Cinque Terre, Assisi, or Tuscan hill towns?

Assisi has some great sites, but can get overrun with tourists, though I expect March won't be too bad. Some towns near Assisi to consider are Perugia and Spoleto. Umbrian hill towns are very similar to Tuscan hill towns, but tend to be less crowded. How long is your trip? Will you be traveling by train and bus? Also, if you want a break in Florence, I'd recommend going to Abbazio San Minato. It is on a hill above the Arno river and is quiet and has great views of Florence and the river.

Unfortunately, Cinque Terre is a little out of your way, and it's best seen a little later than March. Skip it.
Your trip is just a little short in time, as Rome is more of a 4 day city. And Florence is a very important city--worthy of 3 full nights.

My best suggestion about a day trip out of Florence is to catch a bus down to Siena. The buses sit across the street from the train station---next to McDonalds.
Staying in a town between Florence and Rome is not easy since the fast trains don't stop all along the way. Why don't you go on into Rome. And if you have the time, a great day trip is to Orvieto--a 70 minute train ride from Rome Termini. It's a very popular hilltown.

Hi, For such a short trip you are running around a lot.

For additional context, my husband and I in our late twenties, enjoy hiking, eating food, drinking wine, and exploring beautiful old buildings and towns.

Your description is the exact reason you should add the night to Florence, IMO. Florence is by no means just about museums, in fact, I find the museums a minor part of Florence. It is a wonderful city to wander, eat, drink wine, and explore beautiful old buildings, as you say. If you get bored you can always chose from a list of day trips...but I bet you don't.

Assisi is one of the most wonderful places in Italy. Cinque Terre in March will not be great due to the weather, and also is out of the way for you. I agree with whoever noted that Tuscan hill towns and Umbrian hill towns are equally marvelous. Do some research and you'll be able to decide which area interests you most.

I visited Assisi in mid-summer and there were a lot of people at the basilica and along one particular street that had lots of souvenir shops. But I wandered around a great deal, and I found much of the historic area not crowded at all. Try walking uphill. I imagine Assisi would be even quieter in March. I suspect that pilgrimage sites like Assisi are always more laid-back on weekdays, because surely a lot of the tourist traffic is relatively local and pretty much confined to weekends.

I agree that March doesn't sound like a great time to go to the Cinque Terre.

Assisi is an amazing place - crowded during the day but peaceful and beautiful after about 5:00 PM. You might consider Orvieto, which has many charms, excellent restaurants and interesting buildings to see, not to mention the gorgeous cathedral. Orvieto is just off of the A1 and also can be reached by train. There is a funicular from the train station parking lot up to the old town or you can walk up various paths.

I agree with wray - you will love Florence even if you're not museum people. Add your night there - or better yet, in Venice We stayed in Venice only two nights, and felt cheated. Talk about exploring beautiful old towns!

You could add that day to Florence or Rome and do well but I'd support the Siena suggestion.

Bobb

I would go to Assisi. If you could spend a night there, you could hike to Spello, or visit Trevi by train (long walk up to town). I prefer Umbria to Tuscany when I have limited time.

With such limited time, I would look at what is the easiest fit for you.
Both CT and Assisi are a trek out of your way, so strike them off.

Either,
Orvieto is an easy one night stop on the route from Florence to Rome.
Or,
Extend a night in Florence and take a day to Siena or Lucca.

In Feb of 2014 I spent a week in Italy split between Florence, Rome and 1.5 days in Assisi. There were almost no crowds. It was peaceful and beautiful.

enjoy hiking, eating food, drinking wine, and exploring beautiful old buildings and towns

This sounds like Siena would be ideal for you. Full of old buildings, great food and plenty of hilly streets for urban hiking.

I agree with the other posters, adding a 3rd night in Florence gives you lots of options. There is plenty to see and do there besides the museums, but it's also a good base for daytrips, like Lucca or Siena. Or stop in Orvieto for a night en route to Rome. Assisi and the CT are wonderful, but would take more of your time to visit- save those for the next trip. Have a wonderful time!

Orvieto does have done wonderful views and great white wines.

Add the day to Venice and go kayaking, hiking on water, so to speak. Venicekayak.com is worth a look.

So much to see and do in Venice and Florence . . . think about adding a day there. We are not museum people either, but both of these towns have great areas to walk and explore, lots of cafes and cathedrals.

We used 'WALKABOUT FLORENCE' to take 2 day trips out of Florence which were fantastic for food and wine lovers. One was THE BEST OF TUSCANY and the other was CHIANTI FOOD AND WINE SAFARI. Check out the WALKABOUT FLORENCE webpage for detailed descriptions of those tours, you can even book on their webpage. There are so many great walking areas throughout Venice and Florence - we loved all the alleys, cathedrals, shops, coffee and wine bars.

In Rome, we also did 2 'EATING ITALY' food tours that were both fantastic and they walked us thru areas of Rome we would not have seen had we not done them. Don't miss the Pantheon and the Colosseum and, of course, The Vatican/St.Peters. We are in the process of scheduling our 2nd trip to Italy we loved it all so much.

We've spent nights in Siena and in Cinque Terre(Monterosso). I agree with previous answers that it seems too ambitious to plan to do all that you'd like to do. My experience is that it is better to do two to three stops well, than 5 or 6 in a hurry. We spent three nights in Siena and feel that it was just enough time, even with a day trip to San Gimignano. I would have hated to try to do Siena in only one day. We spent three nights in Monterosso and feel that it was appropriate for that area. The trails were closed between town #1 and #3, but we hiked from #5(Monterosso) to Corniglia(#3). The hill towns of Tuscany, like Montelpulciano or Montalcino an be done in a day, but travel to/from will use up precious time.
My suggestion if you want to do more than Rome, Venice and Florence is a day trip to/from Siena or Pisa out of Florence. What you have planned, 2 days in Venice, 3 days in Florence, and 3 days in Rome are the bare minimum you need to spend.