Italy for 7 days?

I have only been to Italy twice, so am a long way from a seasoned traveler. That being said, I really enjoyed Florence and Siena. Typical tourist spots, but glad I went. Another thing to consider - just go to Rome and Venice....this time! ;-)

I think you will find that 7 days is not very much time. Is that 7 nights in Italy, or 7 days from the time you leave home to the time you arrive home? Do you plan to fly into one airport and home from another one? I would recommend that. If you want to see Rome and Venice, you might want to see just the two places for the amount of time you have. You might be able to squeeze in one more place in between, like Siena or Florence. I wouldn't try to do both of them.

Assuming you have 7 nights in Italy you could do something like this -

Fly into Rome - spend 3 nights,
Train or bus to Siena or Florence - spend 2 nights,
Train to Venice - spend 2 nights - fly home from Venice

Or, you could spend the entire week in Rome and Tuscany, basing yourself in either Siena or Florence for the Tuscany portion. You would not be traveling as much doing that.

Thanks David and Andrea. I really appreciate your inputs.

We're actually doing the 14 day European Princess cruise from Copenhagen, Denmark to Civitavecchia, Italy then after we get off the ship in Civitavecchia port, we have 8 full days and 7 nights to explore Italy on our own then fly back home from Venice on day 9.

I am wondering if it is possible to spend 3 days in Rome, 1 day in Florence, 1 day in Lake Como, 1 day in Verona and 2 days in Venice?

I think Lake Como is too far out of the way for the time you have. You could do Rome (3), Florence (1), Verona (1) and Venice (2). I try to avoid one nighters. Going from location to location, finding your lodging, and then doing it again the next day is tough. I understand the desire to see everything, but if I had 7 nights I would do Rome(3), Florence (2) and Venice (2). Don't underestimate your travel time.

It's possible, but you'll spend more time traveling than you do in the cities themselves. With 7 days, you should limit yourself to no more than 3 cities. Rome can easily eat up most of a week on its own. I would do Rome 3, Florence 2, and Venice 2 and save the other locations for another trip. With 8 full days, you can either add a day to Rome and perhaps make a trip out to Ostia Antica or Orvieto, or add a day to Venice and do a daytrip to Verona. Lake Como is too far out of the way this time.

Here are Rick's suggestions:

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/italy_menu.htm

Andrea, Liz and JB:

Thank you guys so much for your input. Lake Como is definitely OUT from our itinerary now.... I didn't realize that's too far out from Venice.

Well see if we can do Rome (2) Florence (2) Verona (2) and Venice (2)... if not, we'll probably just going to skip Florence and do 3 days in Rome.

You guys are such a great help around here :-)

Whatever you do, don't skip Florence! We just did three days in Venice (two would have been enough because what you're really seeing is the city itself rather than lots of specific spots), two in Ravenna (which we loved and is fascinating if you like smaller towns, historic, really old churches -- it's famous for its amazing Byzantine mosaics), two in Florence, three in Rome (which is amazing but really crowded and hot in the summer and can be overwhelming ... if you go, getting tickets to the Vatican in advance or booking a tour is a must!), and then four on the Amalfi Coast. If I had to squeeze the highlights into a week, I would do 2 in Venice, 1 in Ravenna, 2 in Florence, and 2 in Rome. Of course it all depends on what you want ... there are lots of people who would tell you to spend four in Florence and three in somewhere like Sienna or elsewhere in Tuscany. It's an amazing place ... have fun whatever you do!

Rebba, I think 3 days is an absolute minimum for Rome. 1 for Ancient Rome, 1 for St. Peters/Vatican/Pantheon and 1 for everything else (hah). I would definitely include Florence, which will be a nice change from Rome. So I guess I would suggest 4 days Rome, 2 days Florence and 2 days Venice. You could also do 3 days Rome, 3 days Florence (with a Tuscany tour one of those days) and 2 days Venice. Whatever you choose, I am sure you will love it!

Ravenna, while wonderful, is too remote for your itinerary.

In order to save a hotel change, I'd leave Florence on a very early train, drop my luggage at the Verona train station, spend the day in Verona and take an evening train to Venice. The one-day Verona Card is a good deal.

Carrie and Ekc:
Thanks a bunch and I so appreciate all your input.... now we are more convinced to see Florence and spend a bit more time in Rome ;-)

By the way Carrie, can you recommend a reliable site/s where we can by tickets to the Vatican in advance?

Chani:
I am all for saving a buck so I really appreciate your great suggestions/tips on leaving Florence on a very early train, dropping luggage at the Verona train station, spend the day in Verona and take an evening train to Venice. This is really a good idea.

I am really happy and I really appreciate you guys taking your precious time to give us great informations :-)

We barely have two months to go before our trip and we can't wait!!!!

Rebba, sounds like you are putting together a great plan.

The Vatican has an official website where you buy the tickets. Just be sure to have the printout in hand when you get there - there is a separate (short) security line.

Ron in Rome has very good instructions and tips for visiting the Vatican - including walking directions to get there. http://www.roninrome.com/?s=vatican (Dec 9). Unfortunately (for us) Ron has left Rome so his site doesn't seem to be updated, but the advice is still excellent.

Download Rick's audio guides for Rome and Venice also. They are good (I thought the Venice ones were the best) and have some tips for visiting - good to listen to beforehand.