My spouse wants to see Rome for our anniversary. And recently, also suggested Vienna.
Is such an itinerary overly busy? Is it romantic? Is it relaxing or rushed?
We're not really outdoorsy people - sidewalks, drives, a museum, a castle, a manor house tour, that's kind of more our speed.
Also, after 2 kids and a decade at a desk, I'm not exactly "climb every mountain, ford every steam" material.
Possible Itinerary:
5 days Rome (FLY from northeast USA & recovery day, 1 day for the Vatican, 1 day for the Ancient sights, 1 day for the Borghese & similar sights. I think this is a decent pace - not as slow as it could be, but hopefully not crammed either. I've seen the Eternal City but my spouse has not)
1-2 day departing from Rome and heading north by car ... if we drive, it's 4-6 hours, but maybe we can stop in Perguia, Paduva, Bologna or another city along the way for lunch and make it an adventure. (Why not Florence? Seen it. Trying something new.)
2-3 days Venice (arrive, see San Marco, wander, ride a Gondola, etc., depart Venice for Vienna ... by plane? It's a 6 hour drive but about 1.5 hours in the air... or..... should we skip Venice for fear of the high water? or just try to keep it flexible so if the water is high, we spend time elsewhere to catch a flight... or do we skip Venice and go instead to the Italian Lake regions and Milan and fly Milan to Vienna? Or is there another option that's even better)
4 days Vienna (arrive... activities TBD... eat a schnitzel... drink a coffee... dance a waltz...FLY back to northeast USA)
My initial thoughts for an itinerary had included Rome and some driving as described above and then was going to focus on seeing more of Northern Italy, possibly the Lakes and the Piedmont and flying out of Milan. I still think Rome + the North of Italy could be a more relaxing option than Rome + Venice + Vienna, but maybe that's only because I'm less familiar with Austria all it may have on offer.