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nybride0705
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Come in if you've gone to Italy
in Travel
DH & I wanted to go for our HM but couldn't afford it at the time. I want to start planning/saving for us to go in 2 years. I'm not sure if we should go to Rome or Venice. What part did you go to, what did you do, did you love it? TIA
Re: Come in if you've gone to Italy
well, you've got 2 years to plan. go to your library take out a few travel books and read them and see what interests YOU.
i've beena few time and returning in 2 weeks. i loved rome, liked venice less and adore florence. but that's my taste. do your research and see what interests you. if youre more beachy-amalfi, more artsy florence etc...
DH and I spent a week in Venice. I absolutely loved it! We did a lot of wandering around the city, especially around sunrise because it was beautiful with all the mist, plus it was empty and it felt like we had the city all to ourselves.
We took a day to go to the outlining islands. We visited Murano where they are known for their glass, and then Burano which is known for its BRIGHTLY colored buildings. We really got some fantastic pictures there.
Rome will definitely be our next stop when we go back to Italy, but Venice was at the top of my travel bucket list.
I've been to both. I love both. Entirely different vibes in both areas.
I think if you had to pick one, Rome would be a better choice. Lots to see and do. Food is better. Florence could be an easy sidetrip. You'd get more bang for your buck as far as seeing historical sites, museums, etc.
But since you have 2 years to plan, I'd really try hard to make both happen.
Personally, if I were going back to Italy, I would do the Amalfi coast. It's the only part I haven't spent an extensive amount of time in. It looks beautiful and I hear it's pretty romantic.
Could you do Rome with a side trip?
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DH and I went for 14 nights this past September.
We started in Venice, as I read it was an easy and slow city to grow accumstomed to the Italian culture and get over jet lag. We spent 3 nights there, and loved it. It's such a unique city, and has so many nooks and crannies to explore!
Then we took the train to the Cinque Terre on the Mediterranean. DH loves to fish, and I thought he would love the small fishing villages. We did a boat tour, some hiking, and ate some amazing food. We spent a total of 2 nights, although we wish we would have done 3.
Afterwards we headed to Lucca, in Tuscany. I had read some great things about it, and we enjoyed explore it asnd biking the walls. Two nights was enough for us though.
Then we went into Tuscany for an outdoor cooking class. One of the HIGHLIGHTS of our trip! We did it with one toher couple, and still make fresh pasta at home
Following the class we headed to Florence for 2 nights. We weren't huge fans of Florence, as we are not very into art, more ruins and history. We definitely did some shopping though 
We ended our trip with 5 nights in Rome (including a day trip to Naples and Pompeii). Rome was great, so full of ruins and history at every corner. 5 Nights allowed us to wander and slow our touring... made the city more "real". Pompeii was my DH's highlight of the trip.
Like a PP said, definitely start reading up- where to go really depends on your interests. Each city/destination brings something to the table. It really was the trip of a lifetime for us!
(butting in)
H wants to go to Europe too and we're not sure if we should do an E. Med cruise or just stay in Italy for 2 weeks.
If we stayed in Italy, we would like to travel to Venice--> Florence & Pisa--> Rome--> Amalfi Coast.
If we flew into Venice, is the transportation easy and affordable to the other cities mentioned?
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If you've got a week or more, I think you can enjoy both cities on one trip.
Personally, I think that Tuscany is a really nice relaxing part of IT to visit (great food and wine). If you like history, culture, and city life, it's hard to miss with Rome and/or Florence. Although, personally, my favorite city is Verona (less to "do", but great atmosphere). Venice is beautiful and might be worth an overnight, but in my opinion, is generally overpriced for what it offers in terms of lodging and dining options. Similarly, Pisa is completely miss-able, IMO.
The Naples area gets a bad rap-- admittedly it's the hardest city to deal w/ IME, but believe it or not, deep down it has charm, you just need to where to look. It is definitely harder for the average non-IT speaking tourist. If you can deal with the chaos, it offers some of the best values for IT cities in terms of meals and lodging.
Sicily is an often overlooked option-- the connections are a slight pain, but, like Naples, it offers some good values and interesting mixed culture.
ETA: I live in Naples, so have traveled a fair amount. If there are specific towns/cities that you're interested in beyond what I've mentioned, let me know and I'm happy to give you my review if I've been (we've covered a fair amount of ground b/c when possible, I prefer to drive when traveling so I can take my dog).
A less common option is to spend some time at one of the lakes. DH and I spent 4 nights at Lake Como and 4 nights in Rome last summer.
We flew into Milan and stayed in Bellagio for the first part of the trip. We enjoyed several days exploring the little towns around the lake. The boat ferries and buses make it easy to travel around the area quickly. The mountains and lakes are beautiful and it was a nice relaxing part of our trip before the fast crowded pace of Rome.
I've been to Rome, Florence, and Venice and loved all three.
Rome - This was probably our favorite for sightseeing. There is so much history here. Also, it's a good place if you are into fashion. The food was incredible as well.
Florence - You definitely want to stop here if you enjoy art and museums. There is also good shopping and fun markets to check out here.
Venice - I don't think you need more than 2 days or so here but it's really pretty and something to see at least once. A lot of people feel it's touristy though. I didn't really enjoy the food here but that's because it is a lot of fish.
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Did you fly into a specific city and then take the rail in between the other cities? How long were you in Italy?
again-go and get some books and familiarize yourself.
florence is IN tuscany
H and I went to Italy last October. We spent the majority of our time in Rome and did a few side trips to the Amalfi Coast and Florence.
We loved Rome and would go back in a heartbeat. There is a ton to see and do and is great if you are into history and sightseeing.
The Amalfi Coast is gorgeous! We visited Positano and Sorrento while we were there. We also went to Pompeii which was really interesting.
We liked Florence a lot as well. It is extremely walkable which is great.
I wish we had more time in Tuscany. The countryside is really beautiful and there are many wineries where you can taste not only the wine but olive oils, truffle oils, etc.
I can't speak for Venice since I haven't been there yet, but I would agree with the others who have said go to Rome and do some side trips from there. The Amalfi Coast is about 2 hours south of Rome so it is very doable. Florence is about 3 hours to the North of Rome and also worth the trip!
We went in October 2010. In a nutshell:
2 nights in Venice - really enjoyed it. wandered around the back alleys mostly, avoided the huge crowds.
3 nights in CT (Riomaggiore) - loved loved loved it. beautiful, relaxing. we had an apartment with a balcony over the water. amazing.
3 nights in Tuscany (Voltera) - I liked it okay, but not our favorite part. spent a day in Sienna and really like that town. if we go back to Tuscany, we'll stay in Sienna, or Florence since we didn't make it there at all.
3 nights in Sorrento - beautiful. took a day trip to capri, and rented a scooter and took small roads to the other side of the penisula (although not all the way to Amalfi)
3 nights in Rome - we were dead-tired by this point, but nonetheless, I loved Rome. so much history, and great food. I would like to go back.
We spent two weeks in Italy this fall. We did:
1 night in Milan
2 nights in Genoa
2 nights in the Cinque Terre
2 nights in Venice
1 night in Florence
3 nights in Siena
4 nights in Rome
It was busy, but I wouldn't change anything. So, yeah, you could do both Venice and Rome with 2 weeks. I thought Venice was unique and interesting and fun, but Rome has so much to see. I don't feel any great desire to spend more time in Venice, but I want to go back to Rome.
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Rome or Venice? How long are you going for? Do both!
We went in October, and did:
2 nights in Corniglia (Cinque Terre)
2 nights in Florence
1 night in Venice
3 nights in Siena
3 nights in Rome
What you'll like best, and what you may choose to do or skip, will depend on your interests. Do you want to spend your time in museums? eating? touring the countryside? hiking? on the coast? Because the offerings in each city are really different, just like here.
Spend an afternoon at the library or B&N and start reading about Italy, and see what sounds fun to you. Build your trip from there. Don't just automatically assume that the names you hear most often will be your favorites.
We went for our 1st anniversary verses our honeymoon. We started in Rome, and ended in Venice.
Rome (the actual day we arrived, we just relaxed and grabbed dinner)
Day 1 - Colisseum, Trevi Fountain, Palatine Hill, Spanish Steps
Day 2 - Pompeii
Day 3 - Vatican/St. Peter's (reserved tickets online ahead of time)
Day 4- Breakfast/check out/train to Florence
In Rome, we bought the Roma Pass, which we used for transporation everywhere and to skip the lines at major sites
Florence
Day 1 - San Lorenzo market for lunch/shopping, then relaxed at hotel
Day 2- Duomo in the morning, lunch, Statue of David (reserved tickets ahead of time online), snack and relaxing at hotel, Piazzele Michelangelo (awesome view)
Day 3 - Day trip through Tuscany booked through Viator.com (included stops in Siena, San Gmingamo and Pisa)
Day 4 - breakfast/check out/train to Venice
Venice
Day 1 - Explore, lunch, evening gondola ride (this was our actual anniversary date), dinner
Day 2 - Rialto Bridge, shopping, lunch in St. Mark's Square, explore, dinner
Day 3 - Murano/Burano
Day 4 - depart for home
in Venice, we bought an unlimited Vaporetto pass, which was awesome to have
Italy was the trip of a lifetime, and we hope to go back someday. I am glad we saw the "touristy" spots the first time and wouldn't have changed a thing about our trip. if we make if back someday though, we will likely go to different places like Positano, etc.
HTH!
Oh, and I planned the trip myself (no travel agent). I booked the flights, hotels and trains through europeandestinations.com, and had a great experience with them. I used Viator for Pompeii and Tuscany and booked museum tickets before we left directly through the museums (i.e. Vatican, etc.)
Ditto all of this.