We are travelling to 11 day trip to Italy in July (I know it will be hot!) but we are teachers. We have 5 days in Rome and are pleased with the itinery. I am wondering about staying 3 days in Tuscany with a day trip in to Florence (I don't love renaissance art) and then 3 days in Venice. Venice is expensive and I'm wondering if 3 days is enough or if I should save it for another trip when we can have more time.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16234 posts
Florence is not just art. Many native Florentines I know (some of them my relatives), never set foot inside the Uffizi.
You say 11 days but don't say the exact number of nights on the ground (which is how I count).
Assuming 10 nights on the ground, my ideal allocation is:
4 Rome
3 Florence
3 Venice
Florence is the capital of Tuscany, so if you go to Florence it will be Tuscany.
If you want to visit something else in Tuscany (by public transportation) you can do so easily from Florence, which is the transportation hub.
If you do not intend to rent a car while in Tuscany, staying in Florence and using Florence as your Tuscan base, is really the only logical and reasonable option.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Many people prefer flying into Venezia and out of Roma, since flights from Venezia can depart very early in the morning.
Posted by
Madison, WI
105 posts
As Zoe indicated, flying into Venice and out of Rome is handy. That is exactly what my husband and I are doing next month when we visit Italy.
About a year ago when we started thinking about our trip to Italy, we spent a few hours one evening watching a bunch of Rick Steves' Italy videos. I would suggest you take a look at his Florence and Venice videos to decide which city appeals to you!
For example, we "watched" his Florence video and decided to cross Florence off our list of potential cities to visit. My husband fell asleep during that video, and I had a hard time staying interested as well! This was the video: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/florence-heart-of-the-renaissance.
The Rick Steves Cinque Terre video — by the way, we had never even heard of Cinque Terre until the video — convinced us that we wanted to make CT a definite part of our itinerary.
Happy planning! :-)
Posted by
Washington DC
28462 posts
A 4-3-3 trip like Roberto suggested will give you a taste of the Big 3, but since you raised the possibility of leaving Venice for another trip, I would vote for that. When it's possible, I'm always a proponent of seeing some smaller towns as well as the big destinations. If you split your trip between just Rome and Florence/Tuscany, you might have time for a day-trip to Tivoli or Orvieto (from Rome) and to Lucca or other Tuscan towns (from Florence). Then, on a future trip, you could see not just Venice but also Padua, Vicenza, Verona, and perhaps one of the lakes.
Posted by
OP
Alberta Canada
4 posts
thank you all so much. I think we're going to leave Venice for another trip when we can really appreciate it - my husband dabbles in glass blowing and I love fabrics and lace so I know that Burano and Murano are going to be enjoyable for us. I really like the idea of day trips from Florence out to Tuscany towns.
We can rent a car, but would prefer to not, so that my husband can enjoy the sightseeing as well. I have been looking at Walks of Italy and Dark Rome and have just stumbled onto The Accidental Tourist. Does anyone have experience with these companies for Tuscany day trips from Florence. We would prefer smaller groups and having time for ourselves to explore around. We LOVE wine and great food!!!
Posted by
1539 posts
pisa is an easy day trip by train (from florence)