Are you traveling with kids? My teens were WORN out and tired of museums, churches, etc with a very similar itinerary. They actually liked exploring the old town in Tuscany more, taking cooking classes, biking, climbing towers, etc.

I’m the recent poster who shared our Florence itinerary. I had conversational French at the time and it’s similar enough to Italian I worked to pick up at least a few phrases in Italian before we went. There were a few times that was useful, so I’d recommend that too.

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

+1 Venice is pretty small, and you can do most of it in 2 full days.

I spent 4 weeks in Italy, and the loveliest place was in the lake region and Tuscany area, including Florence. Rome is a must just because it has so many historical sites. The Almafi coast is nice, too, but the drive up and down it is crazy.

I don’t love big cities, but do love art / art history. It’s been years, but when I went to Italy in my 20s (with my parents / without kids) we spent 4-5 nights in Florence and there was plenty to do. We also spent one or two nights in Cinque Terre and hiked the connecting trails and two nights in Sienna. On our way to Sienna we left early and visited a bunch of the hill towns, which I really loved. (I live in CA now and, while the landscape is similar as a prior poster noted, the history is not.) I preferred Sienna and the Hill towns to Florence but there was so much art to see in Florence. (Get timed tickets to the Ufizi and the Academy.) Apart from those, other places I remember years later are strolling along Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, the Laurentian Steps / Laurentian Library, walking / “hiking” (it’s hilly) up past Galileo’s house to San Minato al Monte (we liked this enough we went up again the next night), visiting the Bargello (my art history professor told me this was the best of the often missed art in Florence and I really loved it), and the Boboli gardens. We also spent an afternoon strolling / exploring and went to a neighborhood we hadn’t visited in prior days that had a massive farmer’s market, but I don’t remember where that was. In terms of planning, I planned it all - originally planned to travel alone and then my parents joined me which was great. In retrospect I think it would have been a long trip alone and I would have missed things. (My parents suggested Sienna and my dad was more comfortable driving in Italy than I would have been.). I was glad we didn’t have a car for Florence and Cinque Terre.

You couldn't pay me to do that itinerary. You need to step off the beaten track a little.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

In our family, we call people like you "uncultured swine" - Shout out to Mr. Potato Head!

And in my family, we call people like you….

Does anyone have a travel agent or website they would recommend for planning our hotels and excursions to these exact locations? We are planning a 3 generation trip in March. We are looking for something turnkey that will plan our stays, excursions, and transfers. TIA!

There's a lot more so see and do in Rome, so if you want to see the top x percent of the sights, stay longer in Rome. But any of the three will have plenty to occupy you, so it really depends on what appeals to you more: a large city, a smaller city, or Venice, which is in a category of its own. (Recommended reading: Venice Observed and the Stones of Florence: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/473285.The_Stones_of_Florence_Venice_Observed)

Anonymous wrote:OP it really depends what you like doing and when you are traveling. If you can book refundable hotel stays and you are flexible you could adjust as you go.

I’m in CA, so the tiny Tuscan wine villages are just not that interesting to us. I blow and collect glass so I love Venice but not when it’s crowded or flooded. As long as it’s not either of those times, I love hanging out on Murano, going to Burano, wandering around Venice, going to the market early.

From Florence, I prefer the larger cities like Padua and Bologna. Lake Como, Pisa, are meh.

I love Rome so I’d do more days in Rome than Florence.

Do you have medieval and Renaissance towns in California?

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.

In our family, we call people like you "uncultured swine" - Shout out to Mr. Potato Head!

It's completely dependent on what you like OP. We aren't so captivated by religion as history so we made a shorter time of Rome. I looooove Venice but would never spend more than 2 days there. For me, Venice is like a bio of coffee at a relaxing cafe. I don't see sights in. Since as much as enjoy the ambiance. But if you go down south you may want more days. We did more days is Amalfi esp if you wanted to swing by more than Positano. For me I love Florence but agree w PP going N it's about hitting small towns. Day trips from Rome or between Flo/ Venice/Rome really neat. Remain somewhat flex if possible and explore the N and go S on another trip sometime. Have fun!!

OP it really depends what you like doing and when you are traveling. If you can book refundable hotel stays and you are flexible you could adjust as you go.

I’m in CA, so the tiny Tuscan wine villages are just not that interesting to us. I blow and collect glass so I love Venice but not when it’s crowded or flooded. As long as it’s not either of those times, I love hanging out on Murano, going to Burano, wandering around Venice, going to the market early.

From Florence, I prefer the larger cities like Padua and Bologna. Lake Como, Pisa, are meh.

I love Rome so I’d do more days in Rome than Florence.

Add a day in Assisi between Rome and Florence.

Anonymous wrote: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

I think this allocation might work as long as you don’t base in Florence. Stay somewhere like Siena or Montepulciano and do one of your day trips to Florence.

Driving in Florence is terrible and you can easily end up with a ticket for entering a no traffic zone so you to minimize driving to/from Florence.