Venice, Florence & Rome - Favourite Places/Advance Tickets November

Late October and early November bring the aqua alta to Venice. There may be floods in St. Mark's square but they have elevated walkways so it's not usually a big deal. Crowds aren't usually a big deal that time of year. We went on our honeymoon the first two weeks in November and spent 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence and 5 nights in Rome. We did not pre-book anything except hotels and train tickets between the cities. You can save a bit of money if you buy in advance. There are two train options: italotreno.it and trenitalia.com. Both offer high speed trains between the three cities. Check both web sites and choose the best time for your situation. Second class is perfectly fine on either train. You may also want to consider whether or not you want to take any tours. The Secret Itineraries tour of the Doge's Palace in Venice is a nice tour that you can pre-book. Also, if you plan to go to the Vatican Museum, I would consider pre-booking a tour or at least buying your tickets on-line in advance. Sometimes the queue can be quite long there. Same goes for the Accademia and Uffizi in Florence. One suggestion - we made it a point to go inside every church we passed in every city or town we visited in Italy. Some were not ornate but some were extraordinary!

Thanks for the train information and suggestions for pre-booking certain sites! It's exactly the type of information I was looking for! Also, I love visiting churches so I will try to visit every one I pass ... such a great idea! Truly can't wait for this trip!

Hi there, Joyce!

(Editing previous note)
I'd previously asked about your interests but see now that you've listed museums, historic places and touristy things. Guess I need more coffee this morning! 😴

Rome: our favorite museum, hands down, is Galleria Borghese. We enjoyed it far more than the mob at the Vatican Museums as it has excellent crowd control. The collection is superb and the building itself is almost as interesting as what's in it. My personal favorite of "David" sculptures (by Bernini) is here. Pre-reservations for 2-hour time slots (the max amount of time you're allowed to visit) are mandatory, and you can do that here (official ticketing site):

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/en/home_en/borghese-gallery-and-museum

I'll skip right over the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine as well as the Vatican as I'm sure other posters will list them. Among our personal favorites are some of the glorious churches; San Giovanni in Laterano, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Sabina, Santa Maria del Popolo, Santa Maria in Trastevere, and Pantheon just to name a few. Most of those I've listed are very old - although most have also seen numerous overhauls during their lifetimes - and have interesting histories and valuable art. No entry fees (aside from the Pantheon which will have a small fee in 2018) or reservations needed at any of these

Florence: I'll skip over the obvious Uffizi and Accademia and right to the Convent of San Marco; no advance tickets needed, and the Fra Angelico's are wonderful:

http://www.polomusealetoscana.beniculturali.it/index.php?it/190/museo-di-san-marco-firenze&utm_source=visitflorence.com&utm_campaign=DiscoverTuscany&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=/florence-museums/san-marco.html

Some info in English:
http://www.florenceartmuseums.com/san-marco-museum/

Piazzale Michelangelo (for a terrific view of the city) and San Miniato al Monte, which is just up a flight of stairs from the piazzale. This is a very old and lovely church.

http://www.sanminiatoalmonte.it/orari

Open for visiting at 9:30 AM - 7:00 PM and entrance is free but there's a mass in Gregorian chant at 5:45 during the weekdays (5:30 on Sunday) that is supposed to be marvelous ( we've yet to land here at the right time). If not interested in the service, I'd visit before that hour.

Bargello: another great museum, and housed in a former Medieval prison; no advance tickets needed:
http://www.bargellomusei.beniculturali.it/musei/1/bargello/

Just a start?

If you wish to do the Sectet Itineraries tour in the Doges' Palace in Venice ( highly recommended), you should book that in advance as the English tours sell out, even in October/November. I will find the link to the official booking site and post it later.

The only other thing I would pre-book in Venice is a timed entry into San Marco basilica some between 11:30 and 12:30. That is when they turn on the lights to illuminate the mosaics ( on weekdays) and it is well worth the small reservation fee. Booked for 11:30 and went straight upstairs to the museum area ( fee involved there) so we could stand at the balcony rail overlooking the church and see the illumination from there. After gazing our fill and stepping outside among the replica horses on the exterior balcony, we went back downstairs to tour the floor area.

http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/informazioni-per-i-turisti/prenotazioni/?lang=en

Venice is a great place to just wander. If you enjoy popping into churches, get a Chorus Pass for €12, which will cover all the churches on the list:

https://www.chorusvenezia.org/en

Separate entry without the Pass is €3 each, so if you visit only four you will still break even. It is fun to explore and find your way to as many as you can. I particularly recommend Santa Maria die Miracoli which is my favorite exterior. After wending your way through the streets of Cannareggio you turn a corner and see this lovely marble church in a tiny campo. Also San Giacomo del'Orio, for the campo itself ( never been inside the church but the campo is our favorite for local flavor).

And San Giorgio Maggiore, which you must reach by vaporetto. After seeing the church, re-board the vaporetto heading toward Giudecca, get off at Zitellinajd wander around the island a bit before returning to the main island complex. If the weather happens to be nice, take the vaporetto heading west down the Giudecca Canal to Piazzale Roma for views of parts of Venice you might jot otherwise see. Then you can ride down the Grand Canal back to your starting place.

We did the Walks Of Italy evening tour of St Marks Church and Doges Palace. The groups were smaller and tour guide excellent. They also turned on the lights to let us enjoy the beautiful mosaics. Reserve in advance. I liked using my evening time for this, day still free for something else.
Second Trastevere in Rome and St Mary’s there.
Uffizi in Florence but reserve tickets on line or stand in line.

By "evening tour" do you mean this one for $159?

https://www.walksofitaly.com/venice-tours/vip-st-marks-and-doges-palace-tour

Looks to me like it does not do the actual Secret Itineraries. That can be booked directly with the official site for €20.

I am sure it is wonderful to be inside St. Marks without all the crowds, but is it really worth that much money? A skip-the-line reservation is only €2, and for another 5€ you can go upstairs and out on the balcony.

In Rome we did an early-access tour of the Vatican Museums with Dark Rome (not Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine tour) for around $57 each. We were the very first ones in the Sistine Chapel and had it to ourselves for about 20 minutes. That was great, but would not have been worth another $100 per person.

Hi Sasha,
Yes its expensive for sure. If its worth it depends. I wanted to see what the tour offered and in the evening, freeing up my daytime for other interests. The size of the group was comfortable but by no means sparse. We had ample room to walk, sit and move about without crowds but our tour group was full. I did think about it for a few days before booking, I liked the experience they offered and the guide was excellent in his knowledge, sharing it, and leading the group. At the end most of our group stood outside together and continued talking about the basilica and Venice with him. So it was a friendly experience.
It really depends on what you think is worth it for you and how you want your vacation to be spent. It is expensive.