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The ruins of the Roman Forum in sunrise light, with the Colosseum beyond

Sample journey · 10–12 days

Rome, Florence and Venice, a first visit without the rush

Rome, Orvieto, Florence, Lucca or Siena & Venice

Photo: Leonardo Di Manici / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Rome, Florence and Venice: the route on which many people first get to know Italy, and for good reason. Yet the same cities can be exhausting: queues for museums, heat and crowds in narrow lanes. This route is shaped differently. The great sights are visited early in the morning or in the evening, tickets are reserved ahead, and between the cities there's a pause in Orvieto, a small town on a tufa crag where you can catch your breath. Each city has at least three nights, leaving time not only for the monuments but for the neighbourhoods where Romans, Florentines and Venetians actually live.

In Rome, the Forum and the Palatine in the morning light, and evenings in Trastevere. In Florence, the Uffizi and the cathedral, but also the Oltrarno, the district across the river where goldsmiths, leatherworkers and frame-makers still work. One day goes to Lucca or Siena, whichever appeals more. To finish, Venice, best understood through Cannaregio and the islands of the lagoon rather than St Mark's Square alone. The journey runs by train, so no car is needed, and the stays, from a family-run hotel in a historic house to an apartment overlooking a canal, would be chosen to suit your taste.

The route

The journey

  1. Rome
  2. Orvieto
  3. Florence
  4. Lucca or Siena
  5. Venice
  6. The Venetian lagoon
  1. People walking along a narrow street between ochre houses in Trastevere, Rome

    01Days 1–4 · Rome

    The Forum while the city sleeps

    Three nights in Rome, in the historic centre or a quieter street in Monti. The first morning matters most: with a guide who talks about people's lives rather than dates, we enter the Roman Forum and the Palatine just after opening, while the sun is low and the crowds have yet to gather, then the Colosseum at a pre-booked time. Afternoon is for a siesta, evening for a walk through Trastevere, where Romans meet over wine and pizza in ivy-hung lanes. On day two, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, again at a reserved time, or for something calmer, the Borghese Gallery and its park. Day three brings the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the food market in Testaccio, and in the evening a Roman dinner in a small trattoria.

  2. The rooftops of Orvieto and its cathedral on the crag, surrounded by green hills

    02Days 4–5 · Orvieto

    A town on a tufa crag

    About an hour or a little more by train to the north, then up by funicular to Orvieto, an Umbrian town built on a volcanic tufa crag. One night here is a real breathing space between two great cities. The cathedral's facade, with its golden mosaics, glows at sunset, and inside are Luca Signorelli's frescoes, worth taking slowly. Beneath the town lie hundreds of caves and tunnels cut in Etruscan and medieval times, which can be explored with a guide. In the evening, a walk along the walls as the sun sets over the vineyards, and dinner with the local white wine. The next morning, the train to Florence, around two hours through the hills of Umbria and Tuscany.

  3. The Ponte Vecchio over the Arno at sunrise, with no one about, Florence

    03Days 5–8 · Florence

    The other side of the river

    Three nights in Florence, ideally in the Oltrarno, the district south of the Arno. The first encounter is an early morning by the Ponte Vecchio, before its jewellers open, and the Uffizi at a reserved time with a guide who helps you find your way among the masterpieces: Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael. The next day, the cathedral and baptistery, and for those who don't mind steps, the climb up Brunelleschi's dome, also at a reserved time; Michelangelo's David at the Accademia is a short but memorable visit. Yet Florence isn't only museums. In the lanes of the Oltrarno, goldsmiths, leatherworkers, paper marblers and frame-makers are still at work, and a local guide can open the doors of a few workshops. Save an evening for San Miniato al Monte above the city, where the sunset over the rooftops looks like a painting.

  4. Lucca's city walls with their grassy rampart under a blue sky

    04Day 7 · Lucca or Siena

    A day in a Tuscan town

    One of the Florence days is worth giving to another Tuscan town, and the choice is yours. Lucca is about an hour and a half by train: a calm town ringed by broad Renaissance walls, now planted with trees, which you can circle entirely by bike. Inside are Romanesque churches, an oval piazza built on the foundations of a Roman amphitheatre and a tower with oak trees on its roof. Siena is different: a Gothic city on its hills, whose heart is the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, and whose striped cathedral with its inlaid marble floors astonishes even after Florence. Siena is around an hour and a half by bus, or by car with a driver who can stop in the Chianti hills on the way.

  5. Campo del Ghetto Nuovo in Cannaregio at night: tall houses, trees and a stone wellhead, Venice

    05Days 8–10 · Venice: Cannaregio

    The Venice where people live

    About two hours by high-speed train, and the station opens straight onto the Grand Canal. Four nights in Venice, ideally in Cannaregio, the northern district where locals gather by the canals in the evening and washing still dries above the lanes. Here is the old Jewish Ghetto, one of the first in Europe, with its synagogues and museum, and the Fondamenta della Misericordia, lined with small bars serving cicchetti in the evening. St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace we visit early in the morning or at a reserved time, then turn towards Dorsoduro and San Polo, with their galleries and the market by the Rialto. Venice is best for getting lost: a local guide will show you how, but a free afternoon is worth spending simply walking without a map.

  6. The silhouette of Venice in morning mist above the calm water of the lagoon

    06Days 10–12 · The Venetian lagoon

    Islands in the mist

    One day goes to the lagoon, where Venice was born. By vaporetto or private boat to Torcello, where one of the lagoon's oldest churches, with its Byzantine mosaics, stands among the reeds, and to quiet Mazzorbo with its vineyard. On the way, colourful Burano, where lace is still made, and on Murano there's the chance to visit a glassblower's workshop. Back in the city, an evening on the Giudecca or along the Zattere as the sun sets behind the Redentore. On the last day, by water bus or water taxi to the airport. If you have time, choose a different way home: an early boat across the lagoon, when the water is still smooth and mist hangs over it, is one of the loveliest ways to say goodbye to Venice.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    The Forum in the morning light

    The Roman Forum and the Palatine just after opening, with a guide who talks about people, not only dates.

  2. 02

    The workshops of the Oltrarno

    Goldsmiths, leatherworkers and frame-makers in Florence's district across the Arno.

  3. 03

    A night in Orvieto

    The cathedral's mosaics at sunset and the tunnels beneath a town on a tufa crag.

  4. 04

    Cannaregio and the lagoon

    The Venetian district where people still live, and the islands of Torcello, Burano and Murano.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • At a gentler pace

    An extra night in Rome and in Florence allows just one museum a day and long lunches, and Orvieto can become two nights with a visit to a wine estate.

  • For a honeymoon

    A hotel with a terrace above Rome's rooftops, dinner in the hills above Florence and the last nights on a quiet island in the Venetian lagoon.

  • In another season

    April to May and late September to October are usually the most pleasant; in November and early February the cities are quieter and the Venetian mist at its loveliest.

  • With the lakes or the Dolomites

    From Venice it's natural to continue to Verona and Lake Garda, or into the Dolomites, stretching the journey to two weeks.

Practical considerations

  • The most pleasant time is spring and autumn (roughly April to May and late September to October). In summer (June to August) the cities are hot and at their busiest, so we visit the key sights early in the morning.
  • Many of the major museums and monuments, such as the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, the Uffizi, the Accademia or Florence's cathedral dome, require or reward a reserved time slot. Booking systems change often, so we check them as we plan.
  • On certain peak days Venice charges an access fee to day visitors; the arrangements differ for overnight guests. The rules and dates change from year to year, so we check them before you travel.
  • The journey is planned by train: quick and comfortable between cities, while within them most of the exploring is on foot, so comfortable shoes for cobbles and steps are worth packing.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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