Only 3 nights in Italy- First Time

Might as well stay 3 days in Rome, and take the middle day for a daytrip from Roma Termini station to Florence SMN station. Trains at least once an hour, round trip will cost you in the vicinity of $70. About a 90-minute ride each way, very simple.

Campo de' Fiori and Trastevere areas in Rome are great places to stay and walk around but you probably won't have a ton to choose from this late date, so get on that right now. And both of those areas are a cab ride from Roma Termini, not walking distance really. Buses might be more problem than they're worth.

In Florence, Santa Maria Novella station is walking distance to everything. Visit the Mercato Centrale, the San Lorenzo market, maybe L'Accademia (not enough time for Uffizi Gallery).

Enjoy!

Thanks Jay! I booked a hotel at Campo de'Fiori per your suggestion. How do you recommend getting to this part of Rome from FCO? Also, do you suggest pre-purchasing Vatican tickets and going early when it opens?

I will look into those suggestions for Florence. Any meal recommendations in either place?

3 nights in Italy too little)))
wish you good vacation

Probably taxi is your best/easiest choice from FCO to Campo de' Fiori, although others may chime in about alternate modes of transport. We had come into Roma Termini train station and cabbed it from there. Make sure you write down the name & address of the hotel on a piece of paper to show the driver. And depending on the time of day, be prepared for a wild ride! :)

For such a short time in Rome, investigate the Hop-On-Hop-Off buses available, which makes loops around the attractions (Colosseum, Piazza Navona, Forum, Vatican City, etc.)--you get off, see whatever, then wait for the next bus, usually within the half-hour. In 2010, it cost us 20 Euro for one day. I'm sure there are tons of great restaurants--you can research that--but my favorite was Dar Poeta in Trastevere for what I thought was the best pizza in Rome. Walkable across the Tiber River from Campo de' Fiori. BTW, there should be a floral & produce market every morning in the piazza @ Campo de' Fiori, which is very enjoyable.

No doubt, for Vatican City, book in advance and go earlier rather than later. Standing in line under a hot July sun in Rome is...uh, HOT. Read the RS tutorial on the ins-and-outs of maneuvering your way, avoiding lines, and what are the best times to go. And if possible, download the RS podcast for The Vatican on your smartphone and play it in real time while you're there--awesome!

Your day in Florence--I'd leave Roma Termini by 9AM after cabbing over there. Arrive in Florence by 10:30. Walk to Mercato Centrale--inside there is great food--cured meats, cheeses, olives, honey. Have a beef sandwich for 3 Euro at Nerbone on the lower level. Upstairs is more ritzy & seems manufactured. Then--after browsing the leather shops (check out my friend Massimo Leather) I would--for something historic that you can get in & out--walk to L'Accademia, see the real statue of Michelangelo's David. Advance tickets are available across the street, but if you have a general idea of when you want to be there, buy your tickets & reserve your time online. The RS info on Florence will help you there. Once again, the RS podcast--we did it for L'Accademia and it was like we were in the actual show with Rick narrating! Most restaurants in Florence don't open back up until 7:00 for dinner, but I think Ciro & Sons on via Giglio--a 5 minute walk from the SMN train station--opens at 6:00. They do have the Florentian entrees, but the family is Napolitan and they put out some great dishes at reasonable prices. Have a wonderful dinner, walk to the train station for your trip back to Rome.

Enjoy!

3 years in Italy would be too little time for me:)... but given what time you have... I would suggest taking the HOHO bus in Rome to get a great overview of everything. You can then pick and choose where to get off the bus to see specific areas. But, at least you will have the opportunity to see everything, even from afar. Going to Florence the next day is probably a good idea... that city is more walkable, but if you don't spend a ton of time in museums or lines you can get a great feeling of the city. I would pick one museum (probably to see David) My first few times to Florence were day trips and I did not regret it at all. Last day in Rome you can zero in on the sights you missed the first day.

Stay in Rome the entire time.
90 minutes on a train (each way) is also accompanied by xx minutes getting to the train station and back again, etc. So you'd have spent 4-5 hours traveling.
Stay in Rome. See more or relax more (eat at a nice outdoor cafe, etc.)

I agree with Evan and suggest staying in Rome for the 3 days and just cram as many Rome attractions possible.

But if this is a once in lifetime thing (there was an over 30 year wait between my two trips to Italy) or if Florence is a must do for you, i would suggest that you bypass the Academia or going inside any museum and just do a walking tour of the City to see all the interesting buildings, piazzas, markets and bridges. If it is any consolation, you can see the fake David in the Piazza della Signoria.

Fake David--- I was happy with him for a number of trips:) I finally went in on my last trip to Florence, but that was because it was late Oct. and there was a wait of about 10 minutes. Yes, it is a city of museums and art, but it is far more than that. Many visit Florence to see the exterior of these buildings and the beautiful view of the river and bridges.

Train time can be used to write in your journal, converse with Italians, download images, or learn about the site you are about to see... it does not have to be 'lost.' Get up early and take a snooze on the train. Don't bypass this wonderful city if you will regret it.

It may not be everybody's cup of cappucino, and it involved a lot of walking, but this is what my 14-y/o grandson and I did with our three full days in Rome a couple of weeks ago. We stayed at a centrally-located convent (Casa Il Rosario, near Via Cavour and the Forum of Augustus).

Day 1: East of Via del Corso -- Show up at Colosseum at 08:30 opening time, Roma Pass in hand to get right in to the turnstile and avoid the long ticket line. Then Palatine Hill and Forum. Then walk east, seeing Ladus Magnus, Basilica of San Clemente, and St. John Lateran. On the way back stop at Church of St. Peter in Chains to see Michelangelo's Moses.

Day 2: Generally (but not entirely) west of Via del Corso -- walk past Trevi Fountain, Palazzo Chigi and Palazzo Montecitorio to arrive at the Pantheon at 08:30 opening time. Then stop at Tazza d'Oro for cappucini and cornetti, then on to Church of St. Mary sopra Minerva to see Michelangelo's "Christ Carrying Cross". Then Largo Argentina, Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona, Castel Sant'Angelo, Ara Pacis, Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Via Veneto, Piazza Barberini. Evening spent at the sound & light show at the Forum of Augustus.

Day 3: Metro to arrive at St. Peters Basilica by 08:15 -- even then the security line was 30 minutes long. We just toured the basilica, not interested in spending the time to go through the Vatican Museums on this trip. From the Vatican we took the Metro (change to Line B at Termini) and Lido line (change at Piramide) to Ostia Antica. Evening stroll up Via Del Corso to Piazza del Popolo and back past Spanish Steps and Palazzo del Quirinale.

Photos here.

About the taxis from the main station in Rome to your hotel -- there is a taxi sign outside the train station which will probably have a long line. We didn't notice that people were standing in line and went directly to the taxi sign, which caused a little problem.

The line for taxis in front of Termini in Rome does get backed up due to the shear volume of taxis trying to pull out into traffic. That said, it moves fairly quickly as there are always lots of taxis waiting for customers. There's some confusing language painted on the ground near the taxi queue about two different spots to wait in line depending on where you're headed. One says "All Destinations" and there's another that's supposedly "Within Rome" or something. I ended up going to the "All Destinations" one even though I was staying in the Monti neighborhood because I couldn't find the "Within Rome" place to line up. Maybe someone else can shed light on that.

ramsey,

Given the very short time frame, I'd suggest spending all your time in Rome as there's so much to see there. Save Florence for another trip when you can see it properly.

The easiest and quickest way to get from FCO to Roma Termini is the Leonardo Express. There are frequent departures, cost is €14 PP and the trip is 32 minutes. However, DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the train or you'll risk hefty fines!

From Termini it's easy to get a cab to take you to your hotel (there's a Taxi rank outside the main doors - just take the one at the front of the line). I normally like to stay in the Termini area, as it's so convenient for transportation.

In order not to waste any time, you might find it helpful to pack along a copy of the Pocket Rome guidebook which has information on all the sights there, how to minimize queues, where to buy tickets, which days various sites are closed, getting around the city, restaurants, etc.

Hey there, I managed to cover most of the attractions in Rome in one and a half days and this includes the Vatican. I went to the Colosseum, Pantheon, Roman forum, the Trevi fountain, Palatine Hill, Castel Saint Angelo, Piaza di Spagna on day 1. It may look a lot for one day but most of them are located within the same area so they are within walking distance from each other. I spend the other half day in Vatican in St Peter's Basillica. For food, I would say avoid eating at these attractions because they can get really expensive. There was a restaurant near my hostel that offers really good and cheap food. So you can try to ask your hostel on any recommendations on cheap food. Or alternatively, you can also try book a local authentic meal with a local at Bonappetour.

In Rome start one day at St Peters and work your way east, on the other start at the Colosseum and work your way north.
Day 1 St Peters - Vatican - Castel St Angelo - Piazza Navona - Pantheon
Day 2 Colosseum - Forum - Vittorio Emmanuele - Trevi Fountain - Spanish Steps - Piazza del Popolo

The highlights of Florence are possible in one very long day ...
1000 Academy
1130 Duomo
1300 Lunch
1430 Uffizi
1700 Piazza della Signoria
1800 Ponte Vecchio