Italian cities

[hamster]

I want to go visit my friend who is living in Europe for the year, and Italy is at the top of our list. We can cram in two cities while we are there.

The initial plan was Florence and Rome, except she pointed out that the week we'd be going is the Holy Week. Since it's her week of vacation, the dates aren't particularly flexible. I don't really want to be in Rome during that time just because everything is going to be so busy and hotels are likely gong to be a lot more expensive.

So, where would you go besides Florence? 

[GilliC]

We went to Rome during Holy Week and it was pretty incredible. I'm not Catholic, but seeing the evening processions to the Colosseum on Good Friday and witnessing Easter Mass with the pope in St.Peter's Square were spectacular.

As for the crowds, the line for the Vatican Museum was pretty crazy, but I get the impression it always is. The line to enter St. Peter's was terrible in the afternoon, but we went first thing in the morning when they opened and had to ask directions to find our way in after security, because there was no one there! Less than a dozen visitors in the entire basilica!

You may have to pay high season rates, but we found that can apply in other cities in Italy as well. Just book more than two months in advance, and it shouldn't be too hard finding accommodations.

[sunnysally]

Cinque Terre. My favorite part (well, other than David) of our Italy trip.

[rupertpenny]

I really love Venice, but I think I would still go to Rome instead.

[sunshinedaydreams]

I really didn't like Florence, so I'd do Rome and Positano on the Amalfi Coast.

[spedrunner]

i found florence to be very similar to rome, I wasnt a huge fan , i reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly loved venice and capri, the amalfi coast is gorgeous!!!

[Susie]

We did Cinque Terre, Florence, Venice, Siena, and Rome, and Rome was my least favorite.

We spent a short time in Venice, but it was enough. I really enjoyed seeing it, but didn't need to spend tons of time there. It was also the most expensive (even more so than Rome) so that kind of worked out. It's so unique.  I am glad to have taken the travel time (it was kind of out of our way geographically) to see it for myself.

Cinque Terre was awesome, and I totally get why everyone loves it. But at the same time, I don't think you have to go to Italy to find many of the enjoyable aspects of it, so if you have to pick two I'm not sure I'd pick it.

I really enjoyed Florence, but probably would not pair it with Rome because they were the two most similar cities that we visited.

Siena was enjoyable as a "slow down" type of place. We spent a couple nights there and did day trips to other places in Tuscany from there.

Rome was just... not my place. I don't love big cities at home, and I don't love them when I'm traveling either. It was the city where I had to be the most vigilant about pickpockets, and I didn't enjoy how targeted I felt. (I didn't have anything stolen, but one night we just sat with a bottle of wine in Piazza Navona and watched them work, it was that obvious.) I'm also more into exploring and outdoors than art, museums, etc. We did them in Rome because "that's what you do there" but I'd seen kind of enough of that in Florence already. What can I say, I'm not a connoisseur.

[hamster]

I was already thinking of Venice, so I'm glad people recommend it!

We've got a pretty tight travel schedule, so doing something smaller than Rome is probably a good idea. Plus if H comes with, he's definitely not that into cities and crowds.

[starlily]

I love Rome, but on my first trip to Italy we did a Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre itinerary over 9 days. It worked out really well and we enjoyed it.

[cheezer]

Rome is one of my favorite cities so I'd recommend that. Florence was nice but nothing spectacular. I prefer Venice because I think it's much more unique.

I absolutely loved the Piedmont region but I call that a level 2 trip after you've seen the main cities of Italy. Or you're super into wine. Additionally loved our honeymoon in Positano and Cinque Terre.

[pittpurple]

Aug 12, 2014 9:51:33 GMT -5 hamster said:

I was already thinking of Venice, so I'm glad people recommend it!

We've got a pretty tight travel schedule, so doing something smaller than Rome is probably a good idea. Plus if H comes with, he's definitely not that into cities and crowds.

How long do you have in Italy?
If your H isn't into cities and crowds, what about Florence plus some of the area around there? It's such a pretty part of the world, you could go to the coast or any number of pretty towns around there. Pisa is an easy (and fun) place to visit and we really loved Lucca. You could easily do a lot of things as day trips too so you could rent a place for a week or however long you have and then just travel around from there.

[scout8]

What about Florence and Siena? They are close together so it would work well. I also really liked Assisi. If you decide you want to go farther away from Florence, I loved Capri.

I am a big fan of Rome, but I always try to do a mix of big city/smaller town on trips. So, I think Florence and a smaller town would work well together.

[mdgirl]

We arrived in Rome this past Easter morning. While it was an interesting experience, it was indeed crowded and the hotels were way more expensive than usual (and a lot of the apartments had longer minimums, too). If your H already isn't into crowds and cities it wouldn't be a good scene for him.

On my first trip to Italy we did Florence and the Cinque Terre. CT was great but you're going a bit early in their season, so everything might not be open and the trails could still be a bit muddy. I would second Siena paired with Florence. We did a day trip there and I think it would be amazing to stay there a few days and overnight when the day trippers clear out.

[hamster]

I really wanted to do Venice, but I think given our already tight schedule, it's just too far away and we would lose a lot of time traveling.

We would be coming from Madrid, so to get to Florence it makes the most sense to fly into Pisa or Bologna on Ryanair. If you were to spend maybe 24 hours in one of those cities, which one is better?

[Cioccolato]

Amalfi Coast!!

[bunnies]

I've been to the Amalfi Coast twice - amazing and lovely. And the ruins of Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius volcano are close by!

[lilles]

San Gimignano

[trigal]

I was in Rome during Christmas and I wouldn't say it was particularly difficult. It was beautiful and we even went to see the pope on Christmas Day. Tens of thousands in St. Peter's square and we had no issues.