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First trip to Rome and Florence

Posted by (Chicago) on

My wife and I spending 9 nights in Italy. We plan on spending 4 in Florence and 5 in Rome (Rome on the back end since we fly in/out of there). Does anyone think we could make better use of our time overnighting in say Siena for a night instead? We don't want to feel rushed seeing all the sites, however. We would also like to take a day and check out the country side at a vineyard. I have a couple concerns about a night in Siena.

  1. It would cut our time in Rome from 5 days to 4. We want to see all we can in Rome without feeling rushed.
  2. I have heard hotels/B&B's shy away from 1 nighters. (Hostels are out for us)

Keep in mind no real research was done wen coming up with our current 4 Florence/5 Rome itinerary. Everyones suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by
5 posts

Hi! Florence is a beautiful city and well worth several days but if you just want to explore the old centre why not cut your stay down to 3 nights and go and see Siena - it's very interesting. Bus travel is good and much more scenic than the train. IF you want to stay the 4 nights in Florence consider taking the bus to Lucca or the train to Pisa as day trips on one of those days - it's very doable. I wouldn't cut my time in Rome by more than one day. It's an incredible city (have been there 4 times now. Have a wonderful holiday - it's a beautiful country
Karen

Posted by
89 posts

Siena is a popular stop between Rome and Florence and is very easy to reach by train. But I would encourage another location. Assisi. My husband and I did Rome (3 nights), Assisi (1 night), Florence (4 nights, back to Rome (1 night) in June 2008. It was fantastic! Rome is spectacular in all its ancient glory and very intense culturally. Assisi is a beautiful Umbrian village with the moving Basilica dedicated to Saint Francis (of Assisi) and absolutely charming street scenes. Of course, Florence is heaven for anyone who loves Renaissance art and history. We did these three locations all by train and even that experience was a thrill. Traveling from Rome to Assisi through the Italian countryside was a delight. Remember, pack light and moving from one destination to the next is much more enjoyable.

Posted by
1317 posts

I agree with cutting the one night from Florence instead of Rome. Another option would be to just visit Siena and not stay overnight.

As for concern #2, you don't say when your trip is. In slow season, hotels won't have any problem with 1-nighters as the room would otherwise likely sit empty. If you are going during a crowded time (i.e., during Siena's Palio) then you might have problems. If that's the case, then definitely consider doing Siena or one of the other suggestions as a daytrip while staying in Florence.

Posted by
14 posts

Thanks you all very much for your thoughts and suggestions.

I guess my options are pretty clear:

1) 3/Florence/1/Siena/5/Rome

2) 4/Florence(with a side day trip and 5/Rome

3) 4/Florence/1 Siena/4/Rome.

I'll take this multiple choice question any day of the week.

I have my B&B for Florence. Does anyone else have any for Rome and Siena? I either want to stay by the Pantheon (as Rick claims is a good way to be near most sites) or Trastevere for the off the beaten path feel and all the food.

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