More days in Rome or Florence?

Five days isn't very long. If you only have five days in Italy and want to see Rome AND Venice, I would skip Florence. Besides, I think it would be nigh impossible to see Florence, Siena and Pisa in a single day anyway.

With only five days, I suggest you pick Rome or Venice for the five days instead of splitting the time between them. If you wanted to see Florence, you could do it as a day trip, and I would only do that if I could get a seat on the Eurostar.

Skip Florence? Are you mad! Two days in Rome - yep. One day in Florence (buy tickets to the Ufuzzi and the Accademia) on-line ahead of time). One day touring Tuscany - San Girmignano is way more interesting than Pisa (the leaning tower isn't all that it's cracked up to be and is very touristy)and Sienna. One full day in Venice (take the vaporetto to Murano for a great and cheap tour of the grand canal). If you can stay overnight in Venice do so. The city is really something else after all the day trippers leave.

ditch venice:tooo far. was in rome, florence[frieze], never went to venice..but this i KNOW: 5 days?? rome-3, florence-2..skip the rest...u still are going to have to deal w/ travel time..and it will be all too short...i do not know what your financial /time circumstances are, but 5 days is a LOT of travel to GET there , never mind traveling once "there"..add 5 more days if you can, then u can consider venice.BTW: u didn't mention WHEN?

Way, way too much. Five days is enough for Roma but with nothing else. 3 days for Firenze and 2 for Venezia if you prefer (altho in my opinion
Venezia is not worth more than an afternoon) You are doing too much.

I am with Jim -- save Venice for another trip. You are hiting three magnificent cities --- five days in Rome would be barely adequate and another two or three days in Florence would be nice. Then you want to throw in the country side, Venice and travel. Go slower and enjoy it more. Be a traveler and not a tourist, Plan to return even if you know you never well. My wife's frequent expression is, "We'll see that next time," And we will.

Vids, 3 days in Rome and 2 days in Venice is not enough time for either 1 of those cities. Are you looking to get a slight taste and then revisit at a later date? I spent about 5 days in Venice and I knew that I did not see everything esp the other islands. I also spent about 4 days in Rome and 4 days in Florence-- just not enough time. Please reconsider the 5 days and stay at the 1 city to explore it and the surrounding area. Good luck!

Everyone has different opinions and tastes when it comes to how much they enjoy different italian cities. Here was our experience. 2 nights venice, 2 nights florence and 3 nights Rome. 2 nights in Venice was perfect - it's best in the evening and morning. Florence 1 night would have been good. If you make advance reservations at the accademia and the uffizi (which we did) you really only need 1 full day. 3 nights in Rome was way too much for us. It's hard to see all the major sights in less than 3 days (we actually spent 4 days.) But the crowds, gypsies, immigrants (trying to sell things) all got to us. It felt like people were in my face non stop. By the 3rd day I just wanted to get away!

I guess it depends on what you're used to. Good luck! I'm sure it will be a great trip.

I love all these places and could easily spend 5 days in any of them. I personally would take out Venice and save it for another trip. I would then spend 3 days in Rome and 2 in Florence or 5 in just one place.

I've got 5 days in Rome the first of November. Our plan is 3 full days in Rome, one day trip to Florence, just to hit the highlights..we won't get to everything. Maybe one day to Orvieto or other small town closer to Rome, or we stay in Rome and relax like a local to soak in the Italian experience.

Skip Venice this trip. It's nice, but there is much more to see and enjoy in Rome and Florence. As the other poster said, no way to do one day in Florence and see Siena and Pisa! Pick ONE!

You are going to run yourself ragged....base in Rome and see how it goes. You should be able to do a day trip to Florence and spend a good full day there.

We just returned two days ago and we spent 2 days in Florence. We did not have reservations for the Academia or the Uffizi. We just walked to the Academia and stood in line for about 20 minutes and then walked right in. Amazing! You can get in and out in an hour or less...it's very small. Then we walked over to the Uffizi later in the day..they were open late that day. The lines were very long, so we went up to the Reservation window and made our reserv. for about 2 hours later. We came back at 6 and went right in. It was great! We loved our two days in Florence and would say to spend it there if you enjoy art and just walking around the city.
Tom & Sherry - Steger, IL

Thanks so much for all your feedback. I decided to stay 2 days in Florence: 1 day in Florence, and 1 day in one of the places: Sienna, Chianti, or any of the tuscan areas.
Can someone suggest me which one will be better, Sienna, Chianti, or any good tuscan area? Please remember I could afford only one day.

May I suggest Siena? I luuuuuuuuuv Siena!

You get my vote for Siena. So easy to do a complete day there. Wander the small streets, enjoy the duomo and the piazza. Climb the bell tower for the best view of the country side and down into the piazza!

Great choice!

Went to Italy in May. We did Rome, Florence, Venice. One afternoon in Venice was enough for us. We left our luggage in a locker at the train station, took a water taxi to St. Marks square then walked back to the train station. It was enough for us. Glad we didn't stay overnigt. You need more time in Rome than in Florence as you can walk everywhere. I would do 2 days in Rome, 2 days in Florence and 1 day in Venice. Pre book your museum entries. Your hotel can do this for you. Saves time.

Vids-
You are going to be on the run the whole time. if you want to get even a hint at the feel of where you are - skip that day trip out of Florence. Enjoy Rome and Florence. Two of my favorite people watching places are Piazza Navona in Rome and the Santa Croce Piazza in Florence. A wander through Santa Croce is something not to miss. Michelangelo's tomb is absolutely amazing not to mention Galaleo and Dante!!!

With 5 days in Italy, I would stay in Rome. There is so much to see and if you want a day trip from Rome, take the train to Pompeii. If you try to do Florence and Venice (which I also love) you will spend most of your time in train stations and on the trains. You will have a more enjoyable trip if you stay in Rome, and take your time seeing everything that you want. Also, if you stay in one city and do a lot of walking (rather than riding trains) you will get over the jet lag quicker.

My husband, 21 yr old daughter studying abroad have 8 days in Italy....2 days in Venice, 3 days in Tuscany and 3 days on the Amalfi Coast. My question is where to stay in Tuscany (have been to Florence) and where to stay on the Amalfi Coast. Appreciate any suggestions of places to stay, things to do and must go to restaurants.

I agree with Mimi, just spend the 5 days in Rome. The city can easily keep you busy for that length of time and there are countless daytrip options. If visiting another city is important than do 3 nights in Rome and 2 in Florence. Venice is wonderful but it is a 4 1/2 hour train ride from Rome - too much time in transit. Save it for the next trip.

Vids

We arrived in Florence yesterday afternoon after trying to do Rome in 2 1/2 days. Can't be done unless you're willing to do the whirlwind tour and not take the time to ENJOY Rome. We made that mistake, especially with a private tour, and were rushed (or it seemed to be that way) through the Vatican Museum. Had a little more time in the Sistine Chapel, about 20 minutes, and then quite a lot of time in St. Peter's Basilica, which was magnificant.

Took the train to Florence and went to La Boheme last night, then climbed the Duomo today (WOW!) and barely scratched the surface here. You might consider cutting out part of it. No way to do a day trip to Siena and Pisa both in the same day. Based on my limited time here, cut out Tuscany and return for a week to do Florence and the Cinque Terre. Tuscany needs to be "savored". Ciao.

Jim

This is for Judy, re the Amalfi coast. We stayed in Amalfi and were pleased. It's less expensive than Positano and has excellent transport connections to the other towns. It is also more interesting than Positano. Don't miss Ravello, a quaint, beautiful town with a pretty cathedral and two magnificent villas, open for visitors. As for restaurants, da Gemma in Amalfi and Trattoria Cumpa'Cosimo in Ravello provided us with two of the best meals we've ever had in eight trips to Italy.