Venice, Florence and Rome. April or May 2018

Congratulations! Be aware, this will be your first trip to Italy with more to come!

V-F-R is a great way to start. April and May are great months. Later in May it can start to get warm, so I recommend earlier rather than later. Easter is April 1, so avoid that period. April 25 is a holiday, though fairly minor in how it might affect tourists, but May 1 is a huge holiday and if you can avoid being in Italy then, it might be good as it can affect open sites and transportation. (For example, buses in Rome are problematic/undependable the afternoon of May 1.)

Places to stay and eat are best covered by reading a guidebook or two. (The guy who runs this site writes a good one.) And you can use the search bar above to see how eating and sleeping in various cities has been covered recently. (Note you can narrow search results down to the last 6 months.) For example, you can type in "Dining in Rome" and then narrow results to the Travel Forum by using the link on the left, and further limit it to 6 months, a year, etc.

I start checking hotels as soon as I have airlines arranged and know my itinerary, number of nights per city, order of travel. It is best if you fly into Venice and out of Rome. Museum tickets & tours can wait (usually) until a couple of months out.

Weather averages below. I recommend May, the best month to visit Italy.
http://www.holiday-weather.com/rome/averages/may/
http://www.holiday-weather.com/florence/averages/may/
http://www.holiday-weather.com/venice/averages/may/

Crowds in those cities are a constant from April through October. It is particularly more crowded during Easter week, but next year that will come early so it won't apply to you.
The most crowded time of the year is generally the last week of April, because, besides the weekend, there are two major holidays, and lots of Italian tourists, European tourists, and school groups visit those cities in April.
April 25: (Liberation day, anniversary of the end of Fascism and Nazi occupation)
May 1: Labor Day throughout Europe. Nearly Everything is pretty much closed on May 1 (museums included)
You will need early hotel reservations for that period, whichever city you may be in.

I'll leave the hotel suggestion to others. But you can find plenty of accommodations on www.booking.com. That's what I use.

Thank You for the quick reply, great information. We bought Rick Steves "Best of Italy book this past weekend. It is going to be very helpful in planning our trip, along with your information. Any thoughts on "must see sights" on our first trip?

Late April was a very nice time for Venice and Siena with the Val d' Orcia(Pienza, etc) But be aware the off shoulder season for Florence is disappearing. We arrived in Venice April 27 this year to some really crowded streets and boats as well. We planned to spend May 1 in Venice and it worked well to avoid Bank holiday issues. We arrived in Florence May 2, walked around some before heading to Siena for a week. If weather is your main worry , it was nice other than cooler nights and occasional rain in Venice. For crowds, Florence was crowded by the Domo,less so in the Sante Croce area. The first trip we had made to Florence was in Feb last year and that is now my preferred time to see it. Night and day as far as my recent April -May experience and crowds. Have no plans to see Florence in the spring again. Not bad, not like summer, just not nearly as easy to enjoy due to volume of visitors. Feb hadsome cold weather and rain, but I had a much better experience in Florence in Feb.

First priority is to get to knos more abut what you want to see, choose the areas you want to stay in, then read reviews and make reservations for Venice, Florence , Rome as far in advance as you can. Don't worry about museum tickets until much closer, don't buy train tickets for arrival day, do look at the two train systems of Trenitalia and the private one italotreno. You just need to lay out the itinerary first then watch for great airfare and do fly open jaw in through northern Italy such as Venice, Verona Milan and out from Rome. Or just make sure your in the same place as clse to your departing airport the night before leaving. No worries that way about making your flight. Don't limit yourself to RS travel book, its a great one but others are good and give you a variety to get more input.
We were in Italy in Feb last year and started making plans to return with in a month of that. I purchased flight tickets last Sept for the April trip. I booked hotels a few weeks after that. Venice is one place where staing in Venice is the best option as you can enjoy it in the early morning and evening when the day trippers aren't there. We loved the area by the Guggenheim in Venice, loved being right next to the Pantheon(Alberto del Senato) in Rome. In Florence we stayed near the Domo and liked that area but the hotel is very expensive so I will not mention it here.

Italy is a terrific place and the trains a pleasure to use. We have been back 2.5 months and are talking about the 3rd trip next year.

Any thoughts on "must see sights" on our first trip?

Congratulations on your anniversary, Ed and Evelyn!

The problem with listing must-sees is that my list - or someone else's - may not be yours at all! The best thing to do is to spend some time with some guidebooks and see what appeals to YOU. After you have a list of attractions which sound interesting, we can talk about tickets and whatnot. Really, I could send you to fabulous old churches, with killer art and architecture, and Roman ruins all day long but if you don't care for those things then it's not helpful. Make sense?

You could help us along a bit with an idea of what you two like to do and see on your travels? What sort of time you are planning for each city will make a difference as well.

An example might be gondola rides. Many loved them. We preferred to learn how to do it and some of the history of them. Row Venice was a positive experience for us but might not be for others.

I'd opt for April over May, partly because I handle cold better than heat but mostly because the earlier in the year, the fewer the crowds and the lower the room prices (I am a budget traveler). Weather is unpredictable in Europe and, with all due respect, averages tell you nothing. Winters are mild in most of Italy (50's-60's), and even in February (most of my experience), sunny days are more common than rainy ones. You're likely to need rain ponchos or umbrellas in either month.
You'll want warmer clothes: fleece jackets or similar, maybe a sweater, slacks. But there will be days when you'll be glad you're in short sleeves and sandals.

How long a trip are you planning? What are your main interests?

Chani is right. We are both proponents of off-season travel, and while April would be considered 'shoulder season' with a fair amount of tourists indeed, traveling then is tons better than in the middle of June or July from my standpoint.

What's really interesting is that while Rome is latitude-wise on a par with New York City, Rome's climate is far more temperate, mostly 40's and 50's in January and February. That is why some retired friends of ours from Chicago choose to spend their winters in Rome rather than Florida or Arizona--we met them this last February/March and while busy, the city seemed capable of handling tourists at that time quite adeptly.

I cannot argue with your choice of the big three to visit, but just be advised that Italy is so much more. There are many daytrips from all three cities, I'm sure governed by how long you plan on spending in Italy. My advice would be 14 nights on the ground at a minimum.

Enjoy your planning!

Good Morning to all,

We are planning on spending 11 days in Italy. Venice - 3 days, Florence - 4 days, Rome - 4 days, not counting our 2 travel days.
We are still looking at other guide books. So far we have come up with a wish list of what we would like to visit.

Venice - St Marks Basilica, Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge, Accademia, Campanila, La Salute Church. A Gondola ride is a must.

Florence - Uffizy Gallery and Courtyard, Duomo/Campanile, Medici Chapel, Palazzo Vecchio, Santa Croce Church, Ponte Vecchio, Baptistry, Museum of San Marco.

Rome - Coliseum, Forum, Pantheon, St Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum, Borghese Gallery, Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain.

This is probably to much to see for 11 days. Your suggestions and advice will be greatly appreciated.

We are planning on spending 11 days in Italy. Venice - 3 days,
Florence - 4 days, Rome - 4 days, not counting our 2 travel days.

This is a good amount of time for all three: well done! Conservatively, this will give you 2.5 days in Venice, 3.5 days in Florence and 3.5 days sightseeing in Rome after subtracting arrival day process in Venice and transport/resettling time between the other two. Flying into Venice and out of Rome is a great idea as many flights to the States leave Venice in the early morning, which can mean an o'dark thirty alarm and a few transport challenges.

I don't think your current must-see list is to long although there may be one or two things I'd substitute for others. You'll probably be working around a day or so when some attractions are closed so knowing your actual dates will be helpful at some point.

More on attraction tickets coming up.... :O)

Speaking for Florence, if you want to travel off season, that is January and February. Easter week and the last April week, bordering with two festivities, are big time for Italian tourists.

OK, tickets, and starting with Florence:

Uffizy Gallery and Courtyard, Duomo/Campanile, Medici Chapel, Palazzo
Vecchio, Santa Croce Church, Ponte Vecchio, Baptistry, Museum of San
Marco.

Doing some rough math, you have just enough here to break even on the Firenze Card. This will allow you to skip any long ticket lines (but not security check queues) and eliminate* the need for timed reservations at any attractions, such as Uffizi, which have those long lines. This is how I figured individual entry fees:

Uffizi - 20 euro + 4 reservation fee if buying timed, advance tickets (price is going up next year)
Palazzo Vecchio - 18 euro
Duomo complex (bell tower, museum, baptistry, dome, church) - 15 euro
Medici Chapel - 8 euro
San Marco - 4 euro
Santa Croce - 8 euro
Ponte Vecchio is a free walk-by.

It's possible the the price of the card will go up in accordance with the 2018 raise in Uffizi (and Pitti Palace/Boboli Gardens) entry fees but right now it's 72 euro for 3 consecutive days/72 hours. For an additional 5 euro, you may purchase the Firenze+ card which covers the city's public transit system for those 3 consecutive days. Central Florence is pretty compact and easy to get around on foot but for a few extra euro, it might be nice to have that option should your feet give out. :O)

http://www.firenzecard.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=103&lang=en

We weren't wild about the Medici Chapel, and thought the Bargello was much more worthwhile. I'm also a bit surprised that you didn't want to sneak a peek at that big naked guy (Michelangelo's "David") at the Accademia as it's on almost EVERY list but that's OK if it's a miss for you. Anyway, you can probably do all this within the 72-hour life of the pass unless you spend ALL day at the Uffizi or the duomo complex. This does mean skipping any day trips outside of the city but that's fine too: we saved those for the next trip as well as there's SO much to see in the city itself!

On your first 1/2 day you might want to go see the bridge and get up to Piazzale Michelangelo for a breathtaking view of the city. Up a flight of steps from that piazza is a wonderful old church - San Miniato al Monte - that's well worth seeing. Attending a Gregorian-chant service there is also well worth the time (5:30 or 5:45 weekdays; 5:30 on Sundays).

http://www.sanminiatoalmonte.it
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/san-miniato.html

• Even with the Firenze Card, reservations are mandatory for the duomo's dome. (editing to add: this was the starred footnote to an above note but RS formatting comes out as a bullet!)