Where in Italy shall we go?

Are you speaking of next month or next year?

Do you mean next month, or June 2024?

Give up the idea of avoiding tourist traps. Tourists go places because that’s where the good stuff is. In June, there will be no escape from crowds or heat. If you want less crowds and cooler temps, go in November or February.

What specifically are you interested in seeing/doing. Italy offers just about everything, so narrowing it down will help. Food, shopping, museums, wine, lakes, beaches, mountains, rolling hills…

Well as a first time visit to Italy you can't go wrong doing the usual Holy Trinity- Venice-Florence-Rome
Then pick an area that is more "countryside" whether that is Tuscany or Emilia-Romagna or Lakes or Dolomites region for a few days that are not in a city.

How many NIGHTS will you actually have in Italy? Don't move around too much- avoid 1 and 2 right stays. A 3 night stay gives you just 2.5 days in that location.

Fly in to Venice- 3 nights- easier to fly IN to Venice than out of and a great place to get over jet lag
Train to Florence- 3 nights- add 1 night for every planned day trip
(or pick up a car in Florence and head to a Tuscany hilltown for a few nights. Do your homework regarding driving in Italy- lots of advice here)
Drop car and train to Rome- minimum 4 nights
Fly home from Rome

Driving in Italy is a whole thing and not really necessary, so give that some real thought. The entire itinerary above can easily be done by train and guided tours.

In June, look at the Italian lakes and the Dolomites for cooler temperatures. Heat discounts much of Italy for June.

Italy is a diverse country with a lot to offer. Think about what interests you…Florence is the epicentre if you are interested in Renaissance buildings and art. Rome….for ancient and modern history, big city buzz, easy access to other parts of Italy. Magical places….Venice in the North and Matera in the south. The classic first visit often uses Rome, Florence and Venice as bases to stay. Italy has good public transportation, especially comfortable high speed trains and that makes it easier to have two or three bases.

My first trip to Italy was with Rick Steves; did the Hill Towns tour - a great introduction, and spent a couple of nights in Venice before meeting up with the tour. Umbria and Tuscany are a good area to explore as first timers. Lots to see, ancient history, art, churches - can’t avoid them in Italy. Take time to enjoy sitting in town piazzas with a spritz or gelato watching the world go by. If you stay in apartments rather than hotels you can live local, buying food at markets. Think Orvieto, Montepulchino, Assisi, Cortona. Renting a car is almost a must to stay and explore these regions.

June should be a decent time weather wise, hopefully not too hot, but hard to forecast ahead these days.

The Dolomites and Piedmont are mountainous and will be cooler. June is only a few weeks away so accommodation is getting tight so smaller centres might be easier to find something.

Thanks Y'all!!
In the intervening hours we are currently thinking ( using your suggestions) to do the trifecta in 13 days; Rome, Florence, Venice and maybe adding the lake district . Maybe in reverse but thinking Rome is the hottest, so do it earlier 🤷? So flying into Rome and flying out of Milan.
Now it's the itinerary; how many days/nights ea place? how to travel between? and even specifically where to stay? Suggestions anyone?

Is that 13 NIGHTs or 13 days/12 NIGHTS?
If you count your trip in NIGHTS on the ground in Italy you'll get a better picture of how itinerary flows.

If it's just 12 NIGHTS then you don't really have time for Lakes district.
Venice needs 3 nights minimum, Florence needs 3 nights minimum, Rome should get 4-5 nights minimum.
You could add 1 night to Venice and day trip to a number of places, add 1 night to Florence for a day trip- then that leaves 4 for Rome in a 12 night trip.

If you do have 13 nights I'd suggest going to Lake Maggiore- Stresa rather than Como. Stresa is actually closer to Malpensa than Milan so you could spend last 2 nights there and easily get to the airport for your departure flight. If you stay on Lake Como you will need to give Milan at least 1 night at end before departure.

Arrive Rome- 4 nights- first day is jet lag- I wouldn't say Rome is the best place for a first entry into Italy- it's a bit hectic but...
Train to Florence- 4 nights- 1 day trip to Siena or other Tuscan hill town
Train to Venice 3 nights
Train to Stresa via Milan- Stresa 2 nights
Fly home from Malpensa

No need for a car anywhere.

Where to stay? You will want air conditioning everywhere!
Start looking on booking.com now. It is going to be VERY busy in Italy in June so you'll want to secure lodging asap.
In Rome we like anywhere in the historic center- near Pantheon/P Navonna- can walk most everywhere from there.
Florence- same- in the historic center, Florence is very compact- anywhere between Duomo-train station-Arno River.
Venice - avoid close to San Marco

Search forum for specific hotel recommendations.

ChristineH,
You rock!
Your post is so helpful!! Itineraries are difficult when you've not been where you plan to go! All your particulars are being considered.
Thank you.

We just returned last Tuesday from a trip almost exactly like yours. 13 days on the ground. We flew into Venice (3 nights), stayed at LaFenice des Artistes, which we enjoyed very much. About a 5 minute walk from St. Angelo vaporetto stop. We bought boat passes for 3 days, and hopped back and forth to San Marco area. Couldn't get into the Duomo because the lines were hundreds of people long, and we tried 3 times. I had reserved tickets for Doges Palace, so we walked right in. If you are a Vivaldi lover, don't miss the concert at "Vivaldi's church", It was the Four Seasons, plus some other pieces. Wonderful event. Venice was crowded, but we managed.

After Venice, we took the FrecciaRossa train to Florence. (3 nights) Jam packed with people! We went to the Pitti Palace, Galileo museum, and Bardini Gardens. Duomo area was packed. It was ok, though, as we've been to Florence a few times already. We missed a couple of places I wanted to see because I foolishly didn't make reservations.

On to 4 days in Siena. Wonderful hilltop town. Loved, loved, loved it! visited the Duomo complex, (had tickets), the Palazzo Pubblico, Medici Fortress, Santa Caterina San Domenico. It was busy, but if you love architecture, just wandering the streets was a pleasure.

Rome was very busy, especially around the Colisseum/Forum area. We stayed in Monti, (3 nights) and walked everywhere. We went to Palatine Hill first thing in the AM, and when we left, rivers of people were flooding in. We had been there before, so we didn't need to return to Colisseum, Vatican, etc.

So, I would say, decide which sights are most important to you, and plan accordingly. And pack light!! It's a real pain lugging your bags around.

Enjoy your trip! Italy is fabulous.

Jadam,
You too are awesome! Your response is so helpful. The details you shared and your advice is really appreciated!
Now we are rethinking everything bc we were planning on three biggest spots in Italy, both in size and/or popularity. And going from one esp crowded hot spot to another and then another in June and in heat may not be an ideal vacation. Nevermind it's a little close ( 5 weeks). Rejiggering our thinking about Italy.. tricky as I'm a school teacher and I can't go during the ideal times when one doesn't have to try 3 times with no luck to get into places. Hmmmm....

I would really hate for you to give up on Italy just because there will be a lot of tourists. You'll probably find that in most of Europe in late June. But how to do it the right way...

I have not been to Rome or Florence in the summer--I'm a February, March, October kinda guy--but I hear Florence because of its topographic 'bowl', can be stifling. If it were I, in your schoolteacher situation, I'd base in Rome (air conditioned lodging!) & have options via train, flexible with the weather. Orvieto is an hour plus away. Amalfi Coast--if you choose to visit peninsula gridlock (!) is 2-3 hours.

But I could spend two months in Rome and not scratch the surface--it's that deep. But...and here's the key--just be of the mindset that there are going to be a lot of people, and make the best of it.

Enjoy your planning!

Agree that the holy trinity, Venice, Florence and Rome are great for a first trip to Italy.

You need 5 days in Rome, 3-4 in Florence and 3 in Venice.

Fly into Rome or Venice and fly out of the other.

We just returned from 3 weeks in Spain
It was already crowded
There is a huge pent up need to travel so avoiding crowds is just not possible this year
Everywhere is already crowded

You’ll need to prebook your entries to major sites-and that’s been the case for a few years now
Good planning and research makes it all doable
Loads of help here
Would hate to see you give up on Italy- it’s our favorite place

prontomess,
My intention is not to discourage you from Italy in June, just to plan ahead. Using google maps is very helpful in knowing exactly where you will be, and how far it is to your selected sights. YouTube is your friend, also. Get to know the different train options, and learn about getting tickets for the trains. Planning is a lot of the fun.

And in the heat of the afternoon, do what the Italians do....take a rest in your AC hotel, and venture out in the early evening.

On our first trip to Italy, we spent 8 nights in Umbria and 5 in Rome. The mix of city and country/small town was perfect. There is no way I’d want to spent the entire trip in three hot and crowded cities. If I were you, I’d pick one of the big three (or another of Italy,’s cities) and and spend the balance touring the nearby countryside. Don’t try to cover too much ground. Slow down enough to savor your experiences.

There are three basic issues summer travelers to Italy have to face, I think:

• hot weather in most of the country
• difficulty in getting entry tickets for some of the most popular sights
• crowding at quite a few sights

There's a lot of overlap between the second and third issues, obviously, but they can mostly be avoided by choosing sights that matter to you but are not the top few in the city. Alternatively, you can choose destinations that are not Rome, Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast or the Cinque Terre and probably have near-total freedom in setting your sightseeing goals. Each traveler has to think about his or her willingness to forego the Colosseum, Vatican Museums, Uffizi, etc. It wouldn't be fun to have a vacation during which you were constantly focusing on what you dreamed of seeing but could not (or not without being part of a miserable mob), but there are many interesting things and neighborhoods to explore that are not the Colosseum, etc. It really depends on your mindset.

The weather can usually be dealt with by avoidance--that is, but visiting places at altitude, such as the mountain villages in the Dolomites. I imagine it's getting rather late to find lodging there for June, but perhaps in mountainous areas farther west...

We were just in Italy. We did Milan-Ravenna (mosaics from 500 AD)-Padua-Turin-Pisa-Siena-Florence. No Rome. No Venice.

Your trip is right around the corner. If you don't want to spend thru the nose, you need to get IMMEDIATELY on hotels. I would NOT do Venice. I would stick with smaller cities.

Our last trip we did some of the second tier cities
Stresa, Bergamo, Bologna. Ravenna, Padova and Verona then Milan
We enjoyed everywhere went

Off all of those Verona would probably see the most crowds

Thank you everyone. All your entries here are helpful. Thank you!