Help with plans for Italy newbie :)

I vote for #2. Here's my thought. The day of arrival anywhere is usually a jet-lagged fog and not quality tourist time. Since you are arriving on Sunday morning (hotel may not be ready for you), and need to stay up until evening to adjust, you might as well use that time to keep moving and get to Florence. If taking the train from airport to Rome, you'll be at the train station anyway.

Thank you!

Either of these plans is very rushed and not giving you much time to do or see much of anything.

Orvieto is actually a very charming little hill town, with food and wine that is every bit as good as in Florence. Its just an hour from Rome. Why not go straight to Orvieto and enjoy its charms? Check out St. Patricks well, some Etruscan caves, the castle ruins, the lovely duomo, maybe take a little day trip to Rick Steves favorite little hill town Civita di Bagnoregio? Check out the fabulous local wines. Relax and enjoy Italy. Be sure to dine at Antico Bucchero, where I had probably the best dinner I've ever had in Italy, and at bargain prices compared to Florence.

After the wedding head back to Rome and see whatever you can before you head home. But trust me, if you rush around Italy trying to see everything then you will be exhausted, frustrated, and come to hate Italy. Slow down and smell the gelato! Allow Italy to get into your blood, and you will go back again and again.

Edit: BTW, most places in Florence close early, and most museums are closed on Monday (in Florence as well as Rome). You wont be able to cross much off your bucket list even if you waste all that time getting there.

You may be pushing the limits by trying to include Florence and Rome. While it is possible to take

the train from the Airport to Tiburtina station then change to the train to Florence, I don't believe

you have figured in the amount of time it takes to deplane, go thru passport control, then pick

up luggage and get to the station at the airport. This Could take close to 3 hours. You would

then have a 2 !/2 hour trip to Florence. If you made the 12:27 train, arrival would be 15:22. Now

get to your hotel, check in, and it's close to 17:00. To then reach Orvieto the next day for dinner

@7, you'd have to leave by 15:09 with arrival 17:22. So your total time in Florence would be less

than 24 hours. Too much travel for such a short amount of time.

I know your heart is set on Florence, but for this short of a trip, with a wedding, it might be more

enjoyable to do just Rome and Orvieto or stay in Orvieto and see some of the beautiful towns

from there.

I think the advantage of 2 is you will probably get more flight options this late in the game and better pricing, unless that is not an issue for you. Rome also has lots of hotels (but so does Florence), I know that I had a lot of looking to do back in Jan/Feb, for our trip around Italy in May. Seems that the tourists are really hitting Italy hard this year. I think Florence would be easier to see in a shorter period of time because you could be right in the heart of it. Rome is bigger and sights are big and spread out.

Thank you all! Exactly the feedback I needed :) Decided to save Florence for another time and focus on Orvieto and Rome. Better to "stop and smell the gelato" than feel rushed, stressed and over scheduled. Really appreciate the feedback!

If you haven't spent time in Rome, I would see the sights there. There are some beautiful things to see, and trying to travel to Florence will kill too much time. Do the wedding, then enjoy Rome.