4 days in April...where would you go?

For food and museums you can't beat Florence/Tuscany.

If I only had four days in Italy, I would go to Florence. It has some very nice museums, but make sure you make your museum reservations in advance or you risk not getting in or standing on long lines to buy your ticket and then wait to get in. It has wonderful wine bars and places to eat. It is a compact city, so no public transportation is needed, you can walk every where. It is a lovely city and there is plenty to see and do. And some wonderful churches. You will read all about it in the RS Florence guide book. And you do not need a car in Florence.

Have a great time.

Rome - full of museums and history, good food. Here's an idea for a day away from the hustle and bustle of Rome. Take the metro to the Piramide stop in Testaccio, stop and load up with wonderful deli food from Volpetti's and the Barberini Bakery (next door to each other on the Via Marmorata a short direct walk from the Metro). Then take the train from Piramide to Ostia Antica (make sure you get off at Ostia Antica, not Ostia (about 30 mins.) and spend the day wandering through the ruins of a complete Roman city. Ostia doesn't attract the same crowds as does Pompeii, so its a perfect place to wonder at will, find the perfect spot for your gourmet picnic and imagine living in this city. They have a very informative website www.ostia-antica.org/.

Another spot I like is Montone in Umbria, a small medieval walled town. On a RS tour we stayed at Hotel del Capitano where the owner was also a chef and cooked us a wonderful meal. Quite out of the way, nearest big town is Perugia 35 kms away, probably need to rent a car in Perugia and drive there. No cars allowed in the town so parking could be an issue. Its also an easy drive to Assisi or, further away, there is Ravenna with its wonderful mosaics. There are websites for the town of Montone as well as .

Whatever you choose - enjoy! I warn you, Italy is catching!

WOW! That's a great question! Four days, where would I go? I've been to Italy a dozen times, first two times to visit relatives, and my husband refused to do any of the Big Cities! I guess it depends on where your heart lies! Are you a Roman Catholic, are you a historian/art lover? I would choose either Rome or Florence. Florence is so very beautiful, charming piazzas, the Ufizzi, the David, in the center of Tuscany.........on the other hand, Rome has the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum,The Tevi Fountain, Piazza Navona. Get a video and decide. But with only four days in Italy, do one of these two cities, NOT Milan -- which is where I had to go the first few times to Italy. Just My Humble Opinion.

I agree with Rome or Florence. Not enough time for both. I would pick Florence with side trip to Siena.

I suggest flying in to Rome and spending 2 days there. See as much as you can, knowing that even if you had 2 weeks, its not enough time to see everything. I would recommend the Colloseum, Forum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and pasta + gelato. Then take a morning train to Lake Como/Bellagio. The train is a great way to enjoy the countryside! Spend one day/night. Train to Verona for your last day/night. You can fly from Verona to Paris easily. I chose Verona on my last trip because it has easy train and plane access.

Julie's recommendations are the perfect example of how there's no one-size-fits-all approach to travel. Her suggestions for how to spend four days would be my idea of torture.

A train from Rome to Varenna on Lake Como would take you about five hours that you could be spending enjoying actually being somewhere. (And the lakes in April will likely be quite dreary.) And then two single night stays in a row? No, thank you. Minimum two nights anywhere for me, with three being even better.

That time of year, I would do all four days in Rome, then fly to France. If you get pretty weather and are itching to get out of Rome, consider a daytrip to Orvieto - an hour away from Rome, it's a magical hillside town right next to the border with Tuscany.

I believe in keeping it simple, and inexpensive. EasyJet.com flies from Gatwick or Luton airports to Venice. And you can also fly from Venice to Paris De Gaulle Airport non-stop.

You could stay in Venice a couple of days, rent a car and head north into the Dolomites. Verona is to the west and the huge Lake Garda (closeby) is fantastic mountain scenery.

That's easy....Venice. Mysterious. Lots to do in such a small city. No stress (Rome had me wishing i had zanax, and I normally dont take zanax).

Edit: I should learn to spell.......Xanax is an anti-anxiety pill, generically known as alprazolam

I agree with Michael's suggestion - Rome with a day trip to Orvieto or Orvieto with a day trip to Rome!

what's zanax?

Nigel, it's a tranquilizer/anti-anxiety med! I also only have two left!

From The Smiles of Rome - A Literary Companion for Readers and Travelers (ed. by Susan Cahill):

Rome has the power to blow your mind and heart, delivering man, woman and child from small-mindedness, bestowing a much larger capacity for the beauty of the world than you started out with....it's the accumulation of pasts in Rome and one's consciousness of those layers-in the city and in one's self- that can make Rome a life-changing experience. Once Rome enters your consciousness, your perspective on human time may change, deepen, mellow...Everywhere, something invisible makes itself felt in the visible, making the whole city seem to pulsate with hidden presences, a register of the human psyche and of twenty-eight centuries of history striated by horror, by thrilling legends, and anonymous kindness. Getting to know Rome, we come home to ourselves...

Take the 4 days and have a great time in Rome.