Venice, Tuscany & Rome

[Pibs]

We booked tickets to go to Italy next spring with my brother & SIL.  My other brother and SIL may also be coming along but that's TBD.

Our plan is to fly into Venice and spend a day there.  Then we'll head to Tuscany where we booked a farmhouse/villa with pool in Lucardo for 5-6 days.  We're thinking we'd like to go to Florence but will probably skip Pisa.  After that we're off to Rome for 5-6 days; per my brother we want to stay near the Pantheon/Piazza Navaro-ish area.  We were thinking an Airbnb or apartment might make sense for Rome.

So, please give me any and all of your favorite places to eat, drink, and be merry and your favorite things to see and do.  Good food and wine are a must.  We really enjoyed Bath, England and their Roman style spas so if we can find that in Rome that'd be a great day to spend part of a day.  Budget is still super flexible at this point.   

[goldengirlz]

Definitely make sure to go wine tasting in Tuscany. I don’t remember where we went (because DH made all the reservations) but wine tasting was my favorite part of the trip. It’s such a different experience there.

Antico Arco and Santo Palato were my favorite restaurants in Rome.

[Pibs]

Sept 23, 2019 10:55:01 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Definitely make sure to go wine tasting in Tuscany. I don’t remember where we went (because DH made all the reservations) but wine tasting was my favorite part of the trip. It’s such a different experience there.

Antico Arco and Santo Palato were my favorite restaurants in Rome.

Wine tasting in Tuscany is half the reason we're going!  The other half is the villa with a pool.   

Those restaurants both look delicious!  I can't even wait for all of the amazing food. 

[gummy]

Eat at Pane e Salame in Rome near the Trevi Fountain for an amazing charcuterie board and sandwich.

[wildrice]

I'm just following, because I'm going to Rome and Florence in January. Have you considered stopping in Siena? I haven't been there yet so I can't speak to it, but it sounds really lovely.

[dutchgirl678]

I haven't been to Venice, but can speak to Florence and Rome.

In Rome we rented a VRBO apartment on the Campo de Fiori. It is really close to Piazza Navona and we walked to a lot of places including the Trastevere neighborhood, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum. This was 8 years ago, so I don't remember many restaurants, but make sure you find them not on the main squares but in little side streets. Look on Tripadvisor or Rick Steves for recommendations. Trastevere was a really cool neighborhood with lots of great little restaurants that didn't seem as touristy at the time.

We loved Florence, but I can imagine it is fine for a day trip. Definitely visit the Duomo and climb the tower next to it and the dome itself if you have time for an amazing view of the city. The Ponte Vecchio bridge is neat and there are some great restaurants on the other side of the Arno river. Again, much less touristy. We loved one called Quattro Leoni. We didn't go to Pisa either, but we did a day trip to Siena and that was definitely worth it. The main square is so cool and the cathedral and small sidestreets.

I would love to be in a villa with a pool in Tuscany, that sounds divine! Maybe find a cooking class somewhere to learn how to make fresh pasta?

[mags]

Rome Restaurants

CiPASSO

Il Tamburello di Pulcinella

Grazia & Graziella

Borghiciana Pastificio Artigianale

I sapori di Matteo e Francesco

I have plenty more if youd like




Borghiciana Pastificio Artigianale

[Pibs]

wildrice Avatar
Sept 24, 2019 6:24:30 GMT -7 wildrice said:
I'm just following, because I'm going to Rome and Florence in January. Have you considered stopping in Siena? I haven't been there yet so I can't speak to it, but it sounds really lovely.

We have, but haven't really done much with overall itinerary other than Rome. Let me know if you end up going there and how you like it!

Sept 25, 2019 11:18:57 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

I haven't been to Venice, but can speak to Florence and Rome.

In Rome we rented a VRBO apartment on the Campo de Fiori. It is really close to Piazza Navona and we walked to a lot of places including the Trastevere neighborhood, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum. This was 8 years ago, so I don't remember many restaurants, but make sure you find them not on the main squares but in little side streets. Look on Tripadvisor or Rick Steves for recommendations. Trastevere was a really cool neighborhood with lots of great little restaurants that didn't seem as touristy at the time.

We loved Florence, but I can imagine it is fine for a day trip. Definitely visit the Duomo and climb the tower next to it and the dome itself if you have time for an amazing view of the city. The Ponte Vecchio bridge is neat and there are some great restaurants on the other side of the Arno river. Again, much less touristy. We loved one called Quattro Leoni. We didn't go to Pisa either, but we did a day trip to Siena and that was definitely worth it. The main square is so cool and the cathedral and small sidestreets.

I would love to be in a villa with a pool in Tuscany, that sounds divine! Maybe find a cooking class somewhere to learn how to make fresh pasta?

Thanks E!  We're planning on staying pretty much where you guys stayed, just waiting to find out how many people we'll have before we book.    Thanks for confirming that you can do Florence in a day.  I've seen mixed messages about how long to spend there.  Thanks for the cooking class suggestion -- that sounds brilliant! 

[dutchgirl678]

The downtown area is very compact. You could easily spend longer there, but you can definitely see the highlights. Will you have a car? If so, be very careful because I've heard it can be very confusing in Florence and you could end up in a pedestrian zone and get a big ticket. Plan ahead if you want to climb the Duomo's copula or Giotto's bell tower. And make sure you have one or two food options planned out beforehand. The most frustrating thing is wandering around in a city (especially with a group) wondering where to eat. I was there for a conference when my youngest was 3 months old and my oldest 3 years and my husband and parents were there. We ended up eating at a main square a few times because we just got so tired of not being able to decide where to go.

Google "spend one day in Florence" to get some good ideas of what you can or can't do in a day.

[lust2hart]

My favorite things in Venice:
St. Mark's Basilica
wandering around and getting "lost"
listening to music in St. Mark's Square at night

My favorite things in Florence:
Duomo Museum, particularly the bronze doors and Michelangelo's "Pieta"
Uffizi Gallery

My favorite things in Rome:
Sistine Chapel
Listening to the Pope speak in St. Peter's Square (Sunday at noon)

We stayed at a b&b outside Montepulciano and spent a couple of days wandering around that town. It was really wonderful. We toured the Ercolani wine cellar, visited local artist shops, and had a fantastic meal at Osteria Acquacheta.

We took a day trip to Assisi. I loved the town and the St. Francis of Assisi Basilica.

[daisypaloma]

Florence is beautiful. I would personally stay there for 2 days, but you can definitely make 1 day work. Do Duomo and Uffizi Gallery (I could stay here all day, but if you're pressing for time, do the Birth of Venus, Carvaggio rooms, and Raphael/Michaelangelo rooms) in the morning (Duomo is nice from the outside, but it's underwhelming on the inside, so don't spend too much time there), and if you have time, see the David in Academia for an hour. Cross the Ponte Vecchio bridge and walk towards the San Niccolo Tower, and/or Piazza Michaelangelo for a good sunset view of all of Florence. If you have time, there's a church nearby I believe called San Miniato. Camillo's is a popular restaurant that did not disappoint, they are available for lunch, but we went there for dinner so I can't confirm if they're just as good. My absolute favorite meal in Florence was my husband's carbonara dish at Palazzo Tempi. They are open all day from 10am. Also, stop by Eataly for some cheese, bread, olives and meats to take back with you to your hotel. I'm a big fan of the chain. For shopping, you can score on some leather goods in San Lorenzo Market near Mercato Centrale then walk towards the river to see the largest Salvatore Ferragamo store.

For other day trips, we did Siena and Volterra in one day, but if I can do it all over again, I would do Siena one day and Volterra and San Gimigniano another day.

All of the apartments we stayed at in Italy did not have clothes dryer, so keep that in mind when you book; otherwise give yourself a day and a half to fully air dry clothes if you need to do laundry.

We went to the Vatican on a Wednesday (he comes out Sundays and Wednesdays), and got the hear the Pope speak. He comes out around 10am, so go really early (I would recommend 7am) to get a great spot. Then get the skip the line tickets to see the Sistine Chapel. I made a bee line to the ceiling, and just stayed there for a long time, next time I would trek back to see the other galleries I whizzed by, especially the Modern Art gallery (the gallery before the Sistine ceiling) and the antiquities.

Then come back another early morning to do the St. Peter Basilica, it would only take you 10-20 minutes to the end of the line, versus any other time of the day, and it's less crowded for you to take in the Pieta and the by far, one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen.

Walk to the Piazza Venezia and walk the Corso to the Spanish steps. It's a pretty walk with all the high end shops. I would do the Trevi Fountain both day and night.

[Pibs]

Has anyone hired a chef to come do a cooking class with you while in Tuscany? We were thinking that might be something fun to do. There are a lot of options when I google. We'll ask the people we're renting the villa from, too, but wondered if anyone had personal experience with it.

[mrsukyankee]

Lucca was one of my favourite day trips when I stayed in the same area (loved it more than Sienna). I've been to Florence multiple times and really enjoy it. If you do a day trip, start early as it's worth spending lots of time there.

Pibs, our villa was attached to a restaurant that had cooking classes so we used them. Don't think they travel.