Italy in one week. Venice, Rome, Tuscany

One week is not much time. You can train Rome to Florence To Venice. From Florence, you can easily day trip by bus to Siena. That's about it for you. Alternatively, you can easily train from Rome to Orvieto (day trip only), then train to Florence. Plan on 2 nights for Venice. For a "cheap" hotel in Venice, I recommend Hotel Tivoli. I have stayed there. Expect a basic, clean room and breakfast - no more.

Not much time to see anything except trains and checking in and out of hotels, getting to the train stations and riding on the trains to get to the next place. Plus in Tuscany, you would really need a car. It may be better to pick one city and if you have to, two. There is a long train ride between Venice and Rome. Please look at a map and train times and train rides and getting to and from everything to really map out what you want to see and how long it will take. People take a week in Rome or a week in Venice and still don't see it all. And of course seeing wineries and towns in Tuscany would require a car or stay in Florence and take a bus to one or two small towns. I would rethink what is the most important to see and enjoy and relax and not rush around and see one site per place and spend all your time traveling to each place. Just my thoughts as I have been on the week long tours of Rome and Florence and spend time in Venice. All worthwhile places to visit but really call to spend a chunk of time in each place. I understand the desire to see all these places but your time is not there and you will wind up feeling frustrated and disappointed not really seeing things but spending money on different hotels and transportation but not getting a good experience.

Logistics would dictate the trip for me and depend on where I was flying home from. Chances are you'll fly out of Rome so I'd start in Venice or Florence. Starting in Florence would mean skipping Venice but you'd have time for some smaller hill towns /wineries before you got to Rome. Three days Rome and three in Tuscany is the minimum for me.

Hi Lisa!

On a recent trip to Italy we did in this order Venice- Florence- Cinque Terre- Amalfi Coast - Rome. All of that was over a solid 2 weeks. We had 2 days in Venice, 3 in Florence and 3 in Rome. I think 3 in Florence and 3 in Rome are the absolute minimum because there's a lot to do and see!

In Florence, we got the Firenze Card (worth the $!) and thus were able to cut all of the lines to do the duomo climb, see David in the Accademia and the Uffizi all in one day. Then, the next we climbed Piazzale Michelangelo and did the Boboli Gardens (they were amazing- a must!!). Since we didn't have much time rather than travelling into Tuscany and needing to drive, I opted to pre-plan a great guided tour for a day through nearby Chianti region. This allowed us to really get a sense of the area with no worries.

The company I used was "I Just Drive" who partnered with my hotel (the hotel was the Davanzati...it was my favorite stay in all of Italy- highly recommend! Their service was unreal and they even hosted a daily happy hour for all of their guests). The tour was called "Chianti Best." It is capped at 8 people max and on the day we went it was just us and another couple. They picked us up right at our hotel and we got to visit Siena, San Gimagno, Monteriggioni, and then ended at a lovely vineyard with tasting of wine, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar and snacks included.

In Rome, 3 days meant we had a walking tour I booked for the afternoon we arrived (focused on pantheon, spanish steps, etc) a day to see the Vatican in the morning and then a free afternoon after that, 1 day for colosseum/palantine hill, etc. By the way in Rome, I booked all of my tours through Walks of Italy. They were all fabulous! I especially recommend the "Pristine Sistine" tour because you get into the Vatican 30-40 minutes before the majority of the public, when it gets packed. Also loved their VIP colosseum tour because you get into the underground of the Colosseum and also the very upper tier that you can't otherwise see. To me, tours make a trip because it's all about the experiences and learning about what you are seeing.

So, in a week I'd do Rome and Florence (and book 1-2 tour day trips from Florence). Venice is also doable in 1-2 days...it would be ideal if you can be in Italy for 8 days to add that in!

Hope this helps!

If you're most interested in Tuscany's wineries, I'd say to save Venice and Rome for another trip. Rent a car in Florence, drive to & about the Chianti countryside marked by the "Siete nel mondo del gallo nero" road signs. Stay at a small inn in one of the relatively centrally located towns and make that your base. Every town throughout that region is special in its own way.

Alternatively, spend the week in Venice and surrounding areas in the northeast (Padua, Mantova, Ferrara, maybe Verona or Trieste).

There are endless things to see and do in Rome and surroundings. I really would save Rome for another trip.

Are you taking the train from Paris to Italy, or flying? Where does your homeward flight leave from?

One week isn't enough time to really visit three places because you'll lose a lot of time just getting from place to place. Perhaps just pick out your one "must do" place and spend the entire week there. Or restrict your trip to only two places at most.

Lisa, that's a lot of destinations and distance for a one week trip. When I was in Rome in 2013, I took a day long Tuscany tour with Dark Rome Tours that included visits to two Tuscan hill towns, a country abbey, and lunch and wine tasting at a lovely winery. A long day, and not cheap, but a way to include what you want without changing hotels, renting a car, etc. The tour still exists and goes almost every day. You can check it out at darkrome.com under their Rome listings.

A few years ago we got off a cruise in Rome, where we spent 3 nights. We then went to Lucca for 2 nights (LOVED IT!) - day trip to Pisa - then on to venice for 3 nights before flying home. I was worried we would be too rushed, but it was good. Of course I would have loved another day in each place, but I really wanted all 3 places, so it worked out well. :)

Kim

Pick 2 places instead of 3 and you will be good.
Sounds like what you want to see in Tuscany is not Florence again but the countryside for which a rental car is best.

As hard as it will be to choose I would decide between either seeing Rome again or Venice for the first time along with your Tuscany trip. Or save Tuscany for another time and do Rome and Venice for which you don't have to worry about a rental car.

In Tuscany I would personally choose somewhere in the Val D'Orcia (Montepulciano and Montalcino are the 2 big wine towns here but nice towns in between as well like Pienza) Others prefer the Greve area which is also big for wine.
Location wise Val D'Orcia may pair better with Rome and Greve better with Venice.