First visit, mostly art
Rome and Florence give the Colosseum, Vatican, Uffizi and the Duomo two proper city stays. Put the hard-to-get museum entries on the calendar before train times.
Italy itineraries
One week is enough for one part of Italy. Two weeks let you connect regions. The right route depends on whether you came for art, food, coast or a slower stay.
Start with the time you have
| Time | The trip I would choose | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | Choose one of three very different weeks → Rome and Florence for art; Bologna for food; Naples and Sorrento for the bay. | You cannot see the whole country. The choice is which Italy you want first. |
| 10 days | Rome, Florence and Bologna, or two slower bases → A third city makes sense if you want a change in food and street life, not just another hotel. | A three-base route has two transfer days. The two-base version gives you more evenings in one place. |
| 14 days | Make room for a region beyond the classic cities → Keep Rome and Florence, then choose Venice, the coast or a slower countryside chapter. | More distance means fewer unplanned afternoons. Resist making every region a stop. |
The decision that changes the route
Count nights, not pins on a map. Every new base takes a checkout, station journey, train or drive, and another check-in. On a six-night trip I would pick no more than two bases; on a nine-night trip, three is possible if the third city earns the move.
You came to eat
Base in Bologna and visit Modena without changing hotels. You gain market mornings and dinners you can return to instead of treating food as a stop between monuments.
The sea is the point
Naples and Sorrento put Pompeii and the bay in one week. Choose Sorrento for transport convenience; choose the Amalfi Coast for a more particular coastal stay.
Avoid a fast north-south sweep
Sicily, Puglia and Tuscany each deserve a week of their own. A regional trip is often stronger than a rushed list of famous Italian cities.
Plan the parts that cause trouble
The hotel-change calculation →
Estimate the full door-to-door cost before adding another base.
Train tickets in Italy →
When to book, which operator to compare and what a station change entails.
Sorrento or Amalfi? →
Choose the base that fits your coast days and transport tolerance.
Rome itineraries →
Compare two, three and four full days before allocating nights.
Want to change the plan?
Keep the places you like and fit the rest around your dates, budget and people when Carmen opens.
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