<p>My girls loved Venice. I think it is still their favorite city in Italy, and they’ve been to Rome, Florence, Venice, Sorrento, San Gimiano, Sienna, Pisa, and Lake Garda. A city with streets made of canals is quite different from what they find at home. And the shops with little treasures… They should take the time to get lost. You really see the city and the people.</p>
<p>In Rome we liked the Hotel Nationale. It was on the piazza of the Italian Parliment Building, so cars, other than those going to the hotel, were not allowed. It meant the hotel was very quiet, but just steps from all the sights. (Close to the Trevi fountain, which we stopped by every night we were there.) Many hotels in Rome are very noisy just from the street noise, and when I stayed in a hotel near the Spanish steps that was not quiet I found Rome to be much less charming. (Amazing what sleep will do.)</p>
<p>I vote with the Venice-over-Florence set, especially if your girls aren’t hard core museum goers. The Uffizi is wonderful, but it’s the only thing I loved about Florence itself. </p>
<p>My wife and I adored Venice when we went a few years ago, far more than we expected. Part of that was that we spent a lot of time there looking at hyper-contemporary art in connection with the Biennale – the contrast between the slightly seedy but formerly magnificent city and trendy (and mostly ephemeral) art from all over the world was wonderful, and a lot of the art was being shown in palazzos that were not generally open to the public. I would try to stay far away from San Marco, however. Anywhere within half a mile of San Marco was completely jammed with tourists; anywhere beyond that was a pleasure. If I were going back, I would be tempted to stay in the Dorsudoro. (The Lido, however, is really far away from anything.)</p>
<p>In Rome, don’t-miss museums include the Villa Borghese (which requires advance booking) and the Roman National Museum at the Palazzo Massimo, which has unbelievably beautiful frescoes and tilework from the homes of Imperial nobles. The Coliseum and the Pantheon were big hits with the kids, too. We walked all over Rome in 100-degree heat – the area with the stuff you want to see isn’t that big, and is quite walkable. (In Venice, taking the vaporetto water busses from spot to spot was a big part of the fun.)</p>
<p>Ive lived in both Venice and Florence and I would choose Venice in a heartbeat. The only drawback to visiting any of these cities in the spring is that European schools have their big class trips during spring term and you will frequently be standing in line behind large groups of high school students. And as far as Venice is concerned you might want to check the flood charts for the time they are visiting. Also, there are plenty of great side trips from Venice. –
Mantova, Padova, Vicenza and Verona are all great day trips easily made by
train. The Palazzo Ducale in Mantova is overlooked by many and during the spring you may have the pleasure of being the only “stranieri” in the Sala degli Sposi by Mantegna as we were during our last visit.</p>
<p>Kudos to the suggestions of places to visit in Rome. We stayed at the Westin Excelsior on Via Venetto and really liked the location. In addition to the suggestions above, we really enjoyed the “Angels and Demons” tour. My H did not read the book, but we liked the places on the itinerary. </p>
<p>We were in Florence when it was hot and humid, so my memories of Florence are a little bit dampened by the weather. The Uffizi was fabulous (get tickets in advance; the lines are horrendous for those without pre-bought tickets), and I have to say the statue of David was worth the visit to Florence. We had hired a personal tour guide in Florence, and she did make the world of difference.</p>
<p>We adored Venice - just something wonderfully unique about this place. We did not have a good initial impression of Venice, but once we got out of the tourist crowds, it was fantastic; we found the “true” Venice. We followed the walks recommended by Rick Steves in his guidebooks. </p>
<p>We also visited Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii. Pompeii is an amazing place.</p>
<p>And, they have to eat gelato at least twice a day, sampling different flavors.</p>
<p>Everyone should go to Venice sometime. I’ve been twice. Might want to go now as flooding is only bound to get worse with global warming. I love both Florence and Rome. I also like all the hill towns in between. Personally I like staying in smaller pensions, but it’s been too long to have specific suggestions.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great input. I will pass it along.
The Aunt has been to Florence. The Aunt picked Italy and Rome and the girls Venice.
I had to laugh when I read the suggestion of the Best Western. My first words out of my D’s mouth when they started talking hotels was no Best Western’s! Our family travels pretty frugally so this trip will be a luxury. They are hoping that they get to fly business class. My D has only flown coach. I have only flown business once in my life and that was due to an overbooked plane.
My husband and I traveled in Italy when we were 20 and 21 and we would search for a room when we walked out of the train stations. My D’s first trip will be quite different.
The Gelato is a given.</p>