I'm trying to decide between a trip to Rome vs. Florence/Tuscany. I"m thinking of going in either October or November of 2025-for 10-12 days.
I'm a history and art history buff, so Rome is kind of a no-brainer.
But I need some opinions.
Which city gives you more 'bang for your buck'-Rome or Florence?
Florence- history + the best art in Italy + a gorgeous, walkable city
Quick question(s).
When are you traveling?
For how long of time?
As the it’s only 1.5 train ride between the 2 cities why are you only considering 1?
Lastly, I vote Roma, particularly if you wander outside the city center.
Which year? What season?
I wouldn't recommend Rome this year because of the Jubilee and the additional millions of visitors.
It's hard to predict personal opinions, as my bang might be your snoozer. Are you a big city or smaller city person?
Have fun deciding.
I'm thinking of going in either October or November of this year. And I'm Catholic, so the Jubilee will be great!
You have time to enjoy the best of both cities.
If you have 2 weeks, I'd absolutely split your time between them. Both have oodles of history and art to offer, even though they're different cities, IMHO. I will say that I lean to Florence for its riches of Renaissance art, which I particularly enjoy.
I agree with C Jean-so much art-and the Jubilee year in Rome would make me hesitate. But if you have to fly in or out of Rome, I would include a few days there.
Jubilee might be a deterrent for some but if a visitor is a Catholic, as our OP is, I can see keeping a week in Rome on the itinerary. Its observances can have special meaning for members of the faith, and not every inch of the city - or every interesting church - is going to be overrun. I might give November the edge over October as it may be slightly less busy?
We have now spent 11 weeks total in Florence and I have not come to the end of art and architecture I need to see there.
November is a good time to go --- last year, we were there from the end of October to the beginning of December. There were still crowds in some places, but mostly avoidable. Also, we flew in and out of the Florence airport (for the 2nd time) and it is so much smaller, quicker, and easier than the Rome airport.
The other nice thing about Florence is that you can walk everywhere. We were last in Rome in January 2024 and the buses were darn crowded.
Check out the art history classes at the British Institute of Florence --- I've taken almost all of them either in person or by zoom or both. Highly recommended! They do tours, too, which my fellow students enjoyed, but most of which made me impatient.
I don't know how similar 1982 was to the 1971 of my first trip to Italy (also art-focussed), but be prepared for having to make reservations and for dealing with greater numbers of other tourists --- there was an especially big jump after covid.
They’re both high octane cities with high octane sights. If you did four nights in each you’d see about as much as you want to. I’m in the minority it seems, but while Florence is clearly jam packed with incredible art and history, I don’t think it’s especially beautiful or enjoyable as a city relative to a lot of other places, Rome included.
Given their inherent sightseeing intensity, I think you should plan a couple nights in a smaller town between them. Siena or Lucca would be nice mid size choices. Or stay in a smaller village, someplace to just take a breather and soak up some ambiance.
You have time for both. They are only 90 min apart (I don't remember if they had opened the full high speed rail in 1982 yet.
A minimum of 4 nights for Rome.
A minimum of 3 nights for Florence.
You can visit several places in Tuscany on day trips using Florence as a base, so that you don't need to change hotels. Just add one night to Florence for each day trip.
Rome can be used as a base also to visit Orvieto, and even Naples+Pompeii. Naples is only 70 min away by fast train. Pompeii is about 40 min from Naples using the suburban commuter train called 'Circumvesuviana'.
You can do one week in Rome and one week in Florence and take several day trips from both.
Thank you for all the replies and insight-this is giving me a lot to think about! No matter what I choose-its all good! Both cities have their pros and cons-but all of them give you the chance to dream and be seduced by history and culture!
