PeaceOut

How about:

Venice, 3 nights
Florence, 4 nights w/side trip to Pisa
Rome, 6 nights

I don't know about Pompeii, but there is good advice above. Would you drive, or take a tour there? Otherwise consider staying at Sorrento as advised? I'd definitely add time to both Venice and Florence.

bardo1

We spent 8 days in Rome our first time and wished we had had more time. We didn't get to see a lot that we had planned to.

A friend shared our apt for the week and he stayed even longer - moving on to a hotel for four additional days. Even HE didn't get to everything on HIS "must do" list.

Quick answer - 8 nights is in no way "too short"!

Enjoy your trip!

bardo1

Duh! I meant &quot;too <i>much</i>&quot;

ira

Hi dc,

Rome is not one of my favorite cities.

Venice and Florence are.

&gt;we are flying into Venice (arriving at 4pm) and staying two nights,...

That give you only 1 day and 2 nights in Venice. (Two days at most.)

I would add two nights to Venice.

If you get really bored with one of the most exquisite cities in the world, you can go to Verona for a day.

&gt; taking the train to Florence and staying three nights, ...&lt;

I would add one night to Florence. You can visit Siena and/or San Gimignano.

Enjoy your visit.

)

zeppole

Grashopper's suggestion to get an apartment in Roma is a good one.

dcm58

thank you everyone! I didn't mean to incite quite such strong reactions on Venice, but I think everyone has a good-natured back and forth on these posts, so I don't feel too bad!

I have spoken with my family, and we will stay an extra night in Venice. We will do our side trip to Pisa from Florence, and then spend seven days in Rome, which I am now even more excited about after spending more time to research the &quot;things to do&quot; in Roma.

Thank you for the info about an apartment - that was my natural instinct, but after researching, I came across a type of hybrid. We have reserved a suite in Rome at the Navona Gallery Suites. we will each have a separate room and bathroom and then share a kitchen that the manager stocks daily! I think this is the best option for my family as it ensures we each have our own &quot;space&quot; (and my father can be something of a bathroom hog!!!).

as for pompeii, it is a must. We are actually taking a dreaded tour! we will spend the morning at Pompeii and the afternoon in Naples at the museum. we will be utterly exhausted I am sure, but I think my father's enjoyment will be well worth it. we will do this three days before we leave Rome, so hopefully we will recoup a little bit before the flight!!!

again, thank you so much! I am very excited to visit again . . .

bratsandbeer

Thank you for telling us your final plans. It is always fun to read what the person with the question decides to do.

PeaceOut

Enjoy your trip! It sounds lovely.

gruezi

dcm -

Have a great time whatever you decide. 3 great cities plus Pompeii and I'm hoping you are going in the fall. If so, I think you can't go wrong.

One more vote for seeing the museum of artifacts (I felt gypped by not doing this) for Pompeii.

Also, off high season, I think Venice is quite magical.

I agree with Ira in that Rome is not my favorite city, but we spent 8 days there and still had tons left to see and do. Others in my family put Rome as their #1 city anywhere until they saw Florence...

gruezi

kybourbon

Must you take a tour for Pompeii? Most only allow 2 hours (simply not enough) in Pompeii and waste your time on visits to coral factories and lunch. You can easily go on your own by taking the train from Rome to Naples (90 minutes) and catching the local commuter train to Pompeii (30 minutes). You can stop in Naples either coming or going to visit the museum.

nytraveler

I would add one night to Venice - since your first day will be jet lagged and consider adding one to Florence - if you want to take a day trip to one of the smaller towns.

Eight nights is NOT too many for Rome - you spend a month easily - esp if you're doing a Pompeii trip. But, I would also consider the above changes.

Vttraveler

The Navona Gallery Suites look beautiful and are in a great central location. I am sure you will enjoy your week long stay there. If you want to do some of your own food shopping, you will be close to the market in Campo de' Fiori (lots of food stores around this neighborhood, too) and there are actually some supermarkets in the central part of Rome

When we were in Rome I picked up a booklet at the tourist office called &quot;the streets of Rome.&quot; It describes several historic streets in detail. Via del Governo Vecchio where the Navona Gallery Suites is one of them and other streets in the same area are also included. The writing (English translation at least) is pretty awkward but there is lots of interesting information

I think you will find more than enough to see in Rome especially since you are taking a day out for the Pompeii tour. However, if you get there and decide you want to take another side trip, Orvieto is an easy trip by train.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful trip

Delaine

Your trip sounds wonderful. I don't think you will be sorry for adding a day in Venice. It has lovely art, e.g. in the Accademia, magnificent architecture, e.g. Basilica San Marco, great churches, e.g. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, and a very unique ambiance.

Granted, my visits to Venice have always been in the off-season, but I loved it. While there are areas that will always be more crowded than others, you can find other areas, just as lovely, that are less-frequented. For example when I visited the Frari church, which has wonderful art by Bellini and Titian, as well as the tomb of sculptor Antonio Canova, it was almost empty. It is on a campo away from San Marco, and I had it almost all to myself.

gruezi

In Venice do not miss the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. One of my all-time favorites and a really special setting even if you don't love modern art...

gruezi

jrecm

There is so much to do in Venice. Last year we rented an apartment for a week. We ran out of time and didn't get a chance to see the Peggy Guggenheim Museum...and we didn't take any side trips, except to Torcello and Burano

As Ira said, We too love Venice and Florence, not Rome as much. In fact we are going back to Venice next year hopefully.

zeppole

I think people are right to couch their remarks in terms of the subjective (at least those who do).

Apart from visiting in the dead winter, which has its own downsides, I find it visiting Venezia really heartbreaking. It feels to me like a sinking cruise ship, with all its luxury restaurants, high-end shopping and organized tours. The last time I was there in April, I found myself hoping I would never have a need to go back. And I think I've decided that if I do, I'm going to stay out on gorgeous Torcello at Locanda Cipriani and just dip into Venezia proper during the day for the remaining art treasures I want to see.

Roma is tough to get around, but I think the antiquities and ancient streets pack quite an emotional wallop. I dislike the Vatican and generally avoid the area, and perhaps more people should consider doing the same. I much prefer the food in Roma to either Venezia or Firenze, but I can find myself bracing myself when I think I need to spend a few days there, because there is so much hubbub.

I only go to Firenze when I think I have a fair chance of beating the tourists. Therefore, I always have a great time, and always look forward to going back. I don't like the food, but I never stay that long anyway.

sarge56

dcm58- We had the best meal of our entire Italy trip last year, in Florence. Highly recommend Semidivino, Via S. Gallo 22/R.

Also, recommend fabulous family-owned and run hotel in Florence, the Hotel Casci. They have the highest rated reviews on TripAdvisor, and for good reason. Loved this hotel in the heart of Florence. 10 mts walk to almost anywhere.

In Venice, can highly recommend the Corte 1321 B&amp;B. Owned by an American mother/daughter. Fabulous room, breakfast, location. 7 mts to Rialto bridge, 2 mts to vaporetto.

Have fun!

tcreath

I think your trip sounds lovely. And I personally did a daytrip from Rome to Pompeii a few years ago and it was a highlight. Yes, it was a long day but absolutely doable. We just hopped on a train to Naples early in the morning and were back in Rome in time for dinner that night. We decided on Pompeii because my father, who is disabled and cannot travel overseas, always wanted to go to Pompeii. We went and took a video camera with us. Not that it was the same as being there, but he could kind of live vicariously through us and loves to tell friends about his daughter's trip to Pompeii...that alone made the trip 100% worthwhile.

Rome is amazing and 7 nights are perfect. Have a wonderful trip!

Tracy