What do you think about this quick, 6-day tour of Italy?

Question

Day 1 (Friday) Flight to Rome.
Day 2 (Sat) Rome: Arrive, train to Florence, bus to Fiesole (relax).
Day 3 (Sun) Florence: visit Uffizi and see David, tour Santa Maria Novella,
climb to the top of the Duomo
Day 4 (Mon) Day trip to Lucca: visit the gardens, Puccini's house, the
churches, walk around the city on the walls
Day 5 (Tues) Day trip to Siena: tour the Duomo, the Civic Center, the shops,
St. Catherine's home
Day 6 (Wed) Rome: ancient city (Forum, Colosseum, Capitoline Hill,
Pantheon)
Day 7 (Thurs) Rome: visit St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's tomb, Piazza
Navona, Trevi Fountain

We're staying 4 nights in Fiesole and 2 nights in Rome. Is there anything you might add to this trip?

Thanks Tom....I'll take your advice.

All of y'all are giving me the best advice. Thank you!

Answer 1

You have a very ambitious itinerary -- I hope you a vacation planned for when you get home!

Seriously though, it's hard to tell you to drop some place and which place to drop but here are a few tips:

-- Be sure you get a fast train (Eurostar) between Rome and Florence to maximize your time.

-- If you are planning on doing all the things you list for Florence in one day, you better be sure to have reservations for entering the Uffizi and the Accademia, where you'll find the David statue. Otherwise, you'll spend all day in line just to get into one of them. Number for reservations is 055.294883

-- There are generally shorter lines to climb to the top of the Duomo's bell tower or to the top of the Palazzo Vecchio and they give you nearly the same view as being on top of the Duomo. One of the better views onto the city is from the Piazzale Michelangelo and it's cooler in hot summer months when the dome or the towers can be stifling. Frankly, if you are going to be staying in Fiesole, with lovely views onto the city, I'd skip this activity and do something else in Florence such as visit Santa Croce, San Marco, the Brancacci Chapel, the Oltrarno, the Boboli Gardens and the list goes on....Or you could merely relax and enjoy a piazza, my favorite Florentine summer activity.

(By the way, Fiesole is beautiful, but take into account that it's a miminum 1-hour RT commute into Florence either for your time there and/or for getting to transport for your day trip. You may want to consider whether this is the most convenient spot for you to stay. Let me know if you'd like other suggestions).

-- Lucca is lovely and very doable as a day trip from Florence. Take the train as it is most convenient.

-- Tom's advice regarding bus versus train to Siena is right on. Avoid the train, it is also three times as long. Not sure what you mean by the Civic Center-- could you mean city hall, if so, worth a visit and so is the climb up the Tower (Torre di Mangia) for beautiful views onto the countryside. I'd also go to the Cathedral of San Domenico to see St. Catherine's head (yep, her head).

-- While San Gimignano is a beautiful town, with your limited time I'd avoid it. It is also unfortunately run over by tourism and tends to feel a little like Disneyland Italy (not quite real but recreated for the effect). It's a pity. There are other small towns that are great but your itinerary doesn't really leave time.

-- I personally think two days in Rome is too little but you've got everything pretty much covered. If you do plan to go to the Vatican museums, be sure you have a reservation here(www.vatican.va) or again you'll waste a day in line. Also take into account that the summer is very hot and outdoor attractions can be exhausting, as can just moving around.

The RomaPass is good for avoiding lines at entrances and free public transportation for three days. At 20 euro/pp, it's worth it for your short trip.

Let me know if you need any info regarding hotels or other planning. And have a great trip.

Answer 2

This sounds great. It will work out well because this is very similar to what I do with my family when they come to visit me. Make sure you get your ticket ahead of time for the Uffizi and David. You can order them at www.selectitaly.com I know that they have been doing work to david and dont know if you can see him right now last i heard they had it open but they had scraffling all arouond him. Good luck on the climb to Duomo make sure you bring water. Its an awesome sight but the climb is killer. Lucca is awesom you cant drive in the city but its so quite and little. Siena and St. G (another post talked about it) are awesome too but they are all small cities with basicly the same stuff. When you guys go to St. Peter's are you going to the museum also?? Is so get there really ealier like at least 730 the line gets really long and you cant get tickets ahead of time. plus they close at 330 i think for break time
I think you got the trip covered. You know that when you are by Lucca you are really close to the leaning tower of Pisa in Pisa. Just an idea because we did pisa and lucca in the same day.

Answer 3

This will be a full trip as it is. However, on your day trip to Lucca, you might go to Pisa first on a early train to see the leaning tower, and then go on to Lucca for the day; they're about 20 minutes apart by train...or swing by Pisa on the way back to Florence. I always recommend Lucca to people who initially plan on spending a full day in Pisa - an excellent choice with more to see as a tourist. Be sure to take the time to climb at least one of the towers in Lucca for the views and visit the duomo and San Michele.

In Florence, you'll want to make reservations in advance for the Uffizi and Accademia (David). You can book reservations on-line at: http://www.florence-tickets.com/index.php?uffizi-eng&tplchange=6 or call 39-055-294-883 (reservations for both). If you don't have reservations, the lines to get in can take an hour or more.

Answer 4

I think you've got a good plan. I'm guessing you have a place to stay in fiesole, which I don't know. Siena is beautiful.
San Gimignano is nearby and it's a jewel if you have time, but it'll be filled with tourists. Buses from Siena and Florence.
I don't know anything about Lucca, but I'm sure it's nice. I love Bologna, too!, but with only 6 days, I think you have enough.
Buon Viaggio!
(The bus is better than train from Florence to Siena, since the bus station is right near the Duomo, but the train station is a long walk up a hill or a bus ride to the old center.)

Answer 5

Given that you are going to now not get by way of immigration and protection till 7:forty five on the earliest, after which ought to discover the instruct station and seize a instruct, I suppose it could go away you too little time to do any rather sight seeing. You have to recollect, that leaving the airside field of the airport, then method you are going to have to pass by way of protection and get on your new departure gate, which would take 45min to 1hour, plus you do not rather desire to be dashing both. My great recommendation, for doing some thing in a layover, is learn a well publication, pay attention to an ipod, browse the department stores, even seize a chunk to devour, as I'm certain you can be hungry in the course of the ones 6 hours. Leave Paris for a different time, whilst you'll keep over a night time or two.

Answer 6

It sounds very busy. You may want to add some additional time to just walk around, enjoy the scenery and relax. You can find the best deals on souveniers in rome. If you plan to eat at any restaurnts, plan to stay for atleast 1-2 hours. Also, take good walking shoes. If you've never been to venice, I'd definitely go there for a day. It's beautiful. My favorite cities were venice & rome. I did not go to lucca.

Answer 7

you r trip sounds great. have a good time.