Italy: 2 week itinerary.?

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cirobob

Very ambitious but not impossible.

I just try do suggest you a few things:

- traveling directly form Venice to Cinque Terre is very long (it could take you more than half a day and at least three trains to change...), so my tip is to stop on 12 May in Milan or in Genoa and if you don't arrive too late and you aren't too tired, also to do a short trip there. Milan is obviously a worthy city to visit, but can be a bit awkward for your trip, so I think it's better Genoa: it's undervalued but has nothing less than other more touristic Italian cities, it's very peculiar and his historical center is the European biggest one. Moreover from Genoa to Cinque Terre it takes less than 2 hours to arrive, so on the 13 May you have almost all the day to walk along Via dell'Amore and enjoy the landscape. If you choose to do visit Genoa in the afternoon, I suggest you to stop at Principe station, not at Brignole one (it's closer to the center) and not to visit the Acquarium (it's too big and there are a lot of other things to do).

- In Pisa visit only the Tower and the area of Campo dei Miracoli: the city is very good, but it's all time less to spend in Florence. Then I've never been to Lucca, so I don't know, but certainly Florence merits more than a day, so my tip is to cut Lucca and do shortly Pisa. And also in that manner I don't think you'll have the time to visit all the museums you told: Uffizi is very huge. So I think you'll be prepared to cut at least one museum.

- For the last days just after Siena, I think it's better to visit first Pompei (and eventually Naples) and then do a full-immersion visit to Rome: you can use better your time and if you want also relax a bit more, not having to travel anymore until 23 May

What else? Excuse me for the mistakes I certainly made with the language (but I'm Italian...) and I wish you a happy travel!
Bye

andrew s

I would say it is too much. I always believe in focusing on one or two regions and getting to know them well rather that just getting to know the transport network and some monuments and museums well.

Stan

It's ambitious, but doable. What wears me down on a trip like that is the packing and unpacking and lugging luggage all over. If you are looking to trim the trip I'd cut out Cinque de Terre (not because it's an inferior destination, but because it's out of the way) and Siena and spend 3 extra days in Florence and take a day trips to Pisa and Lucca, another day trip to (definitely!) Sienna and maybe another to San Gimignano, Assisi or Orvieto.

I did the following trip in 2002:

Venice 3 days
Rome 6 days with day trips to Orvieto, Florence and Pompeii/Sorrento

And it was packed.

Kate

It's doable, but you might be a bit tired at the end.

Here are a few notes:

--It's tough to go directly from Venice to Cinque Terre -- you'll need multiple trains and a good amount of time.

--Pisa and Lucca make a PERFECT day trip. They're close to each other and a few hours in each place is perfect. (Spend more time in Lucca than Pisa.)

--I would stay in Florence the same night as your Pisa/Lucca day, but I would stay an extra day and skip Siena. There is SO much to see in Florence, even if you're not into art, and you'll be glad you spent more time there.

--You don't need a full day to do the Vatican or Palatine Hill (ancient sites), but it's good that you'll have extra time to do whatever you feel like.

--A day trip to Pompeii is a bit tough from Rome. It's much closer to Naples, which is an hour and a half from Rome.

--One way you could save time is to scrap the Pompeii trip and spend that time on a daytrip from Florence to Siena instead!

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