Venice vs Florence

hotel recommendations in both cities that are not too expensive?

What Bill Gates might consider OK , may make others bleed from their ears. You will get better/useful answers if you use 'numbers' to define your budget.

Venice or Florence..... Is steak better than apple pie? No wrong answer, just depends on what you want

Either choice will be wonderful. For food and art, Florence is better in my opinion. For just wandering around and exploring, I love Venice.

the two cities are completely different. I would find it difficult to compare they are so different.

As far as the art, it is different art, not necessarily better. Venice has a big advantage that almost all the art, except for modern, is in situ. Individual preferences, like mine, are of no significance - it is to you to decide which fits better with your preferences. For that you will have to do some homework.

Check out Carlo Scarpa’s architecture in Venice.
It will open your eyes.

Because there's a Venice Biennale in 2022, Venice has a contemporary art bonus this year. Not everyone likes contemporary art, of course.

It’s an individual choice, but if you haven’t had a chance to visit Venice before and you don’t plan to go back for your return flight, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to see Venice for a couple of days. Cortona is only 1.5 hour drive from Florence, so you could visit it on day trip(s) from your villa. I know people that commute to Florence from Camucia every day, so you can do the same from Cortona. After all once you’ve visited Cortona one afternoon, you are done.

If you are not heading back to Venice to fly out I'd stay in Venice for the 3 days just because after all it is Venice - now that said -Florence is my favorite city in Italy. We always make a part of our trip 2 -3 nights in Florence. I hope you have a compelling reason to stay in Cortona - not much to see there as already mentioned.

Venice. Why? Because its Venice!

Claudia, You said so much with so few words. Here, Here!

Most people will not agree with me. Venice is lovely, but Florence has so much to offer. For us, we would have stayed perhaps one night in Venice and the other two in Florence before heading to Cortona. BTW, we LOVE Cortona. It's one of my favorite places in Italy. We took a cooking class there with a wonderful person who made it so much fun. She hosts the class in her kitchen and took us shopping, etc. Lots of fun. For Florence, we love https://www.7florence.com/en/about-7florence/. It's a great hotel directly across from the train station which makes it so convenient. It is an easy walk to just about everything. Very clean, great staff, and nice rooms.

In Venice, we recommend Hotel Antiche Figure, which is across the canal (walk over the bridge) from the train station. Lovely, and convenient. Hotel Abbazia is an old monastery that has been turned into a hotel. It's very nice as well, and both an easy walk from the train station with luggage.

You will love Cortona. So lovely, peaceful, and lots of fun.

I have been to Venice and Florence multiple times each and I would choose Venice. There are so many great things about both cities so you really can't make a "wrong" choice here. Being around the water is more relaxing to me and being in a place without cars is always nice. I really do love the pedestrian only areas in most major cities and Venice is 99% pedestrian only. There is plenty to see and do in Venice and the food is amazing. Again, I love both places but Venice would be my hands down choice. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thank you so much for all the info. On the advice given we will stay in Venice for 3 days, then go to Cortona where we have rented a villa for the week and from there we will day trip to Florence, Lucca, Pisa, and the wine areas. Loved the tip about the cooking class which we'll look into. Thanks again. Gail

You will be near Arezzo when you’re in Cortona. If you’re still at Cortona the first Sunday of June (or the day before), you might want go there for their antique shopping day - the really old antiques! ; ). The area around Piazza Grande is really nice to wander!

And not to be maudlin, but Florence isn't going anywhere. Venice on the other hand ...

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187894-Activities-c36-t203-Cortona_Province_of_Arezzo_Tuscany.html

This is who we cooked with. She is a true Italian, and hosts you in her home. She met us in the main square in Cortona with our pre-determined menu (we planned before we left). She had the recipes on a booklet she made that we would be making for the day. We then went to the local veggie place and picked out the veggies for the dishes, then the local butcher show, then the wine and she drove us to her home. We spent a great day cooking and learning her secrets of great Italian cooking. We learned a lot of new dishes, and it was totally worth it. Check her out. Link above.

To me the big three places to MUST SEE in Italy are Rome, Florence and Venice.

You land in Venice, therefore, it makes good sense to stay in Venice for the three days.

If you are budget minded, look for a hotel or B &B near the Piazzale Roma and Main rail station.
You can take an inexpensive bus from the airport to the Piazzale Roma, then if you can drag your luggage to your hotel you will same $$$. There is a bridge from Piazzale Roma with steps over a canal to the main rail station that will be the worst part of that walk. We did it.

This is a tough question, as you can tell from most of the responses. I've had the pleasure of spending significant time in both cities because of the work I do. Venice is magical, but Florence is certainly worth your time, too. If you want to see Renaissance art, Florence can't be beat. I'm not a big fan of the Venice museums (except for the Peggy Guggenheim), but that's personal preference. When I'm in Venice, I spend much of my time taking in the local culture (walking through the many twisting alleys, going to the market, riding on the vaporetti, visiting the islands).