Goodmorning, dfo have to totally agree with Ira, Venice and Florence
split with equal time, leave Rome for
a later date and then spend your time there with a couple of day trips. e.g.
Capri, Pompeii, etc. Start ou trip to Venice and then return to home from
Florence..DO NOT worry about acqua alta
the high water in Venice. We went thru
the flooding in 6 November of 2000.. It was an very memorable experience, in fact I sort of enjoyed the sights and sounds during this evening.
Richard of LaGrange Park, IL>.

Well, I vote for Rome and Florence. We spend a lot of time in Florence and I can assure that there is something there for every taste. Plus, people are suggesting you do an awful lot of moving about.

That could be exhausting and exasperating. Teenagers need to sleep. Why not a nice fast Eurostar to Florence and forget all other travel hassles?

Also, my daughter loved Florence as a teen. She is interested in art and fashion, and this was great for her. She was disappointed in the food in Venice, where it is easy to get a bad and expensive meal.

Florence has dozens of attractions, and it is easy to get to and from Rome. That's my vote.

dfo - I would go to Venice with kids that age. Family trips are great but a little time apart is always appreciated as well, especially with teenagers. Venice would allow you the freedom to let the kids sleep in a bit while you get out to see the sights. When they kids get up they can wander off on their own with no fear of getting into a "bad" area and they will find plenty to fill their time without getting into trouble. Although you can get lost in Venice you find your way again fairly quickly. Therefore the kids can get off on their own to explore and it is easy to meet up again for meals or time together. I would be much more worried about letting teenagers wander alone in Florence than I would in Venice. Have a great trip.

We wil take ours - same ages - to Rome and Florence, skipping Venice.

I think Rome is the most interesting with lots of history and cool sites for teens. For art and architecture, Florence is my favorite! Also, there are so many options for daytrips from Florence and the train station is very convenient.

Also, I have to confess, my husband and I simply do not like Venice.

To each his own!

Unless your kids love the Renaissance and its art and architecture, I suggest Rome and Venice. Florence is wonderful but I'm not sure it is a city that would appeal to teens. And don't worry about the Aqua Alta. If it happens while you are there, it will be an adventure for the kids.

My daughter (21) spent 5 weeks in Italy this summer and then another month traveling around Europe (5 more countries). Of all the European cities she visited Rome was absolutely her favorite-she spent 5 days there. Her second favorite in Italy was Venice. She enjoyed Florence but going on her experience I would vote for Rome and Venice.

Don't skip Rome, it is amazing! I would suggest Venice because it like no place else that you will ever go in the world. I am not a Florence fan and find it overcrowded and expensive. I also think the food is better in Rome. Anyway, Florence would just be an extention of what you see in Rome, Venice will be different.

It a long trip to Venice but you can take ther morning train, bring some food, relax and have a nice time as you travel. It a beautiful trip.

I would suggest you look at how much time you really have. If you are arriving early after an overnight flight, about all you will have the energy to do that day is find your lodgings and eat and try to adjust to the new time. Similarly, your date of departure will almost certainly be entirely devoted to travel. If those are two of your eight days, then realistically you are down to six, and if you include a day of relocation (check out, travel, find lodgings, check in) you are probably down to five days of seeing things (perhaps less if you have to return to your arrival airport for a round trip flight; open jaw flights can avoid this). If that is your situation, I would seriously consider picking one city and basing yourself there. You can always day-trip to other interesting places, in fact I have read that some people day-trip to Florence from Rome.

If this is your first overseas visit, staying in one place will enable you to take your time adjusting to things that are different there, such as the language and traffic. There is plenty to do in any of the destinations you have listed, although to appreciate Florence you would have to be interested in art and history, I would think, although the food is good also and there are some nice day-trips to be taken from there.

If you decide to base in one place, I would suggest you look into renting an apartment or villa for your stay. They usually have a lot more room than hotels, and with a family that would help. Find one with a washing machine also, so you don't have to haul as many clothes or find laundry service. We try to avoid cooking in the apartment (it is a vacation), but at the same time it is nice to have kitchen facilities for juice and munchies. I personally don't appreciate the small continental breakfast, so we hard boil a dozen eggs for a week, buy lots of orance juice and cheese, and pick up some pastries every morning.