Going to Italy for the first time for 23 days in May. Hitting the highlights in Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terra, Florence, Lake Como and Venice. Will travel by train between cities. Looking for recommendations for hidden gems in these locations. We are considering taking a train from Rome to Siena and making it our hub in Tuscany and just doing day trips - anyone have a better idea? We will have a car in Tuscany for 4 days. Thanks.

Sherene
In Florence - if you plan on visiting a lot of the museums then the Firenze card is worth it.
http://www.firenzecard.it/index.php?lang=en
I can also recommend a cooking class there if you’re interested.

Sherene Thanks. Definitely interested in a cooking class!

Gayle try dinner at the Osteria Cinghiale Bianco (White Boar) in Florence. We also really liked the Leonardo DaVinci museum.

Gayle or Osteria Oliva Nera in Venice.

I did a cooking class big tiens I was there! Definitely worth it! The Firenze card was fabulous too. Hit so many smaller sites I may have missed otherwise

Gayle
GiglioCooking has set lessons and private lessons. Excellent quality.

Sherene Thanks!

Check out the ancient town Cortona if you can. It was one of the filming locations for the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun”. We were there for a destination wedding..beautiful!
We also did a day tour of Rome on Segways, great way to see a lot in a short amount of time!

Sounds like you have a solid plan. Driving around Tuscany is pretty easy. Just avoid old town centres. Most have good parking around the periphery. It is also worthwhile to book museum and gallery times ahead of time if you can. It does tie you down, but it saves a lot of time not being in lines.

We just spent a month doing a very similar trip. I agree about renting the vehicle, EXCEPT IN ROME, DO NOT DRIVE IN ROME! Siena is a gem, an amazing city well worth spend time in. If you're staying in the region of Empoli/Vinci, or have occasion to, stay at Agriturismo Streda Wine & Country Holiday, it is superb.

My Sienese hosts always recommend the bus to/from Rome Siena as it is nonstop direct and you need to tranfer trains. Cheaper, almost the same time and scenic change of pace.
Pisa is a 30 minute train from Florence and an iconic half day adventure. You can store your luggage at the Pisa train station and stroll or city bus to the tower. Had our best gelato on the other side of the foot bridge (old city side).
Lucca is a beautiful walled city with s promenade on the top of the wall.
Ravenna on the Adriatic near Venice is renowned of its Byzantine mosaics.
I use Rick Steves podcasts and guidebooks for his self guided walking tours. He knows Italy inside out and travels annually to ensure his listings are current. I get ebook version so easy to access without the heft.

If you like history, do this tour in Venice: http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/.../secret-itineraries.../
They take you into Casanova’s prison cell, the area where they interrogated prisioners, back hallways of the administrators, etc. It’s for history buffs, not so much for “pretty” photos.

Saturnia hot springs in tuscany!!! You womt be disapointed. Also if
You have a vehicle, just go out amd get lost. Tuscamy is such a small area that its pretty much impossible to get too lost. Youll come across a lot of beautiful little town and vineyards. Have fun, love that area!!

Jessica Yakimik totally agree

Jessica Yakimik don’t forget the steak house in Florence

Jason I was gonna mention it but I couldn’t find the name

In Rome, find the church St Peter In Chains. Not only are the chains that held Peter present, but there is a Michelangelo marble statue. Also, the walls are covered with amazing carvings including the grim reaper coming out of the wall with a scythe in hand. The Lancelot is a wonderful hotel in Rome, if they are serving dinner while your there, its well worth it.

Norman we stayed at the Lancelot for several days in 2008.....well worth the stop for location and ambiance ,highly recommend!

Duane Yes, great location, you can walk to all the major sites. And lots of great places to eat in the neighbourhood. I been to Rome many times, but now, I would only stay there.

Siena is a good central location for some Good day trips from there. I agree that you should rent a car at least in Tuscany.

If you plan on training everywhere in Tuscany then Siena isn’t the best spot. As far as train routes are concerned Sienna is out the way. You’re better off renting car if that’s your plan. As someone mentioned above, Cortona is an awesome town to stay in and go exploring from there. Both car and train.

In Rome, we booked tours through “Walking Tours Of Italy”, and they were fantastic. Small groups, super friendly, started early enough that the places were not super busy.

We downloaded a handful of audio tours from Rick Steves website before our trip which were pretty handy, though we were there 9 years ago so I can’t say they still exist or are as good as what is available now. Also, in Florence, see the Medici chapels if you have time. We found ourselves with a few extra hours so we checked them out; they were amazing!

Michelle Wong I used that audio a couple of years ago and it was mostly okay except some of it was outdated (exhibits had been moved around in the Vatican Museum, for instance).

I agree with the recommendation for San Gimignano. I would also recommend Monteriggioni. It is a walled medieval town on a hilltop near Siena. Tiny but worth it - it looks like no time has passed since the 1200s. There was a medieval fair happening a couple of days after we were there last year

Italyonabudgettours.com for Tuscany wine tour
www.foodtoursofrome.com for walking food tour .. legit the best tour I've done my whole life.
Cinque Terre hike between towns is awesome.
Heading south to sorrento, positano(pic included) and amalfi are beautiful too!

My hubby and I are also going to Italy in May for three weeks! Following.

Cinque terre! So beautiful. My favorite town was riomaggiore

Sarah if you want to walk it I think you have to book ahead now.

That's new! I was planning on hiking a couple years ago, but broke my elbow before, and just didn't feel up to the hike. Good to know you have to book for next time!

I agree about driving vs trains. You can stop when you see something interesting and you don’t need to stay at rooms close to a train station. We staying in an amazing castle B&B just out of SIENNA - Castello dello Quattro Torro.

Trudy do they drive on the opposite side as we drive?

They drive on the same side as we do. We found driving easy except in Rome where cars are not allowed in the historic centre without a special pass.

Oooh!!! This may change my trip in 2020!! We are going from Poland through Germany to Italy. Most trains are approx. $30 pp cdn. So $60 a day.

Best advice I could give is rent a car, DO NOT TAKE THE TRAIN. It is way more expensive and restricts your movement

you will NEED a car in Tuscany!

https://patrignone.com/
Amazing villa in Chianti. The hosts are a beautiful family and help their guest arrange every detail for day trips from the area.

If you are interested in the Vatican. Go on their website, find the Scavi, and apply for tickets to go under the cathedral. You go past the Swiss Guard, see St. Peter's bones and the Pagan burial site. Very interesting and , I think, the holiest place you can go as s Catholic.

Download rick steves walking tours. Capri by ferry is cheap and there's a fabulous public beach....really a cliff to clamber around and dive from near the Blue Grotto. Try reading San Michelle and visit the villa. Sorrento is fabulous too for day tripping to Vesuvius Pompeii (read the Harris novel on the plane) and Herculaneum are short hops.
Taormina if you have time and are heading south. The hike in Cinque Terra is worth doing and we loved visiting the CDN war graves in Ortonna (see commonwealth war graves site). It's on the east side and less busy. 1000 Canadians lie there. So much to do but if you can get lost in one Tuscan village and one southern one while connecting with locals and pigeoning with language you'll live it

Trains are a great choice - city drivers are —— different.

We stayed in Salerno for a night or two as a jumping-off point for Pompeii & Paestum. Paestum was amazing!!!

Loved Cortona. El Falconier was where we stayed. Unbelievable beauty we were there. In May, it is a vineyard and was covered in blooming wisteria. Also, St Marguerita. 5k walk to Portofino. 20 minute train ride to Cinque. Lovely town

Cinque terre for sure and as Sarah ssid Rio Maggiore is so amazing

We took the bus Sienna to Rome. 3 hours direct

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Elyse have you heard? I’ve been invited to join y’all in Italy next summer!!

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