how many days in florence vs rome with college kids

Not sure how to answer since I think all those places with the exception of the countryside have what your kids don't want to see.

College age 'kids' should be able to give you some input on what they do want to see/do. Use that to determine how much time to spend in each. If they don't much like art or churches, then 1 day (2 nights) in Florence should be enough for them, they probably want to spend more time in Rome.

With those interests (or lack thereof) I wouldn't even take them to Florence. I would suggest reading about the smaller hilltowns in Tuscany and Umbria to see if there's anything of interest to them.

Rome offers ancient Roman ruins; would that be of interest? Ostia Antica is a possibility. How about a few days around Naples – for Pompeii, Herculaneum, the Amalfi coast, Capri, etc.

Also, it strikes me as sad if someone is never exposed to great art. They may never learn what they could have enjoyed. You might consider sneaking in one museum. The Borghese in Rome has the advantage of limiting visits to 2 hours and limiting the number of visitors. however, you need to make advanced reservations.

Are they are all interested in science? The Galileo museum in Florence is quite nice.

I may have overstated that. I think the highlights of some art exposure, especially to some artists they know of will be good. Just don't want to get wrapped up in the total museum tourist routine. I think they would enjoy a bike or scooter tour of scenery or historical sites or whatever rather than spending the bulk of their time in museums.

I think it is a pity they are in Florence and they do not get exposed a bit to art. It could be a long time before they could be exposed again. I suspect that trying to see all of a big museum could cause a fit of Stendhal syndrome (confusion from seeing too much art), but looking for highlights should be encouraged. - Said this, I suspect that big architecture could be more interesting than visual arts. Building the Cathedral Dome in Florence was more an engineering problem that defied solutions for more than a century and not only a work of art. The same could be said the Colosseum, the Rome Forum, St. Peter's (that was so much easy to build once Brunelleschi had showed the way in Florence).

In Rome you can take a Segway Tour. They get down the narrow cobble stone alley ways and streets and you can get close to the Forum, Colosseum, etc. The guides are well informed, speak Great English and have GREAT senses of Humor. In Rome they will probably enjoy the Trastevere area, because it's younger and vibrant. For Heaven's sake, don't skip the Vatican Museum. Even if you're not Catholic. My first time there 15 or so years ago, having made 'assumptions' about what it would contain, was really surprised by the many Pre-Christian artifacts contained there.

Florence is a big college town, and there are lots of night clubs that don't even get started till around 11pm. I don't know how that will fly with the parents, but there are a LOT of American College students there. If your college kids are male, they will certainly enjoy chowing down on a nice Florentenian Steak -- (Bistecca) -- maybe at Mario's - where you'll be seated with other people. My friend and I really enjoyed meeting the people at our table. I'd also definitely take them to the Santa Croce Church, which may be more interesting to them, as even some non-art lovers will certainly be impressed to see the Sarcophagus of Michelangelo, Machiaveli, and other of Florence's most famous citizens.

They may surprise both you and them by enjoying a museum or two.

In Rome you can take a Segway Tour. They get down the narrow cobble stone alley ways and streets and you can get close to the Forum, Colosseum, etc. The guides are well informed, speak Great English and have GREAT senses of Humor. In Rome they will probably enjoy the Trastevere area, because it's younger and vibrant. For Heaven's sake, don't skip the Vatican Museum. Even if you're not Catholic. My first time there 15 or so years ago, having made 'assumptions' about what it would contain, was really surprised by the many Pre-Christian artifacts contained there.

Florence is a big college town, and there are lots of night clubs that don't even get started till around 11pm. I don't know how that will fly with the parents, but there are a LOT of American College students there. If your college kids are male, they will certainly enjoy chowing down on a nice Florentenian Steak -- (Bistecca) -- maybe at Mario's - where you'll be seated with other people. My friend and I really enjoyed meeting the people at our table. I'd also definitely take them to the Santa Croce Church, which may be more interesting to them, as even some non-art lovers will certainly be impressed to see the Sarcophagus of Michelangelo, Machiaveli, and other of Florence's most famous citizens.

They may surprise both you and them by enjoying a museum or two.

3 nights each are two full days in each city. It's a fair allocation.

Two days in Rome are not too many, so they won't get bored even if they don't care about art much.
Same is true for Florence. One day of the two you can go somewhere in Tuscany (Siena or many other places).

If it's hot, I'm sure they wouldn't mind taking a day trip from Florence to the beach town of Viareggio. Lots of things to enjoy there for kids that age. Same is true for Rome. You can take them to the beach in Ostia Lido or to Santa Marinella.

Both Florence and Rome have very vibrant night life in the streets with tons of beautiful people their age hanging out, so for sure they will appreciate that.

I also get bored in museums if I stay longer than an hour. Just concentrate on what is important. You don't need to see every fresco. It's not a contest where you check off the art works you get to see in a day.

Just curious, what are they studying in college?

am a college kid myself. Got to see most of Rome's attractions in just one and a half day. So i would day if 2-3days in Rome for an extensive coverage

since you all dont want to do the normal tourist stuff i would recommend finding a host where you can dine with them to get a more authentic experience, i know theres pretty good ones at Bonappetour

2-3 days in each city would be good, they may enjoy some smaller towns like Lucca or Siena.

Do they have any interest in cooking? They may enjoy a cooking class?

Rome now has a new rideshare on scooters! Go to:
www.scooterino.it
for the interactive website and how to download the mobile APP on your smartphones.

Your college kids can see Rome from scooters! It's cheap, the driver provides the helmet. Choose a direction for each ride, and scooters going in that direction respond. It is a community-network, not Uber. You can cover a lot of ground, and have a lot of Fun!

Go to
www.wantedinrome.com
and type April 24, 2015 in the search engine for an article on scooterino.

Florence for college kids, I think a good place to start is riding those Hop On Hop Off buses for a macro view of that city and its surrounding hills and forests. There are three different routes. The beauty of the area will captivate even college kids, and so will the surprises and history residing in those hills. The buses are stationed on the road in front of SMN train station. Not directly in front where the city buses run; walk out farther to the road. Just plug in the earphones for the educational trip.

You can always deboard at sites you want to linger at, and there are plenty. Or return another time on taxis. Taxis are cheap in Florence, and drivers are honest.

There are also tiny electric buses C1, C2, C3, D, you can take for a macro view of old historical in centro Florence. The downtown area. Buy bus tickets at newspaper/magazine stands, Tabaccheria, plenty around. The bus cops are real and fines are hefty for those with no tickets. So always have validated tickets on you. Validator is on the bus, read up on it now so you are savvy when you get there. Involve your college kids in this pre-trip research. They will appreciate the heads-up.

Bus cops are real in Rome too. Always have validated tickets on you. The bus station in Rome is at Piazza del Cinquecento, outside of Roma Termini train station.

Practice now researching cost of taxis in Rome. Google
taxi fare in Rome Italy
and you and your college kids practice using those world taxi meters. Type in destination points and other variables, # of passengers, luggage if any, time of day, and get a heads-up on actual costs. You will need this information before you get into a Rome taxi.

if you scroll down a bit on this same Forum, you will see a post
Bike Tours in Florence and Rome
with replies containing links to recommended bicycle tours in those cities. A great upclose macro view of these enchanting places.

If it were my kids, and they were college age, I'd tell them what their parents want to do, and if they prefer not to join us, they can go their own way and we'll meet up later for dinner. Unfortunately, this might be OK for college age kids, but it won't work as well on my upcoming trip with a 14 year old daughter who has yet to develop her taste for art. But I remain hopeful that this visit may change that. She does like architecture, so I have a fall back option if the appreciation of art isn't ready to take.