Rome, Florence, Venice - itinerary

I think realistically, you only have enough time to do one of two things. Stay the entire time in Rome. There is plenty to see and do in the time you have. Or Rome and only one other spot. I'd suggest Venice but you might feel differently. If you opt to hit two spots, then I'd also suggest this. Fly into Venice stay two nights and then train to Rome for three nights , fly home. If you are locked into arriving and departing from Rome. Then on arrival in rome, train immediatley to your other destination (Venice) spend two nights there and the return to rome. doing it that way gives you a more efficient use of your nights rather than basically returning to Rome and burning a night before departure. You can take a nap on the train to Venice.

How old are you and how hard does jetlag hit you? I would find your suggested itinerary absolutely exhausting. If you just have to do more than Rome, I would do only Florence. Save Venice for another trip. (You'll be back.)

You are basically spending a half a day in 3 cities. With the travel time and checking into/out of hotels you spend most of your trip getting from city to city and not seeing the cities you're visiting. I would suggest spending the entire 4 days in Rome. You're trying to see way too much in too little time. Donna

just not enough time in each place. extend your trip or stay in one place and really see it and come back for another trip in the future. Once of the worst iteneraies I have seen.

Thanks for the quick replies! I am locked into flying into and out of Rome. We wanted to stay in Rome the first two days so we could see St. Peter's/Vatican on Friday instead of waiting until the last part of our trip and risk being rushed. We are fairly flexible on the itinerary once we get to Rome. We are both in our early 40s and in pretty good shape (husband is a Marine). It is hard to decide what to drop! I just bought Rick Steves' Venice book (already have Rome and Florence books) - I think I will hold our decision until I have had a chance to read it and decide which city we want to see most - this time (hopefully we will be back!!).

CJ, it sounds quite ambitious. Keep in mind that you will need appointment times and advance reservations/tickets for some of the things you want to see; some are compulsory, others are recommended so you can skip the line. The Colosseum line is long, I'd get advance tickets. You should also get advance tickets for the Vatican Museums (Sistine Chapel). The lines at the Uffizi tend to be long but move quickly, still, with your time constraints, you should try to spend as little time waiting in line a possible, so I suggest advance tickets for the Uffizi and Accademia as well.

Neither of us are what I would call "art lovers", but like you said we are going to see the highlights, not taking a course in art history. That being said, I think we could arrive in Florence before lunch, and at least tour the Duomo, climb the tower, and IF we get tickets in advance see Uffizi and Accademia. Just from reading about Florence and seeing pictures, I would hate to be that close and not at least stop in for a little while. At least it would break up the train ride to Venice from Rome. If we take the late train to Venice we will be able to hit the ground running the next morning. Husband has been to Florence so he knows his way around which should save us some time. We are both pretty laid back when it comes to traveling. We may get to Rome and decide to stay there the whole time. Just looking for some real life advice from those who have been there, done that. Realizing the limited time we have we made a list of our "must sees". Rome - Vatican/St. Peter's, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps; Florence - Duomo; Venice - Grand Canal, St. Mark's. Anything else we can squeeze in would be icing on the cake. Tom - sorry to have offended you with my horrible itinerary. That's why I sought guidance from more experienced travelers. We don't all have the luxury of taking a one month vacation to Italy so we have to take what we can get.

Hi CJ, My advice on these boards is usually more of the "go for it" variety than the "slow down you are trying to see too much" variety. In this particular case I have to say slow down you are trying to see too much. I understand the impulse to try to see it all but you have a very short amount of time and in my opinion you would be better served staying in Rome the whole time. If you are really determined not to stay in Rome I would see Florence in a day. I do not think you have time to trek all the way over to Venice. Venice is great but I think needs to be saved for a future trip. You can see the highlights of Florence in a day but I wouldn't advise going into the Uffizi on such a short jaunt. I would make rservations and run into the Accademia to see the David and that would be all for museums if you only have a day. Keep in mind, though, that you will not run out of things to do or get bored if you stay in Rome the whole time. Staying in Rome would allow you to see Tivoli or Ostia Antica also. No matter what you decide I am sure you will enjoy yourself!!

It's your vacation so do the things you like doing! As someone who has done some of that "running around" you are talking about I would recommend picking things out that you want to go see for sure. Plot those out on google maps and see where you can go. Those crazy streets in Rome! I was in Rome back in Sept 2010. I arrived on a Friday evening, tossed my stuff in my hotel, got back in the taxi and headed to the Vatican museum. On Friday nights for part of the year, they let people in at night. They close off parts of the museum but you get to see all the "major stuff" I believe, ending up at the Sistine Chapel. You may want to check that. You do have to get tickets online- I went directly to the Vatican website, piece of cake. Ron in Rome blog is great for all things Rome. Go to Vatican late afternoon per Rick's book for smaller crowd. Florence many historical sites and museums are clustered together. I had been to Florence once for 2 nights but missed the David and a few other things, so I took the fast train from Rome- got in around 10AM maybe- and then took a late train I think close 7pm back to Rome. I walked over past the Accademia and the people waiting in line and bought a timed ticket at a Church/Museum. Like 90 minutes later I walked right in past more people waiting in line. I thought the David was the single most amazing thing I saw. The Uffizi, I wasn't too in love with, it seemed to have a 1000 paintings of Madonna and baby Jesus. (I did buy a print of the Birth of Venus that I have hanging over my bed. Same trip, I spent 1 night in Paris and went to the Louvre, I also did the night Vatican museum). You may like heading to Piazza Michelangelo for one of the great views of Italy in my opinion.

I did take the fast train (Eurostar) from Venice to Florence, I believe that was closer to 2 hours, definitely longer than from Rome to Florence. Make sure you get to the right train station in Venice- Santa Lucia Train Station. Venice at night is wonderful. St. Mark's...getting lost, wine bar, careful where you sit since some cafes charge more for sitting down. I bought the train tickets when I first got to Rome to head to Florence. When I went from Venice to Florence that was a different trip. Watch the Sunset on the Arno River in Florence from Ponte Vecchio...will be late when you get to Venice though. The view from Piazza Michelangelo for me is what I always thought Italy would look like...can't help you with what to do with your luggage in Florence, I just had a backpack 1 time and the other I was staying in a hotel.

My husband and I are arriving in Rome the same day you are! I've been to Venice before so was planning on going to Florence this time in addition to Rome. My husband has never been to Italy at all, so I asked my parents which they'd suggest since they have traveled Italy extensively. They both said hands down Venice over Florence. My parents also said that all you really need in Rome is three days, so we are going to Venice and Rome. We also are locked into flying in and out of Rome and also attending a Roma soccer game on Sunday, so it's going to be a bit tricky finalizing details. Venice is the most beautiful and romantic place I've ever been (other than Paris, of course), so I can't wait to share it with my husband. If that's where you choose, I don't think you'll be disappointed! Good luck!

If you are not art lovers....skip Florence and go to Venice.