First Timer to Italy on Business/Adventure Trip

I would keep to something simple like this ...
Sat - Arrive Florence 5pm
Sun - Free to recover, adjust, prepare
Mon - Deliver training class
Tue - Deliver training class
Wed - Florence sights
Thu - Siena in the morning before evening train to Rome
Fri - Rome sights
Sat - St Peters and Vatican before 7pm departure

Two well reviewed 3 star hotels in central Rome that I like ...
http://www.hotelabruzzi.it/
http://www.hotelivanhoe.it/

Sunday would be a good day to see David and maybe the Uffizi if you are interested. Also, the Bargello. Or the Duomo. You may not want to do them all on Sunday but you could take in one or two after sleeping in to rid yourself of jet lag. Alternatively just walking around, or a taxi ride to Piazza Michelangelo for a great overview of Florence. A great, relaxing way to spend time is to sit on the back bench of the loggia in Piazza della Signoria and people watch.

My suggestions would depend on your main interests. Florence and Rome both have lots to offer. History, food, gardens, art, architecture, sculpture.

Do allow enough time to get to the airport on Saturday. You'll need time to get to your hotel to pick up your luggage, get to the train station, take the train to the airport for arrival around 4 p.m. for a 7 p.m. flight. I'd be heading for the hotel by 2 p.m.

Thanks for your replies!

Would I take a train from Florence to to Siena? Would there be a bus tour for something like that?

In general, how late do the trains run from Florence to Rome?

For full day in Rome, would there be a guided tour that could be recommended. I have looked at GrayLine tours. Would that be a good experience?

Is travel around Rome mainly by bus or rail?

The last fast train to Rome leaves Firenze Santa Maria Novella (the main Florence train station) at 10:04 pm and gets to Roma Termini (the main Rome train station) at 11:35 pm.
There is a subway system in Rome connecting Termini to the Vatican area. There are also buses and a few street cars.
Train schedules are at www.trenitalia.com. Be sure to use the Italian city names, Firenze and Roma.

As this is your first trip to Europe, please let me offer some suggestions based on many years of trans-oceanic (in both directions) travel.

I find traveling eastward to be the worst jet-lag wise. I know other people disagree, but for me, eastbound is the worst. That being said, When you get to Florence, you will be 7 hours ahead of what your body thinks it should be. I force myself to stay up as late as I can (9:00pm or so) that first day in order to sleep deeply that first night. This results in my body-clock being cranked over to local time when I wake up in the morning. I once made the mistake of taking "a short nap" upon arriving and I paid for it horribly. That "short nap" turned into about 5 hours of deep sleep and it took DAYS to get my body clock to line up with the local time.

As for Florence, the two biggest museums require reservations in advance unless you want to stand in line for hours hoping to get a "walk-up" ticket. I would also suggest booking a guided tour unless you are well versed in renaissance art history. We took a combination Accademia/Uffizi guided tour and were glad we did. Not only does the tour operator take care of the tickets, the tour guides are usually art experts (one of ours was an art PhD student and the other was an art professor). We really enjoyed it a lot.

In my opinion, you could spend your entire three+ free days in Florence and just scratch the surface. However, I’m confident that once you see Italy, you will start planning your trip back as soon as you get home. At least you will learn the lay of the land and the basics of getting around which will come in really handy next time you go there.

Maybe we'll bump into each other in Florence or Rome. I'll be in Florence 9-14 Oct and Rome 14-18 Oct.

Good luck.

Hi Todd,

Any recommendations for where to sign up for a Accademia/Uffizi guided tour ?

The best way to visit Siena from Florence is by bus. The bus stop is across the street from the train station in Florence. In Siena, the bus stops in the historic center, the train station is farther away. Buses run frequently. It's about an hour travel time.

Waldenfepher - I booked my tour through Viator (an affiliate of TripAdvisor). While some people don't like Viator, I've always had good luck with them. They are merely a "tour consolidator" and the tour is actually organized and executed by local tour operators.

Our tour included both museums. The Accedamia in the morning (~2 hours) and the Uffizi in the afternoon (~2 hours). The period in between was free time to stay in the museum or go have lunch. It was your responsibility to meet at the Uffizi at the appointed time in the afternoon.

Both tour guides used radio microphones and headsets were provided to all the tour participants. This enabled the tour guide to narrate the tour without disturbing other museum goers. Without the microphones/headsets, it would have been impossible for the tour participants to actually hear the narration as both museums were jam-packed. If you are particular about your headsets/earbuds, you can probably bring/use your own...

I couldn't agree more with Todd about getting over jet lag, you have to get on the current time as soon as you can, so when you arrive, stay up and see something. My must do in Florence is the Ponte Vecchio and the duomo. I wouldn't stay an extra day when you are done with work. Get to Rome, and enjoy the journey there, however you do it.

I had a great trip! I thank you who replied for your insight.

The Spanish Steps were closed. The Trevi fountain was closed. The Mamertine Prison was closed (was big on my list). But what can you do?

I wish I had a better plan for getting around, but I learned a lot for next time. Saw the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Vatican & lots more. Got in the middle of a communist student rally!

I'm ready to go back!

Hi Walden, Thanks for the report. Now, when's your next visit?

Wow, a communist student rally !! You came home singing "The Red Flag" ?