Florence or Capri?

Hi Steve - Four Days is barely enough time to due justice to Rome!! The Spanish Steps, The Trevi Fountain, Via Veneto, The Roman Forum, perhaps an open air bus tour off Via Veneto.
Florence is a truly magnificient city with so much to see. Again would take several days to do it justice.
Capri is a Beautiful Island from which you could also Hydrofoil it to Sorrento and/or Poisitano. Great views and a lot to see.
It's a personal choice you'll have to make but Florence and Capri are like oranges and bananas - nothing alike and really not to be compared.

Greg

Ok. Gotcha. Just curious to what people would choose if it was one or the other?

As for Rome, we are craming tons of tours and excursions into the 3 full days. We are seeing most all the major sites... or atleast everything we wanted to see.

We are doing the same thing in Paris too. 4 days that is.

Capri isn't really a "city" but perhaps you meant another site, generally. I can't imagine how you'd cover Florence properly in only a day. Capri, on the other hand, might be a nice day away. Certainly a very different experience than Rome. I recommend it, as it is a beautiful place. See the Blue Grotto.

(But definitely return to Italy when you can give Florence the several days it deserves, too.)

Capri is beautiful but very touristy--I'd chose Florence.

You can cover a lot of sites in Rome in 4 days and still have time for gelato breaks and sidewalk cafes--you'll have a great trip!

I was leaning towards Florence myself. My boss has been there a few times and says it is one of the most beautiful places to see in Italy.

As you mention you are doing Rome and Paris, maybe I will keep Florence aside this time, Florence deserves good 6-7 days and maybe multiple times.

We have been to all the places..just to add varity, you can do Capri..enjoy the marina, the natural beauty, and it will be different. For a day trip Capri is better I think if possible try and add Sorrento , I love the place.

You can see lot in Florence in 2 days--I've even been there as a day-trip from Siena. If you had lots of time 6-7 days would be o.k. but it's not necessary. Check out Rick Steves suggestions for Florence and Capri to see which one sounds most appealing to you.

I haven't been to Capri. But Florence is absoultely beautiful. The art is incomparable. I guess it depends on what your are interested in doing.

Both are very different. If you only have one day do not miss FLorence.Walk around and see at least one world class museum. Getting to and from Capri takes time on the hydrofoil also which you would need to factor in. Capri is for strolling and romance in general.

Orvieto would be a great choice of another city to visit. It is close to Rome and is an amazing hilltop city. If you want to go to the coast, I would recommend Sorrento. It takes a lot of effort to get to Capri, time that could be spent enjoying Sorrento.

If you are going to Florence in the morning and back by train to Rome the same day, there isn't enough time to see much.

Capri is more do-able since it's an island and only requires one full day. The problem are all the transportation connections which will take up time and reduce the part of the day spent on Capri.

Pompeii or Sorrento might be a better bet if you only have one day. As Jane said, Orvieto is another good choice.

Both are bad ideas, IMHO. From Rome, neither is a reasonable "day trip."

It would take you the better part of a day just to get to Capri and then get back. You might end up with an hour or two there. A wasted day, IMHO.

Florence, as others have pointed out, certainly deserves more than one day, but at least you could get there and back from Rome and still have more than 2 hours there. I'd look carefully (and realistically) at the time in transit to any "day trip" destination; that's going to be the primary determining factor.

I have to get my vote in for Firenze. So much to see, so much atmosphere - I can see myself going back again and again. Capri on the other hand is lovely, but seeing it once is enough.

I agree with Jane. To get to Capri is very time consuming and it's personally not one of my favorites. Sorrento is easier and if you want to relax with beautiful water views and easy access to Pompeii,Capri and Positano it's a lovely spot. It does depend on what month you're planning to go in though, the Amalfi coast is more seasonal. Florence of course is magnificent and very walkable. Orvieto is a favorite of mine as it's easy to get to, has a great mellow ambience, a magnificent cathedral, lovely wine and gorgeous views. It's also a great choice if you have limited time and is much easier on the budget. You didn't mention how many extra days that you have nor the month you'd be travelling which could make a difference. Rome & Paris my two favorites!

We are going to Europe in early July. We are doing a 7 day cruise that goes to Genoa and Sardinia Italy, Nice France, Barcelona and Palma De Mallorca Spain. Then after that we have 4 days in Rome, of which one would be spent in Florence we were thinking. Then after that another 4 days in Paris.

With only one day and having just finished a cruise Capri would have been too much. I've never done Florence on a day trip but you'll have time to walk around just not get into museums easily. Could you perhaps spend one day and night and three nights in Rome. Evenings in the cities/towns always seem to bring out their magic and truer selves. Unless you're hauling alot of luggage with you then it makes it more difficult. If you know you want a day trip you can decide how you're feeling once you're there as Orvieto is such an easy alternative. Like us you may fall in love with Italy and come back again and again and pick up Florence later.

Ciao, Steve. That's a little like asking, "Palm Beach, Florida or Boston, MA?" Very different places. While I think Florence is by far the more interesting of the places--with rich and full cultural experiences...it's a city--the ONLY way I would recommend such a day trip from Rome is if you caught a very early train (7 or 8 AM), and hired a guide to meet you at the station in Firenze (Santa Maria Novella), someone who could help you avoid wasting time finding your way around, and who could expedite your enty to the various sites (i.e. Duomo, Duomo museum, Santa Croce, Piazzale Michelangelo, the Uffizi, whatever you decide in advace you wish to see...), then some wandering time on your own for a meal, shopping, Ponte Vechio, etc. Train to Roma maybe at around 7 or 8 PM? In short, will be a long day, and only worthwhile with careful advance planning. Maybe have the guide for about 5 or 6 hours, then free time? I'm sure RS Italy has some guides to recommend. Still, you'll spend between 5 and 6 hours on the train, today. Unlike many travelers, we're comfortable with this kind of a day, provided we plan in advance, and schedule down time afterward. We've seen Sevilla, Spain from Madrid like this once, and while not ideal, to us, it was better than not seeing Sevilla at all!

I don't believe either one is a good "day trip" from Rome. There is so much of Florence to experience that one day is not enough time to appreciate it by any stretch of the imagination. Capri is a nice day trip if you are staying in the Campania region, but as a day trip from Rome, you will spend half the day getting to Capri when you factor in the train and ferry schedules, and so you will have very little time to spend once you get there. Try taking an excursion to a small hilltown such as Orvieto, Cortona, or Siena. They are not as far as Florence and you can easily tour one of them in the time allotted.

Steve, can you train to Florence (early) and stay overnite and then go on to Paris, or are you going Rome to Paris? I think you can see a lot of Florence in a day but I'm not sure if the expense/time would be worth it, I'd just do a day trip somewhere closer. Even Pompeii/Herculaneum near Naples.

I would recommend Capri over Florence for the 'Day Trip' because Capri can be done in 8 hrs, and Florence will require more than 8 hrs. Though Capri will be a long day because of the transportation, it is doable. We did a day trip from Sorrento, and ended up with almost 8 hours on Capri. It was enough, to visit the Blue Grotto, Anacapri, Capri Town and see the Rocks. In your case, looks like the first Euro Star train at 6:45am can get you to Naples at 8:30am, then from the Molo Beverello dock you can take the 9:10am Hydrofoil to Capri (40 mins). That should put you on Capri by 10am. The 7:10pm Hydrofoil back to Naples gives you just enough time to catch the 8:25pm train back to Termini ( 2 hours ) A long day, but you can end up with almost 9 hours on Capri, which should be enough. Of course all the other suggestions ie, Orvieto, Pompeii will be easier but your question is about deciding between Florence & Capri. Do Capri, if you can deal with the transporation, early start, and late Rome arrival. Have a great time.

We're going to be in Italy for 5 nights in October. I decided to spend 2 nights outside of Rome in both Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio. The other 3 nights will be in Rome. I've been to Florence, Capri, and Rome before and have seen all the "must sees." What I recommend for you would depend on where you've been before and whether or not you plan to return. If you've never been to Italy before and the timing works out, I would suggest that you go to Capri. Capri is one of the most spectacular places that I've ever been to.