Italy Guide
A breakdown of Laura's itinerary including where she stayed, what she ate, where they went and what she wore...
Italy has my heart after this trip. It was my husband’s first time in Europe and my second time. We had about 12 days to work with while our kids were at sleep away camp. We picked Italy since my husband had never been, and attempted a sort of “greatest hits” of the country. All in all, we were there 11 days, slept in three different cities but explored six, and ate and drank everything in front of us until we felt like we would burst. I loved our itinerary and the amount of time we stayed. We were ready to go home, yes, but any less time and we wouldn’t have been able to really dig into the country the way we did. Rome felt like a dream. The cobblestone streets, beautiful and towering churches and ancient monuments, red-tiled rooftops and scooters buzzing by created a kind of beautiful chaos we walked through each day. Fold in the Kings, Popes, Gladiators and religious history and somehow it all meshes together to create the Roma that bustles today. Florence felt like a more laid-back Italian epicenter, with no shortage of fancy shopping, elegance, and cobblestone streets. And Venice was of course touristy, but as everyone says, “It’s Venice!" so you still go. The charming and unique city that sits on the water is unlike any other you’ve seen, and I’m so glad we went, even with the summer (cruise ship) crowds. As promised, here is our exact itinerary, with where we stayed, ate and toured each day of our trip. Please drop a comment at the bottom of this post if you have a question. I’d love to chat Italy with you!
Rome
Where We Stayed: We stayed at Hotel L’Orologio which we loved and would recommend. It was nice but not over the top and had a lovely and helpful front desk. My favorite part was the beautiful rooftop bar where they served breakfast every morning (make sure you make it to a rooftop bar on your trip to Rome) and then cocktails/bites in the evenings. The air conditioning worked beautifully, (thank goodness!) the beds and pillows were extremely comfortable and the location was central and walkable to lots of things.
*Quick note on the rooftop bars in Rome. There is no building higher than 5 stories in Rome because nothing can be higher than St. Peter’s Dome in the Vatican. How crazy is that? So unlike New York City, for example, all the buildings are essentially the same height. This gives you the most stunning view from any rooftop of the gorgeous Roman red-tiled rooftops and the city’s beautiful monuments just above and very visible. It’s stunning!
What We Did
Arrival Day: We didn’t plan anything except for dinner on our arrival day since we knew we’d be exhausted, which we were! We arrived in Rome around 1 pm, and grabbed food and forced ourselves to walk around near the hotel and get our bearings before grabbing a quick nap and heading to a wonderful dinner at Capranica Enoteca & Taverna. Loved this restaurant. We ordered the cacio y pepe and the tagliata steak - so good!
Day 1: Our first full day we began with a walking tour of The Vatican at 9 am. There are many ways to book a tour! Our travel agent took care of that for us which was so nice. We talked to other tourists that booked their tours here. Our tour took several hours as there is so much to see and of course, it was crowded and lots of excitement with the recent election of the new Pope. We toured St. Peter’s Basilica, several of the museums inside The Vatican and The Sistine Chapel. It was my husband’s first time to Europe and he could not get over St. Peter’s Basilica. It is absolutely stunning and massive! If you come to Rome you must tour The Vatican. The scale, beauty and history is truly mind blowing. And it gives you a good foundation to help understand Rome as the Popes had so much power and were responsible for creating what the Vatican has come to be today. We then grabbed lunch at a street side cafe (sooo many of these and they are all good!) before heading back to hotel to nap. We capped the day off with a spritz at another outdoor restaurant then dinner at Colline Emiliane at 7:30. This restaurant is Michelin rated, tiny, and fabulous food and service. Highly recommend!
Day 2: We took the morning off, which was nice. We liked only having “one” tour each day as it gave us some time to walk around at our own leisure and explore the city, which is something my husband and I love to do! In the afternoon we had a walking tour of The Colosseum, San Clemente Basilica (an ancient underground basilica/church) and Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. These are the areas where ancient Roman life took place. It contains the original footprint and pieces of buildings, as well as all the ancient government buildings. The crazy thing is it’s all located right in the middle of the city. It was unbelievable to see that so many of these structures are still standing! This was my favorite day in Rome and I highly recommend touring all of these places as they are some of the biggest, most iconic and significant of all the ancient Roman ruins. We ended the day with a dinner at 8:30 (normal dinner time in Italy) at Est Artigiani del Gusto. We sat outside and I ordered the Bolognese. It was fabulous! We were told the Carbonara was also unreal. Loved this restaurant.
Florence
Where We Stayed: We arrived in Florence via high speed train from Rome. The train was fun, easy to navigate where to go, and only about an hour-and-a-half. Easy! We stayed at the Hotel Continentale, which we loved. It’s located right in the heart of the city, and it was more spacious than our Rome hotel, which was a nice change. It also had push-button blackout shades on the windows and a big bathroom.
Day 1: We began with a golf cart tour of the city to learn our way around. You can book day-of as the golf carts and guides are just sitting around near the popular squares. Ask your concierge about this. I highly recommend the golf cart tour to see the entire city and get an overview in a short amount of time. Florence isn’t that big so it makes sense! We ended the day with a short tour of the Muesum de Accademia to see Michelangelo’s The David. He was quite spectacular in all his glory! We went right before closing (about 40 mins) to avoid the crowds (a tip from our golf cart tour guide) which was lovely. We had a dinner reservation that night at La Giostra, a long-time Florence favorite. It was rec’d by a good friend of ours who studied abroad in Florence. It was fantastic, authentic Italian, and the owner has pictures of himself posing with celebrities all over the walls (think Tom Hanks, etc.) If you have a bigger group, try the steak Florentine! It’s gigantic, but the most amazing photo op. Meat eaters take note, they prepare it rare or medium rare, zero exceptions.
Day 2: We decided to take a few day trips out from Florence as there are several close cities to check out, plus we liked the idea of going back to the same bed/hotel in Florence as much as we could. We booked a tour of the nearby Tuscan town of Lucca, an ancient walled city. Inside the city walls, they don’t allow cars - only bikes and pedestrians so the streets are quiet, quaint and beautiful. There were plenty of local shops, churches, restaurants and espresso spots. We really felt the old way of Italian life here and enjoyed this small town. After Lucca, we drove to Pisa, which was about 30 minutes by car. It was extremely touristy and hot but worth it! We toured the famous leaning tower and beautiful Basilica right next to it.
Day 3: We took the most amazing cooking class in a private 500-year-old home in the Chianti region. Marco and and his wife, Chef Paula host these cooking classes in their home and it was truly such a special day. They felt like old friends! We made ravioli and tagliatelle from scratch, chocolate lava cakes and bruschetta with fresh sausage and cheese from the local market. We then enjoyed what we had made on their patio with wine and some limoncello that Paula had made. Pure bliss! Highly recommend taking a cooking class if you have the time.
Day 4: Get up and head to Venice via car. On the way to Venice (which is about a 3 hour drive with no traffic) we decided to make a pitstop at one of the big Parmigiano Reggiano factories in Italy, Madonne Caseificio dell’Emilia. It was just outside of Bologna, which was on the way. My husband LOVES parmesan cheese and it was on his bucket list to personally witness floor to ceiling wheels of parmesan cheese. Check! This pitstop and tour was not totally necessary, but very interesting and there was a tasting at the end! It took about an hour. The Parm production in Italy is carefully regulated and it can only be considered “real” if it hits certain standards, all the way down to the type of cow and what it eats. Take your own deep dive or just know if it is real Parmigiano Reggiano, it’s been through a lot before making it to your mouth! Fascinating!
Venice
Where We Stayed: Our driver dropped us off in a parking area of sorts, where we then transferred our luggage to a boat that took us to our hotel, the Splendid Venice. Arriving by water taxi to our hotel was not only beautiful it was so different! We loved our hotel here. It was located in a great area, the room was spacious and had good air conditioning, and they offered a beautiful breakfast buffet on the ground floor each morning. We arrived later in the day around dinner time so dropped out bags and headed right to Harry’s Bar for dinner. Harry’s is famous and declared a National Landmark in 2001. It was built in 1931 by a local Venetian and quickly became the spot where famous poets, actors, painters, kings and queens would meet. Former patrons include: Katherine Hepburn, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Joe Di Maggio, to name a few! It is right on the water, super old school, and is the home of the original bellini, which we ordered and it was divine (think freshly blended right at the bar).
What We Did
Day 1: In the morning we booked a walking tour of the city and San Marco’s Basilica, which then included a boat tour to see the city from the water. This was an amazing way to see Venice. I highly recommend combining walking with an electric boat tour (not a gondola) to truly understand this city. Venice is quite large but the center and touristy parts are all within close proximity and walkable. There are no bikes or cars allowed inside Venice; it is all foot traffic. Our tour guide was a local Venetian and architect, and had endless knowledge about the city. We learned all about the buildings and how they continue to move and flex due to all the humidity, but also about high tide. This is when the entire city literally floods due to the tide patterns. The water rises a few feet all throughout the city. This will happen a few times per week during the high tide season. Locals wear thigh-high boots to get around, wooden planks are placed all around the city to help get around the standing water, and shops and first floor apartments have added special “gates” at the bases of their doors to keep the water out. We were so surprised to hear that Venetians deal with this all the time - it is a normal way of life for them. We then had lunch at a street-side cafe and dinner at Vini da Arturo. We loved this restaurant! Arturo and his son still cook and run the kitchen. You felt like you were in their home, as the setting was so intimate. Order their famous breaded pork chop - it’s like nothing you’ve ever tasted!
Day 2: Nothing planned! We took the day to walk around and shop, which we loved. We contemplated riding a gondola, but we were honestly so tired by this point, we opted to just skip that. We felt good with our electric boat tour from the previous day. We had lunch at a stree-side cafe and dinner at Ai Gondolieri, which was wonderful.
Day 3: Depart for home. Sad, but ready!
What I Wore
To shop the below looks, plus each outfit I wore for day and night, click here.
I would love to chat Italy with you! Please leave a comment if you have any questions!
Enjoyed your tour and tips! We have traveled Italy a few times and ventured to Sicily twice. Your tips would work just as well there! Shelley Caniglia