chris45ny

Per advice from posters on TA will fly from Paris to Venice, take fast train from Venice to Florence, fast train from Florence to Rome. We know we are interested in renting an apt. in Rome for 7 nights but flexible for Venice and Florence. Are 2 nights each sufficient or should we do 3 nights each?? Any recommendations for places to stay in Venice and Florence. Looking at Locanda Orseolo B & B for Venice as a possibility. We like a good location near to transportation be it metro, bus, etc. We are seniors-65+ travelers. Will be doing this trip Sept. 2011.

Entire trip will be about 30 days. Flying from US to London, train to Paris for 7 nights, then Venice, Florence, Rome, flying from Rome to London, 7 nights in London, then home to US. We've been to London before and "did" all the must sees so we can really relax in London this time. This will be our first time to the other cities mentioned. Any must sees we should not miss in those places?? I'm in the process of putting together itineraries for Rome and Venice. Haven't done any research yet on Florence but will want to have time for the Uffizi Gallery, the Accademia, Baptistry, Duomo. Now that I'm typing all this, I think maybe we'd need 3 nights at least in Florence-maybe also in Venice?? Will 3 nights each be enough??

Any advice/info will be appreciated. Thanks.

ellenem

Sounds like you are not actually staying over in London at the front end of the trip. If this is the case, why not fly to London? Begin your trip by flying from home to Paris. Multi-city ailine ticets should cost the same or slightly more.

I would prefer 3 nights each in Venice and Florence so that you would have two full days in each place without worrying about travel tot he next location. (Actually, I would prefer more than 3 nights, but can't speak for you since I don't now your interests or expectations--3 nights would be my minimum for a first-time visitor.)

MelJ

Having been to all of these cities numerous times, I can tell you that I became less enchanted with Florence over time and more so with Venice, so I would spend 3 days in Venice and 2 full days in Florence. This is totally subjective, however, and I know lots of people will reply that they love Florence. I think I just feel it gets more and more crowded and that makes it less of an enjoyable walking city. However, we stayed last year at a little B&B within walking distance of the train station (just around 2 blocks, I think) and an easy walk to the Duomo, Arno and bridge... everything we wanted except the Piazza Michealangelo, which was a nice bus ride to the spot above Florence. We stayed at the Allorro B&B (you'll have to Google it-sorry). Inexpensive, a little balcony, breakfast is brought to your room.

ellenem

Multi-city aiRline ticKets . . .

Lexma90

I would also allocate more time, generally, to Venice, and less to Florence. Unless you really love renaissance art, in which case you may want more time in Florence. But 3 nights in Florence is ok, because you'll really have 2 full days and 2 partial days.

chris45ny

Sorry that I haven't been back to thank you all for your advice. Per more research, it looks like open jaw flight to Rome for 7 nights, train to Florence for 5 nights, train to Venice for 5 nights, then flight from Venice to Paris for 7 nights, ES from Paris to London for 7 nights, then home to US. This proposed itinerary gives us enough time to explore well known sights as well as having time to "wander" and soak in the atmosphere. We love art, ancient history, great architecture, amazing churches, good food, etc. Now it's on to finding accommodations in Italy. MelJ-will check out Allorro-thanks.

Mimar

Looks like a good trip.

Re: accommodation in Florence, Venice and Rome. Don't worry about public transportation, just stay in the historic center. In Venice that means in the city proper. In Rome that means around Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona and the Spanish Steps.

You will be doing a lot of walking. But you learn so much, see so much as you walk.

zoecat

Sounds like a wonderful trip. I think with the amount of time you have in each city you will be able to fit in some relaxing time. You may find yourself wanting to escape the busy cities every once and a while, so be sure to reasearch some easy days trips.

I suggest apartments all the way. More space, ability to prepare meals/snacks, more bang for your buck.

annhig

Hi CHris,

Are you already well acquainted with renaissance art?

this isn't a silly question - if you aren't, you will be suffering massive overload by the time you get to Venice.

IMHO, with 30 days at your disposal, you are missing a wonderful opportunity to explore some of the countryside and coast of Italy and France. Were i you, i would seriously consider interspersing your city stays with with some time in the countryside.

STarting in Rome, this is what I suggest:

Days 1 -6 - Rome. [you don't need to stay 7 nights to rent an apartment]
Day 7 - train to Orvieto. pick up car.
Day 8-14 - tour umbria/south tuscany.[you have plenty of time to work out which area you fancy]
Day 14 - drive to siena. leave car. spend day and night there.
Day 15 - day trip on bus to Florence. night in Siena
Day 16 - train to Venice. spend 4 nights there.
Day 20 - fly to Paris. spend 5 nights.
day 25 - eurostar to London. stay there til end of trip.

have a great time!

TDudette

I like your original itinerary. You have enough extra time in Florence and Venice to take day trips or guided excursions to the towns annhig suggests (or some you pick out after your research is done).

Not having to move around often is nice also. You'll get a good intro to these wonderful cities. To have 30 days is a real gift!

You asked about "must sees" and this will certainly start a debate here. Uffizi Gallery, the Accademia, Baptistry, Duomo that you mentioned for Flo will easily fill 3 days in a non-frantic pace. Another nice Florence gallery is the Bargello. Check online for advance tickets especially for Uffizi. On one trip, we saw some Bottecelli's in a newly-opened palazzo. Look in the guide books for the other Flo churches also.

What else called out in your reading? In Paris, I loved the JacquesMarte-Andre (spelling?) museum. Really the home of a couple who filled it with amazing art.

DH and I ended up buying a compass so we'd go in the right direction even if we were a little lost. It's especially helpful when you come up from a metro to know whether to go left or right, eh?

I hate having to wait so long to find out how your trip goes!

InFlorence

Palazzo Uguccioni is in the heart of Florence http://palazzouguccioni.com/ in Piazza Signoria - great views, and and an elevator. Self catering apartments - no breakfast included, but you have a small kitchen.

I like your itinerary - it does give you time to see a lot in each place. If you like churches, Florence is great of course, especially for the ones that don't get as much attention.

San Lorenzo, Santa Croce, the Duomo, Santo Spirito and Santa Maria Novella are the biggies that we all know. I would recommend some specifics - the Pontormo deposition in Santa Felicita, the Sassetti chapel (and really most everything else) in Santa Trinita, and Ognissanti, with a couple of great works by Ghirlandaio and Botticelli (and Botticelli's buried there also).

BTW - those 3 are free (as are the Duomo and Santo Spirito) - San Lorenzo, Santa Croce, and Santa Maria Novella all have an entrance fee. Santo Spirito is the most strict - the visiting hours are short, and they won't let you in at all if there is a mass in progress (unless you are going to sit down and attend it).

You can find all of these churches on this map: http://www.florence-on-line.com/chur...hurch-map.html

txtree

I tend to agree with ann and would arrange to spend a couple of days in the countryside - either Umbria or Tuscany. You won't regret it!

suzdale

Stay in San Gimignano in Tuscany and visit Florence by bus, about a 45 minute ride straight to the city center. Go online and get tickets to Sistine Chapel and walk right up to the entrance and avoid the lines.In Venice stay in San Marco area, pay the extra bucks for a canal view and close to St Marks, less walking! Hotels I really loved were Hotel Lisbon, Venice(on a canal close to ferry stop) and Hotel Belsoggiorno, San Gimignano (close to main entrance, bus stop and views are incredible!)

annw

I like itinerary and wonder about a day trip to a smaller town as advised, probably during Florence time. I also like the stop off in Orvieto if that doesn't make you feel disrupted or rushed. But stopping there also means you won't be taking the high speed train to Florence (from Rome), if that works out for you. Worth it IMO.

I love that you are spending enough time in Venice and hope you are able to stay at locanda orseolo. If you feel like a day tip from there Padua, with the Scrovegni Chapel, is an easy distance.

ggreen

In Rome, you must see the Galleria Borghese! Prior to my most recent trip to Italy this past spring, I was not much of a fan of Baroque art. But my perspective changed due in large part to this fabulous collection.

You must make reservations in advance via phone (they speak English). I highly advise getting to the museum ahead of your reservation as the lobby was rather chaotic when we were there. Each reservation is for a set amount of time (2 hours if I remember correctly) and they are very strict about clearing out the galleries when the time is up. They are also very strict that you must check all your bags - purse and everything - and zero photography is allowed. But it is so worth it! Bernini's Apollo and Daphne was revelatory...

Here's info about reservations:
www.galleriaborghese.it/info-en.htm

txtree

Oh, also, we've stayed at Locanda Orseolo. Highly recommend it (and I'm picky!).

docdan

Earlier this year I had a trip where we only were able to engineer 2 nights in Venice and two nights in a small so. Tuscan city of montepulciano and honesty, the only "Must See" in my book is the Tuscan countryside. Wrods are inadequate.
But I can only agree with above postings that Vencie is magical and if you can arrive Venice mid-day, and leave on the 3rd day afternoon, (doable, as the fast train is only 3 hours) then that really leaves you with the equivalent of almost 3 full days and two nights. This should give you a good flavor of what Venice is all about. May I suggest a few things not usually stated on other postings: 1)Lunch on the Giudecca Canal. - the full range of Italian Merchant craft, from Gondolas to huge container ships will parade right in front of you 2) 3 horus stroll in the morning in the Rialto Market area. 3) In a city packed with more amazing Cathedrals than one can comprehend i feel a bit sheepish suggesting "you should see this church" but, on the south side of Venice across the large canal from San Marco,on the No 2 vaporetto, is he church of San Giorgio Maggiorre, wiht a nice collections of art, a wonderful choir area, and a bell tower wiht an excellent view of San Marco that you can't get from San Marco's. all with less press of toursits than you get elsewhere.