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Rome - Florence - Venice

My family of 5 will travel to Europe for the first time.
Want to visit Rome, Florence and Venice in late June.
We will have a week. (and then off to England) We'd like suggestions
as to the order in which we should visit those cities; hotels, method of
transportation between cities and any
other useful information.

Posted by
922 posts

With only a week, you might want to limit your time to two locations. With 6 nights, that's only two nights in each location and you will only scratch the surface. You could easily spend a week in Rome and not run out of things to do. That being said, what types of activities are you most interested in? Museums? Churches? Hiking? Antiquities? Wine and food tours? Let us know your interests/priorities and we can provide more useful advice.

Trenitalia and Italo Treno both run high speed trains between those cities. Venice to Florence is a shade over 2 hours and Florence to Rome is an hour and a half. Where are you flying from? If you are coming from the US, you will have more direct flight options into Rome which will get you on the ground faster. If you fly into Venice or Florence, you may have to stop over in another European gateway and not arrive until late in the day, effectively killing your first day.

Posted by
1231 posts

With only a week, trying to do those three cities will not do them justice. Most people want at least 2 nights per city, usually 3-4 nights is the norm. Your arrival day you will be jet-lagged (most likely). You will also spend time traveling to each place, losing out on visiting time. I would pick 2 places and plan to go back another time :)

For transportation, use the train! It is quick, easy, and cheaper than a car. You can't drive in Venice, and you don't want to drive in Rome or Florence. The expense and hassle, and the risks of driving where you are not allowed and receive huge fines, just isn't worth it. Relax and enjoy the train ride!

Posted by
32171 posts

pat,

Some additional information would be helpful. For example......

  • Where are you flying from?
  • Does your one week include your flight day? (note that you'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you depart).
  • How are you getting to England?

As you're travelling in late June, you'll need to expedite your planning as time is short. Pre-booking hotels would be highly advisable, as Europe will be busy at that time of year. You'll also need to do some "homework" on using public transit in Italy, as there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of.

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip, as there's a LOT of good information there on "how" to travel well in Europe. The RS Italy guidebook would also be a good resource for planning touring, hotels, etc.

I agree with the others - with only a week, it would be better to limit your visit to only two cities. Keep in mind that each change of location will take about half a day (when all is considered), so that will only leave about 1.5 days in each place (hardly enough time to even get your bearings). I'll probably get some flak for this, but my suggestion would be Florence and Rome (especially since Rome as the last stop will make getting to England easier, as more flight options).

Posted by
10344 posts

You asked for method of transportation: that would be train.
No need whatsoever for a car for that itinerary.

Posted by
663 posts

Unless your family is REALLY into Renaissance art, I would skip Florence this trip. You just don't have enough time. My suggestion would be 3 nights in Venice, and 3-4 nights in Rome.

Posted by
4730 posts

With your time frame, three cities is definitely too much. Going from one place to another almost always eats up more time than one thinks. You can easily spend the entire week in Venice or Rome. Splitting your time between the two will be ok, but not three.

Posted by
191 posts

Lots of naysayers here, and I can certainly see the logic. But I have done exactly what you are suggesting, and am doing it again with my adult children twice this summer. True, you can only hit the highlights, but it will give you an idea of what you want to do next time when you will surely decide to come for more time. This year, with our older DD and her husband, we are flying into Venice and staying for three nights. We have no tours planned, but have rented an apartment on a canal near St. Marks. We will visit St. Mark's square and basilica, ride the Vaparetto (water bus) through the grand canal, tour the Doge's palace, maybe go on an evening gondola ride, etc. In the morning of our 3rd day, we will take a fast train to Florence, where we will spend two nights in an apartment near the Duomo, visit the Accademia to see David, possible the Uffuzi, visit the Duomo. The morning after we check out, we will head for Rome, where we will tour the colosseum in the afternoon, (http://www.rome-museum.com/booking-colosseum-third-tier-hypogeum-porta-libitinaria.php). Our other two days (which will actually be after a cruise) we will take an early Vatican tour, visit the Borghese Gallery, Pantheon, Piazza Navona the famous fountains, etc.

With our other daughter and her husband, we will meet in Rome, and do exactly the opposite, but visiting most of the same places. Aggressive? Yes, most definitely. Exhaustive? No, not even close. Exhausting? Not if you do it right. Don't try to see everything. Enjoy the scenery from the trains. Pack light -- one carry-on size bag per person. Leave "wandering around" time in the itinerary, and take your meals at sidewalk cafes to enjoy people watching. Look for Italian families and nonas to visit with your kids (How old are they?). You can do it if you plan ahead, make all your reservations, especially for some of the tours (Colosseum, Borghese, Accademia, Uffuzi) and above all, relax and have a great time!

Jan

Posted by
15679 posts

I'm in the camp of less versus more, and especially so if your children are young. You know them better than any of us but little people can fall apart under exhaustive schedules, and exhaustive schedules can fall apart in a hurry where tired, cranky tots are involved. They may also do better in outdoor settings than cooped up in museums where all they can see are lots and lots of adult backsides.

But we don't know know how old yours are, where you're coming from (how long a flight?) or what types of things you're interested in so more information would be helpful.

Posted by
1994 posts

You ask about the order for visiting the cities. That suggests that your plane tickets are not booked? If that's true, I suggest you fly into Venice and out of Rome. Venice will provide a much gentler introduction to Italy. Also if you haven't booked your tickets, you might consider flying to England first, which will allow you to adjust to Europe in an English-speaking country, and then visiting Italy.