Mitigating strenuous walking days

I would suggest the "My Way Tour of Italy" which RS has so you can pace yourself during the day or not do a tour and travel this route on your own. This way you can enjoy yourself without a group as you please.

https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/my-way-italy

I took the bus up the hill to Neuschwanstein Castle... did you choose to walk or not know about the bus? The driver jam-packed us in there and took the curves like a maniac, which was terrifying, but still...

Given how short the tour was, I would have been pissed if I had walked for 45 minutes!

Just a thought but you could do this trip on your own using the train and set your own sightseeing schedule and pace. It would require some pre planning on your part for hotels, train schedules, advance ticketing, etc. It is easily doable just pack light.

I agree about going on the Italy My Way Tour...the cost is similar to the 3 city tour and has more variety of locations. This way you don't have to force yourself to march by every piece of art and through architecture available everyday. Take a boat in Venice, Florence is mostly easy walks, and Rome has subways. This way you can go to public markets to buy a picnic and take your time people watching. You will have other people on the Tour that you can team up with to share a cab or to dine together.

My husband and I (70s) took the GAS tour several years ago also. At the Neuschwanstein Castle, I chose to ride to the castle since my achilles tendon began hurting me sometime during that tour. Our guide preferred those who could, to walk, but did allow for people like me to ride.
We have not been on the Venice, Florence, and Rome tour, but took the Best of Italy tour which included ALL three of those cities. I just looked over the itinerary for that tour. There are several "free afternoons." Also, when you are in Rome, taxis are available and you could take the taxi "back to the hotel," or take the taxi to "meet the group" somewhere. That's what one couple did on our Best of Italy tour.
Florence is not a very spread out city, so I can't imagine walking a great distance there. You could always "opt out," and take a gelato break...and meet the group at the next stop. Also, time is spent in several museums, so you could find a place to sit, and wander at leisure, if given the choice.
The "key" to Venice is to NOT get lost (if your goal is to minimize your walking). I know, RS says that Venice is all about "getting lost," but...
What I find difficult is having to stand in one spot and listen to someone speak at length; I do better if I can walk around.
If you were able to keep up with the group on the GAS tour, I'm sure you and your husband would be fine on the cities tour. Also, to help you get a better idea of the daily schedule for that tour, you might want to read some of the scrapbooks done for that tour.

Your age is not an issue as its probably in the middle of the demographics for the tours. We've taken both the VFR and the GAS tours, and I dont think either was as strenuous as described. They just do not cater to slow walkers, because that would hold everyone back and they have tight schedules (to meet local guides, or timed sight entries, e.g.). We had on tour member on the VFR who could not keep up and probably spent every other day going off by herself, depending on how far away the destination was. The tour leader would check with her every morning. She also borrowed a walking stick which helped her immensely.

You can always take public transportation or taxis back to hotels, if necessary. Or choose not to participate in any day's activities. Its hard to know your limitations until you're challenged. I too find the standing around listening to a guide to be more stressful on my back than the walking part. Talk to the tour leader when you get there and discuss your concerns.

advance123, another option could be to travel independently and book tours for certain attractions. That way you're only at the mercy of a tour guide's pace for a few hours instead of all day.

Tours are beneficial for information, society and ease of transport…among other things. My H has never taken a tour as we have been independent travelers, but tours have much that interest us these days. During Covid and still now, we have bounced between various trips that interest him. VFR being the most recent. I have only taken the RS Greece tour, but it had me nervous due to the activity description. I am in my 60s…still.. I was nervous about the description of strenuous…as I pictured it meant strenuous for 30 year olds. It was not. What they really seemed to mean if you do all the difficult free time possibilities, I think.

My H is now 81, active, etc…but 81. For comparison, he could do Greece now…but gosh there’s that word again for VFR. We have decided, if he takes a tour, if strenuous for him, we will do what we are interested in, but leave when we want, which is easy to do for city tours particularly. This way we can still enjoy the comradery, but have our own pace. You can make any tour a My Way Tour at any moment while still enjoying the benefit of a guided tour. That will be our approach if I can keep him excited about the same tour….we are not good at advanced planning required of tours. LOL

So just go for it. Make it yours!

Addendum: LOL That My Way Tour does look interesting…might entice my H. BUT, and a big But, I have already been to Venice, Florence and Rome so it wouldn’t be redundant for me like VFR.

As noted, tours are not "copyrighted" - I often pull up the itineraries of several tour companies to compare and contrast. And yes, copy on my own. Just as you do when you read a guidebook. So you are not beholden to a tour company. Most even let slip which hotel you'll be staying at, if you want to take it to that extreme.

It's good that you are self-aware enough to realize that what they are planning, might not work for you.

I'm in your situation and I would advise to just push through. I recently returned from a 16 night in England and pushed myself too hard just one day. My legs were throbbing all night. My DH and I tend to travel more independently, which suits us the best. We can rest and are considerate of one another's minor physical challenges. It sounds like there will be many others who struggle more than you.

I'm prepping for the RS South of France tour with time in London and Paris beforehand and Venice afterwards. I posted this topic a few weeks ago and got good advice; https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/trip-prep-walking-exercise-and-getting-in-shape

My routine is lighter than many: I walk 3 miles every other day which includes hills and stairs. Off days I exercise, lift weights and walk 1 mile at a faster speed. The exercises were learned in physical therapy for my back and help a lot. Today is my weekly Zumba class. My knee is not so good but I use arthritis creams and on really bad days wear a knee brace. Same for my ankles so I pack an ankle brace if I need it. Advil is my best friend. From previous experience, I'm not walking constantly on tour. Walk a mile or two, stop and look at things, walk through museums, rush to catch up with the group, break time.

Go and have fun. You can always opt out of an activity if you hurt too much. I'm 71 and time is running out to travel.

Edit: if you feel that the tour will be too physical for you and your friend, Venice and Rome are easy to do independently. I haven’t been to Florence so can’t comment on it. My sister-in-law and I spent several days in Rome prior to our RS tour and several days afterwards in Venice. Train between cities and took walks of Italy sight tours and an Eating Europe food tour. I am going back to Venice solo at the end of this year’s trip. This way you can set your own pace and see what you want.

I would not worry about strenuous. That term is probably in regards to normal Americans. Most who do RS tours, or any tours, are not normal. The normal American does not walk very much. Maybe less than 200 yards total a day and that in small increments. The longest walk is from a bad parking spot into the store. 40% of Americans are obese.
It is good to not be in the normal group.
The word strenuous should thus be viewed from that perspective. You (OP) most likely will be well within the parameters of fit to accomplish the walking required.