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Fine tuning Italy Itinerary

Hi all.

I have used hours and hours of research (including reading RS Guidebooks) and the helpful information on this forum to come up with an itinerary. I have gone from a general itinerary to a more detailed one and would appreciate any input.

Day 2. Arrive in Rome at 8:20 am, use hotel transportation to get to the hotel. Have lunch. Visit Palasso Massimo de la Terme. Earliest possible dinner (7pm?) and off to sleep.

Day 3. 9:00 am VIP tour of Caesars Palace with the Colisseum, Forum and Palatine Hill (Walks of Italy), Lunch, Capitoline Museums, Pantheon. Dinner (trying to get Armando al Pantheon)

Day 4. 7:00 am Pristine Sistine tour (Walks of Italy). Lunch. Visit the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain. Dinner.

Day 5. 9:00 am Borghese Gallery. 12:00 Transportation to Civitavecchia for cruise.

Day 6-`11 - Cruise (Day 6 sea/rest day, Day 7 Santorini, Day 8 Athens, Day 9 Mykonos, Day 10 sea/rest day, Day 11 Naples (Pompeii with private driver).

Day 12 - 9:00 am Transport back to Rome. Lunch. 2:00 pm tour of the Catacombs (Walks of Italy). Trastevere for Dinner.

Day 13 - 9:00 am train to Florence. 11:00 am arrival in Florence. Drop bags at hotel and arrange laundry. Have lunch. See Santa Maria Novella (really close to hotel) and Santa Maria de Fiore (its a Monday, so museums are closed)

Day 14 - 9:15 am entry to Galleria Uffizi (already have tickets). Lunch. Visit Bargello. 5:15 pm entry to Accademia (already have tickets)

Day 15 - Day trip with private with driver to Pisa, Winery Lunch (Fattoria Poggio Alloro), and San Gimignano. Evening dinner in Florence, see Ponte Vecchio

Day 16 - 9:00 am train to Venice. 5:00 pm entrance to Doges Palace and St Marks. Dinner.

Day 17 Explore Venice, maybe see some of the islands (Murano or Burano)

Day 18 10:00 am train to Milan. Lunch. Visit Cuadrilatero de la Moda. Dinner

Day 19 See a bit of Milan in the morning. Lunch. 2:00 pm tour of Milan with Last Supper. (City Wonders, already booked)

Day 20 TGV Milan to Paris (Day train)

Day 21-24 Paris

Day 25 Fly back home.

Once again, any feedback is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Posted by
11367 posts

Your itinerary is quite complete. Why don’t you stay overnight in Naples at the end of your cruise?It’s a historic city.
Day 3 I think you have too much planned. I wouldn’t want to tour a major museum after the Colosseum, Roman Forum. Pantheon is OK here.

Posted by
12 posts

Hello!

I'm in the same situation- trying to put together an itinerary for my family for 3 1/2 weeks to Italy. Who did you book a tour with for your VIP tour of Caesars Palace with the Colisseum, Forum and Palatine Hill? I'm looking for a guide. Thanks!

Posted by
2713 posts

Wow what a great trip! You don’t have much built in down time but I suspect your first cruise day will fit that bill. Your second rest day could be the Venetian islands and I would suggest Burano. We enjoyed it a lot more than Murano. You can see the lace (the real hand made stuff is rare and expensive) and you can have a leisurely lunch at Locando Cipriani (book ahead). I hope you get into Armando, our meal there this year was great. We are dining here next summer https://salumeriaroscioli.com/menuwinelist/ . Others we traveled with enjoyed it. Day 4, consider lunch here https://www.ristorantenino.it/home-english/.It’s near the Spanish Steps and coming from the Sistine Chapel you’ll be attired right as they discourage shorts and halter tops. It’s a classic place with white tablecloths, been there forever.

Posted by
6589 posts

Agree with Suki- Day 3 is a lot.
We have visited Colosseum/Forum twice. Once with Walks of Italy and once on our own. We planned to visit Capitoline Museum after each time but never made it. We were completely wiped out after the morning and the heat was brutal- Sept and May. You don't say when your trip is but do keep the heat in mind. Not a bit of shade in Forum.
Pantheon takes less than an hour easily so that can fit almost anywhere.

Day 16 - 9:00 am train to Venice. 5:00 pm entrance to Doges Palace and
St Marks.

Are you sure of this entry time? St. Mark's closes at 5 with last entry 4:45. Doges is open til 9 (or til 11 Fri, Sat)

We enjoy Burano very much but you've really only got 1 full day in Venice- a ride out there/vist/ride back can take the better part of the day.
Be sure to get up early to see Rialto Fish Market.