only 7 days to be in Italy

Pick a base city/town, or at most two, in Tuscany and daytrip a bit from there. Where depends on what you like to do. Florence for art, perhaps an agriturismo for countryside experiences. It's good to recognize your time is limited and you cannot "do" everything. Florence is best without a car, but a car is useful for exploring outside of Florence and to see the hilltowns, abbeys, etc. My favorite hill town is Montalcino. There are lovely drives and other towns to explore in the Val D'Orsia. Montalcino to Pienza, Montepulciano, and return is a nice day trip.

Thank you! What about Venice? Car or train to get there?

You really will not have time to visit Venice if you have only 7 days including travel. A car is not a good option for Venice as you have to park it for the period of yur stay. Train is the best option and the station is right in Venice. Tuscany is lovely and full of neat places: villages, towns,cathedrals, museums. Your days will be full without adding another city Or you could just spend your time in Venice and visit places like Verona, Padua from there by train.

If you really want to see Florence and Venice in 7 days including travel time, you can - but you will only have two full days in each place, and will not have any time to take any side trips to see any part of Tuscany besides Florence, or any thing near Venice besides the city itself. When planning your time, remember these principles: The day of departure from the US and the day of departure from Europe do not count as sightseeing days, since you are in transit. The day of arrival in Europe is often a jet-lagged haze, and while you can do light sightseeing (walking around a town), you should not plan any "heavy" sights (museums, or indeed anything that takes you indoors too long). Furthermore, jet lag is different for each person, and I find it's different on every trip. On my last trip, it hit me like a hammer, and if I had planned anything, it would have been a disaster. Think nights, not days. Two nights in a place equals one full day there. Only one night in a place is less than a full day (which may be all you need for some places). By my count, you will have 5 nights in Italy. Hence my recommendation that you start thinking of this as a 4 real-days-on-the-ground trip, not a 7 day trip. Accept that what you can see and do will be very limited, and that you will have to return to see more. Otherwise, if you try to squeeze in too much, you will be miserable. Be particularly wary of letting people "extend" your trip; for instance, telling you that while in Florence, you're "so close" to the Cinque Terre that you can't miss them. You just don't have time for extensions.

My husband and I were able to visit Venice, Florence and Rome in eight days. (We are young and in our thirties so we can survive on a little less sleep!) You can easily see Florence and Venice in a week. You won't see everything, but that is just an excuse to return to Italy. We spent one day in Florence visiting the Duomo, Uffizi and Michaelangelo museum and a second day on a wine tour in the Chianti region. We spent three days in Venice exploring churches and the St. Mark's Square. We even took a little side trip to Murano and saw the glass blowing factory. (A 2-3 hour trip and the boat ride was free from our hotel because they are hoping you will buy their expensive glass trinkets.) The train is a great way to travel. Don't waste money on the 1st class seating; the 2nd class is fine. You'll pay a little more for the faster train ($20?) but it's worth saving an hour. Venice is a little cooler in March so perhaps you would prefer visiting Rome or Naples? Rome is also cheaper than Venice to fly in and out of so you could save as much as $200-$400 on your airline tickets!

7 days incl. travel = 5 nights on the ground = 4 full days available. I would base myself in Florence for the 5 nights. Spend one or two full days in Florence and devote the other days to day trips. Alternatively, if you plan to rent a car, you could spend 3 nights in a countryside location then the last 2 nights before flying back in Florence (return the car as soon as you return to Florence since you won't need one in the city). You could also plan to spend 5 nights in a countryside location, sufficiently close to Florence (for example Impruneta or San Casciano area). You could visit Florence on one or two day trips from that location (just park outside of Florence city walls). It really depends if you prefer city life or quiet country life. And also whether you have a car or not. Without a car, stay in Florence, or maybe split the time between Florence and Siena. Don't have a car during the time you plan to stay overnight in Florence. It's a waste of money (rental, parking and possibly fines).