First Draft Itinerary - Suggestions please

Consider the Roma Pass -- you'll be there long enough to get use out of it & will likely go to enough sights to make it worthwhile. As a transit pass, it was helpful for us. During our week in Rome 1 1/2 years ago, we took the Metro and cabs a couple of times, but mostly walked or took a bus/tram, which were covered by our passes.

By "ruins," are you figuring the Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill, Trajan's Market and more in-town, plus Hadrian's Villa and Ostia Antica a bit out of town? Catacombs? Depending on how long you spend at sights, these can occupy a good part of your time. Rome's got many museums that can draw you in for hours, too. After a week, we had seen and done a lot, but still had a lot that will have to be saved for the next time. If only there were more time . . .

I think it looks great!! Will you be doing any side trips from Florence? It might be nice to throw some day trips with a smaller town vibe into the mix.

Looks like a lot in 2 weeks but you can do it. Comfortable shoes would be my only suggestion. The best thing is that Italy (and Paris) will be there next year when you might want to look at Castelrotto, Siena, Sorrento, Cinque Terre among many other possibilities! And, I know, you'll want to return to Rome, Florence and especially Venice.

Have a wonderful trip!!!!

Diana,

Your Itinerary looks reasonable well sorted, especially for a first draft. A few thoughts and comments.....

• Assuming you depart DTW at about 20:00 (local time), you won't arrive at FCO until about 11:45 (assuming a direct flight of 9H:45M). By the time you collect your luggage, get through Passport control, to the rail station, into Rome and checked into your hotel, it will likely be at least 14:00. The Leonardo Express is the quickest way to get in from the airport (€14 PP, 35 minutes to Termini station, DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the train or you'll face hefty fines!). You should have enough energy to do a bit of light sightseeing, but you'll probably find that you'll want to retire fairly early that night. Everyone handles jet lag differently, so of course that may vary.
• Which "Roman ruins" and "Other sights" are you interested in? Will you be packing along the Italy Guidebook (I find that to be a valuable resource when travelling there).
• As someone else mentioned, you could consider taking a day trip during your time in Florence. Siena is one good option as it's only about an hour each way by Bus. However, if you'd prefer to explore Florence (there's LOTS to see), that's also a good choice.
• Have you researched which budget airlines you might use for the flight from Venice to Paris? My usual favourite is EasyJet, which offers flights from Venice to both CDG and ORY airports in Paris. Be sure to book early for the best prices, and be sure to read their Terms & Conditions carefully, especially relating to checked and cabin luggage.

Good luck with your planning!

Sounds fine. My only suggestion would be to reverse the order, flying into Venice and then from Rome to Paris, if the flights work out. Venice is a great place to start. You can soak up the atmosphere just walking in the back streets/canals, or riding the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal. Rome is a big city and the sightseeing there is intense.

Thank you SO much for all the suggestions. I really do appreciate all the tips. Like I said, I'm just in the early planning stages for this trip. Likely leaving for Italy late April & returning early May (our wedding anniversary is April 20th and it would be amazing to be in Rome for it). I've been looking at some free Apps and this is what I've pinned for Rome -

St Peters Basilica
St Peters Square
Vatican Museums
Arch of Constantine
Roman Forum
Pantheon
Colosseum
Circus Maximus
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Piazza Navona
Trevi Fountain

Some things I saw that looked interesting for Florence were
Uffizi
Florence Cathedral
Palazzo Vecchio
Plaza Michelangelo
Ponte Vecchio
Maybe a day trip?

Venice -
Rialto Bridge
Grand Canal
Piazza San Marco
St Marks Basilica

Am I missing any Must See's in any of these cities? Thanks!!

Reversing the order really isn't an option. There are no direct flights from the US to Venice, we'd have to layover somewhere in Europe. We do have a layover in Atlanta since there are no direct flights to Rome either but if I'm laying over somewhere, I guess I'd rather it be in the States then a direct flight to Rome. Plus the price is lower to do it that way. But thanks!

Ken -
The flight I'm looking at leaves DTW at Noon on Sunday then to Atlanta for a 2 hr layover then direct to Rome, arriving early morning. But I do not sleep well on these long flights so I know I/we will be tired when we get there so yes def a light day for our first day there. If its our anniversary maybe go to Trevi Fountain to toss a coin then for a nice dinner then retire early is the plan. Thank you for the Leonardo Express info too. I def will be getting a RS Italy guidebook too! I'd never heard of EasyJet but just checked them out & they sound really good & cheaper than what I'd looked at so far so thanks for that info too.

Diana - I'm currently doing your trip in reverse. My daughter is studying in Talouse starting today. She suggested we spend a week in Paris before berating in Talouse. We stayed four days in Paris then took high-speed train to Nice for some sunshine for three days. I've wanted to visit Italy, so I stayed an extra day in Nice (no Saturday flights to Venice), arriving today. My Italy itinerary looks much like yours for Florence and Rome.

I think the outline is fine, but usually would like to have a smaller town in the mix. Three nights in Florence could allow time for a stop en-route at Orvieto, for instance, easily accessible from the main train line, but you have to reserve each leg of the train separately. Or, you could see how much you get done in Florence and add a side-trip to Siena on the last day.

Is 3 nights in Florence too many? How about 3 nights in Venice? I was first thinking of adding Cinque Terre in the mix too. Where could I fit that in for at least one night? We could always add an additional day or two to the trip since we are both retired. Sorry for all the questions. Thanks!

I wouldn't add any more destinations--you have a good plan already. Two nights in Florence is probably enough but if you stay three, I'd recommend a day trip to Siena.

If you decide to stay in two nights in Florence rather than three, I'd consider adding it to either Rome or Paris!

Depending on where you stay in Rome, you may feel like doing the walk from Piazza Navona to Pantheon to Trevi Fountain to perhaps Spanish steps on your first day. There are sidewalk cafes all around here, so you could start at one site, have lunch along the way and continue to the others (in either direction). It gets you out on the sunlight, there are signposts from one to the other and you know you are in Rome!

I do not have Rick's Italy book right on hand, but I believe he might have a walk between these points.

Again, depending on where you stay, you can perhaps include Santa Maria Maggiore and perhaps San Pietro in Vincoli Basilica (Michelangelo's statue of Moses) winding up with a view of the Colosseum (don't plan to go in your first day)and Constantine Arch on your first day instead of the Piazza Navona, etc.

The Constantine Arch, the Colosseum, the Forum and Circus Maximus are all right together. If you have any energy left, you can walk up the Aventine Hill on the other side of the Circus Maximus to look thru the Aventine Keyhole.

Diana:
Be sure to visit the smaller & less impressive Santa Croce Church in Florence. It is walking distance from the Doumo. It is less impressive until you go inside and find our who is buried there.

Diana... I don't remember what airline but I flew from DTW to JFK then to Venice (almost positive it was Delta as that is all I usually fly) As far as adding Cinque Terre I would definitely do that if possible. Otherwise you have a trip of all cities.... a day or two at the sea would be a nice change. You also might consider staying in Tuscany and taking a day trip into Florence if you want a little more diversity. Just depends on what your priorities are. I would add the extra days if it's not a problem. From Venice you could take a day trip to Burano.

Where in Tuscany (or Cinque Terre)? I'm thinking cut Florence to 2 nights and add 2 to one or the other. Thanks!

I've been looking on Pinterest & Siena looks pretty amazing. So here's what I'm proposing to revise our itinerary -

Rome 3 or 4 nights
Siena 2 nights
Florence 2 nights
Venice 2 or 3 nights
Paris 4 nights

No Cinque Terre or Tuscany. Does that sound like a more workable itinerary? Thanks for any suggestions.

We just spent 3 nights in Venice and if we had only had 2 I would have been very, very sad. I could have easily stayed longer... I see the major sites on your must do list, but really the beauty of venice to me was just walking around, seeing what was there, no plan, just stop at a store or cafe if the mood strikes. And be sure to get out of the main areas, into Dorsoduro or Canareggio - and down along the Zattere at night - gorgeous - like different worlds there compared to the crush at San Marco and Rialto. My husband and I have Venice as our #1 return destination when we can go later without the kids... they did fine kicking a soccer ball around the campo while we stopped to do stuff, but without the kids, it would have been even more relaxful! :)

Kim

The original schedule looks good and it works. Your new schedule of 2 nights Florence and 2 nights Siena works also. I don't mind short trips and swithcing hotels a lot. Since you'll be traveling Venice and Rome between Florence they are all linked via the fast trains. For that reason I would say don't stay in Siena and stay in Florence. Instead of say Florence for 2 nights and Siena for 2 nights, stay in Florence for all 4 nights. That gives you 2 days to tour florence, another day you can take a day trip to Siena via the bus in Florence. You can see the Siena sights in a day. The 4th day you can get out into Tuscany and some wineries or other things. I loved my Tuscany day trip from Roberto from Rick's book and TV show. he has tours into tuscany and will pick you up from your hotel in either Siena or Florence. You can still see Siena and Tuscany while being based in Florence at night. Then on your trip you can always stay in Siena longer and more towns of Tuscany. http://www.toursbyroberto.com/tours.html