Hi everyone. I have a ten-day trip planned in May to Italy. I've already booked a week in the Sienna area of Tuscany but have three additional days to fill at the end of the trip. I originally wanted to go to Venice, but since my flight reservations are in and out or Rome, it didn't make good sense given the distance from Tuscany to Venice then from Venice back to Rome.

So....does anyone have a suggestion or favorite location where I could go for those last three days? This will be my first trip to Italy and I'll have a car. I'm planning on making day trips from my place in Tuscany.

Thanks!

Assisi and then Orvieto to drop your car.

What about Florence?

bobthenavigator: can you explain why I would drop the car in Orvieto? How would I then get to Rome airport? I'm not familiar...thanks for your help.

Lily: I'm thinking Florence might be a good for me for those three days - then I could hop the train to Rome for my flight? does that sound logical?

Why not stay in Rome your last three nights?

If you are flying to the states from Rome, it's likely you will have an early morning departure which will mean you need to stay in Rome the night before. Orvieto is an hour north of Rome so many people choose to drop cars there instead of driving in Rome. If you stayed in Orvieto, you would train to Rome Termini and then train to the airport.

What time is your departure flight?

Leaving your car in Orvieto and spending last 3 days in Rome eliminates a lot of stress. day you leave, take the train to he airport which eliminates the stress caused by traffic jams, accidents, etc.
You will have seen the Tuscan countryside, and Rome wil introduce you to an unsurpassed urban experience.
While in Siena take a ride to Panzano and visit the butcher shop of the Dante-quoing butcher, Dario Cecchini. Google his name; an amazing character.
PS--at the end of October it took us close to 3/4 hour to return the car at Orvieto--there was only 1 clerk and there were about a dozen of us returning cars all scheduled to take the same train to Rome.

Is there something you really enjoy doing?

If you've been going around to all the Tuscan hill towns, maybe you want something different than other hilltowns. But if you are wild for church art, Assisi and Orvieto are high-impact and jaw-dropping. So is Florence.

Do you have any special loves and interests? Food? Ceramics? Mosaics? Ancient history? Clothes shopping? Opera? Dogs?

If that is your last nite then drive to FCO and drop it there. I was assuming you had time in Rome.

Florence is wonderful and you can easily get the train to Rome. However as others have suggested, if you haven't spent time in Rome, you might wish to consider Rome as well.

In talking with my travel partner, I think we decided to do three days in Florence, then train to Rome for our flights. How much time do you suggest we allow from train to airport, and is it an easy thing to do?

Thanks for your suggestions!

We had a morning flight from Rome so we left Florence on the 6:00pm train to Rome the night before, slept in Rome, then took the train to the airport in the morning for our flight.

What about Cinque Terra or Amalfi coast????
Or Venice???

Well, if I were in Tuscany and had three days to spend somewhere else, I'd break my neck getting to Venice.

But failing that, I'd head to Rome.

And if neither of those will work, then Orvieto, which really is delightful. We were there about this time last year for our second, but not last, visit.

But Florence will be fine, too. How can you lose?

Your trip sounds wonderful!

Byrd