I need some Italy experts, specifically Rome and Florence

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If you want current info on logistics or have specific questions after consuming all the good advice above, start following the Tripadvisor forum for Florence and Rome. As I recall from my last trip, some of the regular posters on the Rome board are a bit snarky (true of many TA forums). But I get it, these people often spend a lot of time writing up detailed answers to various questions and they don’t like it when a “newbie” comes in with a different perspective.

I personally discount much of what Rick You-know-Who says. I find he leaves out some of the most interesting places in Europe, his info is frequently out-of-date and his preferences are often superficial. Rant over. If this is your first trip to the locations, his books can generally be found in the local library and do provide a quick starting point identifying possibilities and timeframes. I prefer Tripadvisor reviews of attractions that I think I might be interested in. Very up-to-date. You might have to read between the lines on individual reviews, but there isn’t the generalized re-hashed commentary I find in RS’s materials.

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I agree with @Momofadult about Trip Advisors, and their knowledge. I had to laugh concerning some of the snarkiest of regulars, as I became very involved when we were planning our trip and found that, too. Whether or not you like RS books (and I do), his forum boards are wonderful. Very, very nice people with lots of good info. Never met a snarky one on that forum board.

We really didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. We did the Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine and the underground colosseum, forum and palatine hill tours. Again, the Travestere Twilight Food Tour was a highlight. I mentioned that above. You do get a RS discount on the tours if you mention it when booking.

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@“Snowball City” my youngest will actually be celebrating his 21st birthday in Rome, and I did see the gladiator school and even though I have two boys that would probably enjoy that its probably geared more to the younger set. HaHa

Our Italy tour takes us all around the country so we do hit most of the major areas so I’m wondering for the three extra days we will stay back in Rome if we should return one day for a day trip to Florence or even another day trip back to Amalfi Coast. I was trying to convince my husband to go for a couple days to Malta but he wants to be based at the hotel in Rome. I liked the food tour suggestion in Rome and have been looking at the off beaten areas of Rome sights.

I realize we could spend more time at the traditional sights to explore on our own because whatever the tour offers on the initial part will not encompass all there is to see though I’m of the mindset of wanting to have some non-touristy things to do.

A question for those in the know. If we take the train from Rome to Florence for a day trip would it be possible to get a quick guided side tour to Siena? Our tour skips that and instead goes to San Gimignano. I need to see times for a round trip to Florence since the timing may not be what we are hoping. My oldest says he really enjoyed Florence and Siena so thats why we are thinking we could go back and spend some time.

@“Youdon’tsay” we are also flying out of Dallas and will be returning June 4! Happy Travels to you!

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@SweetTea I think doing Florence and Siena in the same day is too much. I do highly recommend Siena, however, and prefer it to San Gimignano though both are great. If you are already doing Rome, rather than go back, why don’t you spend those days exploring Florence/Siena and other places in Tuscany. Tuscany is less touristy and hectic than Rome and more affordable, too. There is a lot to see there and it’s just a beautiful place to relax.

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Loved Siena! One of my favorites.

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@SweetTea, if the males in your house played the Assassin’s Creed game, you can find a tour guide who will do both a historical tour and a game tour at the same time. The Assassin’s Creed 2 story line centered around Florence in the late 1400s.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187895-d2181488-r181628319-Guided_Tours_of_Florence-Florence_Tuscany.html

I’m sure if there was a book or movie that was in Rome or Florence you liked, you could find a tour guide who would include that as part of the tour.

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My must-do in Florence is to eat at Alimentari Uffizi. It’s a teeny little deli (has a few tables though) with the most amazing meats, cheeses, and other items like roasted peppers, artichokes, olives, etc. They will happily make up a plate of whatever you want–or leave it up to them to surprise you. The platters are served with the most delicious bread. The family that owns and works there are incredibly friendly. We ate there 3 times when we were in Florence; luckily it was next door to our apartment :slight_smile: FYI, they only take cash. It’s really exceptional.

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@“Youdon’tsay” I just got back from a wonderful trip to Ireland and Italy. I stayed in Florence and Rome. I know you mentioned you’re staying at a friends in Florence, but we did Airbnb’s in Italy and they were great and so inexpensive. Our Florence Airbnb was located in the San Lorenzo neighborhood near the San Lorenzo Basilica and Capelle Medicee as well as the indoor and outdoor mercados. Very walkable to the train station, the Accademia, the Duomo (Brunelleschi’s Dome) Ufizzi and Ponte Vecchio (all of which we did). We did an afternoon trip to Pisa by train (1 hour) and climbed the Leaning Tower. I recommend trying a Florentine steakhouse. I found one on trip advisor, called Tratorria dall’Oste on Via dé Cerchi. Rated #2 on TA, but make reservations (I used Quandoo) as it does get crowded. Excellent food and wine (and Limoncello). We also climbed the Duomo, not the Giotto Bell Tower. It’s 463 steps to top compared to St Peter’s Basilica 550 steps to the top (but SPB has an elevator that takes you up 300+ steps). We encountered two middle aged people who collapsed on the way up. It’s not for the faint of heart. Pisa’s Tower is 284 steps plus with the gravity pull, was a fun climb. The views were breathtaking at both towers and I loved that as you climb the Duomo you get an up close view of the Dome art which made for wonderful video.

We took a high speed train (bought tix the day of travel) from Florence to Rome (just over an hour) and our Airbnb host in Rome picked us up at the station. She was wonderful and her place was located in the Campo dé Fiori area which if you’ve read Rick Steve’s books is the starting point of the Heart of Rome Walk which is a mile long walk which takes you from this Piazza to sites such as the Piazza Navona, four rivers fountain, Pantheon, Trevi fountain and ending at Spanish Steps. We did a tour of the Vatican which lasted half a day but we were able to walk to many sites after that. The Victor Emmanuel monument at Piazza Venezia is a gem. Free admission and the terrace has breathtaking views at dusk from the Vatican to the Colosseum and Forum. For €7.50 you can take an elevator even higher.

This was my first trip to Italy and did not use a tour guide. A good Rick Steve’s book and his podcasts will give you all the info you need. We felt very safe and found both cities very walkable. Keep in mind I went during off season so we had the benefit of virtually no lines at all of the sites we visited. You’ll be going during summer so it will be very different.

P.S. I ‘trained’ for my trip anticipating many flights and lugging my bags on cobblestone streets, walking, climbing, etc. Ran 2 miles a day at lunch plus some body weight training. It definitely helped as we were on the go a lot…just a tip :). You’re going to have so much fun!

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We just bought plane tickets a few days ago and booked some hotels today!!! Flying in and out of Rome (with an earlier stop in Israel). We will be in Italy for 12 days and will be attending a family wedding in Tuscany. So before the wedding we will spend a couple of days in Rome, then DRIVING (a rental car) to Cinque Terre area and staying there for a few days, then driving to Tuscany. Got some helpful advice from good friends who are very experienced travelers, and picked one hotel just based on good reviews and price on Expedia. I am working on the car rental. Looks like Autoeurope is cheaper than other travel websites.

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@NJres Autoeurope is a good way to go with car rentals. We’ve had several good experiences with them.

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I highly recommend a short trip (10 minutes by cab) up to Fiesole. Go on a beautiful, clear day and have lunch at Le Cave di Maiano. This place has awesome food and service but the best is the outside terrace overlooking Florence and the entire Arno valley. Lots of Florentines go up for Sunday lunch and spend hours there. The beefsteak Fiorentina is wonderful and the wine list extensive.

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I used to love Rick Steves guidebooks, but I think they are somewhat out of date now for restaurants and hotels. One day when we were in Rome and needed a quick dinner I made the mistake of looking in the guidebook for a suggestion. Usually I research on my own or go with my gut or our apartment manager’s recommendations. The restaurant was terrible and full of American tour groups.

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I wanted to bump this up to say we are loving our time here in Florence. We decided to skip Rome and do one place really well. And we are. Dh is in heaven, and I’m stuffed as a tick on gelato. The good news is we are averaging about 15K steps a day so I think I can afford it.

The home where we are staying isn’t exactly city center but close enough that most everything is a reasonable walk. We’ve done the touristy stuff you can’t miss, such as see the David, and will do the Uffizi this afternoon, but we’ve also been able to do things off the beaten track, including an amazing dinner last night with my friends’ colleague who lives in a villa built in the 800s outside of town that was what you imagine you want your life to be if you drop everything and move to Tuscany. Y’all, she presses her own olive oil from her trees. And has this giant outdoor brick grill and pizza oven. Her food was fantastic as was the entire ambiance. The cab ride up there, however, was harrowing! On our 30th anniversary, we watched the sun set from the Piazzale Michelangelo and had prosecco. Yesterday, we had lunch with two Italian professors. So much good food everywhere. We are having the time of our lives. Tomorrow, we paid for a private tour into the Clay Hills that, truthfully, I don’t see how can possibly match our experience last night, but it’s paid for so we’re doing it.

I am surprised by how food can be bought relatively inexpensively. We haven’t spent nearly the money we thought we would! Highly recommend the 5 Euro giant panini!

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@Youdon’tsay, thanks for the update! I also prefer spending more time in one location, especially a location with as many options as Florence. Isn’t it great to see more in depth and visit areas that a one or two day tripper will miss? I find it much more relaxing with no frustration in having to miss out on options there is no time for.

Please report back on the Clay Hills tour. I’d love to get DH to Italy - something like that along with the art that he loves might do the trick!

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Sounds wonderful, Youdon’tsay!

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@“Youdon’tsay” I’m super happy for you. Glad you are loving the experience and especially getting some non-touristy glimpses into Italian life. How special and unique!

I do think Italy is a good bargain. I’ve been impressed as well at the great food at reasonable prices. I commend the Italians on caring about food quality and I think we Americans can take lessons from them on our food systems.

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Cool! I’m so glad you’re having a wonderful time.

I am going to forward your post to my daughter, who will be studying in Florence in the fall. We are giving her limited funds for food, so she will be happy to know she can go out and not break the bank. :slight_smile:

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Sounds like a great trip, love how you describe your villa visit outside the city. If you’d like a small sculpture museum in a building with an interesting courtyard and indoor-outdoor pieces, I love the National Museum of Bargello (in one the oldest buildings in the city IIRC). Very nice way to pass an hour or two.

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Did it, @travelnut !

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Thought that I would update this again, now that we’re home.

All in all, it was as perfect as it could have been. I was nervous going with the ticket broker website (cheapseatguru), but all went smooth in that respect. We flew Lufthansa/Air Dolomiti there and Air Dolomiti/United back. Lufthansa was a better experience (food), but on the United flight back we got a row to ourselves so that was great.

We didn’t take the advice to buy trip insurance, and the Friday before we flew home I was sweating it a little as Air Dolomiti employees went on strike and a dozen or so flights were cancelled. By the time we left Saturday morning, all seemed to be resolved.

I did take y’all’s advice to not try to do Venice. We were so happy with our decision to just do Florence really well.

I was unsure about that Rick Steves-recommnded tour into the Tuscan countryside, but it turned out great. Gosh, the views were just beautiful, and we made a couple of stops that I wasn’t expecting that were wonderful. PM me if you want specifics about the Montalcino tour. @doschicos I have a friend who overlapped with my visit, and she scheduled a day trip to Cinque Terre and said she wouldn’t do it again. I’m glad that I listened to you!

The last day in Florence we went to Santa Croce. I was there 28 years ago and remain surprised how it doesn’t seem to appeal to the tourists. There were none of the annoying large tour groups that we encountered at the Uffizi. And right there, a woman was restoring one of the giant paintings, while two guys worked on repairing the frame. It was so interesting watching her work.

I am amused looking back at this thread with the comments about Rick Steves. Man, I heard some not-nice things about him there! At the panini place, there was a super-long line one day (yes, we went back a second time!), and a girl said, “Is this in Rick Steves’ book now or something?” And my friend went to Torino and was thrilled at how untouristy it was. Someone told her it’s because Rick Steves hasn’t promoted their town.

@SweetTea how was your trip?