Divide 8 days between Venice, Florence and Rome

With only 8 days you really only have time for 2 cities. You'll lose at least half a day when traveling between cities so your 8 days is really only 7 or 7.5. Also, if you only have 8 days on the ground then you'll need to deal with jet lag which can take a few days to deal with. Since you are arriving in Venice I would suggest spending 3 days there and the rest in Rome. You don't say where you fly out of so if it's Venice I would say to go directly to Rome when the plane lands in order to end up in Venice for your flight. Donna

Sorry I guess we've got 8 nights. Arrive in Venice on the morning of Day 1 around 9:30am, and leave Rome early-afternoon on Day 9.

I agree with Donna, stick to two cities. Yes, it is possible to fit all three in but I think it would feel rushed.

of course 8 days is not a lot of time but you can do all 3 locations but of course you will have to plan to return and spend more time you can do 3 nights Venice, 2 nights Florence and 3 nights Rome. Of course you can spend all 8 nights at any one of these locations but 3-2-3 will give you a good start and train connections are not very long I personally love Florence not just for the art but the city itself is very interesting to me, I've always had a good time there any combination of the 3 cities is really going to be fine
just know you will be coming back

Lawrence, if you REALLY want to do all three cities, you could do something like this: Day 1: arrive in Venice, get to hotel, check in, explore Day 2: Venice Day 3: Venice Day 4: morning train to Florence, get to hotel, check in, explore Day 5: Florence Day 6: morning train to Rome, get to hotel, check in, explore Day 7: Rome Day 8: Rome
Day 9: Rome/fly home I limited your time in Florence (a city I love) based on your "not overwhelming interest in art" comment. I agree with the other posters that limiting it to 2 cities would be better (in which case I would suggest Venice/Rome), but if you want to do all three, this will get you started, with 2.5 days in Venice, 1.5 days in Florence and almost 3 days in Rome.

Yep, what EKC says. I think you should do all three.

I would definitely spend more than one day in Venice, and if it were my trip I would do Venice and Rome and instead of Florence (since you aren't that into art) I would stay two nights in a Tuscan Village for a change of pace. You could still stay close enough to Florence to take a day trip there and spend a few hours wandering to see if you might want to return there. Whatever you decide it's Italy...so it will be great!

For some reason, I didn't have high expectations for Venice (maybe brainwashed from TV that made it seem so fake romantic) but I LOVED it. My BF & I spent 4 nights there & ended up getting one of the free maps and taking a pen and marking off everywhere we walked. We just picked a different neighborhood each day and walked somewhere else. St Mark's, Doge's palace, & the Bell Tower are all great things that you need to see that will consume 1 full day (but it's better & less tiring, if you split it into 2 days). We didn't encounter any great food places (most were so-so & touristy - I mean, that's to be expected there). Normally, I don't research food places but I would look up some good picks here before you go. But, if you like walking around and just being in awe of the sites around you, Venice will do that to you. Oh, your legs may get tired (there's a lot of bridges) but there are NO cars or vespas that you have to compete with when you're wandering around :)

Lawrence, I also feel the solution that ekc posted would be a good one to consider. It would allow you to spend a reasonable time in all three cities. Train trips between those cities are all relatively short, so you won't have to allow for a lot of travel times. You may find it helpful to have a look at the Italy Guidebook so that you can plan your sight seeing in each location. Note that you'll likely be travelling in EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita trains, so will have reserved seats with your Car No. (Carozza) and Seat No. (Posti) assigned. Happy travels!

IMHO, the two city itinerary would be more enjoyable and less like a marathon at a dead run. This format would give you more time to explore each locale at a comfortable pace. Also, you may discover something and want to linger at that place longer than you expected. You could see the omitted city on your next trip because Italy will seduce you and you will want to return. The Italians have a saying, "Il docle di far niente" and it means the sweetness of doing nothing. Racing around from one place to another defies this principal and we go to Italy for its leisurely lifestyle. Buon viaggio,

The train from Venice to Rome goes through Florence, and the train station is a 5-10 minute walk from the heart of the city. So you aren't losing much travel time by stopping there. I do agree that it should be given less time than Venice or Rome, because of your interests. Venice and Rome are both special, but neither is typically Italian, which is why I think you should spend 1.5-2 days in Florence. OR perhaps another town that the train goes through . . . . Bologna or Padua, since Florence is all about art.