What to do on vacation in Italy?

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sueet2b

ive been living in florence, italy since 2002 so i guess i can say that i know italy more than i know my own hometown. first of all, from what city will you be arriving from?? and for how long will you be staying in italy?? i mean those are the basic things you want to focus on before deciding what you want to see.

i would say arrive in rome, visit the entire town, including the vatican, spend about 2-3 days there and then take a train up north to florence. spend another 3-5 days there, stay at a hotel and take day trips (i mean after seeing all of florence) to Pisa, Luca, Siena, and ESPECIALLY san gimignano, you do NOT want to miss that incredible town, its my favorite. all of these town are with in an hour at the most and it would be a waste of time to move from hotel to hotel just to visit those little towns that only take you half a day to visit. florence is also tiny, you can practically see all of it excluding the time you would spend IF you were to attend every museum. while your there, take another train ride all the way up west to Cinque Terre, this is pretty distant but if you leave as early as possible, you can spend the entire day visiting this area, its a group of towns along the coast all incredibly beautiful, if you want you might as well stay at hotel there and spend more time, but it all depends on how much time you have. after florence head a little more up north and go to Venice, spend another 2-3 days, enjoy it all and IF you still have time, go to milan, but you know what, to tell you teh truth, milan is not what you think, its just too industrial and metropolitan, its nothing of historical as rome and florence, i mean aside from the duomo. so if i were you, id skip milan, unless you like industrial cities.

my recomendation if you will be staying in italy for two weeks, id say, take the route ive given you, but make sure your flights are different, arrival to rome, and departure from venice. if you have an even longer period, like for example 3-4 weeks, id say, instead arrival to venice, go down through florence, see everything i recommended, then to rome, then to naples, then to the amalfi coast.

naples isnt really a pretty town nor is it as safe as you would think, you have to be wise and careful there and not be in the wrong spot at the wrong hour, so my recommendation is go to naples for a day, visit the town and leave, stay at a hotel in the amalfi coast. its INCREDIBLY beautiful!! my favorite town there is Sorento. i would say it would be alot easire for you if you rented a car because everythign there is not by foot at all and as you would drive along the cliff coasts you would be able to stop by and take pics, on buses you can't and they take forever. wiht a car you can go to naples for a day, visit pompeii afterwards, go to Positano, another beautiful town, amalfi as well, and sorrento. from sorrento you can catch a boat to the island of capri and the other one right by it, i forgot the name of it. i would say all this would take you around 2 weeks max.

so those are the ideal places i recommend you to go see, be very careful, be very aware, the main technique to attack the typical foreigners is pickpocketing and believe it or not, they are incredibly sneaky, do NOT ever give money to the gypsey chidren nor the gypsey people, they have the trick to steal your stuff, cameras, wallets, clothes, while your looking for change to give them.

have a safe trip! any questions, feel free to ask!

moniquaa

The Trevi Fountain, Vatican, and Venice should definetely be on your list. If you're going to the Vatican over the summer and are not with a tour, be prepared for extremely long lines even in the morning. We reached there at about 9am and waited for 3 1/2 hours. It was completely worth it, though. Just like the person before me said, make sure you go visit little shops as well, especially some mom and pop operations. You can meet the most interesting people that way and it makes your trip so much more worthwhile. The Jewish Ghetto is a very nice, secluded area outside of Rome. It has some nice architecture, a church, and a bridge over the Tiber. If you don't mind traveling, I would suggest going to Grado, a small beach island in the region of Gorizia. A lot of tourists from Germany visit there and it has great dining, hotels, a beach, and shops. Its about an hour's train ride from Venice. Interacting with the locals anywhere you go is the best thing you can do!

bluemoondancer

Have an Italian vacation off the beaten path: visit Le Marche.
It's a region with a lot to offer and still undiscovered by mass tourism. After Rome, Venice and Florence, relax for few days in Le Marche. Happy holiday!

ontheroadagainwithoutyou

It's just a week. That amount of time will be very limiting.
Yes, then you already know what you want to do-Rome, Vatican City, and Venice. Trying to sqeeze more in in a week will have you on more trains then in places. If you like, you can stop in Florence on your way between Rome and Venice.
And all you have to do is walk everywhere and you will see much!

Steve

most people will say the standard tourist attractions (i.e. pisa, venice, flourance, the vatican, rome ect.). But you should also check out small local art galleries and shops, and also the local farm markets. Nothing is better then checking out the local cusine and culture

808

Make it happen . Have Fun

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