ashwinb

So I just get about 5.5 days in Italy in December this year(mid-december) , it's my first time in Italy, and certainly wouldn't be my last.
My guess is 5.5 days isn't enough for Rome and Florence.
Now is 5.5 days a bit much for Rome, and would it be better to spend 5.5 days in Siena,Florence and the hilltop towns in Tuscany? Or are the hilltop towns kind of closed in winter?
At the same time I find it a bit sacrilegious to miss Rome on my first visit to Italy.

mrt

5.5 days will be fine for Rome and Florence. When we went, we had 5 days for both places. I would do 2-2.5 in Rome. Rome is a big bustling city but other than the ruins it was not as quaint as Florence. Don't book anything in advance for the first day in case your flight is delayed. You can see all of the major attractions in Rome over 2 days if you are hustling. We went to the Forum, the coliseum, and the Vatican. Unfortunately, we missed the Pantheon. The major ruins are all close by.

It is only a couple hours to Florence. We stayed just south of the Arno River near the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. If you have 3 full days in Florence you can spend at least one full day going to local towns. We went one day to San Gimignano and Volterra both old walled in towns relatively close to Florence. I doubt that anything is closed -probably less populated. We also went to Siena on the same day as the other two. But, we had a car and were able to go to San Gimignano, then Volterra, then Siena, and back to Florence.I do not know if this can be done through tours or local buses. In Florence there are two main galleries including the Accademia (which has the David Statute and should not be missed)and the Uffizi. There is also the Duomo that you can tour. Also, don't miss the Mercado for leather goods (great merchandise and they bargain a little bit.

You will regret it if you only go to either Rome or Florence.

tonfromleiden

There is enough in Rome to have your 5,5 days well-filled. Of course one has to "do" the major monuments, but it would be a pity if you limit yourself to those. There are so many smaller, but no less rewarding churches, fountains and whatever. (A few years ago I treated myself on a nine-day stay in Rome. It were long days!)
Keep Florence for another time, would be my advise, when you can combine it with the other treasures of Tuscany.
Of course you can very well combine Rome with Florence, but keep in mind that, if you have to return to Rome, you'll lose two times half a day with travelling between the two cities.

jent103

Personally I disagree that you'll absolutely regret it if you only pick one - Florence isn't my favorite, though many people disagree with me. But you could do both a couple of ways. Spend a couple of nights (~1.5 days) in Florence, which will give you enough time for the highlights, and the rest in Rome; or you could even do Florence as a day trip from Rome, leaving the decision till you got there and knew how much time you want to spend in Rome. They're only 90 minutes or so apart by train.

Or you could easily spend the whole time in Rome, with a day trip if you feel like it. Depends on how relaxed a pace you want to take. On my 2011 trip to Rome we spent five nights - the day we arrived, one day for the Vatican, one for the Colosseum/Forum, one for a cooking class that lasted most of the day, and one for the Borghese, shopping, Spanish Steps, etc.

mama_mia

If in your mind's eye you picture the iconic scenes of Tuscany (lush vineyards, rolling green hills, strolling down cypress lined lanes), then Florence and the hill towns might be better visited at another time of year. In December, you would also be dealing with shorter days.

Would you rent a car in Tuscany? Some towns can be done by train or bus, but others are more easily reached by car.

If it were me, I would choose Rome. There is plenty to occupy 5 days, but if you wanted to, you could take a day trip to Orvieto or even Florence.

(If you choose Florence, though, there is still plenty to do there. Can't go wrong either way, but I think by splitting, you are shortchanging.)

greg

You are asking "better to spend 5.5 days?" What is your criteria to determine the goodness? Without that, people would assume certain implied or explicit metrics, and give you recommendations all over the board.

It is possible to visit both cities and be "enough" to do focused activities. Without the defined scope of what you want to do, you will probably get enough or not enough responses depending on how the posters imagined the scope of your visit.

With the number of days stated, where they fall and how they are structured make a big difference. If these days fall on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, it would be harder to visit museum/store type of places than if they fall on the Wed or later. Also, if you have not thought about integrating movements, moving between the two would eat up significant amount of time.

TDuTwo

I vote stay in Rome and take a long day bus tour to Florence. What do you have in mind to visit?

sformby

I don't think there is a "right" answer. You'd have a great time..as long as you don't try to do TOO much. You can easily fill 5.5 days in Rome. You could take a day trip to Florence from Rome, or save Florence for your second trip to Italy (you will be coming back!). Another day trip option from Rome is Orvieto, which is a hill town in Umbria.

Here's a NYT article about wintertime in Tuscany. If the photos and scenes in the article are what you think of when you think of Italy, you might consider Florence plus an organized day trip into Tuscany.

The photos in the article belie the idea that Tuscany is brown or ugly in wintertime! Shorter days, yes, of course.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/tr...cany.html?_r=0

Nikki

I prefer cities in the winter and countryside in the summer, spring, or fall.

There is more to see in Rome than in any other place I have been. I spent five days on my first visit and seven on my second and have a long list of sites I haven't seen.

I have only visited Florence as a day trip, so I can't give an informed opinion, and many people enjoy spending several days or more there. But if the idea is to see Florence as a jumping off point for Tuscan hill towns, I would pick a different time of year.

davispeets

My vote: I would stay the entire time in Rome it's not too much time at all. And, you won't be running from town to town - much less stressful trip.

annhig

You can see all of the major attractions in Rome over 2 days if you are hustling. We went to the Forum, the coliseum, and the Vatican. Unfortunately, we missed the Pantheon. The major ruins are all close by. >>

mrt - I have a friend, actually a Church of England vicar, who has spent upwards of 50 weeks in Rome over the years. I didn't understand that until I finally made it to Rome on my 6th or 7th visit to Italy, but then I absolutely did. Give you didn't even make it to the Pantheon, 2 days clearly isn't enough, but IMHO 2 weeks, 2 months even 2 years would not be enough, but 5 ½ days is definitely a good start.

Florence is lovely too, [and I've spent about 2 weeks there all told] but if you have a yen for Rome, go!

nytraveler

While it;s possible to get to both Rome and Florence in 5 days (1/2 would be lost to travel) both would be getting short shrift.

Personally I would do all the time in Rome but I am more interested in ancient history than I am in Renaissance and earlier Italian painting.

I would suggest you decide which city has the most places that are your personal must sees - being realistic as to how many hours of daylight you have and potential weather issues.

We can;t decide that for you.

Calabria62

Since you know you will be returning to Italy in the future, my vote would be to stay in Rome, and take a day trip if you feel you must.

There is so much more to see in Rome than the Vatican, Trevi Fountain and the Forum...nearly 400 churches, many museums, neighborhoods, landmarks, etc....plenty to keep you busy.

kja

Your call! I spent 5 full days in Florence, did not see everything I wanted to see there, and never made it outside of Florence to anywhere else in the area. I spent 5 full days in Rome and felt like a barely scratched the surface. It really depends on what YOU want to see and experience.

Blueeyedcod

NY Traveler - I don't get how you can say 'half a day lost to travel' when it takes one hour to travel to Florence.
If the OP is up and out early enough he/she can be in Florence by 8am, dump bags at hotel - 8.30am - a whole day to explore.

How do you factor half a day into the mix? Genuinely curious?

I managed to get from Paris to the Amalfi Coast by 10am once as I got myself out in time to get a 6am flight.

This half a day/full day to travel is really quite absurd.

ashwinb

Wow! Thanks a lot for the responses!
So Rome definitely won't be skipped, maybe I'll do a 2 day trip to Siena including a day trip from there to one of the villages/towns(maybe val d'orcia or san gimignano)..because I don't want to be in a city all the while, here I get a balance of a city and some countryside?
Perhaps Florence can be combined later with another trip.

dutyfree

As someone who studied in Florence during a "semester abroad" in college and flies for a major US airline as a flight attendant-go to ROME! It is a city that is filled with history,great food and wine,wonderful shopping and culture.
The December time period is magical with the city gearing up for the holidays and just doing the dolce vita throughout the city. The weather usually is fine with a coat yet the ability to sit outside to people watch;the crowds are not as obnoxious as the summer months and you can enjoy many of the usual tourist attractions without the hours waiting in line.
I compare Rome to an artichoke-you need to keep peeling away and see the many many layers of this amazing city!
Just an FYI-Rome layovers are usually one of the most senior trips to hold for the airlines as everyone loves going there.

welltraveledbrit

I'm with Duty Free, Rome all the way. Last time we were in Rome we stayed for a month I love it in December, the Christmas light the nativities in the churches, wonderful.

Here's a link to my blog with museums, walks and all my resources for Rome.

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/search/label/Rome

Personally I prefer cities in the winter because there's lots to do if it rains. Yes the countryside is lovely but it's less appealing to me when the sun isn't shining

dreamon

It might take 90min to journey from Rome to Florence but it will also take time to pack up, check out, get to the station and then do the reverse in Florence. If travelling light and staying close to the station then of course, less time. Might not be half a day but the OP is measuring his time in a few days, not weeks.

Blueeyedcod

Dreamon - are you serious?
Pack up the night before. Check out the night before - leave keys at the desk on your way out the door - that takes seconds. Get to the station - if aiming for a very early train then no traffic so 15 min.
There is a 6.51 train leaving Roma Termini to SMN Florence and it gets to Florence at 7.51am. Florence is so small - so 15 min in a cab to hotel if that. When I go to Florence I walk to my hotel from SMN it is that small.
So if anyone wants to they clearly can get up, out the door and to their next destination without wasting this fictitious half a day.