I have my first trip and only a few days there. Rome - 3 days - Florence 3 days and Venice 2. I don't want all museums... Can we relax too? Any good suggestions for a wine tour out of Florence or Rome?
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
If you are travelling by train on your trip from Rome to Florence, you could stop in Orvieto. Orvieto is a small, quaint, hilltown that is in Umbria--a one hour train ride outside of Rome. We stayed there on our way to and from Rome. There is a beautiful Duomo, etruscan ruins and several ceramic shops. This would be a nice, relaxing break between the two cities. Make sure you pick up a bottle of Orvieto Classico wine. Refer to Rick Steves' tour book for more info. Have fun.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
1317 posts
Pam, do your days include flying in and out or are those full city days?
Right now your itinerary sounds pretty good to me, and I would be reluctant to add anything else. If you need a break from the museums, consider doing a daytrip from Florence to Siena or Lucca, or do the wine tour here--unfortunately I haven't done any myself but other posters have made suggestions as this is a semi-common question. You can use the google search directions in the top post of the forum to find previous discussions as the website search is not very functional.
One other option is to do as the previous poster suggests and stop in Orvieto as you transition from Rome to Florence.
Posted by
Bellevue, WA, USA
5 posts
When we toured around Italy, we spent 1 day in Milan, 2 days in Venice, 2 in Florence and 2 in Rome which allowed us to spend 2 full days relaxing in the Cinque Terre before moving on to other countries. Rome can be quite busy and we were ready to leave for some R&R. We spent Day 1 walking Ancient Rome and then did one of Rick's walks around the city and we spent Day 2 touring the Vatican and then doing Rick's "Night Walk around Rome" the next morning we caught the train to the Cinque Terre and it was pure bliss! If you have the time and capability to do so, I would highly recommend it, the food and the wine in the Cinque Terre are amazing! They have a sweet wine only known to that region called Sciaccetra which is wonderful! Have fun!
Posted by
A tiny island in Puget Sound WA, USA
166 posts
Pam,
Please consider staying in a smaller town and day-tripping to Florence. With your short time-frame I would avoid staying in the 3 most heavily-touristed places. I love Florence but again since your time is short and you can get a reserved time for the Uffizi I would look into staying in a small town outside of Florence. If you're traveling by train just pick one within an hour of the city. This will allow you to relax in the evenings and get to know a town or village. I think I can safely say you will not regret it. Have a great time!