<p>I’ve started a tradition of taking my kids on a post-college graduation trip (outside of the US). Previous trips involved backpacking/walking trails/biking in Spain and England. Youngest D (who graduates from college in May) has no interest in a trip like this. She wants to go to Italy. D suggested we travel with her bff (since 3rd grade) and her friend’s mom. They’re up for it and I am too. So–what should we see? We’ve got about 10 days. This is a group that’s into museums, art, and theater. Plus–other mom owns a high-end catering company and is a serious foodie. I want to see the Vatican, the Uffizi (Florence) and Murano glass in Venice. However, that’s not set in stone–open to any suggestions. I usually get some great advice from people on CC.</p>
<p>We did Rome first, then Florence, then Venice. My thought was that we’d have the most energy in Rome, then pare down the schedule as we went.</p>
<p>In Rome, the Galleria Borghese is a must. (Advance reservations are a must, too.) In Florence, besides the Academia and the Uffizi, be sure to see the Medici chapels.</p>
<p>From Florence, we took a day trip to Pisa (again, advance reservations are a must.) Yes, it’s cheesy, but I love the idea of the leaning tower…a tribute to bad judgment everywhere!</p>
<p>In Venice, there are quite a few groups that do performances of Vivald’s Four Seasons. The quality varies. We liked the one we went to but weren’t real picky.</p>
<p>Murano glass is really a tourist con. They will perform all these great demonstration of glass blowing and then try to sell you their products at 100 times their market value.
If you go to Florence for the Uffizi, then you could spend some time in tuscany to visit San Gimignano, Siena etc.
Midway between Rome and Florence is the region of Umbria. Towns like Perugia or Gubbio are absolute jewels and there are many less tourists than in Tuscany and this region is much cheaper than Tuscany.</p>
<p>Venice is such a spectacular place to walk around, try venturing out into the neighborhoods. The Murano trip is a bit of a tourist trap but the boat ride is lovely and I found the demonstrations facinating - definitely worth a half day if you love blown glass. Also, a full ride on the vaporetto down the entire Grand Canal is fun and not expensive as compared to the water taxis.</p>
<p>If you are going to spend time in Florence, I would highly recommmend a day trip or two to some of the hill towns in Tuscany such as Sienna. They are easily reachable by bus. </p>
<p>And if you have time while you are in Rome - take a few days to visit the Amalfi coast - Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, Postiano, etc.</p>
<p>We just did two weeks in Rome and Florence as an early grad gift for D. It was amazing. If you are going in summer it WILL be hot. A/C in Italy can be hit or miss. If this is a problem for you, you might want to schedule some time away from the major tourist sites to the Amalfi coast or Lake Como. You can find a real flavor for living in Italy and cool off too. That said, I found many of the regular tourist places in Rome underwhelming (the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel). The crowds interfered with the enjoyment. Our three favorite places in Rome were: walking tour of the Trastevere neighborhood including the the church in the main square; tour of Church of San Clemente with its 3 different levels showing the history of the city and changes in religious practices; tour of Ostia Antica- about an hour outside the city (this was D’s favorite).<br>
We loved walking the streets of Florence but also liked the bus tour to the medieval city, Fiesole, about 30 minutes outside of the city. Also like the Piti Palace very much in Florence.</p>
<p>A great idea - Rome and Florence/Tuscany are wonderful. I’ve not been to Venice, but have heard it can be miserably crowded (and the canals quite polluted) during top tourist periods.</p>
<p>You must get tickets (available online) as far in advance as possible for the major museums, like the Galleria Borghese in Rome and the Uffizi in Florence. </p>
<p>In Rome, we loved the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel, Galleria Borgheze, the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Forum/Palentine Hill, and simply walking for hours every day. As indicated above, it can be brutally hot in the summer - Rome is largely paved with black stone, and we were there in record heat well above 100. </p>
<p>In Florence, the Galleria Borghese, with its amazing collection of Bernini and restful garden, and the Uffizi were museum highlights. Again, we loved doing lots of walking through the city. We rented an apartment in Florence a block from the Duomo, which became rather claustrophobic for an extended stay - in the future, we would rent a house outside of the city and use buses to come in. Siena was our favorite part of our stay there - we were there the day the horses for the Palio were selected, with amazing pomp and ceremony but without the crowds of the Palio itself. The Siena Duomo is much lovelier than the Florence Duomo. Fiesole is a lovely little hill town, with stunning Roman and pre-Roman ruins.</p>
<p>Don’t miss Venice even if it’s at a time of year when it’ll be crowded. It’s a unique small city and warrants checking it out.</p>
<p>Go see the Cinque Terra. It’s very scenic. You can park (or train) to one of the 5 towns and walk along the path to the others. The path is righ along the cliff of the coast. It’s pretty spectacular and is a good break between museums/buildings. </p>
<p>Along the way to the Cinque Terra is Pisa which is worth a stop for an hour or two to see the leaning tower and adjacent buildings.</p>
<p>Plan on eating Gelato at least a couple times per day.</p>
<p>Lots of good suggetions here already, so I won’t repeat. Have been to Rome twice and would highly recommend a tour of the Vatican/Vatican Museum. You get to go in without waiting in absurdly long lines, plus it can all be so overwhelming if you’re wondering around on you own. H & I used this place when we were there in November: [Brilliant</a> Rome private tours Rome to experience art and history in the infinite city. Rome private tour Rome to meet J. Caesar, Michelangelo, Caravaggio. Rome private tour Rome let art bring new spirituality in your life. Your exclusive Rome walking](<a href=“http://www.througheternity.com/]Brilliant”>http://www.througheternity.com/) We were in a group tour guided by an American grad student studying in Rome. Excellent! Included the Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.</p>
<p>November was our 2nd trip to Italy. On the first, with D & S, we did Venice, Florence, & Rome. The latest trip was just the 2 of us. We started in Rome, and then drove all over. Loved Siena, Lucca, & Pisa. Ended in Milan. All excellent, with great food and wine.</p>
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<p>I think it’s worth it. You get a free water taxi ride. On the way there, we saw construction boats and ambulance boats and even a funeral boat. You watch them blow glass then you are escorted into this store…not even TEMPTED to buy items that cost thousands of dollars. You just have to look around for a couple of minute then say a firm no when they try to get you to buy something. </p>
<p>I will say that I didn’t see any glass jewelry on Murano that was more unique or less expensive than in the rest of Venice.</p>
<p>I love my glass jewelry from Venice…wish I had bought more. After a while it starts looking all alike and less special, but it will be unique when you get it home.</p>
<p>Lots of great ideas have already been posted, so it’s difficult to add anything new, but a couple of thoughts. You really cannot see the entire country in 10 days, so I wouldn’t even try, instead, I would focus on three spots that are most attractive to you.</p>
<p>My in-laws are from Italy, and I’ve been there many times. If someone told me I could only visit three locations, those would be:</p>
<p>Amalfi Coast - Ravello - Positano - Capri
Rome
Florence</p>
<p>Of course, I won’t include Sicily, which is my favorite, because it’s not really part of Italy!</p>
<p>If you only have 10 days, it will be less hectic to stay more or less in just one place. Either Rome or Florence and environs would be amazing. There is plenty to see (and eat!) in either location.</p>
<p>Here’s an idea I’ve used for trips where there are multiple people to please and time is a bit short. Have each person list the top 3-6 things they HAVE to see or do in Italy…or if you’ve decided on the cities already, the top 2 things they have to do or see in each city. Then plot those on a map. (Some people do this on a computer, but I just do it by hand on a city map.) Then look around and see what is nearby. For example, that church in Rome with all the rooms decorated with human bones (Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, or Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchinsis) a fairly short walk from the Borghese Park. We would not have made a special trip to that part of town to see the Capuchin church, but it was worth seeing since we were “in the neighborhood.”</p>
<p>^^^ Oh yes, the chapel with all the monk bones – very cool, in a weird sort of way, We saw that on our most recent trip, and it just happened to be on Halloween – making it even weirder.</p>
<p>In Rome, I recommend getting the Roma Pass, it gets you into 2 attractions for free, then discounted rates for the others. It also gives you free rides on the metro for 3 days. Best part, for me, it allows you to skip the lines at the Colosseum and Forum/Palatine.</p>
<p>I will add Pompeii to the list. It was haunting to walk through that city. I did it as a day trip out of Rome.</p>
<p>Consider doing something a bit off the beaten path - we skipped Tuscany in favor of Umbria where fewer tourists tend to venture. We stayed in Rome and took local trains to areas around Perugia and Assissi. Also, when in Rome, you might go to Villa d’Este and Pompeii.</p>
<p>One more thought about Venice - venice is a day tripper destination. At 5:00PM, the crowds disperse. At 8:00PM ish, the street artists begin to play in the squares. At any turn you could hear a cello or an opera singer or a violin duet. We had dinner one evening outside in a small square. The music was wonderful…students playing soulful classical music, great seafood, wine…the lighting was magical with the sun setting…fabulous. On another evening, we had dinner along the mouth of the Grand Canal. The restaurant had beautiful torches lighting the area. At about 10:00PM a cruise ship sailed in, there were fireworks and once again Italian opera.</p>
<p>We are travel junkies and would rather save money for trips than buy a new car or purchase the latest and greatest TV, computer, etc. All our spare change had gone to travel (except now it all goes to colleges!). There are three places that my family talks about when we discuss upcoming trips…Venice, Santorini, and Instanbul. We describe them as the magical trio…and if we can squeeze even a quick visit to any to them, then we definitely try to make it happen.</p>
<p>Oh if you go to Florence and are looking for a nice, but not terribly expensive, hotel- recommend the Globus in the historical district. Loved the location and the breakfast.</p>
<p>You will have a great time. I am with those who lean towards more time in fewer destinations when the destinations are as epic as the ones on your list. It allows for the meandering around the neighborhoods of a city, people watching, more energy for sights than transportation arrangements. One could easily spend 10 days in Rome and enjoy the interests on your list. That said, Florence is spectacular and nearby enough to make a nice addition to a trip to Rome. You already have good recommendations for what to see. Just wanted to add a favorite in Rome is the SCAVI tour of the archeological site underneath St. Peter’s. The tour that accompanies it is both fascinating and a bit of “showmanship”, but you see how the streets of Rome looked in ancient times and hear about how people lived. Popular in my family. You have to email the website and request tix. I had good luck for a February trip, but high season may be harder. The tour is small, maybe 10-15 people and they limit it to protect the environment. Have fun.</p>
<p>I like staying put and getting to know a place well, that said, I agree there are some real gems once you get off the beaten path. If you can I highly recommend getting out of the cities. </p>
<p>There are some gorgeous villas and gardens. For example: [Villa</a> Farnese - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Farnese]Villa”>Villa Farnese - Wikipedia) or the Villa D’este. There’s a good list of gardens here: [Italian</a> Renaissance garden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“Italian Renaissance garden - Wikipedia”>Italian Renaissance garden - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I love Siena and Assisi.</p>
<p>If you like Roman ruins be sure to see Ostia and Hadrian’s Villa.</p>
<p>Given that this is a “girls” trip, you may want to think about shopping. We bought very little in Rome. I’m sure there were great stores (e.g. shoes) but the guys on the trip had no patience. We loved shopping the stalls in Florence. Just beware the knockoff purses and sunglasses. There are stiff fines if you’re caught with one. In Venice we bought glass jewelry and masks.</p>
<p>I know that your group is fairily educated in the arts, but do consider buying the Rick Steves books for the cities you are visiting just to use his museum walking tours. They’re pretty informative and can be really funny.</p>
<p>Keep your loose change. At lots of the churches (esp in Rome) there is lighting for the art if you put some coins in a little box.</p>
<p>Also, if you want to visit a lot of churches, try to make a list of what is open when. It is frustrating. You’ll read three different sets of open hours on three different websites, but you can get a general idea of at least the days they are closed.</p>
<p>As for the foodie: Put her to work! One of the smartest things I ever did (on a trip to Barcelona) was to research restaurants and* plot them on a map*. This is because of the difficulty I had in Rome…I had directions like “two blocks off of Piazza Navona” then when I got there I saw that maybe 8 streets fed into the piazza so it was just luck if we chose the right streeet to walk 2 blocks up.</p>