I've had my itinerary set for months--we will be traveling for a month in June/July. The Italy portion of our trip involves 3 nights Venice, 3 nights CT, 5 nights Lucca (with day trips planned) and 4 nights Rome (with day trip to Pompeii).
Last night I had a moment of realization as I was working on the fine details for the Lucca portion. I was planning one day in Florence for the Uffizi and Accademia. Then another day we are planning on a tour of Tuscany with a small group which leaves from Florence, so we'd have to train from Lucca early in the morning for that. And then of course when we go to Rome we have to train to Florence yet again.
Initially it sounded good to settle in one quieter spot for 5 days, but now that schedule is sounding nutty. I'm now thinking we should do 3 nights in Lucca, and then head to Florence for another two nights. Since Lucca is so close, if we check out of our apartment early and stash our bags at the train station, we can do the Uffizi and Accadamia on the first day, the Tuscany tour on the second day, and then wander around Florence in the evening after the tour and for a few hours the next morning before training out to Rome on the third day. Although it involves checking in and out of an additional apartment, it'll save us at least 6 hours of train/bus travel time over 3 days.
Thoughts? We are traveling with our 2 teenage daughters.