andrew_awesome

Hi, my mom, 2 siblings and I (all 20+years old) will be visiting Italy for the first time this July. We will reach Pisa Airport from London on 6th July 6pm and we will leave Italy on 13th. Could you help us with our 6th-13th July itinerary? We plan to visit Florence, Venice and any other places/famous landmarks that are nice to visit. We like architecture and food, not so much shopping and museums. Considering my mom who is about 60 years old, we would prefer our tour with less walking and not too packed. May I have recommendation for places other than Venice, Pisa and Florence that are easily accessible by public transport?And I heard the weather in Italy during summer is not pleasant for travelling as it is very hot, is that true? A suggested itinerary from 6th-13th July is very much appreciated.

sandralist

Nobody knows if it will be hot or pleasantly sunny and warm the week you are in Italy. But you should book hotels with air conditioning to protect against mosquitoes as well as heat at night.

Does your mother have particular problems walking? Is she okay with walking steps? Because in Venice there are a lot of steps and stairs in many places. Has your mother asked to have a plan not to walk too much, or are you just assuming she can't keep up with you 20 year olds?

Will you be going back to Pisa to fly out of that airport?

What kind of food do you all like to eat?

tuscanlifeedit

Since you seem to be going from west to east, you could visit Lucca after Pisa and before Florence. Lucca has significant architectural interest (the walls and several piazzi). It's shady on portions of the walls and you young people could rent bikes while parking your mother under a tree.

On the way from Florence to Venice there are any number of interesting towns with direct train connections. I would say Verona but I find it to be in a very hot position. I know you can't predict the weather, but hot on the Veneto plain can be too hot for me.

Maybe Bologna with it's many arcades; good architectural interest and food, with perhaps some shade.

Viajero2

If you have never been to Italy and your gateway in/out is Pisa then you have picked wisely; 3 iconic cities easily connected by public transportation. Do NOT consider adding anything else; work with this plan.

The advice about A/C is golden; another one, ask for a room away from the street noise, or high up. Otherwise, you will not be able to sleep. The lines are going to be long and with tightened security avoid carrying too much with you, a backpack may delay your entrance in many sights in Venice (i.e. St. Marks Cathedral). Schedule your longer lines for very early in the morning and a more relaxed pace in the afternoons, for example, to walk around parks and piazzas. If you can reserve trains for later in the day do that and take advantage of longer days.

Upon arrival to the Pisa Airport, take the train to Florence (approx 9 euros/pp). Otherwise you will waste that evening when better used getting to your first destination. Florence is breathtaking and I cannot imagine greater joy than waking up early to be introduced to Italy...by Florence A couple of days (7-8)and then leave the evening of 9th for Venice. Enjoy the 9-11 and leave for Pisa on the afternon of the 11th. Enjoy Pisa the 12 and depart on the 13th. On the 14th start planning your next Italian adventure!! Enjoy! Have fun with the family!! Make the best of it because you will talk about these memories forever!!

sundriedtopepo

Tuscanlife I wouldn't want to be parked under a tree I'm looking forward to that bike ride

But that's quite an age difference, mom 60's kids 20's; my kids are all 30+ and I can almost keep up with them.

andrew_awesome

I will be leaving on 13th to Budapest after Venice If I am going to visit Pisa, Lucca, Bologna, Florence and Venice, how many days should I spend in each city? Do you think it's possible to include Milan in my itinerary? Or is it worth visiting?

tuscanlifeedit

sundriedtopepo, I myself can't keep up. Seriously, are you going to Lucca?

If you bike ride, don't do it in the hottest part of the day.

andrew_awesome, you can't possibly visit all those places in your time frame unless you spend a day and a half at each of them.

You'll be coming and going and not much else.

sandralist

How are you getting to Budapest?

I think the way I would do your trip is to arrive at Pisa airport and immediately take a taxi to Lucca to spend the night. The next day, after lunch in Lucca, go back to Pisa by train, put your luggage in the train station, and to sightseeing in Pisa. Then go back to the train station to get your luggage and go to Florence to spend the night and spend more time there seeing whatever you want to see. After that go to Venice. If you need to fly from Milan to Budapest, you take the train to Milan. If your flight is at night, you can put your luggage in the train station and go sightseeing in Milan. Otherwise you will need to spend a night in Milan.

In your first post you said you didn't want a lot of walking or the days too packed because of your mother's age. The trip I just described has a lot of walking and is packed. If you don't think she will like it, then you need to start cutting things out.

Viajero2

Andrew-- do not make the rookie mistake of piling 20 cities in 3 days! In your case, you have 5 days in Italy and already your list is creeping up instead of down. HUGE mistake. You will not remember much, will get agravated by the crowds, and probably will only take pictures of train stations.... What is the point of going to beautiful city to have breakfast and rush out to the next. Rookie mistake coming....

ONCE AGAIN, Summer in Italy is crowded. A mere train ride between cities will take you a morning between ticket lines, having to wait for the NEXT available train, and lines everywhere for sights and restaurants.

Milan is worth visiting, BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE THE TIME. If you are looking for advice, LISTEN TO IT.