first time to Europe

Read a guidebook, RS or other. Actually, read RS and others. Then return here with specific questions and we'll have a go. Please help us help you.

Go! But you really need to do some homework first before you can ask that kind of question.

Or I really want to go to Texas what do you suggest? Start at you local library with CDs and guidebooks on Italy. Get the Rick Steves' guidebook for Italy. Decide what is important for you to see. Start looking at airline tickets. Consider open jaw into Milan and home from Rome or the reverse. Time is a little short so get going. This site is good for asking specific question. Not so hot for playing travel agent and planning you whole trip.

I would advise you to concentrate on one part of Italy, or 3 major city visiting. As a first visit you should not miss Rome, and Rome it self can keep you busy for a week. Vatican Museum is enormous, and if you spend only 5 seconds in front of each object in museum - you will need 2 years to see them all. So I would say for the first time visit stay in Rome, and then from Rome you can do jump to Florence and Venice, fly back to USA from Milan.... cheers

Definitely go! You should hopefully get some nice weather in May, and it should be not quite so crowded as summer months. How much time do you have? I definitely agree that if you don't have a lot of time, you might want to concentrate on just one area (Tuscany or the Amalfi Coast area) or city (Rome, with some day trips). And yes, do some research to see where you want to go - everyone likes different things, so keep that in mind and don't feel like there are things you "have" to do - if you hate museums, don't have them figuring largely into your planning (maybe throw in one or two biggies because the art in Italy is out of this world, even if you're not into museums), if you like the outdoors you can plan to stay in areas where you can do some hiking (Cinque Terre would be a must, in my opinion), if you just want to eat your way through the country, do your research focused on food and maybe look into taking a cooking class or guided food tour. Watch movies, read books, check out the RS shows about Italy to get an idea of where you'd like to go. And have a great trip!!

For your first trip to Europe, Rome can be a very intense introduction. I seldom recommend to friends that Rome be their first stop. I would put Venice or Florence ahead of Rome for the intro.

Joe, As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend pre-reading Europe Through The Back Door before you get too far in your planning. The Italy Guidebooks will provide more specific information on each city. It would help if you could provide a few more details. How long will the trip be? Which cities are you most interested in seeing? It's difficult to "suggest" anything without more information. Cheers!

get a guide book and don't be afraid to ask alot of questions. good luck and enjoy !!!! :):)

To whoever said not to go to Rome on your first trip, I say everyone is different, my first trip to Europe started in Rome and I was knocked out by it. It doesn't stop. around every corner there is something to be amazed by.

I too suggest going. :-) And I would modify Bruce's comment to say "Get the RS Italy guide book. Read it. Then come back here with specific questions." Good luck!

If you can. Go. But I suggest you two first talk about what you want to see. Old buildings? Ancient? Rome. Renaissance? Rome is nice. But IMHO Florence is nicer. Also Venice. Art? the same applies in art. But if your desire in art is later periods? Paris. Big cities? Rome. Smaller cities? Florence is a great walking city. Venice by boat and foot. Landscapes ?Tuscany and so many other places. Religious cites? All are good. But Rome. Italy and the rest of Europe has so much to offer. But it would help to narrow it down. You likely won't be able to see everything you want to see. Remind yourself you can go back. I'm assuming you're thinking of going on your own. Otherwise you'd be asking what tour to take. You'll likely get a better feel for Europe without a tour. There's more than one adventure in Italy. Many. There's no right way to see Italy. Just what's right for you. Fore I forget. Haven't found a bad place in Italy to stop for a glass of wine and watching the world go by. Have fun. The dreaming and planning is half the fun.