8 days in Italy

as an architect I have a peaked interest

In Florence, the Duomo’s self-supporting dome, and in Rome, the Pantheon’s unreinforced concrete dome, rank among the greatest architectural achievements in history. I wouldn’t miss them.

Not sure how many nights you have, I would split them evenly between Florence and Rome. If you do day trips, I would do Siena (from Florence) and Orvieto (from Rome).

8 days is not much, so I say skip the day trips.
5 days in Rome and 3 in Florence.

Florence, do the Duomo and San Croce church, also Accademia and Uffizi museums. Do a walking tour of the city as well.
Rome:
St. Peter's and the Sistine Chapel
Coliseum and Forum
Nero's buried palace
Pantheon
Trajan's Markets
Capitoline Hill Museum
Piazza Navona
Spanish Steps

Scott--

The default here will be to fly into Rome, immediate train to Florence (75 min), stay Florence 4 nights, train to Rome, 4 nights there, fly home.

4 nights each, is probably the minimum amount of nights to have an AirBnB work for you. Otherwise, a hotel will be fine. But if you're family and can handle a 2 BR 1 bath AirBnB, you'll no doubt save money. But as a first-timer, setting an AirBnB up is a little more difficult than a hotel but I think is more rewarding to experience the 'real' Florence or Rome.

I'm on the verge of setting up a March 2027 trip to Rome, Turin/Bra and London, so I'd start looking now, and fire in for sure by early fall, at least 6 months out. Airfares are dropping so there's that as well.

Enjoy your planning!

thanks to all... much appreciated, and helpful to support and reinforce our assumptions and goals

To Jay - would love to consider and explore airbnb options... we are avid VRBO's here stateside, but have never rented internationally. Welcome your insights...

So 8 days is 7 nights? Are you counting the inbound (jet lagged) day and outbound day as sightseeing days in that number?

One hotel change would be ideal for that short schedule so the two destinations you have works great.

You're not gonna avoid crowds. Easter is Mar 28th and then the normal tourist season starts mid April. Get lodging early.

Alternatively you choose either Florence or Rome and spend the other time in a quieter place. Here's a current thread https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/smaller-towns-or-areas-worth-visiting-north-of-rome-possibly-lake-bracciano-area

To Jay - would love to consider and explore airbnb options... we are
avid VRBO's here stateside, but have never rented internationally.
Welcome your insights...

(Other AIrBnB veterans in Italy can chime in here, to corroborate or dispute...) The process starts online when you see what's available, at what price, and in what neighborhood. In both Florence & Rome, you want to walk to everything.

So in Florence, it will be the central district, shopping areas, between Santa Maria Novella station to Il Duomo on a line at the north, to the Arno River on the south. Across the river--the Oltrarno--has some nice places, but I like to walk out the door and be close to where I want to be.

For Rome...and this being your first visit..I would stick to the Centro Storico area (we stay by Campo de' Fiori), or near Piazza Navona/Pantheon, or across the Tiber in Trastevere. All those are good choices. And there are tons of other areas, for sure. Prati. Testaccio. The list goes on & on. But this is where I'd feel comfortable first time out. Look at the pictures in each AirBnB ad, decide if it's for you--I have a thing for high ceilings and plenty of windows. And all these areas are relatively safe, except late at night.

Caveats--if it's above a second floor, make sure they have a 'lift'. 4 or 5 flights of stairs every time up gets old quickly. I like a washer on-site as well--rare that you get a dryer, so you'll be hanging clothes, just like a local! And most important, check the reviews--a lot of high-ranked reviews is a very good sign. Also, do your homework and get a sense of the market in the area--if a place is abnormally cheap---there's probably a reason for it. You probably will be asked to put a 50% deposit down, but you should have 100% free cancellation up until about 2 weeks before travel.

I said above that to get full benefit of an AirBnB, you should have a stay of at least 4 nights, and I believe that. It takes time to set up shop in an apartment, and for a 3-day stay might not be worth it.

Enjoy!

We’ve rented many Airbnbs in Italy. We rarely cook full meals, but typivally make breakfast with supplies from a neighborhood store. We love to be able to spred out and relax after busy days of sightseeing. And having a washer is always a plus.
Fo you have any Rick Steves guides? They have great itinerarie. Your children review them to give input on what they would like to see/do.

I was a VRBO user for YEARS, never interested in Air BnB. Now I use Booking.com almost exclusively to vet hotels/apartments and have rarely been disappointed.

Hey Scott - welcome to the forum!
You've gotten lots of good advice, and I'm waving HELLO! to Jay who won't steer you wrong! If I was to add anything regarding rentals for a family of 4 adults, be SURE to look carefully at what constitutes a bed/bedroom. A fair amount call a fold-out in the living area a 'bedroom', and I'm pretty sure your other 2 adults might want more privacy than that. So, just make sure there are two ACTUAL bedrooms, OK? If you're only in Italy for 8 days (not sure how you're counting those), I wouldn't worry about having a washer/dryer. We travel easily for multiple weeks doing a wash-up only once a week so with just a sink rinse, maybe, of some quick-drying items, you shouldn't need more than that.

Sooo, you've a jones for architecture.... You will be spoiled for choice! As a first-timer, I'll vote with the others to split your trip 4 days in Florence and 4 in Rome. IMHO you really don't have time for day trips and do both of these cities the justice they deserve.

Architecture ideas:

I'll suggest some reading up on some of the more important polymaths of the Renaissance eras - Vasari, Alberti, Brunelleschi, Michelozzo, Michelangelo, Bramante, da Vinci, etc - and their creations.

Florence:
As a mere admirer of interesting architecture, I'll suggest a long look at Brunelleschi's influence on Piazza della Santissima Annunziata (my favorite piazza in Florence) and his lovely design of Spedale degli Innocenti. A glance down the street from the square's center provides an interesting view of his crowning achievement: the dome of Santa Maria della Fiore. The piazza's church of the same name (Santissima Annunziata) has a wonderful entry cloister with frescoes by some of the "Who's Who" of Renaissance artists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Santissima_Annunziata

Also musts, besides the duomo complex, are San Miniato (a very old and important lady); Santa Maria Novella; San Lorenzo; Ponte Vecchio (attributed by Vasari to Medieval architect Taddeo Gaddi, and Vasari's own Corridor), Palazzo Pitti and by extension the Boboli Gardens (https://archeologia.toscana.it/en/percorso/-/approfondimento/the-boboli-gardens/7fa19257-7977-4f1a-a2e6-e379f0ee9daa), Bargello and, well, there's a lot!

Rome:
Beside the obvious most-visited (Pantheon, St Peter, Colosseum, Forum, Palatine), I'll throw in:
Castel Sant’Angelo (evolution of an emperor's mausoleum)

Bramante's Tempietto of San Pietro
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/temple-bramante

Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio and St. Pete's dome
https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/piazza-del-campidoglio-capitoline-hill

The very old baptistry of San Giovanni in Laterano; the city's first, and the first in octaganal shape (the risen Christ appeared to the Apostles on the eighth day) later adopted by many others. The church is WELL worth a look too. Some background: https://corvinus.nl/2018/01/29/rome-san-giovanni-in-fonte/

Santa Sabina: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Sabina. A rare example of the early roman Christian basilica plan (5th century.) The little orange garden (https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/savello-park-or-orange-garden) next door affords a nice view over a section of Rome, and the municipal rose garden (Roseto Comunale: free) may be open and display some early blooms: visit on your walk up to S. Sabina. https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/rose-garden

Basilica of San Clemente - a old church built upon layers of even older structures, is unfortunately undergoing a multi-year restoration. It's accessible but no idea what stage that'll be in by next April. https://www.basilicasanclemente.com/eng/home-2/

Baths of Caracalla: a good idea of just how enormous these ancient roman complexes could be! https://www.turismoroma.it/en/places/baths-caracalla

Bernini's St. Peter's Square

That's just a start!

If you are an architect you would probably be interested in the documentary below, aired by PBS NOVA,
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/great-cathedral-mystery/

It shows how a professor of architecture at the University of Florence, professor Ricci, who actually passed away very recently, uncovered the mystery surrounding how Filippo Brunelleschi was able to build the huge dome of the Florence’s Duomo without support. It was an amazing discovery as the mystery puzzled architects and engineers for centuries.

The model they built to test the theory in that documentary is still at the Anconella Park here, incidentally I grew up playing in that park as my parents lived in front of it.

As someone loving architecture, I think think the Lucca city walls, and the Nottolini Aqueduct are a must see!