30 days to tour

Welcome to the RS forum -
To try and answer your question we need a LOT more information:
What is your arrival date in Rome?
Who is "we"? (how many of you and approx. ages.)
How do you intend to get around the country?
Do any of you have any sort of mobility limitations?
Do you have any interests beyond history and gardens? Art? Architecture?

Definitely need more info

If you don’t have a guide book yet (strongly suggest) you can start here
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy

We are arriving the first week of April. We don’t know how we’re getting around because we haven’t decided what we’re doing. It is only my husband and I. We do like architecture, art is not as high importance as history and gardens. Because we are in our mid 60s, we are not sure if we’ll ever be able to get back to Italy so we’re hoping we can see as much as we can.. we are retired so we don’t really have an end date, but we’re thinking about 30 days

Welcome to the forum. What a great trip you will have.

Is April next month or next year? That makes a difference on the advice we’re giving. Examples: do you have hotels booked? What about tickets for major tourist sights?

Have you looked at the Explore Europe section on this website for ideas where to visit and what to see? Italy’s link is https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy
The itinerary ideas are a little too rushed for my taste. Every time you move you lose half a day.

Is April next month or next year? That makes a difference on the
advice we’re giving.

Exactly. It makes considerable difference if this trip is just a few weeks away. It will be quite a scramble for you to line up hotels and tickets to the more visited attractions at this very late date. If it's this year, have you booked your air? If so, where are you flying home from?

Will you be there during Easter, if so the crowds will be bad.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187791-Activities-Rome_Lazio.html

Don't miss Florence, Venice, the Naples area. Also, consider Pisa, Lucca, Siena, Cinque Terre, Ravenna, Verona, Orvieto, Assisi and Spoleto.

Sorry our trip is scheduled for April 2026 and I don’t want hotel information. I am looking for a suggested itinerary of places to visit. We love history, horticulture and architecture. I don’t mind moving around the country.

This sounds like an AI prompt. Like AI, the information you get here is only useful as the details you share in the prompt. Unlike AI, the people here have actually been to the places they may recommend.

You can't walk down any street in Italy without stumbling on "history" that might go back thousands of years. Can you be more specific as to your interests?

I am looking for a suggested itinerary of places to visit. We love history, horticulture and architecture. I don’t mind moving around the country.

Then you're going to love the information presented in guidebooks! Extensive coverage of destinations large and small, suggested itineraries, reviews of museums and attractions.

Rick publishes a great Italy guidebook, and you can read his opinion on other guidebook series at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning/comparing-guidebook-series

Here is Rick Steves’ suggested itinerary for Italy https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/itinerary

Rick’s Best Three-Week Trip to Italy

The big-ticket stops in Italy — Venice, the Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, and the cluster south of Rome (Sorrento/Naples/Capri/Amalfi) — are inconvenient by car and easy by public transportation. A car is most helpful for exploring the hill town regions and the Dolomites. Major car-rental agencies have offices in many towns.

Day 1: Arrive in Milan (sleep in Milan)

Day 2: Milan to Lake Como (sleep in Varenna)

Day 3: Lake Como (sleep in Varenna)

Day 4: To the Dolomites via Verona (sleep in Bolzano or Castelrotto)

Day 5: Dolomites (sleep in Bolzano or Castelrotto)

Day 6: To Venice (sleep in Venice)

Day 7: Venice (sleep in Venice)

Day 8: To the Cinque Terre (sleep in Vernazza)

Day 9: Cinque Terre (sleep in Vernazza)

Day 10: To Florence via Pisa (sleep in Florence)

Day 11: Florence (sleep in Florence)

Day 12: Florence, late to Siena (sleep in Siena)

Day 13: Siena (sleep in Siena)

Day 14: To Assisi (sleep in Assisi)

Day 15: To Orvieto and Civita (sleep in Orvieto)

Day 16: To Sorrento via Naples (sleep in Sorrento)

Day 17: Capri (sleep in Sorrento)

Day 18: Amalfi Coast (sleep in Sorrento)

Day 19: Morning to Rome via Pompeii (sleep in Rome)

Day 20: Rome (sleep in Rome)

Day 21: Rome (sleep in Rome)

Day 22: Fly home

With More Time
With extra time, add a day to sight-filled Florence or Rome, or slow down in the countryside with more hill towns (check public-transportation options first — not all towns are well-served).

As I said above, I think RS itinerary is too rushed. Think that you will return to Italy; I've visited three times after turning 69, total 53 days in Italy so far. You can't see it all in 30 days so why waste time packing and traveling every other day.

This is a very broad outline but consider four base cities and do a day trip or two from each. Go south for the first of the month when it's cooler and then north. I'll leave the research up to you since you have a year to plan. I'm not interested in gardens so have few suggestions.

1. For bases, start with Rome for a week since your ship docks near there. For history go to Basilica San Clemente and the Jewish Ghetto. There’s a rose garden overlooking Circus Maximus that my garden-loving sister-in-law and I visited.
2. Then head south to Naples or Sorrento for a week. Day trip to Pompeii. Another day trip along the Amalfi Coast to Villa Cimbrone gardens in Ravello.
3. Then spend next week in Florence. Even if you don't like museums, there are great ones to see. Day trip or two to Tuscany.
4. Last week is in Venice and fly home from there. The city is unique for history and architecture. Day trip to Padua

Buon Viaggio!

With a month in Italy, I wouldn't want to miss Bologna and Emilia-Romagna. It's my favorite region of Italy, followed closely by Liguria. The food in these regions is spectacular.