My husband and I are excited to be going to Italy for the first time this October. We are first staying in Venice for three nights then taking the train to Rome for 5 nights. Should we stop in Florence on the way to Rome? We will be traveling on a Monday and we know that the Accademia will be closed and, therefore, we will not be able to see the original David. We still could see the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio and the Piazza Michaelangelo. Any thoughts?? Any suggestions on must sees for Venice and Rome. Of course we have a list of what we think we want to see, but we like to hear from people who have been there...

I would not stop in Florence if it's just as part of your travel day. Florence takes time to get into. you would probably come away wondering what all the fuss is about.

No (I probably wouldn't). I think Venice and Rome is plenty for an 8 day trip.

I have done this and had a fine time. We took a train from Venice at about 8:30am and arrived in Florence about 10:30am. We checked our bags at the station and hit the streets. We wandered the center, visiting the Duomo ann Baptistery, passed the Palazzo Vecchio and over the Ponte Vecchio. We stopped in whatever churches were open. We had a really nice lunch. We too the bus to Piazzale Michelangelo for the scenic overlook of the city and waked back into town. After some shopping at the San Lorenzo markets, we caught a 5:00pm train to Rome so we could check into our B&B by 7:00pm. I had been to Florence before, so I had a plan in mind and knew my way around already, so this worked well for us. It would not be everyone's favorite day. It's up to you.

This thread discussed this idea at length, and includes my description of another time we did a day trip to Florence from Rome.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m-i-crazy-.cfm

Hello Cathy, if you are leaving Venice somewhat early in the morning from Venice and don't mind arriving in Rome early evening if Florence is of interest you could visit Florence for some hours. You can leave you luggage at the the Florence train station. When you get off the train and walk to the front the baggage office will be to the left, on the right hand side. You could have lunch and walk around Florence for awhile, the train station is right there in the historical central. Have fun, whatever you decide!

Knowing you won't have time for exploring museums, etc., I would still stop in Florence, even for only an afternoon. How early can you leave Venice? How late can you check into your place in Rome? I would stretch the time as much as possible to have the most time in Florence. The center of Florence is very small, so you can easily walk and find your way about.

I think these suggestions to see what you can of Florence are very wise if your likelihood of returning to Italy in the future is slim. I'm someone with a love of travel but limited time and funding for this. I'm also middle age and don't know if I'll ever be able to retire or to afford travel when I do. I think that many well meaning, yet well-traveled folks on travel forums like this suggest that more time should be taken and/or fewer places visited or "save that for the next trip" not realizing this would be a luxury. So, that said, I would even consider two nights in Venice, 2 nights Florence and 4 nights Rome. Mind you, I would agree that if you can only see two cities in Italy, Rome and Venice are the ones to see! Best wishes.

Thank you all for your thoughtful information. At this point we are inclined to take the chance and stop in Florence for the day. But we could change our minds tomorrow ... We will let you know what we end up doing. We appreciate the advice of each and everyone of you. Thanks for taking the time to contribute to this thread.

I would stop and go for a wander. You could see the things you have suggested and then wander to the ponte de vecchio and spend some time exploring that and the Arno River views.

The San Lorenzo market (that ellenem also mentioned) is near the train station and you might enjoy that on the way back to the station. I have bought silk ties, leather gloves, scarves and a few other bits and pieces that give me enormous enjoyment.

A little tip for you - before you leave Venice buy some food at the train station and take it with you on the train. The food at the station is good but we found that the food on the trains in Italy was expensive and not very good.

If you were to reconsider staying in Florence then I would just add one night to Florence (take one off Rome) and then take an afternoon train the next day to Rome, it's only about a 90 minute trip.

I was only talking to my husband last night about returning to Florence, we've been twice and I absolutely love it. Particularly in the evening when all of the day trippers have gone.

Cathy, I just realised that nobody has responded to the second part of your question about what to see in Venice and Rome, you might be better to start another post about that. Make sure you give some ideas of what you think you will be interested in seeing. Sometimes Fodor's posters get a bit grumpy when questions aren't specific enough. I hope you have a lovely trip, Cathie

If you do decide to stop in florence along the way, you will need two separate tickets: 1 ticket Venice to Florence, 1 ticket Florence to Rome.

My first couple of trips to Italy I also skipped Florence....HUGE MISTAKE!! Florence is one of the most beautiful, interesting, easy to walk, memorable cities I have ever visited and I regret skipping it early on. I would DEFINITELY stay a couple of days in Florence and 3 days in Rome. It is established that 3 days in Rome is not enough...A YEAR in Rome is not enough, but to forego a visit to Florence so early on your Italy exploration journey is close to heresy...

I would not stop with luggage just for a peek... you need to do this right.

As far as what to See/Do, plenty guidebooks have compiled lists of What MUST see; just take a trip to the local library and make copies of selected guidebooks; it gets repettitive pretty quickly.