Good idea on a Pisa visit in the evening possibly including supper. The square or field of dreams has 6 things to visit and often there are concerts in one of them. Opening hours on the web are still winter and Covid related but I've walked up the tower just before 10 at night in the old days, so you may have to wait and see a bit closer to the time. It is easy to walk from the train station to the field or catch an internal town bus or take a taxi.

https://www.opapisa.it/en/opening-and-closing-time/

bilboburgler - Thanks for the info and link about the concerts on the field. Good stuff!

Jean - thanks! We were planning on 1 thing each day in Modena knowing that travel was going to impede our ability to do much. I also wasn't going to plan anything in Florence on our first travel day. But I will also look into your and annhig suggestion on putting another day night in Modena to see more of that town especially to plan for contingencies for travel disruptions. We were thinking just a brief stay in Modena in order to get a better deal/longer stay for the accommodations in Florence. Sounds like overall, this is a better itinerary than the first with split stay between Bologna and Florence but much will depend on if I can score restaurant reservations. If not, then we may just go on to Florence from Venice and make Modena a day trip our of Florence for the Ferrari museums and head back in the early evening. And I definitely hear you all about getting everyone up and out the door. Luckily the teens won't be spending any time doing hair and makeup!

If you decide not to stay in Modena but to visit as a day trip from Florence... Keep in mind the fastest train ride to Modena is at least 1:15 hours and a bit longer on the return, and the fares for the faster journeys are higher. When you add up the costs for 5 people and getting to/from Maranello, you might compare the numbers to the cost of hiring a car and driver for the day... esp. if the day will be a challenge for the 'senior' in your group. If the private driver is too spendy, check if the two museums are offering a transportation package between Modena and Maranello.

Hey everyone! Me again! I didn't want to start a new thread but hopefully someone in the know will see this. We have the itinerary all set, hotels and trains reserved for the major way points. I'm now looking at advanced tickets for things that may sell out since we are going peak July tourist season. I am having trouble determining what I need to book ahead as it is likely to sell out and also still being able to be somewhat flexible in our day to day? I don't want the itinerary so locked down that we cannot be spontaneous. We aren't HUGE museum goers but do want to hit some of the high points. Below sketch itinerary for reminder:

Day 1 Sun - Arrive Venice around noon. Wander
Day 2 Mon - Full Day Venice - not sure if we should book anything here vs. just wing it. Doges? St. Marks?
Day 3 Tues - Depart Venice late morning via Train to Modena; 8pm - Dinner at Osteria Francescana (booked)
Day 4 Wed - Modena plan on Ferrari museum and ?? - does the Ferrari museum sell out?
Day 5 Thur - Depart Modena late morning via Train to Florence - wander? Duomo? Market? Balsamic tasting maybe
Day 6 Fri - Florence - David? Should we get advance tickets now or wait until we get there?
Day 6 Sat - Florence - Day trip to Pisa?
Day 7 Sun - Florence - whatever else...
Day 8 Mon - Depart Florence to Rome via late morning train; wander Rome
Day 9 Tues - Rome - Colosseum (underground tour - know need to book early); Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps, etc.
Day 9 Wed - Rome ? day trip to Herculaneum maybe?
Day 10 Thur - Rome - ?
Day 11 Fri - Vatican - Scavi tour (booked); St. Peters mid day, break then thinking of doing the Vatican Happy Hour Tour later that evening - museum open late hours
Day 12 Sat - Depart

I'm no help on booking stuff (I don't do that sort of thing), but even if you guys are slow risers, get up early on the first day in Venice say 5 or 6 in the morning and just watch the place come alive for a couple of hours watching one of the larger canals. Maybe find a bar to sell you a coffee and a cornetto but it is like a theatre being prepared for a new day. Once the fat-boat people start arriving at 9am after the buffet breakfast the magic will have gone.

One small tweak... I would make the "open" day in Florence Saturday and not Sunday as many of the main sights are not open every Sunday, and you might still have one or two of them on your list.

Personally, I'd get advance reservations for anything on your list that offers them. Doge's Palace, Basilica, Campanile, whatever else in Venice. David/Accademia, Uffizi, Bargello, Brancacci, Baptistry, climbing the Duomo, whatever else in Florence. Leaning Tower in Pisa. Colosseum, Forum, Borghese Galleria, Domus Aurea, whatever else in Rome. Very happy you have booked the Scavi tour!! I don't think the Ferrari Museum in Modena sells out, but you should see if you can buy tickets in advance.

Personally #2, I'd rather visit Pompeii than Herculaneum. But either would get more context if you could also visit the archeology museum in Naples (where all the excavated artifacts are), and that makes for a long day. About 90 minutes to Pompeii or Herculaneum, about 60 minutes from either to the archeology museum, a couple of hours there, back to the train station and then 1+ hour back to Rome. FWIW, we spent an entire day at Pompeii on our first visit from gates opening to gates closing, and still returned for more on another trip. The excavated area encompasses 109 acres. If you go and forecast is for high temps, be prepared with water, hats, footwear comfortable on uneven surfaces... It's the opposite of a stroll through a museum.

Thanks! Good points. Ok, I'll talk to the family about what else they may be interested and buy now (or when they are open to purchase) so we don't get sold out for those we really want to do. Four out of 5 of us have already been to Pompeii which is why we were targeting Herculaneum as only 1 of us has been there. Rome is the end of our journey so we also may be kind of "ruined out". I was also looking at other day trip options out of Rome like the Pope's Summer house or Orvieto. We haven't quite nailed down if we want to do a day trip or not!

You'd have to check, but I think the papal palace is only open to visitors on Saturdays. I think the Villa Barberini gardens are open most days. The town is charming but small. We had a nice lunch overlooking the lake, and there was a kayak rental nearby. It's a nice walk from the town to the lake, but uphill coming back. We had a car and drove around the lake, stopping at a a few sights in the area (which is beautiful). Depending on the sort of day trip you had in mind, you might feel there isn't enough "there" there, esp. with teens, unless you went kayaking.

Orvieto is a nice hill town, and you ride a funicular between the train station and the town. The cathedral is stunning, and the tour of the tunnels and chambers below the town is interesting. There's a medieval well to climb down and a tower to climb up... And a museum of the cathedral, and a small-ish archeology museum. Lots of dining options. The only negative for me is that the train ride is twice as long as the ride to Castel Gandolfo and at nearly 90 minutes each way is at the outer limits of what I consider a nice day trip distance.

Another excursion from Rome is the combo of Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa. Or the ruins at Ostia... which I think we would have enjoyed more if we'd had a guide.

Ib17 - what Bilbo said about getting up early - it really is a magical time to explore, take photos, and watch the working boats delivering supplies, removing the rubbish [collected every day], collecting the laundry and just getting Venice ready for another day. The Rialto market is a good place to head for as the cafes are open to cater to the market traders and it's a great time not just to see the fish market but all the local fruit and veg arriving too.

with only one full day in Venice I would think very carefully about whether I wanted to spend at least two hours of it in the Doge's palace; instead from the Rialto I would walk to the very lovely Frari church, pop into the nearby Scuola Grande di San Rocco to see the Tinteretto paintings in there, then wander down to the Zattere to catch a vaporetto over to the Giudecca [several nice restaurants in the shade along the front] and go to the Palladian church of the Redentore, then catch another vaporetto to the Isola di San Giorgio and go up the Campanile there which is far less busy, cheaper, and has just as good views. Then hop over to San Marco and depending on the queues go into the Basilica or if they are too long, go straight to the Museo Correr in the opposite corner, where there are usually very few queues and there is a lovely cafe which overlooks the Piazza and the Basilica as well as some wonderful works of art to see. Then depending on how tired you are either hop on a vaporetto and go back to your hotel or walk back exploring whatever byways attract you.

Given you are talking about getting a late morning train to Florence, your last morning would be the ideal time to go to the Basilica because a visit only takes 10 minutes and you could book it in advance.

Thanks! Yes! I am going to take all these recommendations into consideration.