Suggestions for 5 extra days/nights in Italy?

Some great choices here BB! I think, for the time you have, you have divided the days/nights very well. Each of these cities will show you a different aspect of Italian culture - the people, the food, the art, the history, the shopping. While in Venice may I recommend that you add Torcello to your trip to Burano. It's a very short boat ride (vaporetto). The two churches there are well worth the trip. The rest of the island is pretty much lagoons and fields and extremely quiet. It's a great place to sit and have a cool drink. Burano is beautiful! It's also just a fun place to walk around.

Now, about your extra days. Siena is worth a few nights. Too many people go there for the day but I find the nights there enchanting and laidback. On your way to Venice, how about a couple of nights in Padova? Verona isn't hard to get to either. For all of these options, Florence would be the central point for transportation. Realize that each of these would be little more than an appetizer - but the plate is plentiful and very satisfying. The secret is in the planning. You may not have time to do/see everything but make sure you have time to cherish what you do experience! Remember: you deserve this!!

Assisi and the Amalfi coast

I would definitely add another day or two to Florence, especially since you like art. You could also do a day trip to Siena one of those days. Perhaps look at a city somewhere between Florence and Venice to visit for a day or two. Maybe Bologna or Ravenna. Sounds like a wonderful trip!

Siena, Bologna, Verona, Padua, Orvieto.........none of which is out of your way with Rome-Florence-Venice as the main route.

The Orvieto cathedral is a Wow. I didn't care for Asissi-the Giotto frescoes there didn't warrant the trip. I've been to Florence 4 times and stay longer each time, when possible. Be sure to go to San Marco Museum-it's a rare opportunity to see art in its original location.
Relevant to your interests-You should be sure to go to San Clemente when you're in Rome. Also, The Forums in Rome have light shows at night.

We would go back to Orvieto, Padua and Verona. All right on your trip trail.

A couple nights in Siena would work between Rome and Florence. We loved Siena. The cathedral is amazing, we enjoyed walking the streets in the old town. We enjoyed a cocktail in a bar overlooking the piazza del campo. You could do both Orvieto and Siena between Rome and Florence. And another night in Florence would be good.

Oooh. Thanks for all the responses. I will look into all of these suggestions. Siena was mentioned several times, so I will definitely look into that. :)

So nice to be planning again.

With your expressed interests, I'll encourage you to go to Ravenna. Last time I was in Italy my route was to stop by Ravenna for 2 nights on the way to Venice from Rome.

The day in-between was just enough time for me to see all but the farthest away mosaics, but I could've visited them all.

There are many experiences that any of us could recommend, but visiting this World Heritage location with its Byzantine architecture and mosaic art to me is one that is not to be missed.

This is the link to the UNESCO listing of Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna : https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/788/

I'm not a religious person, but I'm a self-admitted mosaic nut. And I also like seeing places that have a long and varied history. My favorite church in Rome combines those interests, the Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano. When you enter, you can see the amazing medieval mosaics, but there's much more to see.

This link goes to its Wikipedia listing. Be sure to click on the church's history for a fascinating look at its past. I linked to the Wikipedia article because the church's website is difficult to use. However, they do have an English section on visiting here, if you scroll down far enough.

Finally, I saw on TV today that the lower areas of the Colosseum will now be open for tourists. You lucky dogs! I'm sure there are lots of tour operators that would love to take you.

It’s better to fly into Venice and out of Rome. Can you change your ticket so you don’t have to spend your last night near the airport?
If you have an extra day, take a direct bus from Florence to Siena (1h 15m) for the day. Siena is worth visiting and is probably ITs best day trip.

If you visit Padova, the Scrovegni Chapel is a big draw (Giotto frescoes), and requires reservations in advance. The Basilica of St. Anthony is spectacular. Just around the corner from it is the Orto Botanico and the Prato Della Valle, an enormous public square (oval, actually), with canals and statuary.

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I personally would consider one of the following: Assisi, Verona, Ferrara, or Padua, all easily accessible by train, all along your general route.

I'd suggest at least 1-2 more days in Florence given your interests. Padua is great for a day, easy train from Venice, so add that day to Venice. I agree that Torcello is well worth seeing if you're going to nearby Burano. I also really liked the San Clemente Church in Rome, if it's the one built atop a Mithraic temple, just south of the Colosseum.

I haven't been to the other places others recommended, but I'm sure they're worthwhile. However, you don't want to spread yourselves too thin and spend too much time moving from hotel to hotel. You have the best three bases you could choose, so it's a matter of maximizing them and working in a couple of day trips elsewhere.

Loving all the suggestions. Thank you.

I did want to start in Venice and end in Rome, in part because of the time of year. I thought it would be better to go farther south the deeper it got into November. However, it doesn't work out well with our flights from Canada to London. We would either have to stay overnight in London or arrive in Venice at 10 pm, after an overnight flight from Canada and a layover/ change of planes in London. Plus, the flight from Rome to London wouldn't have left us enough of a cushion before our flight home.

In Siena, the Cathedral and associated structures are indeed spectacular. If you’re interested in the history behind Il Palio, you could visit one of the Contrada museums. I stumbled upon the one for the Onde Contrada, but there are several more.
Also, if you visit Orvieto, you might want to peek into the archaeology museum, right near the gorgeous gorgeous Cathedral. One of the museum guides beckoned me over, and let me look around a couple of Etruscan tombs. There’s also the remains of an Etruscan temple close to the funicular stop.

Ravenna - you can buy a pass to five of the sites, and there are others well worth seeing. To see the Arian Baptistry, you pay a euro or two. I loved it in itself, and was intrigued by comparing it to the Neonian Baptistry. I didn’t make it to the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra, regrettably. Also didn’t succeed in catching a bus to St. Apollinaire in Classe - found out belatedly that it can be reached by train, albeit with limited hours.

“Art, architecture, and history.” Add Torcello to your itinerary, for sure. The church is, I believe, the original church of Venice.
If you take up the suggestion to include Ravenna (which I highly recommend you do), be sure to get yourselves out to S. Apollinaire in Classe. The mosaics are awesome. I would add a couple of nights in Ravenna, as there is so much to see.

Nothing wrong with flying out of Venice -- you're doing the right thing by spending the night near the airport. A few years ago we did that, and yes it was onerous to get to the airport before 6 am, but the Best Western near the airport is great and we had one of the best meals of our trip at a restaurant a short walk from it, and those hotels have early shuttles to airport. If you're coming from elsewhere in Italy, get off train at Venezia-Mestre and take a cab from there to airport hotels. For your extra days, what I would recommend is, you have picked the three most touristed cities in Italy, the "big three" that everyone wants to see, Rome, Venice and Florence, and indeed they are great -- but for your extra days, I recommend picking a LESS touristed city that is still very good. My recommendation is Bologna -- it's on your route, good connections to your Venice airport hotel, and having spent a few days there, it's great -- some of the best food in Italy, beautiful medieval city, easy day trip to the Byzantine splendor of Ravenna -- but there are so many great places in Italy, Bologna tends to be overlooked, perhaps because it has no totally amazing sight like Rome's ancient past, the canals of Venice, or Florence's art treasures. But do it! Wonderful city with relatively few tourists. In November, you won't want the beach. We visited Bologna that month and really enjoyed it.

Wow!

I'm busy researching all these great suggestions. So hard to choose!

Lots of great places, many mentioned above.
Siena, Pisa and Lucca are doable from Florence. Also, Umbria, Assisi, Perugia, Spello, Spoletto and Orvieto.
Ravenna is good, between Florence and Venice.

The Naples area, Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi Coast.

“So hard to choose.” That is why we’ve been to Italy 16 or 17 times, I’ve lost count! 😄
Unless it’s too personal to share, I wonder why you say it will be your only trip. We’re in our 80’s, and we lost a a 2020 trip due to covid. I’m pretty sure there is at least one more in our future. 2022?

Rosalyn, it's not too personal. It's just that we rarely repeat ourselves. The world is a large and wonderful place, and we want to see as much of it as we can. Also, at 63, I've already outlived my mother by 4 years and her father by 5, so I just don't assume that I will have time to be back.

We have sometimes gone to the same country more than once (England, France, and Germany), but in those cases, we've gone to different regions than before. So, if we do return to Italy (perhaps in combination with a future trip to Greece and Croatia?), we would go to the southern part and probably not return to the central/northern parts.

I would still like to go to Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Poland, Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands, St. Petersburg, southeast Asia, Colombia, more countries in Africa, and maybe Australia and New Zealand at some point, so returning to Italy would not be a priority in the near future.

Your itinerary looks good however you seem to be City centric Getting into the countryside will give you a much different view of italy.

Add a night to Rome and take a day trip to Orvieto 1H26m by train. Beautiful Duomo, hilltop Umbrian town.

Add 3 nights to Florence.

Day trips might include Siena 1H17m by bus.
Drop off is in the upper town, by train it's in the lower town.

Lucca, by train 1H19m. Walled town.

Bologna, by train 38 minutes. Food capital of Italy.

Certaldo by train 52 minutes. Take the funicular to the upper town, Alto. Views, winding alley ways, charming.

Pistoia, by train 33 min. medieval mini Florence. Wednesday and Saturday markets.

Add one night to Venice two possible day trips.

Padova, by train 28 min. much more here than the Scrovegni Chapel.

Vicenza by train 46 min. Palladian Architecture.

Hope some of these get you out of the cities.

Okay. Here is my tentative itinerary, taking into account the wonderful suggestions you've all given me. I wasn't able to incorporate all of them, of course. I made my choices based on what will give us variety and what appeals to my husband, also.

We may not visit every museum, palace, or gallery we've put on our list. Same with some of the day trip options (those in parentheses). Some of our choices will be dictated by weather (rainy weather may mean more time in museums and maybe fewer day trips), nice weather may mean more day trips.

Rome - 7 nights (6 days)
• Vatican
• Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona
• Campo de' Fiori
• Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna
• Basilica di San Clemente
• Colisseum
• Pantheon
• Palentine Hill
• Galleria Borghese
• Capuchin catacombs
• Capitoline Museums
• Appian Way
• Aqueduct Tour
• Pompeii (1 day)
• Day trip to Orvieta and Civita di Bagnoreggio
• Tivoli
Possible, but not likely:
• (Ostia Antica?)
• (Garden of Bomarzo (Monster Park)?)

Florence - 6 nights (5 1/2 days)
• Uffizi Gallery
• Galleria dell'Accademia (David)
• Duomo
• Ponte Vecchio
• Piazza della Signoria
• Piazzale Michelangelo
• Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
• Palazzo Pitti 
• Boboli Gardens
• Battistero
• Palazzo Strozzi
• Museo di San Marco
• day trip to Siena
• (day trip to Pisa/Lucca?)
• (Fiesole?)

Verona 1 night (2 half-days) (will probably use luggage storage at hotel or station for part of a day)
• Castelvecchio and Ponte Scaligero
• Arco dei Gavi
• Arena di Verona
• Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore
• Piazza delle Erbe
• Sant'Anastasia
• Duomo di Santa Maria Matricolare
• Casa di Giulietta (yes, I know it's fake)

Venice - 4 nights (~3 1/2 days) (last night at airport, but will use luggage storage to spend most of the last day in the Venice island area)
• St. Marks Basilica/Square
• Campanile di San Marco
• Doge’s Palace
• Rialto Bridge
• Bridge of Sighs
• Gallerie dell’Accademia
• Peggy Guggenheim Collection
• Museo Civico Correr
• Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
• Burano, Murano, Torcello
Unlikely, but possible:
• (Padua (aka padova)?)

I see you have a day trip from Rome to Orvieto and Civita. Do not try this in one day! Orvieto needs a full day, at least. Getting to Civita takes some time, from what I remember there is a bus, maybe ran twice a day?

Thanks for the info, Charlotte. According to Rome to Rio, there are trains to Orvieto, and the trip takes just over an hour. There are also companies that offer private day tours of Orvieto and Civita. But I will definitely look into the practicality of this, especially given that days are short in November.

Your trip is very "city" centric. Unless you are really adverse to changing hotels I would break up those city stays with a few nights in smaller towns in between. We enjoy the mornings and evenings so much in smaller towns, by only day tripping you will miss that

Stay 2 nights in Orvieto- I think you'd be hard pressed to do both Orvieto and Civita on a day trip from Rome in November. Use first day to enjoy Orvieto sights, 2nd day for Civita.

Verona- stay 2 nights. 1 night is just a pain to us!

(Haven't been to either of those places but will visit in Sept and are giving both 2 nights)

Good ideas for Verona. I have a couple more suggestions- the Giardino Giusti, and the Ponte Pietra.

Spend the night in Orvieto even if you have to steal some time from somewhere else. Seeing the setting sun turn the magnificent cathedral golden is something not to be missed. I'm hoping to be in Orvieto late October, early November, and plan to enjoy my sunset Aperol spritz even if I have to wear a parka. Of course, if it rains... But, seriously, Orvieto is wonderful!

Okay. Based on the feedback I've received, I've decided to hire a driver to take us to the Monster Park and Civita di Bagnoregio and then drop us in Orvieto in the late afternoon. We will spend the night in Orvieto and then take the train from there to Florence. I think we will still plan on Siena as a day trip from Florence, though, because we are backtracking otherwise. The only issue I see with doing it this way is it leaves us no flexibility to work around the weather. If the day we book to go to Orvieto is pouring rain, we're stuck with it, vs doing a day trip.

So:
Rome: 6 nights. Day trip to Pompeii and partial-day trip to Tivoli.
Orvieto: 1 night with stops at Sacro Bosco and Civita
Florence: 5 nights with day trip to Siena and possible excursion to Pisa (going to play that one by ear, as it's not a huge priority for us)
Verona: 2 nights
Venice: 4 nights

For the most part, you have really packed days. If you wind up needing to trim some, I suggest Bomarzo and Civita. We’ve been almost everywhere on your list. We were seriously underwhelmed by the former. As to Civita, it remains a wonder to me that RS has managed to convince so many people that that insignificant hamlet is worth any time or the effort required to get there. If you need nearby alternatives, consider Pitigliano or some of the Etruscan sites. There are a couple of towns in addition to Pitigliano, Sorano and Sovana. In that area, you can visit an archaelogical site that contains the Ildebranda Tomb and other remains dating back to the third century b.c.e. All three have charming medieval sections; and Pitigliano, once known as “little Jerusalem,” has the additional attraction of having been a Jewish center until WWII. If you were to hire a driver, this would be the a good use of that expense.
Btw, I would give Orvieto a full day or more, no stopping elsewhere on the way.

Thanks for the feedback.

We don't mind packed days. One of our most memorable, fun days in Europe was when we hired a driver to take us from Prague to Cesky Krumlov. We stopped at two castles on the way-- Castle Hluboka (a pretty fairy-tale of a castle, where we were able to tour inside) and Divci Kamen (a medieval ruin that we hiked through a forest to see). We then had the late afternoon, evening, and the next morning in Cesky Krumlov. We did everything we wanted to do, did not feel rushed, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. This strikes me as a somewhat similar situation, so I think we'll be all right.

I'm interested in seeing the monster park and taking some fun photos there.

Not every day will be packed like that--we always find time to wander around neighbourhoods, and we don't do nightlife, so our evenings are relaxed--but I don't mind the occasional packed day to see what I want to see.

Skip Fiesole, the drive to and from is scenic but there isn't much to do once there. I haven't been to Padua yet, but people like exploring the town and visiting the Scrovegni Chapel. To ensure a reservation buy your ticket before leaving home.

Thanks. Suggestions noted re: Giardino Giusti, the Ponte Pietra, and skipping Fiesole. Don't expect we will make it to Padua, but will keep it in mind in case we have time.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful suggestions.

We have completed our trip, and I have finished my trip report, here, if anyone is interested.: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/amsterdam-and-italy-finally-in-november-2021