Should a day be taken away from Rome or Venice for Bologne?

IMO those days are better spent where you already have them. Bologne is worthwhile but 3 days in Rome and 2 in Venice are not a lot of time. 1 day in the CT is going to be tight. There's no right or wrong answer here, but realistic travel times, to get from one destination to another, waiting for trains, checking in and out of hotels, etc, needs to be taken into account. Some travelers would not give Lucca an entire day.

It seems like you'll be spendings a lot of time traveling. I would cut a couple of places out, actually.

Agree. I would do less locations. maybe even leave rome early train to siena for a day trip then train to CT area two days and add a day to rome. But it also depends what you are looking for

Okay, you came here hoping to get opinions right? Here's my opinion. Not only should you NOT try to pack Bologna into this itinerary, you should drop at least Lucca from what you already have planned. Otherwise you're going to wear yourself out from packing, unpacking, getting to the train station, waiting for the train, riding the train, getting from the train station to your next lodging, etc. Think of all the time you could be enjoying in one of these towns instead. FWIW, I never do less than two nights anywhere. Three is better and four is the best.

I agree with the others Stefanie...you're moving around way too much & you'll waste a lot of valuable sightseeing time in transit between places. You could easily just split your total time between Rome & Venice. I would definitely drop the CT...it's out of the way & I'd save it for another trip. I personally would also drop Lucca but it's just my opinion; of all the places we visited, Lucca was my least favorite & it's out of the way too. If you really want to visit Lucca, save it for when you visit the CT on your next trip (it's only a few hours away). So, I would drop the CT & Lucca & add a day to Rome & a day to Venice & then visit Bologna as a day trip from Venice (if you're really inclined to visit Bologna). You could easily fill up 4 days in Rome; there's a lot to do there & even in 4 days, you'll just be skimming the surface! Have a great trip!

Agree with the others. Drop a couple of the other towns and add to Rome or Venice. I wouldn't take away from anything to go to Bologna.

I also agree with the others. Too many places in too little time. I enjoyed Lucca and CT, but I don't think you have enough time to go out of the way for them. Save those places for another trip. I like to plan my trips by counting the number of nights I stay somewhere. Two nights equal one full day. How many nights are you staying in each place?

Might as well make it unanimous - I'll also say you're trying to cram too much into your schedule. Don't try to see it all (as Rick Steves likes to say "go with the assumption that you WILL come back.") I can't agree more with Michael - an absolute minium of 2 nights in any given town is a great rule of thumb for travel.

The only exception to my rule is when I can swing a 22 hour layover someplace on a return flight. We did that most recently with Paris and once before with Copenhagen. That allowed us to do a "toe-dip" into the city, arriving early afternoon and then leaving the next morning. But it's no way to plan an entire trip.

Well I'll be the one dissenter. It really depends on what your interests are and what you're looking to see/do/experience in Italy. If you are looking to experience the best food and gelato in Italy then you will want to do at least a day in Bologna. The Italians don't call it "Bologna La Grassa" ("Bologna The Fat") for nothing...

To me the issue isn't whether Bologna is worth visiting in general. It certainly is. The issue is whether it makes sense for the OP to add it to her already too crowded itinerary.

Bologna is certainly worth visiting, but your itinerary is already packed. I'd suggest trading Lucca for Bologna if you want to visit the place. I know Rick Steves despise Bologna and consider it "second tier", but I respectfully disagree and I think Bologna is one of the most underrated Italian cities. Another option if for you to fit Bologna as a day-trip from Toscana to Venezia, as either by car or train you will pass right by the city (or change trains there) anyway.

I don't believe Rick "despises" Bologna so much as he sees it not really worth focusing on for his base - the first-time traveler. I mean, there aren't any major tourist sites there, are there? Bologna should be saved for your second or third trip to Italy, IMHO. But yes the food there is amazing. That said, I do wish Rick would expand his list of Italian cities a bit more, and include Bologna while he's at it.