I am planning on going from L.A. to Italy in late April for about 8 days, I am meeting a girlfriend there who lives in Moscow. I have been to Italy twice before, but I haven't been to Rome, so I think I would meet her in Rome and then head down to Florence and back to Rome to fly home. I would appreciate any advice on where to stay, and what to do on a trip that is that short. I guess the train is the best way to Florence, about how long is the trip? Any other advice is greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Chicago
8178 posts
3 nights Rome
Take the train to Florence
4 nights Florence
Take the train to Rome
1 night Rome
You can see schedules and buy trains tickets at https://www.trainline.eu
Look up the tourist information sites for each city or consult a guide book to decide what to do that fits your interests.
http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en/informazioni-utili-2/informazioni-turistiche-2.html
https://www.romeinformation.it/en/
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16129 posts
Florence is only 90 min from Rome via high speed train and there are at lest 3 trains per hour heading to Florence every day, till late in the evening. As such you could potentially head to Florence the first day upon landing (the airport has a station too). By doing so you’d save yourself one hotel change and won’t need to split your stay in Rome. So assuming 7 nights on the ground:
Land at FCO. Take train to Florence upon landing.
3 nights in Florence.
Train back to Rome
4 nights in Rome
Fly home.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32363 posts
You might consider meeting your girlfriend in Florence and then moving back to Rome for a few days prior to your flight home. If you've already bought your air tickets, there are numerous trains from Rome / FCO to Firenze SM Novella, usually with one change at either Roma Termini or Tiburtina stations. The train from Rome to Florence will be a high speed Freccia version, which travels at up to 300 km/h and makes the trip in 90 minutes.
Where to stay..... which one of you is booking the hotels? You might check your local Library or bookstores to see if you can find a copy of the RS Italy guidebook, as that has lots of good suggestions on accommodations, restaurants, transportation, reservations for various sights and sightseeing. The book provides information on "what to do" so you'll be able to prioritize your touring and not waste any time. You might want to pack the book along.
As you've been to Italy before, I assume you're familiar with the usual "caveats" in terms of using public transit (trains, buses, Metro), such as validating tickets, etc.
Posted by
OP
133 posts
That is such great information, I really appreciate it, these are things you learn from experience and this will save me a lot of time.....grazie.