Tuscany or Rome?
 

I need little advice...
My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy in late August/early September. I'm really excited but I just can't choose where to go. I'd really like to experience the true Italian lifestyle, cuisine and renaissance art (which I feel we'd get in Tuscany/Florence) but I'd also love to see Rome and experience a large Italian metro, maybe even see the pope. We'll definitely take a trip to Pisa if we go to Florence. We'll take a trip to Naples and even to Pompeii if we go to Rome. The trip will be for 9 full days (travel time separate). Which destinations, in your opinion, will be best? I understand that a lot is personal preference but I'd like to hear your point of view and thoughts. :)

"True Italian" is anywhere in Italy. You are talking apples and oranges here and simply need to make a choice between city or countryside. Nine "full days" is a blip on the travel screen. If you can't decide between these two completely different travel scenarios, divide it up and do both. There is no "best" between Tuscany and Rome. They are simply completely different.

In nine days you should be able to see a little of Rome and some of Tuscany, including Florence. Rome has a good bit of Renaissance art as well as Baroque Art. Although I did it on my first trip to Italy, I wouldn't recommend taking a day trip to Naples/Pompeii in that short time--too far and too much to see. Consider Ostia Antica or Tivoli instead. Four days Rome and five in Tuscany.

Also, I don't think that in nine days in Rome and Tuscany you'll get close to the "true Italian lifestyle," whatever that is (and there are probably at least three: Lombardy, Sicily, and the rest of Italy). I haven't done so in several trips to Italy that lasted up to a month each. If you want that, pick an agriturismo and spend your entire time there, getting to know the people who run it and live around there.

There are any Italian lifestyles in "the rest of Italy". Even within a region, there are usually different lifestyles. The Tuscan lifestyle in the Maremma area doesn't much resemble the Tuscan lifestyle in the Chianti area, or in the Alpi Apuani.

Nine days is really very little time. I agree that five full days in one city and four in the other could be a good start, but which gets five and which gets four would depend on whether you want to take a day trip or two, and how many museums you want to visit in each place.

Naples and Pompeii in one day would be too much for me.

In Rome, one of the best museums for Renaissance art is the Barberini Gallery, which is one of my favorite museums in the city.

"Naples and Pompeii in one day would be too much for me."

Me too on a hot, humid, summer day.

I found the Tuscan countryside was one of my favorite destinations on our trip! I really wish we had spent a little more time there. We skipped Pisa, and were not at all sorry. There were too many other things that were more important to us. The first part of our trip was spent in France. During the Italy portion we flew into Venice, stayed there for 2 days, then rented a car and drove from Venice to Tuscany where we stayed for a couple of days in a gorgeous Villa (so amazing!!) The best food we had was in the Tuscan countryside by far! It was so peaceful and beautiful, and wine harvest season begins in September. I just can't say enough about how beautiful it was there. After having been in cities and many tourist paces that were great but a little crazy, Tuscany was the perfect mid trip respite. Check out a couple of Villas. We stayed at the Villa Vignamagio in Chianti. At the end of our stay in the Tuscan countryside, we drove to Florence and returned our rental car,( driving/ parking in Forence is a nightmare, so we didn't want to deal with it) and spent a couple days in Florence, before taking the high speed train from Florence to Rome, where we spent the last 3 days of our trip. We went the first week in October and the weather was absolutely perfect! You will love Italy! Happy travels!

At that time the only place in Italy Iwold even consider is hte Lakes - it;s just too hot (upper 90s and humid) elsewhere and many places do not have US standard (or any) AC.

But - if you hae to choose do Rome - way more to see and do. And I think Florence is, if possible, even hotter.

I spent three weeks in Italy on my first trip and felt as though I didn't have nearly enough time. Went back for a second trip a few months later, and again - not enough time.

Anyway, with nine days, I would skip Naples, Pompeii and Florence and concentrate on Rome and Tuscany. Now, how you split that time is, of course, up to you. There is sooo much to see in Rome - honestly, you could spend your entire time there and not touch the surface. Also, the Tuscany/Umbria region has to be seen to be believed and there are so many villages/town/cities that it's hard to recommend just a few. When I was there, I visited Siena, Pienza, San Gimignano, Ovieto, Citta della Pieve, Chiusi, Montepulchiano and Civita Di Bagnoregio.

I visited Italy in September, and while it was hot, the mornings in Tuscany were actually quite cool, as the villa I stayed in (with a group of friends) was high on a hill.

Whatever you decide, you'll have a great time. Happy travels to you!

I find four days in a city - any city - is plenty. I love being there, but by the fourth day I'm bursting to get out into the villages and countryside. So yes, I'd divide nine days up into four days in Rome and five days cruising around Tuscany. We found Montepluciano was a good base for the latter, handy for day trips to Siena, Assissi, Cortona and others.

In late August/early-mid September, the Pope is usually at Castel Gandolfo, not Rome. Of course, the new Pope may do things differently, but this has been the pattern for years. You can check the Pope's schedule on the Vatican website closer to that time, but I would imagine if you wanted to see him, you would have to take a trip to Castel Gandolfo on a Sunday.

Last year the pope did not go to Catel Gandolfo, but "observed a reduced schedule".

If you can possibly schedule for September, do it. You'll avoid some of the heaviest crowds and worst temperatures, although it can still be boiling hot in early September.

Whatever you do, make sure you choose a hotel with decent AC. If you post your budget here, you'll get tons of recommendations.

Like the other posters above, I recommend skipping Naples and Pompeii as a day trip. Visit both when you also have time for the Amalfi COast!

Go to Rome if you love ancient Roman history and ruins because Rome will absolutely make history comes alive. We never care for roman history, so the first two times we went to Rome we begged the airlines to fly us out 2 days early on stand by because we could no longer stand the terrible restaurant food due to overtourism and also because we didn't know how to enjoy such a noisy, dirty & polluted city filled with archeological diggings and ruins everywhere. The locals were so fed up with tourists; only the con artists and beggars were nice to the tourists. One of the highlights for us back then was visiting the incredibly glorious palace of the Popes and learning of their lavish lifestyle. It made us realize how powerful our Pope used to be. We never got to see the Pope but we did see Berlusconi coming out of his residential Palazzo Chigi! Still, if I only had 9 days for Italy, I would skip Rome on a heartbeat! Tuscany, Venice and the northern lakes are a lot more memorable.

That said, we're going back to Rome for our fifth stay next week! We have finally learned how to enjoy Rome thoroughly.