Venice, Cinque terre

Not sure why you think walking around by yourself would be prohibited. Unless you do an organized tour to CT (do they even have them?) from Florence you don't have a choice by to walk around by yourself. Same goes for Venice, you can choose a tour if you want. I just returned from Italy and I went to both of those places. My husband's observation about gondolas - it's like a ride at Disneyland...with all the gondolas jammed together on the canals. It's not quite the romantic setting that you might think it is. Maybe at night it would be different, but it would be hard to accomplish a night time gondola ride on a day trip.

Agreed, we will walk around the 5 towns by ourselves. I am still in a quandry about what I need to see while only in Venice for one day. The family seems interested in a gondola ride, all 30 minutes of it. What then, just start walking and keep walking. What special places would you recommend to visit?

I would suggest you buy RS's Venice guidebook, which is full of details about what to do and see in Venice. It includes some self-guided walking tours as well. (I assume you are aware that you will be spending a minimum of 4 hours that day just on the trains between Florence & Venice.)

Kathleen, my first suggestion would be to have a look at the "Italy 2011" Guidebook (it should be available in larger bookstores in your area). That will provide a description of the sights in each location so you can find ones which interest you. Packing the Guidebook along would be a good idea. One thing to note is that Rick rates the sites in each location with "triangles", which will give you some idea on which ones are more worthwhile to visit. For example, the Doge's Palace has three triangles, so that's one you may wish to visit. ¶ A few comments though. The cost for the Gondola rides ranges from €80-130 depending on time and "frills" (ie: music with the ride). IMO the rides are overrated and expensive and keep in mind also that in late November they might be a bit "chilly". ¶ Regarding the Cinque Terre, it consists of five small villages and yes, you can walk around by yourselves. However, walking from one village to another is a bit of a "hike" and if you're only going to be there for a few hours I'd suggest taking the local train between villages. I doubt that you'll have time to hike the trails. Again, that area will likely be "chilly" in late November and probably somewhat "quiet", as some of the tourist facilities close down in the winter. One other point to note is that travel by rail from Florence to the C.T. will take about 2.5-3 hours in EACH direction, usually with one change in Pisa or other location. If you'll only be there on a day trip, you won't have a lot of time. Happy travels!

From the train station, buy a ticket for the Vaporetto. This is the boat-bus for getting around Venice..... When you arrive in the San Marco area, look around for Gondolas. You can negotiate the rate with the gondoleers. For 4 people the rate may seem reasonable..... Read up on Venice or just walk around starting from San Marco.....It's all "magical." If there is high water, be prepared to walk on elevated walkways.

Kathleen, Do you plan a RT from Florence to Venice in one day? Late Nov time frame equals about 13 hours of daylight, with about 5 of those hours on the train. If so, I would forgo Venice this time. 8 hours is not enough time to make it meaningful, IMHO.

Another alternative - for which I personally would vote - would be to skip CT and give 2 days to Venice.

Which city should I fly into to get a train to Cinque Terra? Milan, Florence, Rome?