What are the Must-Visit Cities for First Trip to Italy?

Rome, Florence, Venice.
Those are the famous 3 pearls included in the first trip of Italy. 10 nights are appropriate to visit all 3. If you want to see more, then you need more time.

Resist the urge to add on more because “we’re so close”. I know it’s hard. But that’s how to end up with whirlwind trips where you’re moving every other day and places all start to look the same. Rome deserves 4 nights, minimum. That gives you 6-7 more nights to work with. I would stick with the Amalfi coast and one other place. I personally love Venice, but I would probably start there vs end there. It’s a lovely place to get over jet lag, and international flights tend to leave very early from Venice.

Whatever you choose, fly into one city and out of another. It’s called a multi-flight trip. Saves time and money instead of backtracking.

Roberto mentioned the Big 3.

I have attended the opera at the Verona Roman Arena and also at La Fenice at Venice during a different trip. (I almost attended one in Milan, but dropped it because of the timing.). Yes, the Verona Arena is such an atmospheric setting for the opera!

Don’t try to rush a first trip. Assume you will be back to Italy.

Thank you all so much! Very insightful and helpful.
I'm finding this site extremely valuable.
-Stacy

Roberto put it perfectly, they are truly pearls. It can make you feel a little… unadventurous maybe? when you’re plans revolve around these top-tier tourist destinations. Ignore that feeling if you can. There’s a reason these legendary cities retain that status. Italy is the ultimate “assume you will return” country. There’s so much to see, you’ll have to return so keep things easy this time. Amalfi Coast in particular is a region that deserves and demands several days at a minimum, so leave that for a future trip.

However, as an opera lover I get the draw of Milan too. I would recommend looking into Musica Palazzo in Venice. It’s a chamber opera performance in an old, elegant Venetian palace. I enjoyed it immensely. Planning a full opera performance into your trip can feel a little complicated unless things sync up perfectly date wise. I’ve also had a hard time trading a night on the streets for a night sitting in a theatre, knowing that I’ll need to manage my time and energy differently that day. The algebra is different when it’s your home town. Just things to consider when planning.

Resist resist resist--there is no wrong choice of location (seasonal issues aside), the only mistake I think people ever make is trying to see too much, then running from place to place.
I have been eight times and never to Rome. Florence, or Venice, so you can see where I fall on this issue of "must sees."
So that reminds me, what month? The festival is all summer, so that could affect plans to visit the Amalfi Coast. I would go in June or September, not in July or August.

Valadelphia, You really ought to consider going to Florence sometime, since you say that you're 0 for 8.

Florence was so central to the Renaissance and the development of western art. There are so many churches there with so much art from the 15th century - the 1400s, and even earlier. Giotto, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Fra Angelico, Masaccio & Masolino, Ghirlandaio, Donatello, Bottecelli and Michelangelo.

Stacy - With a mere 10-11 days, you are going to have to make some choices. You don't need to hit the 3 pearls on your first short trip ... and indeed, time in smaller cities that are NOT among the 3 most over-run locations will allow you to experience a slower, quieter, more personal Italy. If you have time and scheduling ability to soak in opera in the north (Milan, Verona, Venice), Florence is likely more than you can include.

You could visit Rome and the Amalfi Coast and not much else; perhaps a day trip to Pompeii or Capri (or different island: Procida or Ischia). If you can work in the archaeological museum in Naples, your time in Pompeii would be enhanced.

OR, you could stay north ... Milan for 2 or 3 nights, one of the Italian lakes or the Dolomites for 2 or 3 nights, plus 2 or 3 nights in Venice and even one or two nights in either Padua or Verona. Probably in the reverse order. In to Venice and out from Milan. If Milan is your departure city, 2 nights should be adequate.

OR a Rome and Florence trip, but that would limit your time for smaller, quieter areas/towns/cities in Tuscany, or perhaps Umbria.

There are no "musts," other than taking the time to enjoy.

Develop an attitude that you will see that the next time. On our first trip my wife was excellent at simply saying, "We will see that the next time." Took a lot of pressure off of the either/or decision. We only had ten days so it forced us to really slow down and enjoy the moment instead of planning where were going to be two hours from now. We actually spent a whole afternoon in a sidewalk cafe in Rome watching locals and doing NOTHING. Not bad for two type A personalities and first born.. We took two organized day trips from the city. We did came back -- 25 years later with two sons.

I’m going to make a case for including Verona in your itinerary. Of my 20+ trips to Europe with my wife, our night seeing Aida at the Verona Arena is still one of our favourite experiences. Added to that, Verona is a beautiful, compact and very user-friendly city, and a great place to ease your way into Italy. It’s also only a little more than an hour by train from Venice, so a day trip is possible- although I’d recommend overnighting in Venice, even if you only stay one night there. If you travel efficiently, you can be into Venice by 10:00, drop your bags at your hotel, and have a very full day there. Then on to Florence from Venice, then Rome, on a 3-1-3-3 split, assuming 10 nights, or add a night to Rome if you have 11.

Back to Verona though, you say that you’d have to fly into Milan? If that’s a direct flight from LAX, then it’s a 2.5 hour train ride to Verona. But if it’s not direct, consider flying in to either Verona or Venice to start. Both have connections from the major hub airports in Europe (CDG, FRA, AMS, MUC etc), depending on the airline you’re using. Lastly, if you’re interested in seeing opera in Verona make sure you check the schedule at arena.it if you haven’t already, as operas are not held every night, and book your tickets once your itinerary is set.

It is your honeymoon; you should see and experience what you like, not what others say you “should” do. If seeing the opera in Verona sounds like something you would love to do (we have been twice and it is truly a wonderful, one-of-a-kind experience), you can easily include Verona and Rome, plus one other location. The Amalfi Coast may not be the best choice, however; it has become the victim of severe “overtourism” and so crowded as to not be particularly enjoyable. But if you have your heart set on it, others can suggest ways to lessen the impact of crowds.

One suggestion I have is to fly into Venice, spend 3-4 nights there, then take the train to Verona—-52 minutes away—-and spend 2 nights there to see the opera and enjoy Verona. Then take the train to Rome (3 hours away from Verona) and spend the rest of your time there, flying out from FCO. If that is more time than you want in Rome, you could maybe squeeze in a couple of nights on the Ligurian coast (near Cinque Terre) on the way between Verona and Rome.

The opera festival at Verona will begin June 13 with Verdi’s Nabucco, and conclude September 6 with Rigoletto. In between they will also perform Aida, La Traviata, and Carmen—-pretty much all Verdi apart from Carmen. Take a look at the schedule and plan around what you wish to see—-but like others I will strongly urge you to plan your trip for June or September to avoid (to some degree) the summer crowds.

https://www.arena.it/en/arena-verona-opera-festival/events/

If it works best for your Opera preference to put Verona and Venice at the end (say you want to see Aida on June 20, or La Traviata on June 27), you can reverse the order and fly into Rome, out from Venice. Some people here will advise against that due to the early departure of most US-bound flights from Venice airport. However, I checked schedules and it is possible for you to depart Venice as late as 12:15, a very civilized departure hour, and arrive at LAX at 20:05 that same evening. This is on American Airlines, flying through Philadelphia. You can mix and match that return flight with various options into Rome on either British or American Airlines (they are codeshare partners). There is also an option with British Airways to depart Venice in the early evening (17:00 or 18:50) and overnight at Heathrow before a morning flight to LAX the next day. That is actually a nice relaxing way to fly and sometimes we book that by choice, staying the night at the Sofitel which is connected to the T5 terminal at Heathrow (the terminal from which your LAX flight will depart).

Thank you to all who responded today. You've made excellent points and we are rethinking based on your suggestions. I really like the idea of spending several hours in a cafe, seeing opera in Verona, and including Florence and avoiding tourist traps. I've heard great stories about the beauty of the Amalfi Coast, particularly Positano and Sorrento but I'm thinking we might want to avoid them depending on timing as we like to pretend we're locals.

The insights into airports and related logistics is incredibly helpful. I also can see that this will not be my only trip to Italy. We are deciding between September or April/May in 2025.

Thank you all so very much.

Stacy

Stick with the big three. Use the high speed train that runs from Rome to Florence to Venice.

If you add the Amalfi Coast and the Naples area you would need four days for that. You only have 10-11 days and Rome by itself needs 5 days.

I just wanted to check ( because you mention doing this trip potentially in April/May 2025 ) that you were aware that 2025 is Rome’s Jubilee year, so you’ll want to plan site visits well-ahead and be prepared for crowds. Not to discourage you, as you’d get to see things and people you won’t see any other time, but something to keep in mind.

Stacy,

Verona Opera in the Arena seems to start June 13 and ends Sept 6, 2025. https://www.arena.it/en/arena-verona-opera-festival/calendar/

La Scala in Milan might work better for your dates; Opera in spring and ballet in September. https://www.milano24ore.it/Scala_Opera_House_Milan/Calendar.php#google_vignette

Venice in the Spring or EARLY September. https://www.teatrolafenice.it/en/new-season-2024-2025/

So perhaps you could even manage Venice and Verona both, in the very first part of September.

I would do Florence, Siena, Pisa and a smaller town.