jclafrentz

Hi, We are traveling to Italy in June with myself, husband, 18 & 19 y/o. We want to visit Rome, Venice, Pisa, Florence. We've been trying to figure out the best use of our time (approx 7-8 days) to visit the major attractions in these cities. Should we go with a Tour agency? We'd prefer to go by ourselves though, which is why I am on here asking for help.
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

PWMTrav

Before you get killed in this sub for posting some very general plans, let me jump in -

For 7-8 days, you have too many places on your list. I'd say pick two of Rome, Venice and Florence, or extend the trip to 12-14 days if you want to do all 3. Pisa is cool, but in the grand scheme, isn't worth its own stop on your first trip to Italy. A lot of folks do a drive by of the tower, and there are some cool buildings and churches, but it's not really a destination until you're really exploring Italy beyond the main cities.

For 7 days, I'd do 4 in Rome, 3 somewhere else. If it's 8, then do 5 in Rome. If you want to do Rome, Florence, Venice, I'd split that up as 5, 4, 3 (12 days total) if it were me.

Search this sub a bit - Rome, Florence and Venice are discussed extensively. Even if you limit it to the last 3-6 months of threads, you'll see a lot of good info on where to stay and what to do.

I know Florence better than other places in Italy. I can help you with that once you decide how long your trip to Italy is going to be and what cities you'll really visit.

jclafrentz

Thank you so much for your kindness...I'm very new to this. Much appreciated. I will check out previous threads as you mentioned. Have a good day.

PWMTrav

That's not to say don't ask questions, but you will find other info already posted.

I do strongly suggest making your trip longer or trimming a city from the itinerary. You'll have a better time if you slow down in Italy, and always give Rome more time than you think it needs. The city is huge (and historically awesome).

LowlyDLsilver

With only a week - Rome plus one other, tops.

We had 5 days in Rome which was about right to hit the major stuff without running like mad.

Pisa - yes, we went, but not worth a day out of your already short stay.

Florence or Venice - it's a toss-up, IMO. Both lovely in their own way, which one depends on what YOU like more vs what they have to offer.

Hawk Circle

I'd split your time between Rome and Venice. You'd need a vacation from your vacation if you tried to pack in more destinations.

PWMTrav

I'd say Rome and Florence, but my biases in this sub are apparent Maybe a little more objectively -

Florence if you're more interested in art, shopping or Tuscan food/wine
Venice if you're more interested in architecture, a very unique history and a city situated like pretty much nowhere else (no cars, no roads, just canals)

June is going to be high season for tourists no matter where you go. Florence isn't too bad even with high traffic. Venice is bad during the day, but you can find yourself fairly alone after the cruise ships leave each night. No clear winner in that category.

Both cities should be interesting for 18/19 year olds too.

LowlyDLsilver

PWMTrav's last post is really on target about Florence vs Venice by their attributes. if you're into art, Florence - if you (or the kids) are into Science, the Galileo museum is pretty cool and a stone's throw from the Uffizi.

Venice - a city where getting lost is an art form! Fascinating old buildings standing in defiance of the sea. Murano is worth the vaporetto ride if you like glass products.

We went beginning of June for 3 weeks. The crowds weren't bad the first two weeks, picked up the third when we were in Venice. Busy but manageable from my perspective. I wouldn't want to see what July is like.

PWMTrav

Thanks. I forgot about science!

In Florence, there's also the Da Vinci museum - it's not huge, but there are working builds of some of Da Vinci's designs, many of which you can play with a bit.

There is also La Specola (in Oltrarno, south of the Pitti Palace, so stop at Pitti Gola on the way back) if you're into natural history - it's essentially a palazzo with 30+ rooms filled with specimens. Some are plaster/models, but the majority are real. I think the Medici family built that collection over the years, and when you look at it, you wonder how the hell that could even be legal today

The Galileo museum is very good. It's jam packed with things. I will say that the last time we went, although every piece was labeled in English and Italian, that the English text lost a lot of the details found in the Italian description. Something might be labeled as "Glass Medicine Vial" and then have a paragraph in Italian telling you more about it. It didn't seem to detract for my wife (who can't read Italian), but once I noticed the disparity I started translating and it was better for both of us. There is also a small hands-on area where you can demo some models.

I'm sure there's more that I'm just not thinking of.

Perche

There's also a fairly large Da Vinci museum in Venice, in Piazza San Barnaba, and a Museum of Natural History on the Grand Canal. There's also a Museum of Naval History near the Arsenale.