4 nights Rome
5 nights Florence - day trips to cinque terre, san gimignao, sienna, lucca, etc... (pisa not worth a full day but a quick stop if you want to see the tower. I think we did lucca and pisa in one trip)
3 nights venice

Ischia is 2 hours from Naples—a less crowded than other coastal areas/islands.

Fly into Venice

Florence

Rome

Naples/Sorrento/Amalfi

Or do the reverse. Pull up a map and head in one direction.

Lake Como/Milan are further north. Perfectly lovely, but out of the way.

I love Sicily and Puglia, but they are further south and out of the way.

Whatever you decide, definitely hit the coast and see it from the water.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 nights Rome
3 nights Florence (spend one day visiting San Gimignano and Lucca)
3 nights Amalfi Coast or nearby coastal area
2 nights in Venice is plenty

I agree with this. Florence and Amalfi are my favorites.

Rome is a must see but it isn't as interesting to me for some reason.

Venice is tough to get around and don't feel the need to be there for days.

We need to know more about you and what you like to do. Kids? Budget?

Amalfi is great but it is logistically difficult with this itinerary and can be very expensive in the summer. It is the opposite direction as Florence and Venice. You may be better off at one of the many villa hotels (agriturismo) in Tuscany or even somewhere around Lake Cuomo. Fly into Rome, out of Milan or Venice.

You don’t need 4 nights in Rome either, imho.

Venice is magical. I found Florence cramped and hard to navigate. You can't drive or cab there. Venice is the ultimate strolling city.

Anonymous wrote:4 nights Rome
3 nights Florence (spend one day visiting San Gimignano and Lucca)
3 nights Amalfi Coast or nearby coastal area
2 nights in Venice is plenty

I agree with this. Florence and Amalfi are my favorites.

Rome is a must see but it isn't as interesting to me for some reason.

Venice is tough to get around and don't feel the need to be there for days.

You’ve heard about the Leaning Tower of Pisa your entire life. Go see it in person while you are there.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know why everyone cuts Venice short and thinks Florence is so great. I’d want 3 nights in Venice minimum. Florence is fine but once you’ve seen the David and bought a new wallet, you’re pretty much done. Agree most of the time in Rome.

Agreed. I think Venice is fascinating. We did 3/3/3 - Venice/Florence/Rome. We took one of the Florence days and did an all day bus tour of Tuscany to get a brief glimpse of Siena/Pisa/San Gimignano.

It was my first trip to Florence, second to Venice and Rome. I'd most like to go back to Venice, then Tuscany outside Florence.

Don't just go to the cities. The small towns and countryside are amazing

I don’t know why everyone cuts Venice short and thinks Florence is so great. I’d want 3 nights in Venice minimum. Florence is fine but once you’ve seen the David and bought a new wallet, you’re pretty much done. Agree most of the time in Rome.

Go to Siena and Bellagio too

4 nights Rome
3 nights Florence (spend one day visiting San Gimignano and Lucca)
3 nights Amalfi Coast or nearby coastal area
2 nights in Venice is plenty

Don’t skip Florence op. It’s beautiful. Unless you plan to do side trips while in Florence 2 days would be plenty. Same with Venice. I’d do
7–2-2 or 7-2-3 for Rome, Florence, Venice.

Cut one and spend the time outside of a big city. 5 days Rome, 4 days countryside (maybe a small Tuscany town in the hills?), 3 days Venice.

For a 12 day trip (excluding travel to/from), would you suggest a even split of time- 4 days in each city - or would you instead go 5 days to Rome, 4 days Florence and 3 Venice?