First time Italy itinerary assistance

Ah, I did see you booked one food tour in Naples, good choice. But what about Emilia Romana around Bologna? Good for you, looks like you've done a ton of research on your own & have decided how much time you need to do things.

Question - If you're a chef and into food, you're not taking any food walking tours, or going out of town to see some food production such as from Bologna, world famous for excellent production of ham, parmesan etc? No time for 3-hour meals with this itinerary, unless you're planning to book each town a dinner later at night? Personally, I think this is a lot each day, without a nice lunch along the way or time for a passeggiata, (stroll) but hey it's your trip. Once you book flights & hotels, (this is 11 months out, 2025 right?) I would get cracking on all the museums etc you need / should book in advance, you can use Google calendar for reminders about when you can book ahead, such as to the Borghese Gallery, Uffizi & Vatican museums. I suppose you could go get in line to some of these, but not with the number of sights you want to visit!

27-Feb Rome- Vatican City + St. Peters, Castel Sant’Angelo, Trevi Fountain, Jewish Ghetto - I would reverse the order, get out early to walk to Trevi fountain first thing in the morning while it's quiet, walk to Castel SA, shouldn't be too jammed in the morning, eat some lunch in Prati & go see Vatican City later in the day when it might be quieter. You could take an evening Jewish Ghetto & Trastevere Food walking tour, or do it on your own, then be sure to walk through the Teatro Marcello.

28-Feb Rome- Appian way, Santa Maria Maggiore, Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli , Basilica of San Clemente. You need a ticket to get into the underground at San Clemente, and with this much on the same day, how about a bike tour of the Appian Way?

And I wondered if you should move this thread to Italy? Good luck!

Thank you both!

Sandancisco this is the feedback is very helpful. I know I sound confused lol.

I didn't book more food tours because I am kind of wary of them. I did a couple in different cities (Beijing, Toronto, NYC, etc and it seemed more like hearding cattle and making them eat than anything. I only have the Naples food tour on the list because there is nothing I think I want to see there and I am only there to get closer to Pompeii. I more enjoy finding a good market and or restaurants and try different things there and talk to the vendors/owners (as much as they speak English and I can get translated). My favorite food moments are spending time in Pikes Place Market in Seattle, Reading Market in Philadelphia, Fangbang Lu Shanghai, pretty much any market like those. In a restaurant I will order several things just for myself, I do not diet on vacation. From what I have read some of the shops in Bologna like La Prosciuttoria give lots of information as well as dining. I am torn on visiting Parma to see the hams being made. I have visited balsamic makers in Napa Valley ( Maybe not the same but similar).

Should I cut some stuff off the list to do a nice Late dinner and have time in markets? If so what would you suggest? My musts I think are Quadrilattero, Mercato di Mezzo, Florence Duomo, Accademia Gallery, Mercato Centrale, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, Florence Perfume store, the first 3 days of Rome and lastly Pompeii.

Thank you again for the help.

There are a few great attractions missing from your Florence list such as Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, the Bargello Museum, the San Marco Museum, the Pitti Palace and the Brancacci Chapel.

Try to fit some of them on the 21st or maybe skip the Lucca day trip or take a day from Bologna and give it to Florence.

In Rome, there’s a few churches more centrally located and nicer than Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli and Basilica of San Clemente.

On the 25th, the Borghese Art Gallery and the Pantheon are small and don’t take that much time, maybe you can fit in the Barberini Palace museum and the Galleria Doria Pamphilj.

Some other churches:

• San Giovanni in Laterano
• Sant'Ignazio
• Sant'Andrea della Valle
• Chiesa del Gesù
• Saint Mary of Minerva
• Church of St. Louis of the French
• Santa Maria del Popolo
• Santa Maria della Vittoria
• Santa Maria in Trastevere
• Sant'Agnese in Agone
• Saint Cecilia in Trastevere
• Santa Maria in Ara coeli

Marco,

Thank you for the suggestions. I will look in to the places and see if they might be good fits for me. I am not set on Lucca but have read and heard amazing things about it. Since it is not a place I am staying if I end up falling in love with Florence then I will just skip it the day I planned. Thank you!

A lot of the best decorative elements from Pompeii reside in the excellent Archaeological Museum in Naples.

Ravenna's claim to fame is Byzantine mosaics predating Gothic architecture by many centuries. The mosaics are fabulous, but if you are looking for Gothic architecture, you may be disappointed.

Ravenna mosaics -- photos

This website gives historical background to accompany photos of the mosaics: https://www.thegeographicalcure.com/post/guide-to-mosaics-in-ravenna

There's a solid two days' worth of mosaic-related sites in Ravenna, but you can hit the key ones on a day trip from Bologna. I recommend an early start, though, so you have time to get out to Sant'Apollinare in Classe (by bus or train) and walk around Ravenna's pretty historic center as well as trotting from one mosaic site to another.

Orvieto has several good, small museums.

The Capitoline Museums in Rome are large. That may be a tough day, trying to cover the museums along with the Colosseum, Forum and Capitoline.

Acraven,

I have planned to do a guided tour of the colosseum, palatine and the forum. It meets at 9am and is three hours long. That should leave me the rest of the day for the altar of the fatherland and capitoline museum. Does that make it more doable?

Ah yes, the 'Altar of the Fatherland', or what Italians call the wedding cake. I wouldn't bother except you can pay 10 Euros (price may have gone up) to ride to the top in their elevator for a tremendous view, the best in central Rome. And agree strongly with others, don't skip the Naples Archeological Museum.

Should I cut some stuff off the list to do a nice Late dinner and have time in markets? If so what would you suggest? My musts I think are Quadrilattero, Mercato di Mezzo, Florence Duomo, Accademia Gallery, Mercato Centrale, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, Florence Perfume store, the first 3 days of Rome and lastly Pompeii.

Well we all have different travel styles, but we're not going to more churches or museums and skipping either lunch / and or dinner while in Italy! I think you would be short changing yourself if you don't go out for at least a few good meals. Why go to Italy just to rush through museums & churches without stopping to savor what Italians do best, relax, take a walk (passeggiata) and have a good meal?!?

We really enjoyed the Eating Europe Tesstacio food tour, and I say this after visiting Italian relatives many, many times, it's a bit outside of central Rome. I've heard good things about another market outside the Mercato Centrale in Florence, maybe good info here - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/open-markets-in-florence#:~:text=San%20Lorenzo%2C%20Sant'Ambrogio%20and,little%20like%20%22for%20tourists%22.&text=The%20Porcellino%20market%20is%20a,again%2C%20souvenirs%20and%20leather).

Here's my Dec trip report to Rome, many out of the way spots for views, wanderings & fav churches. (Take one Euro coins to light up paintings.) https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/rome-was-jammed-over-ny-but-still-fun.

From trip report, list of our fav places to eat.
Bocano, housed in a former bank, not cheap but elegant and nicely situated close to Trevi Fountain.(Open all day and no need to book ahead.) It's on the expensive side, but service and food are great. If you're there by 12:30, no need for a reservation. I would book if you're there later or after 6PM. https://www.baccanoroma.com/home_page_en/

Ditirambo- near Campo di Fiori, you can make reservations on line and it opens early for dinner, which was a plus for us. REALLY fun waitress, blue hair, fluent English. Great Roman classic menu. www.ditiramboristorante.it/

“Pizza In Trevi’ - Best pizza we had was pizza by the slice right around the corner from the Trevi fountain. We’ve always gone in the takeaway side but there’s also a sit down place next door. Go early!

Piccolo Vicolo next to our hotel turned out to be a gem. The best pasta of the trip, AND they had amazing salads as a main course.

We had a few gelato at well recommended places near our hotel, but nothing compare to the white chocolate cannoli at “Il Gelato de Mastrofiocco” - one block from Lago di Argentina, well worth the detour! (Funny I thought I loved Italian gelato, but once I tasted the cannoli, that’s where my spare sugar calories went.)

If you stay near Hotel Smeraldo, ‘Pizza Time’ was the best pizza by the slice in the area (we tried several!)

Osteria de Sostegno, near the Pantheon, was our absolute fav but didn't get there this trip. MUST reserve, or show up when they open for lunch, haven't been for dinner. https://ilsostegno.it/

PS, There are a LOT of churches in Rome!! I would edit the number visited or you will have severe church burn out. Our favs are - Church of St. Louis of the French (superlative Baroque) & Santa Maria in Trastevere (mosaics, one if not the oldest standing church in Rome). San Clemente is best known for going down into Roman ruins below. I would suggest a 'saved' Google map of each destination with restaurants, churches and places you want to visit so while walking you can look to see what's nearby. AND don't skip Piazza Navona!

If your combo tour starts rather early and gets you through all 3 sites in 3 hours, that will probably leave plenty of time for the Capitoline Museums if you don't spend much extra time at the last tour stop before leaving. It would probably be a good idea to take a look at the Capitoline website and figure out your priorities. There are two large buildings.

getintouch98,
Regarding Rome:
Churches...San Giovanni en Laterano....very rococco but beautiful! San Pietro in Vincoli has a great Michaelangelo statue inside. The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiori is huge and really worth a visit.

Note that the Colisseum, Forum, Capitoline Museum, Palatine Hill are all nearby to each other, as is Trajan's Column. Perhaps a long day, but a satisfying one. Your plan to see the museum after your tour is a good one, and you could walk over to Trajan's Column after that if you aren't to beat.
I think your time in Vatican City is underestimated. The Trevi Fountain and Trastavere afterword seems to be a big bite. Of course, you are probably much younger and hardier than I am! And the fountain doesn't take much time, and the Jewish Ghetto could be your dinner destination. (BTW the city buses are great. Just watch for pickpockets!)

I would suggest Modena and Parma near Bologna.

And if you go to Pompeii stay in Sorrento.

I was not thrilled with Naples and Rome is overrun.