First Visit to Italy - Help with a 4 days itinerary

Would love to spend several hours in person discussing a plan but hard to do when we have no information as to likes and dislikes. Suggest you pull guidebooks and travel DVDs from local library for the areas that you plan to visit. From that, refine what you might like to see and do and then return with specific questions about transportation, sites, etc. Got to do a little homework first.

Rome. All 4 days. By the time you got there from Madrid (I assume you will fly) you'll only have 3.5 days to sightsee, and that's really the minimum amount of time required for that city.

What are the EXACT dates you'll be in Italy? And what sorts of things are you interested seeing? Rome is packed oodles of things to do but listing, say, the must-do art museums is not helpful if you don't like art. As Frank has kindly suggested, a guide book is a great place to start your homework.

you mean you're going to Rome for Holy Week two months from now?

Thank you both for your prompt reply. In terms of interés all love night life sports concerts and sight seeing. Someone recommended us that in 3 and a half day Rome and Florence might be double...your thoughts...

Yes our trip so far looks like: 14,15,16 April 2017 Madrid, 17, 18,19 and 20th Italy, 21,22 Múnich

Rome for all four days. The city has much to offer in ancient history as well as St. Peter's and the Sistine Chapel.

With only four days, pick only one city for you visit.

Rome is all about the Roman era and the Catholic church. Four days will only allow you to scratch the surface of this amazing city so you can expect to go back. The Vatican Museums (a 7th of a kilometer of art), Sistine Chapel St Peters is a must experience even for people of no particular faith. The Coliseum and the Forums are also not to be missed. Wandering the centro storico to see all the piazze and fountains can easily eat up the remainder of your short visit. Try not to miss a market like Campo de' Fiori (by Piazza Navona).

Florence is all about the Renaissance. From the wonderful churches and palaces to the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia (home to David), 4 days is just a surface-scratcher. If you had more time, I would recommend a side-trip to Pisa/Lucca and/or a day in the Tuscan countryside. But, you really can't see all the big Florentine sights in just four days... If you choose Florence, plan wisely and consider escorted tours of some of the museums to get the most out of the visit (not to mention letting someone else arrange for your entrance tickets). Also, don't miss out on the Mercato Centrale (by the train station).

Venice is - well Venice. Easily reached via air, you have the entire lagoon to explore. Four days will, again, just scratch the surface, but April is a wonderful time to be there. Crowds shouldn't be too awful bad and the weather should be pleasant. Plus, if you're into churches, I don't think any place on earth even comes close to the density of churches as Venice. They even had to knock one down just to fit the train station... If you choose Venice, the cheapest transport from the airport is the bus. But, if you can splurge, you can actually take a waterbus (Alilaguna line) from Marco Polo into the old city. But then again, for the price of 7 Alilaguna tickets, you may be able to hire a private water taxi and REALLY arrive in style. Also, don't miss the Rialto market - incredible!

I know you feel that it is your first time to Europe and want to see as much as possible !

Four days should be in one location - a week would give you time to experience two locations.

You have a lot of reading and researching to do ! But it will be fun ! Watch Rick's videos and read, read, read ! Then, get together with your group and list your favorite locations and choose.

Pick only one location. Trying to do two locations in that short a time period will result in a lot of "lost" time as you go from one place to another. We've been to Rome many times and still haven't seen or done it all.

Thanks to all! Great advice...really appreciated.

I would also suggest Rome. In Italy they have a saying; Roma, non basta una vita - For Rome, one lifetime is not enough.