This fall I will be in Italy for one week. Me and my family are staying in a renovated mansion about an hour and a half outside of Rome. What sights and places should we see? I was thinking Rome, Florence, Venice and a trip around Tuscany. What have been your experinces in Italy?
Those three cities are certainly the ones I’d recommend. Rome-Venice is about 5 hours by train, with Florence en route - you can look up times here (although remember to enter them as Roma, Firenze and Venezia). Each of the cities could take months, years, to explore fully, but a few days in each is enough to get a real flavour of them. And luckily, you’re going off-season, so there’s less crowds and queues. As for exploring Tuscany, you’ll need to rent a car, and then brave the Autostrada. Not for the faint-hearted…
< Patrick The Starfish > How 'bout…ITALY? < /Patrick The Starfish >
A week, sadly, is not as long as it sounds. You’ll be lucky if you can fit in all the stuff you want to do in Rome, Florence, and Venice in, so I’ll stick to those three. (Are you trying to go to Venice as a day trip, by the way? That could get pretty darned time-consuming – don’t underestimate the distances involved.)
Venice: Really, just wandering around was amazingly cool. It takes about twenty seconds to get lost and the only place you can find by following the signposts is St. Mark’s, so make sure you know how to get from St. Mark’s to wherever you’re staying, and you’ll be good to go. It’s definitely worth springing for a day pass for the vaporetto (water bus) and taking a few rides around the Grand Canal – ideally, one by day and one by night. Also, your pass will get you out to Murano, where you can usually find a tour group to follow to one of the glass-blowing demonstrations (they’re free, just hard to find sometimes). And the Doge’s palace is very interesting – sort of a study in intense ostentation.
Florence: Hmm, it’s been a while, and I’ve got to admit I didn’t like it as much as the other two cities, but it’s definitely worth going just for the baptistry doors. My main tip is that if you’re planning to go to the Ufizzi, reserve your tickets in advance, otherwise the lines are murderous.
Rome: Just mind-blowing. And I say this as a poor student traveler who was almost out of cash by the time I hit Rome, and therefore spent three days wandering around the city doing everything you can do for free. I recommend the Rick Steves guide for information about all the artistic masterpieces tucked away in churches; the two that I thought were really not to be missed are the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Populo, home of Caravaggio’s Conversion on the Way to Damascus, and Santa Maria della Vittoria, which has Bernini’s amazing St. Theresa Chapel.
Oh yeah, and except at the real tourist traps (you’ll know 'em when you see 'em) the food everywhere is outstanding. Prepare to splurge a bit on meals.
We will probably be driving–my brother is used to driving stick, and I could probably do it again in a pinch.
I was thinking two days for Rome and one for Venice, but if Venice is that cool maybe we’ll do two days. Thanks for the tip about reserving tickets in advance, I will have to remember to do that.
Venice is miraculous, but Rome & Florence (IMHO) are overrated–definitely worth seeing once but not quite what the hype would lead you to believe.
You might try Sienna instead. A beautiful Tuscan town, not as touristy with lots of small shops and restaurants rich for discovery. There may not be as many “must sees” as the bigger cities, but you could spend hours walking through the narrow streets and soaking in the atmosphere that’s harder to do with the larger, noisier, more congested tourist areas of the bigger cities. YMMV, but Sienna was our favorite city in Italy after Venice, and more classically, traditionally “Italian” (what we imagined Italy would be like)
Hey, when you’re in Rome, stop by the Vatican and tell me if the pope and Cecil Adams really are the same person. I mean, I’ve never seen them in the same place at the same time, right?
Venice is not quite magical in November. When I was there it was cold, rainy, and windy, which kills the charm quite a bit. Still worth a visit, but maybe not two days if you can’t stroll around. Burano, one of the islands outside of Venice, is very picturesque. Their schtick is to paint every house a different bright color, and it honestly works well.
The Museo del Duomo in Florence is very nice, and underappreciated. Has all the art they took out of the cathedral when it went out of style. Giant choir lofts and statues and such. And the originals of the Baptistry doors, and a Pieta by Michaelangelo.
I disagree with this. There is nothing in all the world like Rome. What makes Rome different from most ancient cities is that the ancientness is mixed right in with the life of today. There is the Forum, of course, which is a fenced off area that you go through as a tourist, but other than that many of the ancient buildings are still in use, primarily as churches. There are a number of churches from the fourth and fifth centuries. SS. Cosma e Damiano, near the Forum, has an apse mosaic of Christ and some other figures who are dressed in togas. You look at this, and are startled to realize that the maker of this mosaic was not putting his figures in togas to create a false impression of dignity and antiquity…rather togas were still being worn normally when the mosaic was made. Perhaps not all the time, and not by everyone, but certainly on certain occasions they were being worn.
I would recommend dividing my time between Rome and Florence. However, if I were in your fortunate shoes, I might be tempted to spend the entire time in one place, just to have a chance to properly experience just one place. Which place? That depends on what floats your boat. I love the museums in Florence, but I also am fascinated by ancient Rome, expecially the history of the early Church and late Imperial and post-Imperial Rome. So I’d probably be tempted to spend the whole time in Rome.
Consider Verona and Padova. Lots of interesting places, relatively close to Venice, good communications. How would you like to visit Romeo and Juliet’s houses?
Also consider Perugia and Assisi if you can, especially if you will drive to Rome.
Oh, and it is Siena, not Sienna.
Siena’s nice, but not that interesting. Nothing to compare to exploring the backstreets of Florence with a good historically-minded guidebook. IMO, obviously. But ultimately, I’d say skip Florence if time is tight, and go straight for Venice.
In regard to booking tickets in advance - do this for the trains as well. You only need to do it a day or two in advance at any station, but you can then be sure of all having seats together on the trains you wanted. If you don’t, then sod’s law it’ll clash with some national or local something-or-other and all the trains are swamped.
Rome, the Eternal City, is absolutely mind-boggling. There is lots and lots to do and see there.
A week is not all that long; I am not sure I would attempt Venice but that’s just me. (BTW, I would not stay away from Venice because of the weather, it can be very atmospheric at that time of year.) I agree with Fretful Porcupine that just wandering around Venice is magical.
I prefer Siena to Florence because it always seems less crowded and more pedestrian friendly plus I love Il Campo, but again, you’ll be traveling in the off season so Florence might be preferable.
Regardless, I think that with a week, two destinations would be a good way to handle it. My husband drove us on the Autostrada and did fine (but man do they go fast!)
I spent a week in Venice and Florence a couple of years ago. I thought Venice was beautiful and great to walk around, but we were ready to leave by the second day. It felt too Disney-fied, if that makes sense. My wife and I both liked Florence a lot more, as if felt like a real city, not just a tourist trap. Also, the food was much better in Florence.
While in Florence, one of the best things we saw was the Pietre Dure museum. It’s a little museum devoted to these incredible inlaid stone mosaics. You really have to see it to believe it. Really amazing.
Italy is so great – you’ll have a fantastic time no matter where you go. If I were you, I’d skip Venice and go to Florence, Tuscany and/or Rome instead. (I haven’t been to either Rome or Tuscany, but really want to go to the latter based on everything I’ve heard.)
That does make sense. However, being able to spend more than two days there would let you explore the whole of the city, plus the other islands in the lagoon. After that, Florence feels Disneyfied.
Anybody ever been there? I really want to see this place-it looks so weird and yet so enchanting!
Are the Italian Lakes nice in the fall?
Italy, for only a week?
Geez…that is like having one potato chip.
My advice is to park your ass wherever you land and stay there…Rome would be quite nice. The point is, part of the joy of travelling is to get to know the country, but six cities in six days is not going to accomplish that.
If an Italian were coming to the USA for a week, would you suggest NYC, Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, LA and Seattle? Hell no. That is too much.
You want to get to know the food, the culture, the people…if you had more time, hitting lots of places would be a great idea.
I suggest at most Rome and one other city in that short time period. You will find it more relaxing, and yet more exciting, to create memories and experience in one, or two locations. Nothing better than to reflect on your trip and wonder how Lucia, that nice waitress, is doing - or remember those leisure walks through the neighborhood of your hotel.
Zipping through the country, trying to see everything is defeating the purpose.
Plus, there is simply so much to see in Rome alone. It is not like you are going to be bored if you spend the entire week there.
Just my humble opinion.
A week is a very short time to spend in Italy, particularly if you want to see a few cities, but it’s better than nothing.
It really depends if your intention is to see lots of art, or to soak up the atmosphere. If you want to spend your time in museums or art galleries, others have made very valid suggestions.
The main attractions in both Rome and Florence are within walking distance from each other, so you could easily spend a day in the center of both cities just wandering. In Rome, you can include the forum, coliseum, pantheon, trevi fountain, and the spanish steps, taking in quite a few other sights on the way (and you still won’t have seen a fraction of it). Use the metro to get from one place to another if you don’t feel like walking. I second what Spectre of Pithecanthropus said about Rome: it’s all there in the hub of the city.
Florence is one of my favorite cities in the world. Ignore the tourists and look at the buildings.
Venice can be damp and rainy in November, and hot and smelly in summer, but it is still spectacular.
One of the most important things to remember is that these are all working cities. They weren’t laid out for the convenience of tourists, and although plenty of people’s livelihood is fleecing tourists, they primarily cater to the needs of the people who live there.
Having said all that, you could easily bypass the major cities and just visit almost any small town anywhere in the country and be enchanted. Italy is gorgeous, I hope you enjoy your trip!
Archive Guy, I’m with you on Sienna, it is a beautiful little city with plenty of art, architecture and history and food, but our friend should not abandon any of the big three to do Sienna. Especially if he only has one week.
In Florence you have to do art. The Baptistry doors, of course, but the sculpture in the cathedral and Michelangelo’s David in the Academy. At least walk through the Ufitize (sp?) galleries where some of the ultimate monuments of the Italian Renaissance are on display. Go to the park on the other side of the river at sunset and look out over the city. Sure Florence is touristy and expensive but there is a reason fo that. It’s good.
Gee,I haven’t been to Italy in…well,never,if truth were told,so I have no idea where you should go.
But I did want to gloat about you violating your own LAW.Experinces,indeed.
HA,ha!
Seriously though,HA,ha!
My Law only comes into effect if I had just mocked someone else’s typos or grammar. So, 
Now, if I had noted your lack of spaces after commas and then mucked something up in my own post, that woudl work…