comment on the itinerary please

Ciao, Montana. I would do Rome, THEN Siena (a pleasant and easy 3 hour bus ride from Roma to Siena Piazza Gramsci, a ten-minute walk to Il Campo). Then after two days in Siena, a pretty 1 hour bus ride from Siena to Florence's Santa Maria Novella. If it was me, though, I'd add a night in Florence--a magical city worth at least 3 nights--and save Nice for another European trip. You could fly into Rome and out of Genoa (near Cinque Terre, in Liguria) or even out of Milano (easy train access from Cinque Terre, although a long ride (3+ hours). One night in Milan before departing Italia could be fun. Good luck!

If you love markets see if you can be in Siena on a Wed. when they have their market. We did that this time and it was alot of fun. And Siena is a lovely town.

The Wednesday market in Siena is AMAZING. Florence has a number of daily markets as well. My basic reaction to your plan is too many hotel changes. You lose a half a day or more every time you change location. I would consider doing 4 days in Siena, and using the extra days to make day trips via public transportation or tour bus out into the local area, then add an extra day to Florence. Finish up in CT.

This year we took two trips from Siena with Alioscia Lombardini of Casata Viaggi (recommended in the Rick Steves Tuscany book). We did the San G Vernaccia Tour and the Chianti Tour. Both were great and a super value. Another option would be to cut off Siena (though even typing that feels like a knife in my heart LOL)-- and Do Rome 3 or 4 days, take the train to Florence for 4 days and use one to make a day trip to Siena, Then Bologna and Parma then on to CT.

Hi Montana. I would personally suggest that you spend 3 days in Florence & visit Siena as a day trip on 1 of those days (instead of staying in Siena for 2 days). I think you're trying to squeeze too many places into 14-15 days. I would drop Nice. You don't say how many days you plan to spend in the CT but I would suggest at least 2-3. I am assuming you are flying into Rome which means that you might be jet lagged your first day. That would only leave you 2 full days in Rome. I would add another day to Rome if you can. There's a lot to do there!

When planing your trip, keep in mind that things are more spread out in Italy than they appear on a map. You need to factor in travel times between destinations & time to get to/from train stations, wait for taxis, check into hotels, etc. It's hard to resist the urge to move around a lot but you will end up spending a lot of time seeing the inside of trains as opposed to sightseeing. Have a wonderful trip.

Montana,

I tend to agree with the suggestions posted by Gio as that's a fairly efficient use of your short travel time. Dropping Nice would be a good idea this time, as the travel from C.T. will take at least half a day and the availability of flights home may not be as good as from Milan.

If you haven't been to Europe before, note that you'll lose the first day in flight times and time zone changes (normally arrive the day after you departed). If this is your first trip, a pre-read of Europe Through The Back Door would be a good idea, especially the "rail skills" chapter. The Italy Guidebook has lots of info on lodgings, food, Museum times, getting around, etc. (a good resource to pack along).

With only 14-15 days, I don't believe it's realistic to visit eight locations (even if that is feasible). Allowing for adequate travel times is very important!

One point to note is that Florence IS in Tuscany, so you'll at least be able to visit part of that region. If you're planning to visit the Uffizi or Accademia while in Florence, reservations would be a good idea. Your Hotel may be able to arrange these for you.

Happy travels!