What to explore in Venice, Florence and Rome (italy)?

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consigliere

LADY X! You will have a wonderful time in Italia. I was in Roma a little over a year ago and I cannot wait to return. The food, the wine, the sites, the MEN!! I will give you some links to hopefully help you.!

eejonesaux

Hi,,, i have been many times and you are going to love it.. ok, in Florence,,, there is an open market down past the Duermo,, that is good... also in the square,, on down to the right is the post office,, and at the end of that walkway is a wonderful open market.. There is a huge metal pig you drop a penny at and rub his nose for luck !!!! all these are where you get your leather goods... shoes,, ect...purses.. price them,,, dont buy the 1st one.. also you barter on them in the markets... but not in the stores...

The Duermo,, is the big round top building next to the church,, go North on that street and on the right side is a small cafe,,, they got the best food for the best price in town,,, try the chicken carbarnarri... yummy..... there are several places to shop for sandwiches also.... I suggest this,, if you are staying in a hotel... they usually all have a breakfast served in buffet style.... eat a HUGE breakfast,, its paid for,,, and light lunch,, then you have more to spend on supper......OK??

Go see the David statue,, galk at it and smile and turn red,, and take lots of pictures... lol and there are lots of other art museums... dont forget the Bridge at Point deVeccio... expensive shops but it is the Last of the bridges of its type left from the middle ages,, that was not blown up during WWII....

In Rome,, go to the Vaticain,, go early to the Sistine Chapel.... they are only open certain days,, and the lines are LONG,, go EARLY !!! wear comfortable shoes also.....

Go to the Colosseum,, and foyer,, and the Spanish Steps.. check out the hard rock cafe also,,, they are nice there also....

BEWARE of the pick pockets in ROME !!!!!! they are good at their trade........ no kidding... pay attention.....

take lots of pictures,,then some more....

good luck and have fun.....

Harry B

I've put a link below for the "Islands of the Venice Lagoon"

Bart K

Venice walk around Piazza San Marco and explore every little street around there. Lots of little aleys.
Florence. Piazza signoria, Piazza San Lorenzo (fleemarket daily),Boboli gardens (beautiful view city and it is downtown), Ponte Vecchio. For the rest walk around and enjoy it
Rome: not too familiar with names but Coloseum is beautiful and downtown.

dinosf

You'll have a great time, it's so beautiful.

Venice if you go to one of the smaller "off islands" it's a bit less crowded (e.g. Murano as in the glass). It's so unblievably pretty, bring lot's of film and just wander around it.

Florence: Ulfizi closed on Tuesday's. Dante's house is cool (there's a cool painting of The Inferno in the cathedral). It's a bit expensive since it's so popular.

Rome: Everything, it's chunked full of history. There was one place I went that I really enjoyed (besides the Vatican, Collisseum and things like that) was a church (I think it's St. Catherines) between the vatican and the pope's church (very cool too, it's his bishop of Rome church) on the top is a Catholic church, underneath it is a roman temple and underneath that is a Eutruscan temple. You can walk down throuh 3,500 years of history, it's pretty amazing.

Cheap food: I found the food in Italy to be very reasonable and delicious. You can grab a pannini at the corner and it makes a nice lunch or a gelato from a place and stroll with it. The Italians have a late dinner hour and they spend a while at the table, I recommend you do to, it's very nice. Then there's strolling till late in the piazzas.

grandpa522

In Venice, you will want to see the Piazza San Marco, Church of San Marco and its bell tower, Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge and its adjacent markets, Peggy Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art, the islands of Murano and Burano.

If you like art, between 50% and 60% of all the major catalogued art in the world is in Italy. Nearly half of that is in Florence (Accademia di Belle Arti (home of Michelangelo's "David"), Uffizi Gallery, Bargelo sculpture museum (home of Michelangelo's "Bacchus", Donnatello's "David", and Giambologna's "Mercury"), the Duomo and Baptistry, Pitti Palace, Palazzo Vecchio, the adjacent Loggia of sculptures, and Piazza della Signoria, and the churches, particularly the Church of San Lorenzo with its Capelle Medicii, home of several Michelangelo sculptures. Adjacent to San Lorenzo, there is a daily market, full of vendors with their carts. You'll want to visit Santa Croce and Casa Buonarote, Michelangelo's home, now a museum. Florence is my favorite place in the world.

A large part of the remaining art is in Rome - Vatican Museums, Museum e Galleria Borghese, and the many (over 500) churches, particularly St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano, San Pietro in Vincoli (home to Michelangelo's "Moses"), San Paolo fuori le Mura, and a personal favorite, Sanra Maria della Vittoria, home of Bernini's "Ecstacy of St. Teresa".

Don't miss the catacombs, and, of course, the many piazzas and fountains. You will also want to visit the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Arch of Titus, Arch of Septimius Severis, the Campidoglio, Piazza Venezia, and the Pantheon.

You can also visit smaller towns, which are not difficult to reach, such as Padua and Vicenza (from Venice), Siena and San Gimignano (from Florence) and Orvieto, Ostia Antica (from Rome). Also from Rome, you might wish to visit Tivoli, Villa d'Este, Hadrian's Villa and other sites.

You could also take day trips (about 3 hour trip) to Pompeii, or Tarquinia (outstanding collection of Etruscan artifacts).

Realistically, you can't see everything I have listed unless you are going to be in Italy for an extended period of time, but see as much as you can. Also know that this is just a large sampling of the major sites. There is much, much more to see and do in Italy.

I have been to Italy many times and begin planning my next trip as soon as I return from the last one. In central and northern Italy, nearly everyone speaks English, albeit with a sometimes heavy accent. The food and wine is delicious and inexpensive, the people are friendly and helpful. What more could you want?

I will be taking two groups to Venice, Florence and Rome, and a few other towns in between. One group will be leaving March 9, returning March 18. The other will be leaving June 22, returning July 2, and will also go to Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. If you are interested, send me an e-mail and I will send you my toll-free number. I am in Ohio. I am a travel agent and specialize in Italy.

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