First time in Italy

Please note that Tuscany is a region, of which Florence is the capital.

Firenze is very near Fiesole, you can take a local bus there for a few hours. I would do that rather than bus down to Firenze every day, especially since you want to do day trips and you would have to take buses/trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station (bus station is nearby).

The Colosseo can be part of a combo ticket for the Foro Romano and Palatino. I have been inside many times but a walk around it is fine for me - the interior is crowded with people and exhibits.

With only three nights in Roma, I would stay in the Centro Storico and walk to most sights. Get tickets in advance for the Vatican Museums. Also get tickets for the Galleria Borghese.

Lucca/Pisa can be seen in one daytrip, I would spend a night in Cinque Terre (take one from Firenze). La Spezia is near Cinque Terre, you may need to change trains there, but no reason to add a night there.

You could spend two nights on Lago di Como and daytrip into Milano, or vice versa, but you already have some major cities, so the lake might be a nice break.

In Venezia, make a day of it and visit Murano, Burano and Torcello. Gondola rides are pricey, but if you have to...

I find hotels through booking.com.

giv,

My first suggestion would be to pick up a copy of the RS Italy guidebook, as there's an enormous amount of information there that will help plan efficient sightseeing, hotels, transportation, etc.

A few comments......

- Rome - everyone here has a preference on which part of Rome to stay. I prefer to stay in the vicinity of Termini station, as it's so very convenient for transportation. Only you can decide if the Colosseum is "worth seeing on the inside" (I think it is).
- Florence - that's a great place to use as a home base, and six nights should be about right. Be sure to allow some time to see the sights of Florence as well. Regarding your day trips: Cinque Terre is possible as a day trip, but it will be a LONG day, so be prepared for that. Lucca & Pisa can be done on the same day as travel by train is quick and easy. Siena is a very good day trip, as it's only about an hour each way from Florence via Bus. Forget La Spezia - you'll go through there on the way to the C.T. and with limited time it's not worth a stop (IMO). Fiesole is just above Florence and you can get there by local Bus in about 20 minutes - it doesn't take long to explore but you may want to have lunch there to enjoy the views.
- Milan - Is there something particular you want to see in Milan such as The Last Supper? You could perhaps spend two nights in the tranquil town of Varenna on the shores of Lake Como. If you'd prefer to stay in Milan, Varenna is easily reachable by train in about an hour.
- Venice - as you're planning to take a Gondola ride, be sure to budget for that as they're not cheap. Three nights should be about right, but be prepared for crowds there during the day time.

There are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains, Buses and other public transit in italy. If you need further information, post another note.

The trip to Vienna will be a long day, about nine hours. One of the quickest trips will be a departure from Venezia Santa Lucia at 08:50, arriving Wien (Vienna) Hbf at 17:35 (time 8H:45M, first segment via Bus to Villach and then RailJet to Vienna). You can check all the solutions on the Bahn.de website.

Absolutely the inside of the colosseum is worth seeing. Actually I highly suggest the Walk of Italy tour, which includes the forum, and other areas. The guide brought it all to life for us, and we got to go down and stand where the arena would have been. That is not open to just the general public. It was awesome imagining this place back in its glory days!

We also did the Travestere Twighlight Food and Wine Tour. It was wonderful and unique. The groups are small, the Travestere neighborhood is a beautiful and chic area of Rome. I definitely would pop on over the the website and check it out. Reservations are limited, so decide quickly.

I would personally add another night to Rome and just 2 nights to Venice. I loved Venice, but that was enough for me. We were in Rome 4 nights and I wish we had one more.

You'll want to see the Pantheon...and just a five minute walk from that is Piazza Novanna...our favorite Piazza to sit and people watch, have a cocktail, or eat.

Based on information from friends, family, travel agent and GOOGLE, a possible itinerary was provided to us

As Ken suggested, you need a good guidebook. The advice of others is great added on to your own research, but there is nothing that can substitute for a good guidebook. Google will only answer questions you ask. A good guidebook will tell you things you didn't know you needed to know.

I would add a night in Rome (take it from Firenze) since there is so much to see and you will be juts getting over jetlag. Since you like lakeside views, trade Milan for Lake Como, as Zoe suggested. Milan is nice enough, but rather skippable in a first trip, IMO. A gondola ride is fun. We waited until our 4th visit to do one but really enjoyed it. Murano, Burano and Torcello are worth the trip on a nice day. When we do that tour (Rick Steves' Italy guidebook has great directions for a self-guided tour to the three islands) it takes us about 6 hours including lunch. We usually leave about 9:00AM and stop at Murano first, with lunch on Burano.

Rome (3 or 4nts)
Florence (4 or 5nts)
- day trips to Siena, Pisa+Lucca, Cinque Terre ??
Lake Como (3nts)
Venice (3nts)

On the day you travel from Lake Como to Venice, take an early train to Milan, store your bags so you can explore Milan, before heading on to Venice in the evening.

Note that the Cinque Terre is a long day trip from Florence, and many advise against it. Pisa and Lucca can be done on the same day. Siena is a must do.

Do you mean mid-September 2016, which is about 6 weeks away? If you do, I suggest you start looking for accommodations yesterday. It's still high season and it may not be all that easy to find vacancies. If you are planning to visit Milan/Como, consider this route: Milan - Venice - Florence - Cinque Terre (1 or 2 nights) - Rome.

Your itinerary looks great- you'll enjoy every minute! The September weather should be wonderful.

We just returned from a Tuscany trip where we took the train all around, including to some of the places you mentioned, and it worked out great. Your plans of CT, Pisa/Lucca, & Siena would be 3 great (and busy) day trips, but don't forget about Florence itself, an amazing city worth a chunk of your time as well!

I agree that getting a guidebook is an essential part of the planning experience- no matter how much internet research you do, the guidebook is indispensable.

Robert in Montreal

All of the advise above is very good
My 2 cents
Mid-Sept is busy season you are booking late so need to move quickly.

*Rome *
Yes the inside of the Colleseum is basically a must. I wouldn't bother with a food tour or any day trip, you don't have time.
The ancient city center (where Panthenon / Trevi Fountain and many nice piazzas are but the Colleseum is not or on the outskirts I would say) is really the heart of the city, more pedestrianized so much nicer to walk and where you should spend the bulk of your time. The entire area is like an open air museum and just wonderful.
The more out you go and the roads become filled with cars and buses rather than pedestrians the less I cared for Rome outside of the main sites.
Think of the visits to the Vatican/St. Peters and the Colleseum/Roman Forum as site locations to visit not to hang out in.
I definitely recommend staying the in the ancient center, it will be more expensive and less convenient to the train than staying closer to Termini but I think you will enjoy it more and use your limited time better. Staying near Termini has logistical benefits though so many stay there. I definitely would not want to stay near the Vatican, it would be near last on a list of probably 10 places to stay.

Florence
Logisitics wise it is probably the best base option for the Tuscany region. It is a city so some would prefer to base themselves in a smaller town/scenic area for obvious reasons but in those cases you might want a car. Without a car Florence makes sense as your longest base.
You mention Cinque Terre and La Spieza as 2 different places, really La Spieza is a gateway to the Cinque Terre and you would pass through it or stop there if going to Cinque Terre. I would cross La Spieza off your list. Cinque Terre as mentioned before me is one really long day trip so up to you if worth it ; is really meant if you can devote at least a night or two.
Maybe skip your Milan 2 night plan and stay in a village in Cinque Terre instead.
The other hill towns from Florence all make sense, should be Siena definitely not maybe and there are other towns worth a visit.
Fiesole is a suburb of Florence, said to have great views of Florence and food though I have not been. You can research and see if it is worth your time.
There is also the region of Montalcino/Montepulciano/Pienza, the Chianti Region, San Gimingano, Volterra ; I am sure many would say these are most visits much like Pisa/Lucca/Siena are so you mainly have to decide what exactly you want to see and do and not pack all of your days with day trips as Florence the city needs ample time to see and experience as well.
All of the above mentioned towns/cities are in Tuscany so you do need to define what you mean by Tuscany and which specific area you want to see.

Milan
I would nix Milan, not sure what you want to do there but seems more like a place for business than tourism to me. Choose to stay in the Cinque Terre these 2 nights or as mentioned give the 2 nights to a town on Lake Como or Lake Garda and get your lake visit in.

Venice
Your time in Venice makes sense. I am sure you will probably do the Gondola ride though pricey and kind of a tourist trap thing. Costs in Venice can get you as depending on where you stay and how many bags you have you have to give thought of how to reach it. This can mean a really expensive Water Taxi ride getting there and back which will be more expensive each way than the Gondola Ride. Maybe the fancy taxi ride will be sufficient over the Gondola.
If you want to visit the other islands you have time to do so.

Wow! Thank you all for your response and suggestions. As suggested, I went out and got Rick Steve's Italy guide during my lunch break. Hopefully, that will help with our itinerary.

Just another question: Is it better if we use Florence as a base and do day trips or do we use another base or we do a couple of nights in Florence then move on to our next destination?

Personally, I would base in Florence. It's a very good transportation hub for day trips around the region, and an interesting city on its own.

The CT, as already mentioned, is really too far for a day trip. If you scratch Milan, you could spend a few days there BUT if your trip is THIS September, you may have a challenge finding accommodations there at this late date.

I'd agree with skipping the food tour in Rome: there's too much to see in that one without tying up the very short time you have there with that tour. If you really want to do that, do it in Florence where you have considerably more time. And yes, the Colosseum is most definitely 'worth' seeing inside as that's where all of the action occurred.

I'll disagree with the gondola ride in Venice...especially if you're on a budget. It's a must-do for some (and nothing wrong with that if it is) but it hasn't been a highlight for everyone.

With 6 or more nights I would split my Tuscany time between Florence and a rural location. With five nights or less I would stick to Florence and use it as a base.

Ok folks, this is what we came up with. What do you guys think? Are we taking on too much? What would you change?

Rome - we're now doing 4 nights (with a day trip to Pompeii or Sorrento/Amalfi Coast? - doing a tour)
Florence - 5 nights (our thoughts: Day trip to Cinque Terre - Day trip to Lucca/Pisa - Day Trip Chianti (Greve and Castellina) - Day Trip Siena? Volterra? San Grigiamo?) Do you have recommendations of which town or villages to visit in Tuscany?
Milan - 1 night possibly? - reason being is that we feel it's too much travelling from Florence to Milan to Lake Como
Lake Como (Bellagio) - 2 nights (if we stay overnight in Milan). What are your recommendations to do around Lake Como?
Venice - 4 nights (3 full days) before we catch the overnight sleeper train to Vienna.

Thanks again for all your suggestions

It's great that you're spending so much time in Florence, but that's an awful lot of day trips - please be sure to leave enough time for Florence itself!

What would you change?
Rome - we're now doing 4 nights (with a day trip to Pompeii or Sorrento/Amalfi Coast? - doing a tour)
Florence - 5 nights (our thoughts: Day trip to Cinque Terre - Day trip to Lucca/Pisa - Day Trip Chianti (Greve and Castellina) - Day Trip Siena? Volterra? San Grigiamo?) Do you have recommendations of which town or villages to visit in Tuscany?
Milan - 1 night possibly? - reason being is that we feel it's too much travelling from Florence to Milan to Lake Como
Lake Como (Bellagio) - 2 nights (if we stay overnight in Milan). What are your recommendations to do around Lake Como?
Venice - 4 nights (3 full days) before we catch the overnight sleeper train to Vienna.
Thanks again for all your suggestions

4 Nights Rome is great. There is so much to see and do, I woudl suggest you NOT take the very long day trip to Pompeii

5 Nights Florence is good. Please allow two full days for Florence itself, so only time for two full-day trips. Lucca/Pisa and Siena or Volterra would be my suggestions.

Skip Milan. It is only one more hour to go to Lake Como from Milan!

To do around Lake Como: Ride the ferry, stop in various towns, and be sure to go to Villa Balbianello. If you like to hike there are some nice trails, so ask locally. 3 nights is better than 2 so skip Milan.

4 nights is great in Venice. We took the sleeper train last February and liked it very much. Hopeyou do too!

Lake Como ---

Ferry to Bellagio
Ferry to Mennagio, bus to Lugarno, train to Como, ferry back to Varenna - we had such a fun day doing this !
Take a cooking class at Il Caminetto above Varenna
eat the lemon sandwich at Il Molo on the waterfront in Varenna

What would you change? Rome - we're now doing 4 nights (with a day
trip to Pompeii or Sorrento/Amalfi Coast? - doing a tour)

Glad to see that you added a night! I'd skip Pompeii/Amalfi; you'll need those three full days just to scratch the surface of Rome. If you must do a day trip and are interested in Roman ruins, Ostia Antica is a very good substitute for Pompeii as it's much closer to Rome, and can be done in 1/2 day versus one very long one. The Amalfi is too far/too much in a day and deserves at least three nights if wanting to do Pompeii as well.

Florence - 5 nights (our thoughts: Day trip to Cinque Terre - Day trip
to Lucca/Pisa - Day Trip Chianti (Greve and Castellina) - Day Trip
Siena? Volterra? San Grigiamo?) Do you have recommendations of which
town or villages to visit in Tuscany?

Too many day trips, IMHO. Allow enough time for Florence itself with no more than two day trips at most. I'll go with the suggestion of Lucca/Pisa and/or Siena.

Milan - 1 night possibly? - reason being is that we feel it's too much
travelling from Florence to Milan to Lake Como Lake Como (Bellagio) -
2 nights (if we stay overnight in Milan). What are your
recommendations to do around Lake Como?

Go straight to Lake Como; no need to overnight in Milan.

Venice - 4 nights (3 full days) before we catch the overnight sleeper
train to Vienna.

Good amount of time here.

I think you're being overambitious. I don't see any down time in your plans.

When we went to Tuscany in December we based ourselves just south of Florence and did day trips. Everything we wanted to see was less than 2 hours from our home base. We triaged our trip plans. It became a question of quantity vs quality. We could have killed ourselves and seen everything. Instead, we scaled back. We dropped Cortona, Assisi, Pisa and Lucca. from our itinerary. Instead, we gave ourselves more time in the places we went. We also gave ourselves a free day to just roam the countryside with no itinerary. We had lots of great experiences and weren't exhausted at the end of the day.

Before we left we had already dropped trying to go to the Cinque Terra. It was just too far from Tuscany. Also, there is a cruise ship port nearby and when we were in Italy we heard that Cinque Terra is extremely crowded from the thousands of cruise ship passengers that are retched out of the ships daily.

We gave ourselves a day in Florence. I wished we had made plans to stay overnight and spent two. If you spend a day in Florence, I highly recommend using Walks of Italy. We did a walking tour in the morning that included a visit to David at the Academie. We had a nice lunch break and reconvened for a tour of the Uffizi. It started at 2:00 and didn't end until 5:30. The Walks of Italy tours include tickets to the museum and express entry. We walked right past a block long line to the Academie and went straight in.

Resign yourself to the fact you can't do it all. Accept if you try, you'll be exhausted and everything will just be a blur. Embrace Rick Steves' philosophy: Slow up and savor!

That's a lot for 15 nights, even with the change.

1. I personally was happy with 2 nights in Venice. We could have done 3, but I'm so glad we gave more time to Rome.

2. I would do 5 nights Rome and if you want to do a day trip just go to Pompeii if that is something on your Bucket List.

3. I think you are doing way too many day trips while in Florence. I'd would limit it to 2 day trips. Why not enjoy the city you are in instead of being on the road so much? Relax, meander, soak it up...don't rush rush rush so much.

4. I don't think you need to do the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terra.

Though not as long as most gondola rides, the price is not too bad.

http://www.localvenicetours.com/classic-venetian-gondola-tour_22359

Would skip CT and do Como
Day trip from Florence
1) Siena
2) Luca
Would skip Pisa.

Thank you to everyone who have commented and gave advice. We've taken all of them on-board. We just have to balance the need to see everything vs just being in the moment and absorbing whatever we can.
I know that Day tours are long and we probably won't fully appreciate the places we go in these Day tours but at least, we could say that "we've been there", "we've seen it" 😊

Last month I took a "Trastavere for Foodies" tour in Rome with the company Eating Italy and loved it. It was a bit of a splurge (but a good value for the time and delicious food and drink), but we visited over a dozen places, including shops, markets, and restaurants, in the Trastavere neighborhood. Even with an armload of guidebooks and internet advice, I would not have found so many yummy things in one place on my own without a guide who lives in the neighborhood. They do a few other food tours and cooking classes in Rome, as well as Florence. Happy planning and have a wonderful trip!

I like the plan, just did one that was similar. I would take two days off Florence and spend it nearer Sienna. That was my favorite area. We had great luck staying on Murarno, a ten minute water taxi from Venice and a few $ cheaper. We enjoyed Cinque Terre but that might be a beast of a day trip.

Just back from our first trip to Italy too (July/Aug 2016). Florence on the front end, Rome on the back end, cruise in the middle. Our time in each city was limited and packed and wonderful.

Per Rick's guide book recommendations, we booked Hotel Duomo (facing the Duomo) in Florence and Hotel Nazionale (4 minute walk to Pantheon/8 minute walk to Trevi) in Rome. Two TOTALLY different hotels, but very pleased with both - location & price. Would stay at either again.

Due to time limitations, we personally opted not to tour the inside of the Colloseum. We still have amazing pictures from the outside. Walking past the Forum leaving the Colloseum, there are many opportunities to glimpse into and take pictures of parts of the Forum. This, along with our external Colloseum pix, fulfilled my ruined-Rome expectations. I personally have no regrets for not actually entering the Colloseum - of course, everyone has their own priorities (and we were just off an Athens, Ephesus, ruin-filled cruise which may have quenched my thirst for ruins).

One of my personal favorites in Rome was the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Maybe worth Googling and a taxi. Paul is a favorite of mine and that was touching for me. Adding seeing Paul's tomb in addition to seeing Peter's at St. Peter's was on my list. May or may not make it onto your list but it's beautiful, free and no line.

We did a deli & market walk in Florence that I would book again in a second! Linda with Urban Adventures. We did the 10-12 walk, but she does one in the early evening too. Husband loved it, ten year old daughter loved it, I loved it.

In addition to your new guidebook, download Rick's app and load up your playlist with his walks. I listened to them in the car for several weeks before our trip - yes, I was a goober and my family let me know it. I screenshot the maps from the walks and familiarized myself with them. It's amazing what comes back to you as you walk by these treasures and realize you know a little something about this foreign land from your studies. That's when you get to tell your family about it. Then they think you're smart...and not a goober.

We went last month, arriving in Milan. Spent one night at Hotel Berna. Great hotel and location.

We took the train to Lake Como, and stayed at Hotel du Lac in Varenna. It's cheaper and more interesting than Bellagio. Since you mention that you enjoy lake views, don't even think about skipping Lake Como. This is where you can relax too. One day we took the ferry to Bellagio. One day we took the ferry to Hotel Tremezzo and enjoyed a high priced cocktail with a view, and walked through their gardens, with an amazing view of Bellagio!

From Varenna we went to Venice. I was ready to spring for the gondola, but I saw too many people taking I ride that I wouldn't have liked (gondolier on his cell phone, or riding in congested waters), so we skipped that 100 Euro excursion. Maybe next time if I have a chance to go in the off season.

Have a wonderful trip!!

My husband and I are planning a spring trip to Tuscany. We have been in Rome - spent five days there on a pre-cruise adventure. Amazing. Allow yourselves time in Rome. Book tickets to the Vatican museums online in advance to skip the long lines. We also used the Roma Pass to get into three other sites. Not sure if this is still offered. If you love history - ancient Rome is a WOW !!

So far I have booked an apartment in Cortona. Why Cortona you ask? That's a good question. It was basically due to a book I just read "A month in Italy" by Chris Brady. An amazing and captivating book about his family's trip to Italy for a month. We hope to fly to Rome then take trains to Cortona where we will stay for the two weeks. We hope to rent a car after a few days to go exploring into the countryside.

We plan on taking the train into Florence for a day. Maybe we will want to go in again for another day.

Thanks for again for all the tips. My wife and I just got back home here in Australia. We enjoyed Italy (and Vienna and Prague (although it was already wet and cold by the time we reached Vienna)). Would definitely love to go back to Italy and stay a bit longer and explore more. This is the itinerary that we ended up doing:

1) Rome - 4 nights in Rome. Went to Vatican tour, Colosseum (Underground and Arena floor) tour, Borghese Gallery. Did a Trastevere food tour (one of our highlights).

2) Florence - 5 nights in Florence. Did a day tour to Pisa/Lucca. Another day tour in Cinque Terre (obviously only three towns were visited, but just to have a taste).

3) Varenna - 2 nights. We loved it there. Just visited Bellagio and Lecco by ferry.

4) Verona - overnight stay only. But from what we've seen, definitely worth spending another extra two days. We stopover Milan for a couple of hours, on our way to Verona from Varenna, so we can see the Duomo.

5) Venice - 3 nights. We enjoyed Venice. Although overpriced (plus it was my wife's 40th birthday so we thought why not), we enjoyed a Private Gondola trip. Also enjoyed the water taxi (despite the cost). We could have taken the Vaporetto but we decided to enjoy a water taxi ride along the Grand Canal in the late afternoon and it drop us off in our doorstep in our hotel.

Then caught the train to Vienna and finished off in Prague.

Regrets with our itinerary? Sure...there were places that we would have loved to visit but it wasn't meant to be this time. But at least, we've had a taste of Italy and as mentioned at the beginning definitely worth another visit, if there's another chance. There's just too many beautiful places in our world to visit, Spain, Santorini, Croatia, Scandinavian countries for example.

But thank you all to those who gave tips, advice to my questions. Thank you for giving a little bit of your time to write.

Thanks for the post-trip feedback - very useful for others!

Here is a great blog about Rome. Lots of inside info, not covered in Rick's guidebook. It's VERY useful in planning what to do in bella Roma.

www.revealedrome.com

Hi glv0609,
For what it's worth, my husband and me missed seeing the inside of the Colosseum and a formal tour of the Roman Forum while on a tour for our honeymoon in 1988. I always regretted missing going inside the Colosseum. We are now returning to Italy again in 2017 with our grown twins and are doing everything we missed before with them. I say go for it! Enjoy and happy travels.

So glad you did one of the Travestere tours...it was a highlight of ours too!

which company was the Trastevere food tour you did through?

We did the Trastevere food tour with Eating Italy.

that is what I figured, it seem's to be the most popular one, and the one we have planned for March.

Hello,

We are traveling to Italy in April 2017. I have a few questions with probably more to come later!

Would you recommend taking a food tour in Trevestere?

We are considering taking the Vatican, Colloseum and Trevestere Food Tours with The Roman guy.

Are these good ideas and good use of our time? I welcome your input.......

Hello,

We are traveling to Italy in April 2017. I have a few questions with probably more to come later!

We are considering taking the Vatican, Colloseum and Trevestere Food Tours with The Roman guy.

Are these good ideas and good use of our time? I welcome your input.......

Hi @kathyw.,
As you know, different people have different tastes when it comes to holidays. Some people are quite happy to see the historic sites from the outside. Other people would like to be immersed inside these sites.
So for us, it was worth doing the Vatican and Colostrum tours. We did the Trastevere food tour with 'Eating Italy'. So I can't comment on the Roman Guy. But for us, the food tour was one of our highlights.
Another suggestion is (and budget allows for it), do the before-the-crowd-enters Vatican tours. You don't get to fully appreciate the Vatican museums because there are so many people there. Or do the tour in late afternoon when there's less people (according to a couple we met).
Hope that gives you an idea. Feel free to ask me any other questions.
You can also start a thread of your own or search the Italy forum to see other people's advice/suggestions.