13 Nights in Italy - Rome to Venice- How's my iitinerary?

I think your itinerary has a good pace and doesn't need to include more things.

This is just me but I'd be inclined to take the night in Lucca and add it to Florence, then use one of the Florence days to take the early bus to Siena and spend the day there exploring have a nice dinner, stroll the campo in the evening light then take the bus back to Florence. Keep in mind that you lose about a half day every time you change locations, and it doesn't sound like you'll get that much time in Lucca anyway.

Overall a very good itinerary. I would also subtract a night from Lucca, and I would also do a day-trip via bus to Siena while in Florence. But I wouldn't stay longer in Florence. I would tack that extra night on to Venice at the end. I think Venice is best enjoyed in the early morning and late in the evening - so you need as many mornings and evenings as possible to just wander and "be" in Venice. A few months ago I had a thread asking for what people's favorites and LEAST favorites were in Italy. Lot's of contrasting opinions, of course. But I did notice some common thoughts, and among those; People were generally underwhelmed by Lucca, and... Florence was not a favorite for people who didn't consider themselves gaga over art. Siena seemed to be a more enjoyable destination overall between the two.

Good itinerary, but I would suggest either spending an additional night in Florence and daytripping to Lucca/Pisa if you want to do both in one day; Siena would also be a great daytrip. Or, add the extra night to Venice as suggested previously and keep the 3 nights in Florence with a daytrip to either Lucca/Pisa or Siena (if it's a first time trip to Italy, I'd pick Siena).

Thanks so mus for all the input, much appreciatted! Ok, I'm seeing a common theme here. Visit Siena. Revised: thoughts? 5/13 arrive in Rome Rome 4 nights Travel to Cinque Terra on 5/17 Cinque Terra (Riomaggiore) 2 nights Travel to Pisa on 5/19 (train stops there anyways in route to Florence) Explore Pisa for a couple hours then travel to Lucca same day Lucca 1 night Travel to Sienna 5/20 Siena 1 night Check out stuff in Chianti and travel to Florence on 5/21 Florence 3 nights Travel to Venice 5/24 Venice 2 nights
Go home 5/26 Lucca is so on the way that it's difficult to pass up. I feel like I'd rather just stay in Lucca and Siena than traveling back and forth from Florence for day trips. Doesn't this make more sense from a timing/travel perspective? Plus it provides the opportunity to experince these areas at night. Is there an advantage to just staying in Florence and day tripping it to Siena? Thanks!

I agree with a day trip to Siena and would not stay overnight in Lucca either. The problem with changing where you stay is that you lose so much time in packing up, checking out, checking in, settling in again. We tend to avoid the 1 night stays when possible because of that. Given the option of Siena vs. Lucca, Siena would win for us.

(oops - sorry, didn't notice the post was on 2 times - I replied to your other post)

5/13 arrive in Rome Rome 4 nights Travel to Cinque Terra on 5/17 Cinque Terra (Riomaggiore) 2 nights Travel to Pisa on 5/19 (train stops there anyways in route to Florence) Florence 5 nights 19th -23rd (Daytrip to Lucca one day and Sienna the other) Travel to Venice 5/24 Venice 2 nights Go home 5/26 OR: 5/13 arrive in Rome Rome 4 nights Travel to Cinque Terra on 5/17 Cinque Terra (Riomaggiore) 2 nights Travel to Pisa on 5/19 (train stops there anyways in route to Florence) Florence 3 nights 19th -21st (daytrip to Lucca) Sienna 22-23rd (do a day trip to some of the hill towns if you like) Travel to Venice 5/24 Venice 2 nights
Go home 5/26

Thomas, what a wonderful surprise for your wife. I do like your newly revised second itinerary the best. Seems like you now have an interest in seeing a hilltown. From Siena, you could take a one hour train ride to the hilltown of Montepulciano. Your other option would be to stop in Orvieto on the way to the Cinque Terre. Orvieto is a quaint hilltown that is one hour outside of Rome. You could stay one night or make it a day trip. Seeing that your trip is just 11 days from now, do you have hotel reservations?

Thomas, If you think you'll enjoy a rustic medieval town in the countryside, you should at least try to stay in one for one night. It is quite enchanting at night, when all the day-trippers are gone and you feel like you have this place all to yourself. The historical atmosphere really hit you in the quietness of the night. I only stayed in Siena before, so I can't vouch for Lucca. I had the best roast lamb of my life in Siena. From Siena, day tripping to nearby hilltowns is pretty easy. We used the bus last November to San Gimignano for a day trip, and it was a breeze.
I also agree with another poster that if you're not really into Renaissance art, more than 3 nights in Florence might be too much. Whichever way you decided, I'm sure it'd be great. This is such a wonderful gift.

I was underwhelmed by Florence (granted, not an art aficionado), but definitely agree that I would try to squeeze the third night in Venice. it is a magical city when the day crowds leave. My three favorite places (so far) in Italy are Rome, Venice, and CT!

We decided to spend more time in the Tuscan countryside in small towns, and took the train into Florence for the day, arriving at 9:00 am and leaving after diner at around 9pm. We actually took a 3 hour segue tour, which exceeded our expectations. It was a great way to cover a lot of ground in Florence in a 3 hour period, especially since I was nursing a blisters that day on both feet. The only art museam we went to in our two weeks was Uffizi Gallery. Looking back on our trip, we were glad to have visited Florence, but didn't regret that we only spent one full day there.

Thank you all so much for the great advice, it has really helped me inform my decision. Based on overall feedback this is now what I'm thinking. 5/13 arrive in Rome Rome 4 nights Travel to Cinque Terra on 5/17 Cinque Terra (Riomaggiore) 2 nights Travel to Pisa on 5/19 (train stops there anyways in route to Florence) Explore Pisa for a couple hours then travel to Lucca same day Lucca 1 night Travel to Siena 5/20, while in in route to Seina check out San Gimigano and Chianti Sienna 2 nights Travel to Florence on 5/22 Florence 2 nights Travel to Venice 5/24 Venice 2 nights
Go home 5/26

Thomas, will you be driving or using trains/busses?

I'm thinking about grabbing a car in Pisa or when the train stops in Florence (cheaper by about $100) on my way to Siena form Lucca. I thought it would be cool to explore the countryside at our own pace. Thoughts?

Do be aware that you will not be able to drive the car into the old part of Siena without facing an expensive traffic fine. Do you have an international driver's license? Your itinerary still has a lot of changeover time and a fair amount of backtracking that will cost you "fun" time. What about doing your four nights in Rome, taking a fast train to Florence and spending one night Then take the bus to Siena for three nights (and get a car for exploring the countryside). From Siena go to Pisa for a few hours then on to Cinque terre for your two nights before heading on to finish your trip in Venice? nately instead of the 3/1 Siena Florence split you could base yourself in Florence for four nights, take an early morning bus (1.25 hours and quite comfortable) and spend one day exploring Siena have a nice dinner stroll the Campo at twilight then bus back to Florence. Use one day to explore Florence then use the train to go to Lucca for the day or for something different you could take the train to Bologna which is only 37 minutes via train and very easy to do by train. BTW there is a train from Florence to Siena but the bus is actually faster and drops you off at a much more convenient location. We'll be in Italy in 10 more days and I can't wait! Hope you guys have a wonderful trip!

Dee - Do you happen to remember the name of the place where you had the roasted lamb in Siena? That sounds delicious and I'm a huge fan of lamb! Thank you all for yoru input!