How should I split up 5 days between Venice and Florence?

You have 5 nights on the ground.
I would allocate as follows, simply based on size and number of relevant tourist sights:
Venice 2 nights
Florence 3 nights
If you want, you can even take a day trip from Florence to another Tuscan town (e.g. Siena, Lucca, Pisa, Arezzo, Pistoia, etc), although with only 3 nights you barely have the time to see Florence.

It all depends n what floats your boat. I love Venice and enjoy Florence so I would stay all the time in Venice and move to Florence on Sunday morning, see the biggies and get to bed early so you can be at the airport at 5 am.

I would do Roberto's 2/3 split, but as Nigel said, it depends on what's important to you.

I'd go with Roberto's 2/3 also. I would NOT spend the entire time in Venice. To me Venice is beautiful and unique but Florence is my favorite city and I visit every year at least for a day.

If you like Venice then spend your time in Venice. If you like Florence then get there as quickly as possible.

I really enjoy Venice and dislike Florence - so the decision is easy for me.

Nigel,
No use being at Florence airport at 5 am. It only opens doors at 6 am.

Tim,
I would be interested to know why you dislike Florence. How long were you there to make your jugement?

45 minutes for security, checking in, bag check, loading and going is pretty fast. We couldn't do it in Killeen, TX and things moved pretty quick there.

Keep this in mind... 5 nights will only give you 4 full days to explore your destinations...Not much time IMO, but anyway,
I'd agree with Roberto's advice.

So...If you decide to stick with this plan, you'd take the train to Florence on Friday morning.

You can book your tickets here: http://www.trenitalia.com

You will need to write the train stations in Italian:

• Venice = Venezia S. Lucia
• Firenze S. M. Novella

Enjoy Venice & Florence!

Re: FLORENCE PERETOLA - AMERIGO VESPUCCI AIRPORT (Airp code: FLR)

The airport opens at 5:00 am, not 6:00 am, since now the first flights roll out starting at 6:05am.

Nevertheless, the airport is very small, only small regional jets can operate from there (the runway is only just above 5000ft long), and there are only 7 flights departing with the first wave between 6 and 8am. There is also a new check in area with 40 positions, so it's no longer the cramped check in hall they used prior to 2013. Your check in and security will last 15 min at most. Be at the airport about one hour prior to departure, and you will have more than enough time for breakfast at the only coffee bar in the terminal. The airport is 15 min from the city center by taxi.

These sorts of questions are always funny. Obviously no one can be sure what you would prefer. I have only spent one long day in Florence and it did nothing for me and it wouldn't even make my list of top 50 places to go back to in Italy but others love it. I have no interest in art and museums so it was not my thing. I loved Venice and am keen to go back. Having said that given that none of us know what you like it's best to do the 2 night/3 night split to be introduced to each place.

I would take the Saturday am train for these purely practical reasons.

• Friday afternoon is weekend rush hour. It will be crowded on the vaporetto to the train station (or even walking).
• you have to go from your hotel to the train. That means going back on Friday to get your luggage or going straight from your hotel on Saturday. Stay near the Florence train station (everything is near the station) and you'll be able to drop your luggage on Saturday morning on the way to the sight.
• That gives you one more evening to enjoy the quiet of Venice.

My experience was the opposite of what "slavender" said. I booked three days in Venice but was done in a day and ready to move on. Florence on the other hand; I booked 4 days and stayed 7. I love art, history, and hiking and used Florence as a jumping off point to other places in Tuscany. There are tons of day trips available. Siena is a favorite. You can do a half day trip if you go with a private driver or an all day tour if by bus (which also includes at least one other small hill town sometimes more).

If Venice is your first stop coming from another country then I would leave Venice Saturday morning since your first day is a jet lag day. We have been to Florence twice, and it's not in our top cities of Italy. But, we love Siena which is nearby.

Be sure to purchase reservations for the Florence museums ahead of time to maximize your time available. Beautiful art you wouldn't want to miss!

As you can see to each his own. Some people like Venice more than Florence, and would rather spend more time there. Others would do the exact opposite.

That's why I based my 2+3 night split simply based on size of the cities and number of world renown tourist sights. Those are actually things you can measure, unlike subjective personal opinions.

minor digression just for discussion, with a smile:=

I agree with you, Roberto, but I disagree that Venice has 50% fewer major attractions.

I take it that you are giving Venice the edge in actual places to visit in the city (although so many people to Florence limit themselves to one duomo, one bell tower, one market, one church beyond the duomo, 2 or 3 museums and a river view) and are then giving the balance to tours of chianti-shire and a few Tuscan Hill Towns, with also Siena, Lucca and Pisa?

In the nearby Veneto are Padova with Giotto's masterpiece and plenty more, Vicenza, Verona, the Brenta Canal, and Cannova's studio, the Sile river and all the many places in and on the Lagoon and the delta of the Po.

Within Venice are dozens of churches, both those on the Chorus scheme and many more not, with so much art in situ. Then there are the schuolas (sp?) also with incredible art in situ. Boat rides in all directions, two bell towers to ascend and a couple of leaning ones. A ghetto. Numerous world class museums, many in original palaces. Boat builders and cicchetti strolls. Views of the snow capped mountains. and much more. And the uniqueness of the most serene city.

All in 2 nights - one whole day?

tag - you're it....

This is a hard choice - they are both fascinating places. You've gotten good input from others, and I would only add that if you consider yourself to be a foodie, you should move to Florence on Friday morning. Venice is full of tourist trap restaurants, and it can be challenging to find good food, particularly if price is an issue at all.