Italy first time 10 nights

Skip Sicily. It takes at least a week (better 10-14 days) to even get started on Sicily. Better to spend all 10 nights doing the Holy Trinity of Venice, Florence, and Rome.

Your 3 nights in Rome will barely allow time to get to highlights much less take a day trip.

3 nights Venice, 3 nights Florence, 4 nights Rome, fly to Paris.

I don't know whether I'd skip Sicily. Our first trip abroad in 2010, our first destination was Taormina for 4 nights, then we flew to Florence for 4 nights, then took the train to Rome for 2 nights, then home.

I thought Sicily was exotic, wonderful, but I had no idea how different it was until I visited other parts of Italy. I'm so glad we went and hope to make it back there on a future trip. Even 4 days there is better than no days, although while there we stayed on the east coast, taking a tour to the medieval villages above Taormina and taking the Godfather tour, where the movie was shot nearby.

RE: Rome, our two nights there were not wasted but hitting as many sights as we could in a very short period of time was not the way to do it. This March we rented an apartment in Rome for six nights over one of the markets and really learned to appreciate the vibe of the Eternal City. It's my favorite place in Italy now.

I definitely agree with Laurel: To go to Sicily for four days is not at all a good plan; my coverage of the island was patchy, and I had 2-1/2 weeks. To go to three different places in Sicily for four days is worse. You'd need to fly both ways (a time-waster), and then you'd have two relocations while you're on the island. In addition, the proposed itinerary also leaves not enough time to see Venice (jetlagged arrival day doesn't really count) and Rome.

If Florence is being avoided for some reason (dislike of art museums??), there are many other wonderful options in Italy relatively near either Venice or Rome: Padua/Vicenza/Verona in the north or Naples/Pompeii/Amalfi area in the south.

For a September/October trip I'd try hard to travel north to south; it might help, weather-wise.

Appreciate the advice thus far. I updated to mention that Sicily is my husband’s only MUST see. So we are skipping Florence mainly to accommodate. Thanks!

Can't skip Sicilia for reasons the OP stated. Four nights is really not long enough, in my opinion. I think planning so few nights in Roma with daytrips is too ambitious, as well. You could have three nights each in Venezia and Roma, then fly to Catania and spend all your nights in Taormina or in Siracusa, or split 2-2. Fly out of Catania.

Personally, I would save Paris for another trip and spend more time in Sicilia and the mainland, which would give you a daytrip opportunity.

We are in the process of planning our 14th trip to Sicily so I can say with some degree of experience that 4 days is barely minimum for Sicily and a week just on one side of the island is closer to ideal.

It would help to know if there is some thing or area that your husband is interested in with regard to Sicily - that would help determine which side of the island to focus. Sicily is bigger than you think and if any of the 4 days you are allowing for Sicily are transportation days then you really only have 2 days.

My opinion is predicated on the hope that you’ll return to Italy in the future. If that’s the case, I would drop Venice on this trip and save it for the future. I’m leaving for my second visit to Sicily on Sunday and recommend more time on the island. And add more days to Rome. I would try to fly open jaw to Palermo and return from Rome. To see Sicily, the best way is to rent a car. On my first visit, I drove all over the island (Palermo, Cefalu, Agrigento, Siracusa, Catania, Taormina, Messina), took the ferry from Messina to the mainland and drove to Rome with an overnight in Positano. The Amalfi Coast Drive is terrific. Or drop the car in Catania and fly to Rome. Sicily and Italy should be savored and not rushed. Dolce far niente!

Glad you're finding a way to make the most of your "must see" Sicily visit. We had a week on the island 5 years ago, and while pretty much on the move most of the time, were able to see and experience a lot in that time. But many folks only have so much time available, and you never know if and when you're going to be back, so do it when you can!

You were mentioning eastern Siclily locations. Be sure to visit Modica, especially if you want some of the world's finest chocolate, and a style unique to Modica. If you can venture farther south and west, Agrigento with its Greek temples, and Erice were among the highlights of our trip.

Florence has been around for a while, so it should still be around and will wait for your visit next time. Have a great trip!

You have 4 locations that are too far from each other. You'll use up 1/2 day every time you move. It's more than 3.5 hours on the train frrom Venice to Rome. Figure at least 1/2 hour to get to the station and another 1/2 hour from the station to you hotel. That's 5 hours gone, not including packing/unpacking, checking in/out, and traffic delays. And that's your shortest trip. All the others require flying, so more time to get to/from airports plus all the extra time at the airport to check in, go through security, boarding and disboarding time, and baggage collection. Flights within Europe, even on legacy airlines, often have lower allowances for cabin baggage, so even if you aren't checking bags on the transatlantic flight, you may have to check your stuff for the other flights.

If you are flying RT Paris, there's the added wrinkle of a "connection" in Paris to Venice because it sounds like you plan to buy separate budget flight to Venice. Since the flights are ticketed separately, chances are you'll have to go through passport control and baggage collection in Paris, then check in for your next flight. If there's any delay and you miss your European flight, you have no recourse.

3 nights in a city gives you 2 days of sightseeing, 4N = 3 days, etc. Your first full day in Europe is likely to be ineffective while you are getting over jetlag. OTOH Venice is the best place to relax and soak up the atmosphere.

I think like most everyone else you are much better off dropping 1 place on your list:
you can decide if that should be Sicily, Venice or Paris
Otherwise you are trying to do too much with places that are not close to each other

If you go only 3 nights Rome, that is really only 2 full days to see the sites there, you don't have time for any daytrips unless you add a night to Rome

Roughly speaking, Venice/Florence are northern Italy and Rome/Sicily is southern Italy. You don't have enough time to do both, so choose one region. If Sicily is a must see for your husband, then Rome/Sicily it is.

How long will you be in Paris? Unless you plan to spend more than a couple of days, the logistics of trying to go to Paris will just burn up precious time. Getting to and from Paris to CDG is a major time suck. I will most likely be cheaper to fly into Rome FCO. Paris is a two hour flight, which means you'll burn up the better part of the day getting to the Rome airport, flying to CDG, then getting transportation into the city. Fly RT Rome FCO.

How about a more radical solution? If Sicily is the must-see, fly directly to Sicily and spend all your time there. You'll still be very busy in 9 or 10 days, but at least have a fighting chance to also relax and enjoy your anniversary trip. If flight connections home are an issue, maybe spend the last night in Rome for an evening walkabout, a nice dinner and a promise to return. I much prefer longer stays in one region to hopping around trying to do it all. In 3 long trips to Italy, I've only been to 6 out of 20 regions. I'll get to the rest eventually...anyway, hope you consider this.

Nelly for the win!

Good advice, Nelly, given the additional info of the "must see" nature of Sicily.

Here's my VERY detailed report of 10 nights in Sicily, in April-May 2014. As you'll see, we rushed around a lot, and still only hit highlights: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sicily-palermo-caltanisetta-siracusa-taormina

So, I agree with Nelly - if Sicily is a must on this trip, just do that. You certainly won't run out of things to do there in 10 nights.

Spend your first four nights in Rome, then head to Sicily for six ...

Day 5: Fly to Catania, then on to Taormina, sleep in Taormina
Day 6: Explore Taormina, sleep in Taormina
Day 7: To Siracusa, sleep in Siracusa
Day 8: Via Noto to Modica, sleep in Modica
Day 9: Via Ragusa to Agrigento, sleep in Agrigento
Day 10: To Catania, sleep in Catania
Day 11: Depart Catania for Paris

Although the thought of so little time in Sicily almost causes me physical pain, I must respond to David's itinerary by saying that I would put the 2-night stop in Siracusa rather than in Taormina.