Our family will be visiting Italy in January for two weeks and would like suggestions on what to do/see beyond museums. Are there outside ideas to consider?
We anticipate going to Venice, and not sure where else to go.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
12453 posts
We lived in Rome for several years and having lived our entire lives in the Northern part of the US found the Mediterranean climate most pleasant even in January. Not warm, mind you, but not bitterly cold. Sure, there is likely to be some rain but usually not all day. So yes, there, will be pleasant times outdoors and plenty to do and see.
The big historic sights like the Colosseum and Forum are of course open-air. Just walking through the historic center is dleightful. In Rick Steves books there are self-guided walks and here in the website https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours are audio tours. Scroll down for Italy.
Venice is much the same . I actually like that city a lot in winter.A bit colder than Rome, but the tourists are fewer and that makes it nicer to wander. Lots of great museums and art installations. Don’t hesitate to take a sunny day and head to the Laguna Islands, we’ll-covered in Rick’s book.
A classic winter tour is to include Florence and make your trip “the big three” of Venice, Florence, and Rome. In our experience, Florence (Firenze in Italian) museums were much less crowded than in the other months.
With two weeks and three bases you can include day trips as well. Think of Sienna and Lucca when in Florence, or even a tour with Tours By Roberto to rural Tuscany and visit Orvieto for a day from Rome.
Posted by
90 posts
agree with Laurel - you could do the big 3 in two weeks - great highways connect them. Also agree about seeing Orvieto