How many days each in Venice, Florence

I personally enjoyed Venice and surrounding islands much more than Florence,
so I would be a bit biased.
I would recommend 4 days (3 nights) in Venice and 3 days (2 nights) in Florence and surrounding area.

And I would flip it since I am not that big a fan of Venice.

I agree with Frank. I'm not a big fan of walking behind crowds of people in Venice (unless it's the low season when there aren't crowds).
Florence is amazing. There's so much to see; I'd give it a minimum of 5 days. In fact, you could spend your entire time in Florence (drop Venice) and do daytrips to other towns in Tuscany.

3 or 4 nights in each city is a nice amount of time, in general, but as always it depends on what you want to do.

Florence is museum-intensive, and I for one can only see one museum a day on average. then I have to have some walking, shopping, relaxing, and trips into the countryside. In Florence you can easily gobble up 3 full days in museums, but at the end you may be overwhelmed unless you are an art history major. I would list out the sites you want to see, the days and hours they are open, and see how you can fit those into 2 full days, 3 full days, etc. Add on a trip to Chianti (maybe a day with Tours By Roberto) for a change of pace. Then you can get a better idea of how much time you need in Florence.

I can spend endless time in Venice! Three full days (4 nights) will let you take a couple of Rick Steves' self-guided walks, go out to Murano, Burano and Torcello, ride down the Grand Canal, pop into some churches, and get lost a few times. It is a magnificent city to walk in and there are some museums to see if you've a mind to. We like the Peggy Guggenheim very much. Again, list out what you think you want to do and estimate how long it will take to help you decide how long you want to stay there.

jo,

I in the same group as Frank and somewhat ambivalent towards Venice. I found it dreadfully crowded when I was there in September, and the visit wasn't as pleasant as on past occasions. My preference would be 2 days in Venice (with carefully planned sightseeing) and 6 days in Florence, for the following reasons.....

• Florence is larger so doesn't feel as crowded.
• There are some incredible Museums and galleries in Florence such as the Uffizi and Accademia, if that interests you.
• Florence provides some great opportunities for easy day trips, including Siena (by Bus, about an hour each way), Lucca, Pisa or perhaps Bologna or Modena (if you're "foodies"). Therefore it seems like a better "bang for the buck".
• From Florence you could also book wine or other specialty tours in different parts of Tuscany.

You'll get as many opinions on this as there are posters on the forum. Check the guidebooks to see what activities might interest you the most in each place, and that should provide an indication on how to allocate your time.

Florence has more things to see than Venice, especially when you consider the many day trips in Tuscany you can take while in Florence.
However, "de gustibus non disputandum est" (personal tastes are not for debate).

I much prefer Florence over Venice. For me, Venice is a one time visit - two days is plenty to see everything. Florence- I go every time that I am in Italy and still find more to see and more reasons to return. On our first family trip of all the major cities visited (Rome, Naples, Florence and Venice) it was hands down the least favorite. Venice is unique and I am happy we went but everyone has their own opinions.

As noted, depends on what you want to do. Another factor might be where in your trip these cities fall - if you are flying internationally into Venezia, you may want an extra night there to recover from a long flight.

I love both cities, but I would give the extra night to Firenze (art history major).

Venezia 4
Firenze 3
Bon Voyage

We loved Venice. Spent 3 full days there last June and it was lovely. Yes lunchtime in the square is crowded, but just ventured further afield at that time and enjoyed the square late in the afternoon and evening when it is stunning. On the other hand wasn't fussed on Florence. Love Tuscany in the countryside, but not into art or too many museums so a day in Florence was enough for us. It all comes down to what you enjoy, you need to research each place and come up with a to do list.

It always helps me determine length of time in ANY location if I list all of the activities/sites I would like to do along with the opening/closing times if there are any.

Put them on a calendar, creating a route to accomplish your plans without rushing so you can allow for surprises and "wander time" !

Only then will you know how many days/nights you truly need. I do this no matter what part of the world I travel to.