Planning trip help

Cheryl T

New member
I am traveling to Italy for the first time. Am starting in Rome, meeting my daughter there. She is studying in Florence for a semester and has been there a month. I want to see Venice for sure and spend time in Florence. Want to see a winery, am not a connoisseur, just want the experience and beauty of the Tuscan countryside. Would love to get to French Rivera but only have 10 days. Can you suggest a beach town closer to Florence that would give us similar views/ experience. Am coming last week of March so no swimming, just to see it all.

I'm flying back home from Florence. My thought is 3 days Rome, travel to beach destination by train, spend 2 days and then either go to straight Venice by train,for 2 days and 1 night, or instead of such long train trip, go to Florence for a night at daughters apt. Then head to Venice for the 2 days/1 night, then back to Florence for 2 full days before leaving. One of those days would be to visit countryside/winery.

I don't have any firm plans yet except the flights so your help is greatly appreciated! This is my dream trip and I know it's short but want to make the best of my time.

Thanks for any advice!
 
From Florence you may easily get to Viareggio and Livorno by train (Have I understood well? You'd like to go to a town beach close to Florence by train): Viareggio may be the easiest solution to choose, since once get off the train, you may simply walk to the beach, it's a 15-20 minutes walking. Close to the beach, there's also a beautiful promenade with every kind of shops, bar and typical restaurants.
Livorno is closer and the train trip is shorter (there are, moreover, more direct trains leaving from Florence to Livorno, while you may need to chance train to go to Viareggio), but the beach is more distant from the station.

There are also trains leaving from Rome to both Viareggio and Livorno, but the trip is longer.

So, resuming your trip:

3 days in Rome;
2 days in beach town;
2 days in Venice;
2 days in Florence.

I'd rather got to Florence from Rome for saving time (more or less 1 hour and a half train trip), spend two days there and then go to beach town. From there, you could go back to Florence (spend one night there) and then go to Venice:

3 days in Rome;
2 days in Florence (city and winery);
2 days in beach town;
2 days in Venice.

Anyway, have a look at this site for better planning your train trip: http://www.trenitalia.com
 
You could go from Rome to Viareggio, I think that area along the coast will be the best for the experience... you don't say when you're coming but another possibility, if it is in April or May, would be head further up to the Cinque Terre and stay in Vernazza, it is a lovely town along the cliffs. No beaches, though so if you want to spend some time in the sun at the beach, Viareggio and Versilia are better.

Then head back to Florence, spend a night there, head to Venice and then head back to Florence on your way back home, as you've planned. For a day in Chianti, I'd recommend a guided tour - that way you don't have to worry about getting there at all! and can taste as much as you like ;-) See some suggestions here:
http://www.partner.viator.com/en/8357/travel-tips/Wine-Tasting-in-Chianti-and-Tuscany/ttd
 
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