Itinerary help / ideas - Tuscany/Florence/Venice/Rome trip

Nope! You;ve got a good trip planned. I think you might look into a day trip from Rome. as you've allowed, but you're fiancee should be charmed enough to follow through at the altar! Good luck!

If you are choosing between museums in Florence there isn't much to see at the Accademia other that David (in my opinion). I loved the Doges Palace and Murano. Just looking at Venice is, in itself, an attraction.

I heard that the free Sunday at the Vatican is ridiculously crowded but I don't know...we went late on a Monday afternoon and walked right in. The hours were extended early in 2008 so I heard the lines are much better now.

Your trip seems do-able, but super busy. Don't forget to relax and leave room to cancel some of your smaller trips (Bologna for example) Have fun!

I talked to my parents this afternoon and they echoed much of what you just said. A slight change we're looking at is staying in Florence or San Gimignano one extra day to explore more of Tuscany. That would shorten our time in Venice to 2 days and a few hours, but it should be good.

The main purpose of starting in SG is to de-stress and ease into the vacation, so I doubt we'll do much on Friday. It's hard to estimate how much time we'll want in Florence/Tuscany when neither of us has been there before...

We were able to do both the Accademia and Uffizi in one day with reservations. If I had to do it again, I would only spend one full day in Florence and jet the next morning. You want at least 2 full days in Venice, we would have added a day to either Venice or Tuscany.

Paul -- I have a feeling once you hit Tuscany you will not want to leave. You should prepare for this!

My spin on your plan

Wed 4/15: Leave

Thu 4/16: Arrive Rome midday,ES Rapido to Florence check in (always the Dali for me) Get a light carryout lunch and some wine take the #12 or 13 ro Piazelle Michelangelo and eat with a breathtaking view of Firenze. Stroll to San Mineato. The monks chant at around 5:15 followed by Mass. There are stone "bleachers" in the back where you can listen without disturbing those worshiping. Bus or stroll back

Fri 4/17: Morning San Marco and Accademia Lunch at Nerbone in the Mercado Centrale Afternoon Ufizzi and possibly Bargello. Email your hotel NOW and they can get your reservations to skip the lines. Dinner at a small romantic cafe.

Sat 4/18: Sita Bus to Siena for the day. Wander the contrades there are several wonderful museums the Duomo wander the narrow streets

Sun 4/19: Possibly a church service followed by a trip on the #15 bus to Fiesole

Mon 4/20: Leave early. Stop for a few hours EITHER in Bologna OR Padua, arrive Venice early evening.
Tue 4/21: Venice San Marco/Rialto
Wed 4/22: Venice Doges Palace, Murano or Burano
Thu 4/23: Venice Accademia, Lido, night train to Rome
Fri 4/24: Rome Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain
Sat 4/25: Rome Colosseum/Forum, Piazza Navona

Sun 4/26: Go anywhere BUT Vatican museum (free admission at the museum)

Mon 4/27: Rome misc (possibly Vatican museum if it was too crowded Sunday or a day trip to Orvieto or Ostia)

Tue 4/28: Depart Rome early

Last May I tried getting to the Vatican SUPER early 7 am for the free day and found several THOUSAND of my fellow travellers had the same idea.
What we did do that Sunday was to be in St Peter's Square for the Angelus with the Pope which was quite impressive.

We'll be heading to Italy again this May.

Look into the Roma Pass. It provides two admissions from their list plus 3 days of unlimited bus/metro travel for 23 euro each.

Orvieto is lovely and Ostia is very intersting.

Hi Paul
I was going to include some of the logic behind my suggestions but ran out of characters LOL

Once you're on the ground in Italy your time is VERY precious. That was probably the most important lesson I learned here on these and other travel boards.

The bus from San G to Florence is kind of roundabout and requires a change of busses. San G is lovely but IMHO a sort of touristy small town. NOT putting it down and in fact we'll be bussing there from Siena in May.

The train trip to Florence is about 75 minutes (make sure you take the rapido and not the local). You can get yourself set up in Florence and focus on enjoying the city and surrounding areas (Siena and Fiesole) see the major museums etc.

Tuscany, to quote a fellow art professor is a "total chick magnet" lol.

I wouldn't cut one of your Venice days--- I think you have that very well paced. I've never taken the night train but that sort of makes the travel time between Rome and Venice a wash so that's a good move.

You would probably want to move your Pantheon visit to the Navona visit as they are very close and if you can get there in the morning you can visit San Luigi with the three wonderful Carravaggios (it closes around lunch time) and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva which has an early Michaelangelo sculpture.

We're going back this May and will do 4 days in Florence five in Siena (with a day trip to San G) two in Assisi and 5 in Rome.

You can purchase tickets now directly from the Vatican for tours of the museum (29 euro) and entry (I think 16 euro?) that let you skip the line.

A little extra advice since you're training it. Travel LIGHT. One suitcase each is plenty. An hour at a lavorapido saves days of dragging around extra suitcases --- AND give you a little window into Italian daily life.

Money belts and/or travel wallets are essential.

The Roma pass saves both time and money. Check out their website for a list of the museums covered by the Pass.