I was hoping to see Villa D’Este and Hadrian’s Villa. Only 4.5km apart.
I know you’re stretched for time, but it would be a shame to do Florence/Tuscany without seeing Pisa. It’s a pretty, small, friendly city, but very studenty, with a little bit of bustle about it and nice bars and restaurants. Lively and fun. Actually, there’s a leaning tower as well, but it’s a real nice town besides that.
In Rome, Trastevere is a nice change of pace. It has the reputation of being the more “Roman” part of Rome, not so touristy, and with interesting restaurants and bars.
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I second both the visit to Naples/Pompeii (we did this as a long day trip in a February with a 7 & 9 year old) and shortening to 3 locations… or 2. I would stay an extra night or two or three in Rome (adding in Pompeii somewhere in the middle)
Pompeii day was something like 6.30 train to Naples- transfer in Naples to Pompeii and arrive at 9:30. Walk around the museum and ancient streets for 3 hours. Back to Naples to the museum for 2 hours. Walk around for 2-3 hours, snacking on bakeries and street food and checking out a couple of the churches and other sights. Get the world’s greatest pizza for dinner and back on the train to Rome at 6 or 7. We probably walked well over 10 miles but Naples is very lively and Pompeii is a lively dead place.
Similarly, I’ve been to Firenze (FLorence) twice- once for 1 day and the second for 2 days. I would recommend similarly taking the train up to Florence first thing in the morning. Doign the Uffizi, the Acadamia, the duomo (make sure to climb the dome! as it is a better dome climb than St. Peter’s) and all the other major things as it is very compact. And then hop back on a train that evening and travel to Venezia. and spend the rest of your time in Venice. There are state of the art luggage storage facilities throughout european train stations- so just leave your bags at the trainstation for your trip 12 hours later.
For a first trip to Italy seeing Naples, Rome, FLorence, and Venice would be amazing, and only staying in two locations would be awesome. Rome and Venice are excellent places where it is easy to spend two weeks and not see everything. Florence, Naples, Milan!, Verona!!, and Pisa!!! are not of the same caliber of needing to live there.
Yes, the museum in Naples is amazing. All through Pompeii you read on plaques that you’re looking at a copy, the originals are in Naples.
And the pizza in Naples, to die for. And if you need figurines for a nativity scene, Via Dan Gregorio Armeno is your place to go.
And just a quick follow up with regard to Tuscany and resorts. It is CHILLY in Itally in November. In Venice, I wore a winterish coat and frequently pulled on a hat. Similarly, in February the train between Roma and Napoli went through snow-covered hills. Venice is further north than either Portland, OR or Portland, ME- daylight is not long! So make sure that you know that your views outside are only a handful of hours and they are not necessarily warm and sunny.