Rome & Southern Tuscany Itinerary April 2017

I only spent a day in Siena by bus from Florence. I got a little queasy on the bus ride there causing me trouble with vertigo all day in Siena's steep streets. I mention this because you'll be jetlagged on arrival. I see there's a shuttle bus at 10.45 am from FCO that gets to Siena at 2.00 pm. The other option looks to be the train (48 minutes) from FCO to Rome Tiburtina, then a 5-10 minute walk to the bus stop and a 3 hour bus ride to Siena. That's a lot to handle after a long overnight flight, jetlagged and sleep-deprived. It would be easier to spend your first night in Florence (with frequent fast trains from Rome), then rent a car for the rest of your time in Tuscany.

Another potential issue I see is that you're planning to "explore southern Tuscany" on Easter Sunday and visit a market on Easter Monday. Have you checked that places you want to visit will be open then?

I was underwhelmed by Trajan's Market, but thanks to you I see that Domus Aurea is open for visits, great news since I'll be in Rome in February. Have you been to the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme? It's part of the National Roman Museums (City of Rome). It has a beautiful fresco from Livia's House and lots of other ancient Roman art.

Your April 21 day is more of a 2/3-3/4 day, in my opinion. If you can move one or two sights from April 22nd to the 21st, you would have dnough time to take the bus to the Via Appia Antica.

I would save Hadrian's Villa for another trip.

Chani, thanks for the tip on the shuttle bus option! If we're lucky and our flight arrives on time I'm thinking there is a very good chance we could catch that bus. We're in our early 30s, pack light and always hit the ground running after a flight so I think we can swing going to Tiburtina to catch a bus there if the shuttle bus doesn't work out. And, thanks for the tip on the vertigo - I don't want to chance that so I think it'd be good to pack some Dramamine for when we arrive so it's in my system. I went to Siena years ago in college and didn't struggle then but the body changes :)

Yes...I've been torn on the whole Easter bit in Tuscany. No one seems to have reported or blogged much about it on the Internet. I have found a few bits of information and from what I can gather there will be some places open, especially in the "bigger" spots like Montepulciano and Pienza. I've contacted one or two wineries just to check and they will be open. So, when I'm ready to dive into the next level of planning, I'm going to make reservations for those kinds of places and hope to catch a few random shops open in other towns. I don't know what else we can do because I would prefer to visit a bigger place like Florence not on a holiday weekend. At least we know the roads and scenery in Tuscany will be open! (Well, weather-permitting, better not be jinxing myself!) We also want to do a long, lingering lunch all'aperto (weather-permitting) on Easter. Buonconvento specifically has a pasquetta-themed market that day so we were planning on going, sounds fun (also part of a Siena nature train that rides through different places on the way).

And no, Chani, we haven't made it to Palazzo Massimo alle Terme and it looks great! I would like to visit it as well. We made it to the Borghese museum and the Vatican museum last time. No others.

Zoe, unfortunately all of our Saturday sights are available Saturday only because of their own imposed limitations so we can't move them, only drop them. I wish we could have more flexibility with them. Perhaps if we could drop either the Baths of Caracalla or Trajan's Market we could make it out to the Appian Way? I would need to do more research to see which one I'd want to drop. We'd also be open to scheduling with a tour group to visit the Appian way if that would maximize our time out at there...

Julie, expect shops in smaller towns to be closed every Sunday, not just Easter. April 21 - I haven't been to the Baths of Caracalla. As I said, Trajan's Market is underwhelming, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the Capitoline Museum. I hope you get to Palazzo Massimo - it's near Termini. Maybe you could fit it in on Apr 20. The food tour may well cover a lot of the ground that Rick's walk does. His Ghetto walk is quite interesting too (and short) - and just a few meters from the beginning of his Trastevera tour.

I'm assuming you are renting a car in Siena before going to Volterra, San Gimignano before ending up in Montelpulciano. That's a lot of driving in one day. It's like an hour and a half to Volterra, then nearly another hour to San Gimignano and the finally 1-1/2-2 hours to get to Montepulciano. That might be 4 plus hours of driving that day. Sounds pretty rushed to me and little time to enjoy the cities.

I like your itinerary in general but suggest you not be too ambitious. Everyone's travel style is different but for me less is more. Two nights Siena, three in Montepulciano(with a car) night in Orvieto after dropping the car and then train to Rome. I'd spend the whole time exploring Siena and wait till you get to Montepulciano to do day trips.

More time in Rome or more time in rural Tuscany is a difficult choice; I don't have any easy way to help you decide. (I really like the ancient Roman stuff too.)

One idea for that area. To drive to Volterra, and visit San Gimignano, then back to Siena, does make for a long driving day. You could consider cutting your time in Montepulciano to two nights, and then add a one-night stay in San Gimignano. San G. is one of those places that is much nicer in the evenings and early mornings, when the day-trip visitors have left.

It's just my own opinion, but I'm not so into spending vacation time taking a cooking lesson. Why don't you find an Italian chef where you live and take a couple of cooking lessons before your vacation - that way, you'll have in mind the types of dishes you want to look for and eat while you're there.

I agree about Trajan's market. If you look at pictures online, that's about the view you'll get when you're there. Domus Aurea, on the other hand, I found VERY interesting. I haven't (yet) been to the House of Augustus and the House of Livia. The Capitoline Museum is very good, especially if you like mosaics.

To do a 5.5-hour tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill makes for a long history-filled day, and then you're following it with an evening tour as well. You won't have much downtime that day, or much time to spend sitting at cafes.

One thing about scheduling so many guided tours is that you have less opportunity to change your mind and do something else, or to change your schedule due to weather. You might want to consider self-guided tours, based on info from the internet or a guide book. There are so many ancient (and more recent) artifacts in Rome that you may want some time to just wander around on your own.

If you decide on Appian Way you definitely do not need a tour. You can walk as much of it as you like, or not, by simply using all the excellent details in Rick's books. A tour group, if there is such a thing, will do nothing but slow you down. If you get there, one thing not to miss are the amazing San Callisto catacombs. Check the schedules of the 2 catacombs out there, they're open different days and times, again see RS books. IMO, San Callisto site is worth the bus ride even if you don't do any more walking to see anything else. Your April 21 schedule seems full if you do justice to the Capitoline. Rick suggests it will take 2 hours, but I recently spent almost 4 hours there. Absolutely fascinating!

Great feedback, thank you! I have to agree that we'll be happier and more relaxed if we cut the SG/Volterra daytrip out of our itinerary. After researching Volterra more, I think we'd really enjoy an overnight there, or at least a very full day. And that doesn't even count in SG. So, our plan is to save them both for another trip so we're not rushed and stressed and can do them justice. This relaxes up the southern Tuscany portion; I think it's a great idea to overnight in Orvieto for an easy car drop and train ride to Rome. I've adjusted our itinerary to Friday night in Siena, S/S/M nights in Montepulciano, and T night in Orvieto. We spent a few nights in Orvieto on our honeymoon and loved it...it would be wonderful to get back to it on our anniversary! :)

For Tuesday, before we get to Orvieto, if we haven't gotten our fill of southern Tuscany, I figure we can explore the area more before we head to Orvieto. If we feel that we're ready to move on, I'm keeping Civita di Bagnoregio and Mostri Park in my back pocket. I've been strangely fascinated by those sculptures ever since I first laid eyes on them and Civita di Bagnoregio looks very special to see.

The itinerary change frees up our first day in Rome by a few hours too. Perhaps we could do a food tour that first night in Rome, if we do one at all. We actually have yet to do a food tour on any of our trips...they always have looked fun but they've been eliminated by other activities having the priority. Sounds like Trajan's Market is the likely suspect to cut for this trip and perhaps we'll replace it with the Palazzo Massimo. I need to sit down to do more thorough research but it sounds like we're off to a good start with our Rome planning.

Lexma, I completely agree about having too many guided tours...I don't want to feel too pinned down. But, I have to say, I got SO much more out of the Colosseum and Forum when we saw them on our honeymoon with a guide than when I had seen them on my own in college. My husband loved the guided tour as well. We did get super lucky by having a top-notch fellow who really brought the whole thing to life for us. So, it leaves me a little conflicted on self-touring versus going with a guide.

Another thought here...does anyone have any particular romantic ideas for things to do in Rome? April 21 is our actual wedding anniversary. I would like to find a special dinner restaurant with great atmosphere and maybe a nice view. I would love any suggestions for other activities that may or may not be on the beaten path. I'll of course be doing my own research, but I'd love any ideas! :)

Been to the places you are going and love the way you laid it out for the most part. No vatican? I loved the Scavi tour there. Where Christian or non Christian it is a must see. Also, I really loved the Borghese Gallery and a walk a walk through the park. It is there Central Park and the gallery is great but doesn't take long. Have lunch in the Piazza Popolo. sorry if spelling is off.

I always hear people invoke the bus as THE way to get to Siena. I traveled there by train - Roma Termini to Firenze SNM to Siena. And you can too.

The trip takes about 3 hours... approx the time mentioned above for a bus. And one person mentioned vertigo from the bus ride. If the travel time is similar and the cost in a relative ballpark, I go by train. They are close enough for me and I consider myself a budget traveler.
We took a cab to our B&B, as the train station is not an easy walk to where we were staying.
I REALLY enjoyed Siena and I hope you find it rewarding, as well.

Your trip looks good but I would add Orvieto,has a beautiful Church and museum and a well plus nice walkable city,we spent three nights and day tripped to Civita and Pienza.Another town on your route is Cortona.
Mike

It sounds like the plan's emphasized textcoming together nicely. Have you been to Assisi? If not, consider stopping there before Orvieto, for a day if not an overnight.

Tom, no Vatican this trip. We visited on our honeymoon but definitely did not do the Scavi tour. I think it would be very interesting on a return trip. We just know we can't do it all but we do know that if all goes well we will definitely be making several more trips to Italy and we'll get back to the Vatican on one of them! :) We also saw the Borghese on our first trip...but...seeing as this is a "romantic" trip I think it might be nice going back.

Ribaholic, the train will be our backup. It would actually be fastest to hop on the bus to Siena from the actual airport instead of training into town and walking to the bus station and waiting for the bus. We just have to see if we get lucky and avoid delays or not.

Mike, our revised itinerary still has a little amount of time in Orvieto, which we are both very much looking forward to! We stayed 3 nights on our honeymoon so we don't need as much time to see the sights. We're just planning on strolling and enjoying the town and having a nice dinner somewhere. Also looking forward to seeing if the same couple that ran a wine and cheese store is still there. :)

Chani, I'm guessing we'll save Assisi for another trip too. I'm guessing we'll run out of time with all the different ideas for things to do and places to see! It's amazing how much there is to do in such a relatively small area.

I still have more work to do on the Rome portion. And then diving into the details...hopefully I'll get back to it soon!