do that, but it's my suggetion for you).

And if you can't change your flights, I still say follow Patrick's idea and split the time. When you land in Florence, take the first train to Venice. The Florence station is a short cab ride from the airport. Stay two nights in Venice, then train back to Florence for four nights. It's much easier to fly home from Florence than Venice.

How long would it take to get to Venice via train?

What about spending a night (or two) in Siena or San Gimignano? Could I reach either of these locations via public transportation?

Hi jr,

We spent 11 nights in Florence.

See my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

((I))

You could base in Florence and take day trips (by bus) to Siena and (by train) to Bologna. Both of those cities have a different look and feel to them and you can see much in a day. In Florence, since you have the time, go to the sites that are not visted as much--Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (Procession of the Magi), Stibbert Museum, San Marco, Sant'Apollonia, Santa Maria del Carmine (Brancacci Chapel).
For a special night, take a trip up to Fiesole, in the afternoon (it will get dark early in November, so go around 2:00), visit the Archeological Museum, walk up the hill to see the view of the valley, and then walk around the Roman ampitheater in the dusk. Make a reservation for dinner at Hotel Villa San Michele (very, very expensive, but a once in a lifetime dinner), have the hotel come pick you up in Fiesole and have drinks on their loggia. Eat dinner and return to Florence. You should definately be in love with Italy after that! Of course, if the weather is bad (you never know in November), save the Fiesole trip til next time and dine in Florence--on the Oltrano? Il Cantinone, Cavolo Nero, Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco...then walk around the city at night.

I only got to spend 5 nights there (I'm jealous, Ira!), but I would've loved to stay longer. You must go the top of the Duomo if you haven't done that before--about 475 steps, but sooo worth it! Stunning views of the countryside, all the red tile roofs...wow. Just amazing. And I had absolutely the best food of my 2 weeks in Italy in Florence. I hope a longer trip through Tuscany is in my future. Paris, first though. :-)

Spent three weeks in Florence. Not done with it yet! BUT, if you can, get to Venice if even for two nights and fly home from there if Delta will allow.

Hello jrchapma, figure about 3 hours from Florence to the Santa Lucia Train Station at Venice. Do NOT get off at the Mestre train station, that is in the outskirts of Venice, in the semi industrial suburbs.

If you want to see Venice and not spend all six nights in Florence I too would go to Venice first and then take the train back to Florence. Whatever your decision is have a beautiful time! Best wishes.

Wow Ira! Fabulous trip report! If I read correctly, you spent all but one night in Florence, doing several day trips. Correct? Maybe I need to see about extending our trip?

g33kgrl - I have been to the top of the Duomo and agree that the view is spectacular!

Three nights in Florence and three nights in Venice.

Jrchapma--I thought the trip up to the top was almost as good as the view. I just found it fascinating to be in tiny sprial staircases built *inside* the dome. I took pictures of them. :-) At some points, it's so narrow that you have to wait for people on their way down to pass before you can continue. It was one of the best things I did there (other than eat).

LoveItaly - thank you for the train info. I found a website with schedules and you're absolutely correct (not that I had any doubt!).

Spoke to DH last night about the trip. He said he could be out of the office for up to two weeks. What?!? Then I asked if he would feel comfortable renting a car and driving around the countryside and he said "Sure." I feel I should have gotten some of this in writing. He may have been suffering from delirium.

Anyway, something to think about. If I have that much time in Italy, I could do my driving trip through Tuscany. Can I get this planned in two months? Maybe. Is it possible to tour around when you know no Italian and don't have much time to learn (and honestly, learning languages totally escapes me - and if I'm being truly honest, I also didn't get inorganic chemistry either)?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Wow, that's a nice break.
I'd strongly suggest finding an apartment in Tuscany for a week and driving from there. Frankly in most villages the thought of arriving, unloading a car, schlepping luggage, and returning it to the car the next day is pretty daunting, thanks to narrow streets, pedestrian zones, etc.
We've done Tuscany several times. Undoubtedly our best was last year renting a week in Montepulciano and going out daily to other towns of South Tuscany -- the best part of the region to me.

You might look at http://web.tiscali.it/poggiolo/poggiolo_home.htm

We rented apartment 3 which even has its own little terrace/balcony with a fireplace for those chilly evenings (we didn't have those in June though).
Under $100 a night, inside the town, but facing out so you feel like you're in the country. Really wonderful.

Patrick - love, love, love the suggestion of renting a place! Tell me more! Are there trip reports you can share? Did you eat out much or cook for yourselves? Is not knowing Italian going to be a terrible problem (I can deal with minor problems?

Patrick,

The apartment you stayed at looks terrific. Can you tell me if smoking is allowed? Not airconditoned, I presume?

Thanks!

Hi J,

Lucky, lucky you! With 2 weeks you can definitely do Tuscany, Florence, and Venice.

Personally, I would do Venice first, 3 - 4 nights. It seems most people don't realize how much great art Venice has! The Guggenheim, La Scuola di San Rocco (and others), Frari (SP?) church, the Accademia......and the architecture!!! You can take endless pictures of the palazzos along the canal and everywhere else. Burano too is a photographer's dream.

Florence 2 -3 nights. Florence was my least favorite city. Art is great, but traffic, crowds, dirt, and noise were not very enjoyable. Since you have been there before, you'll have to judge on your husband's interest level in the art.

Renting an apt for a week in Tuscany sounds great. My previous experience was 4 nights in Chianti with day trips and 3 nights in Orvieto with day trips. Loved it all! My one impression was that I didn't really like backtracking to the same place each night. I thought I might have liked to move around more as far as lodging went.

I'm going back in a week and will do just that. Montalcino 3 nights, Gubbio 2 nights, Spello 2 nights. I'll do a report when I get back, but it might not be in time to help you.

Regardless, you know you'll have a fabulous time!

Buon viaggio!

Hi jr,

With two weeks, I suggest you fly into Florence and immediately train to Venice - 4 nights.

(Cab from airport to Florence SMN is about 12E)

Rent a car in Venice and drive to your Tuscany base - 6 nights - see Tuscany

You can visit Bologna for a day.

See www.novarentacar.com and www.autoeurope.com

For emergency use, you might want to buy a cell phone from www.mobal.com

Return car to Florence - 3 nights.

Fly home.

Have a great visit.

((I))

I just called Delta and they can get us home November 22. But they wouldn't hold both return flights (the 17th and the 22nd) so I had them keep the 17th. Now I have to make a decision...pronto! Help!!!

Is there some reason you don't want to add on the extra five days? Most people here would grab as much time as possible and come back the 22nd!

SusanP - five days will add a lot of expense (lodging, renting a car, food). Also, I don't know that I can get all this planned in two months. Just the initial search for apartment/villa suggestions has given me a ton of information - and a headache (literally...I just took two Tylenol). Also, not sure that I can get by in small villages with no Italian.

Also, do I want to do my "dream" trip through Tuscany in November? Would it be better to see it in early spring when plants are starting to bloom? (By the way, DH hates crowds, so we have found that traveling off season is good for us.)

Easy decision. Nov 10 to 17 or Nov 10-22?
Your first choice gives you 5 full days in Italy and if you go to Venice you will lose the better part of 1 day going and coming. Your second choice gives you 10 full days to enjoy Italy. No brainer for me.
I, however did ok in inorganic.
So, to change Ira"s itinerary abit, I would still train to Venice on your arrival. You will be tired your first day in Europe so you might as well keep traveling. Taxi from Florence airport to train station is a short jaunt. Eurostar train takes about 3 1/2 hours. Three nights in Venice. Rent car to drive to Tuscany unless it is much cheaper to rent the car in Florence to return to Florence in which case I would train back to Florence and rent there. Base yourself somewhere in Tuscany and do day trips by car. Turn car in at Florence and spend the last three nights there.
If you do not want to drive around Tuscany you could base yourself in Florence and do day trips by bus or train to places like Siena, Lucca, Pisa, San Gi......
You can easily plan this trip in 2 months as you are going off season and should have no problems getting hotels, car rentals etc. Learning alittle Italian will help your trip but it is not necessary.
Have a great time !

mjs - great insight! One question - if I rent an apartment or villa for a week, do I have to arrive/depart on a Saturday? If so, that ruins plans to go straight to Venice since we'll be arriving in Italy on a Friday morning. What I was thinking was arrive in Florence Friday (our flight doesn't land until 2 pm so we won't see much that day) then either explore Florence Saturday or grab our car and meander down to wherever we've chosen to stay. Then base ourselves in Tuscany Saturday to Saturday, heading back to Florence (again, we could take our time and stop along the way) to sightsee until we leave Tuesday morning.

Hi jr,

May I suggest that you are overworking this problem.

There will be plenty of hotels available, no need to limit ourself to a Sat-Sat villa rental.

You won't have to know much Italian to get along. Buy a phrase book. Have pen and paper handy for drawing pictures.

Take the full two weeks.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

I would still do the longer trip to Italy even if cost were an issue. It is not inexpensive to fly to/from Europe these days and even though you are using points, it is still a cost. If you amortize the cost of flying to/from Europe over 10 days vs 5 days your per day cost of the trip is lower with the longer trip.
To save money I would consider not using a car and just base yourself in Florence for a week after your jaunt up to Venice for 3 to 4 days.
I have only rented an apartment once in Florence and I am afraid it is out of your budget range so I cannot give you a personal specific apartment reccomendation. However, I am sure many people on this board may have specific recommendations.
I also think that because November is off season you probably would not be confined to weekend to weekend 1 week rentals for apartments. Windows on Tuscany is an apartment company run by the Ferragamo family that I have looked at and I do not believe they have a weekend to weekend policy. In the off season you may also be able to rent apartments for slightly less than a week in some cases.

ira - thank you for being blunt. I am over thinking this! The thought of a place to stay in the country just sounded so good, I totally forgot that I have many other options.

mjs - just talked to DH and told him that we could extend our stay and his response was (could you have guessed this?) "Sure." To which he added (thinking just like you) "If we're going all the way over there, we might as well stay as long as possible." You see, I fret about details and costs, he doesn't. We make a good team!

"To which he added (thinking just like you) "If we're going all the way over there, we might as well stay as long as possible."

So, now that you're staying for a year. . .


If you do a search her under Italy for Il Poggiolo, I think you'll find a number of reports including mine. I found those apartments here, and since going several other Fodorites have stayed as well -- all have loved it.
Regarding smoking, I couldn't say. We didn't smoke, and I didn't smell smoke, but I'm not sure if they forbid it or not. No we didn't cook, but there is a nice kitchen if you wanted to, and you can eat at the pretty tiled table in the kitchen, on the porch, or out in the garden. There are at least a dozen good restaurants within the village in walking distance. These apartments sit about half way up the hill (Montepulciano is essentially two major streets running up a hill to the main square at the top).

Funny you ask about air conditioning. I don't think so, but you know it was very hot while we were there and the apartment was certainly cool enough. I don't remember. But I have no idea why you're asking if you're going in November. By the way there is a fireplace in the living room as well as the open one on the porch/terrace of #3.

Though I think others may have already convinced you, let me just add that I have been to Italy in November a few times, and it has its bonuses. Fewer crowds, yes, but also chestnuts, porcini, truffles, and olio nuovo - newly pressed olive oil are but a few of the gastronomic delights.

Congrats on the trip! May I suggest you look at La Saracina for the Tuscan portion as opposed to renting an apartment. If apartments have a Saturday to Saturday only rental, and you don't have a Saturday to Saturday to rent, I'd check out this lovely place which (if memory serves me) StuDudley on this forum recommended to us. We stayed there this past May and couldn't have been happier (returning this May). The owner, Simonetta, has an apartment with bedroom, living room (with fireplace), kitchen, that can be rented by the night with the most spectacular view. It has an ideal location between Pienza and Montepulciano (you can see from the grounds) and takes less than ten minutes to drive to each. For your trip, I'd divide the time between Florence and southern Tuscany, as previously suggested. Hope this offers another alternative...

Patrick - I would love to stay for a year! Alas, I now have until the 22nd - just called Delta and managed to change our flights. Yeah! As to Il Poggiolo, I did visit their website and it looks very nice. Always good when people on this board approve. I need to figure out where we want to go, then get my bearings (not sure how far apart destinations are - everything looks so far away on a map), then just pick a place.

dorkforcemom - good recommendation! I'll definitely check it out!

Hi jr,

>...not sure how far apart destinations are - everything looks so far away on a map)...

Go to www.mappy.com and www.viamichelin.com for driving times and directions.

Go to www.trenitalia.com for train schedles and prices.

Check www.novarentacar.com and www.autoeurope.com for car rental.

((I))

ira - how did you answer my next question before I even asked it? This morning I was thinking "I wonder if there's a website that tells the travel time between towns." Thanks!

---We've done Tuscany several times. Undoubtedly our best was last year renting a week in Montepulciano and going out daily to other towns of South Tuscany -- the best part of the region to me.---

Partick - just curious as to what towns specifically you like in the Montepulciano area. I'm trying to make an itinerary and would love your input, as well as suggestions from others. Thanks!

3 nights in Florence was plenty for me (and I am a city person). I'd say 2 nights in Florence & the rest driving round some of the rest of Tuscany.