Siena

Thanks so much, everyone! This has been very helpful. I was planning on seeing Orvieto as a day trip from Rome, but once I started thinking about Siena, I decided against Orvieto. But now that I really know the differences between the two, we will definitely see Orvieto. We will really need someplace to get away from the hustle and bustle of the cities.

Taking a day away from London?.........Or Florence?..........It's a tough call. It's hard to resist adding more towns/cities into a trip. It's the "well, I am over here, so I might as well see this and that" mentality that can take over our brains so before you know it, the travel plan is out of control. When I look at your itinerary, I would say maybe take a night away from Rome, if anything, maybe the long day trip to Naples/Pompei can be put off for another trip. Or maybe that day trip to Orvieto could be a in between a city visit instead of an extra day in Rome. We side tripped to Orvieto from Assisi and did it in a few hours but some may say you need more than that to really take it in. For my recent Italy trip, Siena, Assisi, and Venice were my favorite towns. I spent 4 nights in Rome and found that the perfect amount of time for me, and I saw everything that I wanted to see. That may not be enough time in Rome for everyone, though. I spent 3 nights in Florence and once again, it was the perfect amount of time to do what I needed to do there. I found that 3 nights in Venice is the minimum that a person should stay in Venice. I could easily spend weeks there personally, getting lost in it's mystery and magic. I have done Paris in 4 nights, but wished I had an extra night to take in all that I wanted to see. I did London in 7 days, and when I look back, I kick myself for missing many sites. But it was also my second european trip and I have grown up since then and now am a obsessed trip planner, never missing a beat when it comes to what a city has to offer;)
Knowing how cool Siena is, I would say, don't miss it. It has a mystery to it like Venice. It is very scenic and beautiful. It is not easy to maneuver as it is very hilly, with super steep streets. So really you won't go there to relax. You have to earn Siena's love with all the hardcore steep street walking you will do.

I'm glad to see you are considering adding a night to London. I would add one more and stay 4 nights. It will still be hard to do it justice in that amount of time, but realistically you have to make do with what time and budget you have. I love Paris. In my opinion you can't spend too many nights there. I would take the time from Rome and add it to Siena. I spent 3 weeks in Italy last September. We spent 3 nights in Rome. Did we see EVERYTHING? Of course not. But we saw enough. We started our trip there, and to be honest I was glad to leave. I found Rome to be a bit chaotic and stressful. I'm sure I will return some day, but it has not been my favorite place. I think you will enjoy breaking up your trip of cities by staying in a smaller place. Siena can do that for you. I think that for this trip you have the right amount of time for Florence and Venice.

I did six nights in Rome in 2009 and while it was fine, but probably could have done 5 nights and still seen what we saw and not feel rushed. I did the Siena day trip from Florence back in 2003 and am finally going back this May spending four nights there as a base for visiting other hilltowns in Tuscany. Its a little bigger than the average hilltown while still having hilltown charm and does offer change of pace from Rome and the other major cities you're visiting. Having only spent a day 8 years ago i'm not sure i can mention anything that you can't read in RS (or other) guidebook, but i just liked everything about the town, great history, many restaurants, very picturesque and of course Il Campo.

Kelly gives excellent advice, Bethanie: Siena is not a relaxing stop. It is a change of pace, but personally I did not like Siena. It was noisy, and beyond some shopping and the duomo, there's not much to do unless you are a church and museum fan OR if you take trips into the marvelous countryside around Siena, using it a base for Tuscany. You will get your dose of churches and museums in other cities. Keep your nights in London, Paris, Rome and Venice. In fact, I'd add one to Venice before I'd stay one night in Siena. You will be back! You can do a Tuscany trip "next time" and also hit other northern Italy locations when you return. Less can be more. (And I really think your Rome plan from your other posting is fabulous. It is an amazing and complex city. I love it! We are spending 7 nights there next December.)

I'd add a night to London and visit Siena on a future trip but if you really want to see Siena, then I would add a night to Florence and visit Siena as a day trip. We visited it twice during the day and I personally don't agree with Rick's advice to overnight there. We stayed in Siena on our last trip (at an agriturismo outside the Siena city walls) & we were in the walled city at night having dinner & walking around but I don't think we needed to spend a night inside the walled city to enjoy it any more. I didn't see a huge change at night vs day. What I would suggest though is using 1 of your days in Rome to take a day trip to Orvieto. To me, Orvieto was more interesting than Siena. It's only a 90-min train ride each way & it will make for a relaxing change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Rome!

I think the suggestion of Orvieto is a good one. Also liked it better than Siena which is not that small and seemed chaotic. We chose to skip it on our last ten day trip to Tuscany. Five nights in Rome is a nice amount of time-as much as I love Rome it can be intense and demanding. The "big three", Paris, London, and Rome will always be our favorite big cities to return to over and over. Have a great trip!

For my itineraries, I like to combine cities with countryside visits. Your itinerary has many days in large cities (London, Paris & Rome). For me, that is too much city and not enough country. The countryside provides a more relaxed atmosphere with mountains/hills and green instead of cement. I like to get away from the crowds and the intense siteseeing. As others have mentioned, Orvieto is a beautiful hilltown to visit and is easily accessible by train. This past Sept. we visited Siena and stayed in the Tuscan countryside. Nice combination, however, we had a car.

I think Siena is a day trip. I think Florence has way more to offer.