Re-posting with a more specific:

"Hello Fodorites,

I am off to Rome for a conference and need to be there on the night on December 1st and depart on morning of December 5th. Wife will be accompanying and we thought we could take a minor excursion.

We can only leave a couple of days earlier and the best possibility is to arrive in Italy on the morning of November 29th. That gives us 2 extra days.

There are two possibilities:

1) We fly in via Milan, take a train to Florence (arrive around 3:00 PM on 29th November) and spend two nights there. Train to Rome on December 1st.

2) We fly into Venice, stop for 4 hours or so (lunch, stroll) and take a train to Florence. This way, we arrive in Florence around 9:00 PM on November 29th)

Would appreciate our views greatly. We haven't been to Italy before, so while there is the charm of having a quick peek at Venice, I am also inclined to take it easy and just head straight to Florence (spend two nights, one full day and two half days) and then on to Rome."

We are flying from Dubai. The flights available are such that we can either arrive in Rome in the afternoon or Milan in the morning. If we went from Rome to Florence, we would arrive by 7 PM - that's why we chose Milan.

It seems that we hardly have the time to justice to one city and hence my second question - if you had to make a choice, would you prefer to spend the 2 nights in Venice or Florence? and why - I would be very interested in your individual views. Do please remember that we will be there at end of November and weather may play a role in the choice.

Thanks.

Both cities are beautiful and have plenty to see in 2 days. While in Italy this past August, we spent 3nights in Florence, 5 in Tuscany and 5 in Venice - Given your time constraints, I'd suggest Florence via Milan. You can see the Duomo, markets, Accademia, Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza Pitti, etc. the days will be shorter in late November than what we had (plenty of light until nearly 10pm). Make the hotel reservations soon and ask them to book you tickets for Uffizi and Accademia in advance - will save a lot of time!

I think the Venice option depends too much on everything being perfect. If your flight is late, or you have the sniffles, or it rains or you get turned around and very lost -- or even if the left luggage storage in closed in Venice -- you could end up with a frustrating experience rather than a glamorous lark.

My vote is to head directly to Firenze and have a lovely, special dinner somewhere.

I would not do option 2. I think you should definitely focus on one city for the two days. In such a short amount of time, they will blur together if you try to do too much. I would revise option 2 to be that you fly into Venice and stay there for the two days and then train (or fly via Ryan Air) to Rome on the 1st.

However, I love Florence, so I would spend the two days there. Are you sure there are no flights into Pisa or Florence? That would maximize your time if you didn't have to take a 3 hour train ride.

Whatever you decide, have fun!

Hi A,

As I mentioned on your other post, either

1. fly into VCE and spend the time in Venice

2. Fly into Florence FLR or Pisa PSA and spend the time in Florence.

Having been to both Florence and Venice, I strongly suggest no. 1.

Thanks all,

Ira - I am very tempted to go for Venice over Florence, however, am a bit concerned with the weather at the time. Would be great if anyone can give me an idead of what it's going to be like in Venice by the end of November.

Hi A,

It is as likely to be chilly and rainy in Florence as in Venice.

It is as likely to sunny and pleasant in Venice as in Florence.

Nov weather is changeable.

Venice in the fog is very lovely.
Venice in the rain is very lovely.
Venice with snow is very lovely.
Venice at night is very lovely.

I think you get the picture.

LOL Ira - I get the picture, you love your Venice!

Venice with acqua alta - flooding, which hits the lower parts of Venice, including in particular Piazza San Marco, only for a few hours a day but frequently in November - is less lovely.

Much as I love Venice, for a trip in December and with limited time, I think Florence the better choice. It has more options (museums, palaces, etc.) for bad weather. With bad weather in Venice you miss strolling around the town (which is the highlight for me). Plus you might encounter flooding (acqua alta) which makes just getting around difficult.

I would vote for the Florence option (preferably a flight to Florence) as well. Venice is amazing, but in such a short time you will only experience the crowded, touristy version. The best of Venice is strolling the lesser-touristed sestieres. I would save it for a time when you can invest a few days there.

Re: option 2-- I don't think 4 hours in Venice would be a good idea. It would cause you a lot of extra travel time, not be long enough to feel much of Venice (except frustration that you can't stay longer), and it would take precious time away from a better stay in Florence. Two nights in Florence is barely brushing the surface anyway.

Maybe you could fly into Florence? I know flights arrive there from London and Germany.

Try not to over-schedule yourselves, so you can enjoy Italy. Florence and Rome are magical.
>-

I agree with the above poster about Florence and Rome. The Florence airport is small, very manageable, modern, and clean btw.

Thanks everyone.

Flying into Florence is possible, but a more expensive option. Also, the flight timings are such that arrival time by train from Milan isn't much different. I figure I may as well take in some scenery on the train!

>[Florence] has more options (museums, palaces, etc.) for bad weather. <

This link lists 17 museums
www.veniceword.com/p2vemuseums.html

In addition, there are the Frari, the San Rocco, San Marcuoli, the Fenice, the Doge's Palace, the Duomo, the Salute and San Zaccaria, among others.

One should be able to find something to do in Venice on a rainy day, other than just enjoying Venice in the rain.

However, ahmed, you will not go wrong if you go to Venice or to Florence. Just don't make Venice a quick stop on the way to Florence.

Read you loud and clear, Ira!

We have indeed decided to head straight to Florence and try to take in as much of it as possible over two days and then off to Rome where we will be staying for four days.

Venice, we will leave for another trip - when we have at least a couple of days to spend there.

Thanks again, everyone. You are all a very helpful bunch of people.