310 Your advice, suggestions needed!

Hi Folks,

We have more or less carved up the time we have in Italy between the four cities we will be visiting, with the breakdown as follows:

Venice 3 days
Naples 2 days (might extend to 3)
Rome 7 1/2 days
Florence 1 day

Now some of you are well aware of the trouble I have had getting Florence on the list, and of my lost battle to include Siena. Still, all hope is not lost and whilst I realise that 1 day is hopelessly too little to fully appreciate Florence, it will have to do as a 'taster'.

What I would appreciate from those of you who have been there is some advice on what to see in [b]Florence[/b] in a day? I do want to see the Cathedral/Duomo, and we would love to see the original 'David'. The Uffizzi Gallery sounds like a non-starter on such a short visit but what else can we do in our very short time in Florence?

In [b]Venice[/b] we have a teensy bit more time to play with, and the itinerary there will be a little more relaxed as we are celebrating a very important birthday as well as absorbing the sights and sounds of this unique city. Again, we are under no illusions about seeing the whole city, but rather are focusing in on specific areas of interest - the old Jewish Ghetto, Burano and one of the other islands, and key sights in the city. If anyone can recommend a good restaurant for a 30th birthday party I would be very very grateful to hear of it!

Rome and Naples are well covered - between my sister and myself we know these two cities well and look forward to sharing them with our mother

Please, if anyone can recommend good places to visit and/or eat in these four cities from personal experience I would be grateful - a personal recommendation is worth a thousand reviews in a guidebook!

Category
General chat about Italy

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/26/2005 - 11:23

I have done both Florence and Venice on day trips (different days, not the same!!!) and agree that one day is too little to appreciate either of these wonderful cities.

It's been a while since my last visit to Florence but if you get the opportunity, try to get up to Piazzale Michelangelo. There's nothing much there, except a bronze replica of David and a magnificent view across Florence. We had a brief visit to Duomo - a wonderfully cool respite after the blazing heat outside. Next time I go to Florence, it won't be in summer!
I can't recommend any eating places, however, as we ate on our way back across the Apennines.

I have been to Venice several times and one of the highlights on my last trip was, as part of the dreaded organised tours, a water taxi ride for the length of the Grand Canal. The only think I would change about my trip would be to do this during daylight. It was late afternoon/early evening when we did this and whilst it was still very good and we saw a lot more of the city than we would have done on foot, some of the photographs didn't turn out very well. You can do the same trip by catching Vaporetti No. 1 at a much lower price than the water taxi, and you can get off and on along the way. The inside of St Mark's Basilica is worth seeing. I believe the views from the top of the Camponile are worth seeing, but I've not made it there yet. Something to do with being too high up I think! Again, I don't have any restaurant recommendations. No doubt someone else will be able to provide this.

We had a trip to Murano and Burano. Murano seemed to be full of glass factories, but I suppose that is the downside of organised tours in that they take you to where the commission pays most (or is that being too cynical?) Burano is lovely. We didn't have a lot of time here, so we couldn't explore as much as I would have liked. We've had a taster for these now so next time we will feel confident about making our own way there and being able to explore them further.

It sounds like it will be a wonderful trip, I hope you all enjoy it.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/26/2005 - 12:23

Hi Sano

We have a regular feature in the magazine called Day Tripper and have done Florence - a great itinerary 'doable' in a day. If you haven't got it then send me an email and I'll send you a copy!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/26/2005 - 12:55

One tip if you intend going to Murano - don't go at the weekend, the factories are closed!! Also, if you fancy a treat - take a trip on a gondola. We took my husbands Italian two young nieces last year which, aside from being great fun was very informative - albeit in Italian, which put us to the test, until we disembarked and the (rather gorgeous) gondlier spoke to us in English!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/26/2005 - 13:10

It's surprising how much you can do in one day if you put your mind to it. I once took the ferry from Venice to Patmos (Greece) and arriving in Venice at around 9 in the morning by train. I wandered a good 10 miles around the city exploring without a guide book, had a lovely lunch off the beaten track, went in the Basilica, took a Vaporetto in both directions the full length of the Grand Canal, and had the joy of sailing out of Venice as the sun was setting. Not a bad way of spending 12 hours of my life.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/27/2005 - 03:23

On our first day trip to Florence we spent a morning at the Duomo and then strolled through to Santa Croce. We put together a picnic lunch and then doubled back to go past the Uffizi and across the Ponte Vecchio to the Boboli Gardens for the afternoon.

Although we had only seen a fraction of what the city has to offer we had half-killed ourselves trying to cram in as much as possible.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/27/2005 - 06:35

[QUOTE=Fiona Tankard]Hi Sano

We have a regular feature in the magazine called Day Tripper and have done Florence - a great itinerary 'doable' in a day. If you haven't got it then send me an email and I'll send you a copy![/QUOTE]

Hi Fiona - I will have a look through my copies of ItalyMag and see if I have that one. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone else for your help and advice. We are in Venice from Sunday to Tuesday/Wednesday so will remember to do the islands on one of the weekdays. Might just use Sunday for a stroll around the city to get a feel for its dimensions - or would a walk around the Arsenale be better?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/27/2005 - 09:38

if you are visiting art galleries or monuments etc don't forget to check out what days they are closed! most seem to be closed on Monday.

Susi

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/28/2005 - 06:47

Hi Sano,
In Florence I would definitely recommend seeing Michaelangelo's David and also if you have time go in the Baptsistry which is next door to the Duomo. Another nice place and to get away from the crowds is the Boboli gardens and the Pitti Palace. For lunch try one of the restaurants in the Piazza della Repubblica.
In Venice just wandering among the back streets is a good way to while away some time away from the crowds around San Marco. Try visiting the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in San Polo which has some great Tintoretto's. Another little visited building is the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo - a circular building which you can climb for some nice views from the top. It's just off Campo Manin. Nearest vaporetto stop is Rialto. If you intend to visit churches - especially for the art - I would recommend you buy a corus pass - only 8 euro last September. There are about 20 churches you can visit all over the city including Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari with its magnificent Titian behind the altar.
For a really special meal, but pricey, the Cipriani probably is about the best especially for a special occasion and start with a Bellini in Harry's bar.
Whatever you do I'm sure you'll have a great time as both cities are wonderful places to visit.
Cheers
Helen