Anyone have any secret gems in Venice, Florence, or Rome? My husband and I are going in July and like to explore!

Jason
How many days will you be in each?

not very many, 3 days in Venice, 3 in Florence, 5 in Rome, with a fully booked 4 days in Sorrento

3 days in Venice is plenty. Tour around and get lost for a day. Take the boat over to Lido for a day (nice beach over there). Also Burano and Murano would be great to see as well (I haven't​ made it there). In Venice get away from the main tourist areas and find a more local restaurant.
3 days in Florence is quick. If you are going to do museums you'll use up all your time there. If not a day wandering around the center is almost enough to hit the highlights. A trip up to Piazzale Michelangelo is always worth the effort. From Florence you can easily take half a day to go to Pisa.
Haven't been to Rome for 10 years so I don't have any advice for that.

In Venice, make sure you visit a "vino sfuso" - you can take in an empty water bottle and they will fill it with prosecco for about three euro. Brilliant!

Florence is beautiful ... lots of music and things happening in square and I loved sorrento. In Rome Make sure you go to the coliseum... they also have a hop on hop off bus in Rome. I found the best pizza in Rome.
Venice is great but I kept getting lost! Make sure you do the secret itineraries tour at Doges Palace.
To eat don't stay along the water... go down alleys and off beaten path.... food and drink much cheaper.
Also you can take your own food and wine on the trains!

In Venice get up early. By 10:00 am the cruise ship excursions are coming in and make the Square super busy. It's well worth paying to go to the top of the campanile for the views. Be warned, of the bells choke while you are up there they are deafening! The Doge's Palace is also amazing.

Florence and area is awesome. Head out to the villages to the south. We had a great tour and 5 course meal with wine parings at this winery http://www.verrazzano.com/en/ another place we had a fabulous meal at was Podere il Casale. Siena and San Gimignano are well worth checking out as is Monteriggioni. Pienza and the other villages around there were great. Some had no tourists in them.

If any restraunts give you menus without pricing, send them back and ask for menus with pricing. We got scammed big time in rome near the Vatican. Learned the hard way

In Rome lot of restaurants have menus outside their door(especially on little side streets). If you decide not to go in they will usually give you a card with a little map on the back. Great for finding your way back to where you came from!

this restraunt didn't have any menus outside either

Yes, do get the Rick Steves- "Best of Italy" book -I went to Italy for 2 weeks in April and his book is great. He designed a two-week itinerary, with tips to help tailor it to your interests and it's specific to the places you are going in Italy ! Enjoy, we had an amazing time, thanks to his book!

In Venice go to the smaller islands. Do lots of walking on the main island and get lost. Every turn has something worth seeing. In Rome you will also do lots of walking and getting lost. The usual places to see: coliseum, Vatican, Spanish Steps, numerous churches, roman forum, Trevi fountain. If you get a chance take a trip to Tivoli a few miles outside of Rome.

Do yourself a favour and take a day trip from Florence to Cinque Terra. It takes about 1.5 hours to get there by train (added bonus is a stop in Pisa if you wish to see the leaning tower of) Cinque Terra was one of the highlights of our trip.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/cinque-terre

In Rome, when choosing a restaurant, avoid the piazzas if possible. They are expensive and busy.

In Rome, go to the church of St Peter in Chains. Michelangelo's Moses is there and free of charge.

Best trip of my life! I particularly liked the small towns instead of the big cities. Sienna, Orvietta. To name a few.

I also recommend St. Peter's in Vatican City.., free and line moves fast

I could go on for ever about Italy. But get Rick Steve's travel book. It is awesome. Do all the walks

That's exactly what we did too!

and I did too when I was in Venice, Florence and Rome!

Lido di Vensezia!! Such a beautiful little island!

Following