First time to Italy…Florence question
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Anonymous
| Going to Italy for the first time and curious about an itinerary. We are pretty set on Milan/Bergamo, Venice and Florence. My question pertains to Florence. Don’t flame, but is it as boring as it looks? I’m sure a day or two there would be fine, but I don’t know how much art and “old stuff” my family can take. If we are in Florence for more than a couple days, is it a good base for Tuscany, Pisa…etc. Instead of Florence, I would like to do Rome or Portofino, but the logistics probably won’t work. |
Anonymous
| We've always had a great time in Florence, and I never thought it "looked boring." I take it you don't like art, so that does rule out a lot of stuff, I suppose. |
Anonymous
| Kids ages and interests? Time of year? |
Anonymous
| This is OP. Kids are middle and high school. Trip would be in the spring. I’m sure Florence is lovely, just trying to decide how many days to devote to it. While I appreciate art, one day of art is probably enough for me. |
Anonymous
| Gosh, I would do Florence and drop Venice. I hate Venice. It is so overrun as a tourist trap. Or go to Venice for 1 day and then spend the rest of your time in Rome. |
Anonymous
| There’s also Boboli Gardens, and climbing up to the top of the duomo. There are outdoor vendors and shops too. Last time I went, I spent some time shopping for a leather jacket and other leather goods. The food is great and many people speak English. It was DH’s favorite city, even more so than Rome and Venice, partly because it wasn’t too big and felt a bit safer than the other two cities. |
Anonymous
| We spent 5 days in Florence last summer and it was my kids’ favorite city of the places we visited in Italy. It’s charming, walkable, beautiful, tons of art and great food. Why on earth do you think it is boring? |
Anonymous
| I loved Florence, even for just a day. FWIW, I was very underwhelmed with Milan and would choose Rome over Milan in a heartbeat. |
Anonymous
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Was there last Summer - we liked it much better than Rome.
Food was great/ Loved the Duomo, Boboli Gardens and Uffizi Gallery. Rome was dirty, crowded and overun with garbage. |
Anonymous
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Florence is great! One side is main part with Duomo and museums. Over the bridge is shopping, restaurants. Rent a car and go to Tuscany and the hill towns, wineries. I loved Florence.
I’d stay in Naples and do day trips to Pompeii, Capri, Positano. We stayed on Capri but I’d only do that again with my dh or a girlfriend to simply relax. Was not good for teen boys😀 |
Anonymous
OP, here again. I’ve heard mixed things about Venice too. We’re going in the spring so hopefully Venice isn’t too bad. Since it’s our first time to Italy, maybe it will all be fascinating? We are flying in and out of Milan. I would probably be fine with staying in Milan/Bergamo the whole time and maybe going to Lake Como and into the mountains. If anybody has Northern Italy recs, please share. |
Anonymous
Great to hear. I’m sure we’ll enjoy it. |
Anonymous
| This is OP. Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like a mixed bag on everything Italy. Guess we will have to find out for ourselves 😊 |
Anonymous
I think this is the real truth. Different people like different things. I heard all the negative things (on here) about Venice and thought I’d hate it. I looooved it. Felt so special and magical and unique. Florence is very charming and feels welcoming. You don’t need to spend all day in art museums. Rome is not my favorite at all, but obviously appeals to others. The best places are not these main cities though. Smaller towns. |
Anonymous
This I feel they are both overrun, but Venice almost takes on a Disney esque type of feel. Going in April, because wife has never been. I have been 15-20 times and could really go without it. |