Planning your first or even your second trip to Italy can be daunting! So many beautiful things to see and experience. The table below is intended to help you design a survey trip to Italy.
Survey trips, by design, are intended to help you quickly see the major sites in order to either: a) see as many sites as you can and/or b) know where you might want to return on a future trip.
Within the planning table, the list of Italian cities is in geographical order from Milan to Rome and can be viewed in the reverse order (e.g., Rome to Milan). This is the order in which you would take your survey trip – either moving from north to south or south to north. By eliminating any back-tracking you can optimize the time you have to sightsee.
Step One: Decide what time of year you want to go to Italy as this may impact your itinerary. If possible, try to travel during the “shoulder seasons.” The weather is typically excellent and the crowds are smaller. Shoulder seasons in Italy are the months of April, May, September, and October.
Step Two: Select the cities and sights that you want to see while you are in Italy and create a rough outline of your trip utilizing the following information. If possible, place the cities in geographical order (from north to south or south to north).
| City From North to South | Top Attractions | Must See* | Efficient Pace | More Relaxed Pace | Leisurely Pace | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan | Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
2-Days |
The train from Milan to Como is ~45 minutes making it easy to fly into Milan and then train to Como. |
Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology |
1-Day |
2-Days |
2-Days |
|||
Il Duomo |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
2-Days |
||
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
2-Days |
||
Opera at Teatro alla Scala |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
2-Days |
||
Castello Sforzesco |
1-Day |
1-Day |
2-Days |
2-Days |
||
Via Della Spiga |
1-Day |
2-Days |
2-Days |
|||
| Como | Como Duomo |
2-Days |
2-Days |
3-Days |
Lake Como is easily accessed utilizing boat taxis to reach the villages. The Como Duomo is less than 3 blocks from the Lake Como water taxi service. |
|
Villages of Lake Como |
Yes |
2-Days |
2-Days |
3-Days |
||
| Venice | St. Mark’s Basilica |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
3-Days |
Even though expensive I highly recommend staying in Venice – St. Mark’s at night (when the day visitors have all left) is MAGICAL. |
St. Mark’s Square in the Evening |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
3-Days |
||
Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) and Bridge of Sighs |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
3-Days |
||
Grand Canal |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
3-Days |
||
Rialto Bridge |
Yes |
1-Day |
2-Days |
3-Days |
||
Day Trip to Murano (home of Venetian glass making) and Burano (home of Venetian lace) Islands |
1-Day |
2-Days |
3-Days |
|||
Peggy Guggenheim Collection |
||||||
| Portofino | Harbor and Village |
Yes |
0-Day |
1-Day |
1-Day |
This should be worked into a day trip. |
| Cinque Terre | Villages of Cinque Terre |
Yes |
0-Day |
1-Day |
2-Days |
This can be worked into a day trip if you utilize the ferry from La Spezia to view the villages from the water. You will have time to get off of the ferry for lunch before the return trip. |
Hike the Footpath from Monterosso to Vernazza |
0-Day |
1-Day |
2-Day |
|||
| Florence | Gallerie Degli Uffizi |
Yes |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
Day trips to San Gimignano, Siena, and the Chianti wine region are easily done from Florence. There is no train service into San Gimignano which will require that you either take a group tour or drive. The roadways are narrow two- lane roads with little to no shoulders. |
Galleria dell’Accademia (Statue of David) |
Yes |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
||
Basilica of Santa Croce (Burial Site for Who’s Who) |
Yes |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
||
Duomo and Piazza |
Yes |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
||
Palazzo Vecchio |
Yes |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
||
Pitti Palace |
Yes |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
||
Piazza della Signoria |
Yes |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
||
Ponte Vecchio |
Yes |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
||
Day Trip to Chianti Wineries |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
|||
Day Trip to Lucca |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
|||
Day trip to Siena and San Gimignano |
3-Days |
3-Days |
5-Days |
|||
| Rome | Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel Tour |
Yes |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
Be sure to find a hotel in the historic center of Rome to minimize your logistics of moving around the city. It will also allow you to see some of the major sights of Rome while you are walking near your hotel. Also, consider hiring a private guide for the Vatican Museum – this will allow you to “jump the line” at the entrance. |
Rome Highlights Tour (which will include many of the following) |
Yes |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
||
Pantheon |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Colosseum |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Roman Forum |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Palatine Hill |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Piazza Navona for Dinner |
Yes |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
||
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Trevi Fountain |
Yes |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
||
Villa and Galleria Borghese |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Santa Maria della Vittoria |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Altare Della Patria |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-Days |
|||
Day Trip to Pompeii |
Yes |
2-Days |
3-Days |
4-days |
||
Total Number of Days |
9 Days |
13 Days |
20 Days |
Does not include travel to/from the US. |
*”Must Sees” are those activities you don’t want to miss if you have planned an Efficient Pace itinerary.
Step Three: Decide the airport into which you will arrive and depart. Please note that it is possible to arrive in Italy at one airport and depart from a different airport (e.g., arrive into Rome and depart out of Milan).
Step Four: Decide where to stay. Use a map to identify the location of the Top Attractions that you will be visiting in each city and secure a place as close as possible to the top attractions so as to optimize your time sightseeing. You may pay a little more to stay centrally but you will gain additional time on the ground. Utilize TripAdvisor to assist in identifying highly rated hotels in the desirable locations. You may also want to research Rick Steves’ Guides for places to stay as they do a great job of finding centrally located hotels in all price ranges.
Step Five: Decide how you will get from place to place. For assistance with planning how to get from point to point consider using the website/app Rome2Rio. I’ve simplified this a bit by including cities in the Itinerary Table that can be accessed via train which reduces the stress of travel.
Step Six: Place all of your hard work into an itinerary. Feel free to utilize a format similar to the one I created for an Italian Wine Trip.
Here’s to many unforgettable moments ahead!
Mary Beth I have a passion for creating and experiencing unforgettable moments and sharing those with others. I hope that this story has helped you experience one of those moments.
