10 Days in Italy: Rome, Florence and Bologna, or Two Slower Bases

For a first visit built around art and food, spend three nights in Rome, three in Florence and three in Bologna. Fly into Rome on day one and leave from Bologna on day ten. That gives you two full days in each city, plus the arrival and two train days.

Choose this route if you want Roman history, Renaissance painting and a few days where pasta matters more than another monument. It leaves out Venice, the coast and a countryside stay. Adding any of those means replacing something, not finding a spare afternoon.

If three hotels sounds like work, spend four nights in Rome and five in Florence instead. The extra nights give you a third full Rome day and four full Florence days. The two-base version below explains how to use them without filling every morning with tickets.

• Check the flights before settling the route. Rome in and Bologna out fits the three-city version. Rome in and Florence out fits the two-city version. If you must return to Rome for an early flight, move the final night there and remove a night from the last city.
• Treat ten days as nine nights. Day ten is departure day, not another full day of sightseeing. An overnight flight leaving the US the previous evening adds time away from home beyond these ten days in Italy.
• Choose Bologna for food, not to complete a list of cities. It earns three nights through a market morning, a cooking class and evenings out. If none of those appeals, keep the extra time in Rome and Florence.
• Put the museum days on the calendar before the train bookings. The Uffizi normally closes Mondays; the Vatican Museums normally close Sundays, with limited last-Sunday openings. Use the Uffizi and Vatican calendars for your dates.

Day one: arrive, then Monti

If you land at Fiumicino, the Leonardo express serves Roma Termini. It works particularly well for the Via Nazionale hotel below. For a hotel deep in the historic center, compare that with a direct taxi rather than assuming the train finishes the journey.

Make the afternoon a walk through Monti, around Piazza della Madonna dei Monti. Have dinner nearby and save the Colosseum for tomorrow. If you choose Hotel Artemide, its Ambrosia rooftop restaurant offers a first evening without another trip across town. Sleep in Rome, night one.

Day two: the Colosseum and a Roman lunch

Give the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine the morning. Choose your official ticket by what you want to enter: the standard ticket and arena products are different. Start with the amphitheater at your reserved slot, then explore the archaeological area according to the ticket conditions.

La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali, Via della Madonna dei Monti 9, keeps lunch in Monti. Go for Roman pasta: its menu includes gricia, carbonara and cacio e pepe. Afterward, browse the neighborhood rather than adding another big admission.

Drink Kong, Piazza di San Martino ai Monti 8, is the cocktail option for the evening. Choose the Monti address when booking; the business also lists Campo Marzio. The venue admits adults aged 18 and over. Sleep in Rome, night two.

Day three: Vatican Museums, pizza and Roscioli

Spend the morning at the Vatican Museums. If the Raphael Rooms are on your route, look at the two central figures in the School of Athens: Plato points upward while Aristotle holds his hand out toward the world in front of him. The museum's explanation helps turn a crowded room into something more than a photograph.

Pizzarium, Via della Meloria 43, is the counter-lunch choice after the museum. Choose a couple of smaller pizza slices with different toppings. St. Peter's Basilica has separate visitor arrangements, so decide whether it matters enough to spend the afternoon in the Vatican area; it is not automatically included in your museum visit. Use the basilica's site for access.

Salumeria Roscioli, Via dei Giubbonari 21, is the dinner to book when you want the meal to be the main event. Choose pasta and something from the deli selection to share. Katie Parla includes it in Eater's Rome guide. This is the restaurant address, not a different Roscioli business. Sleep in Rome, night three.

Day four: train north, then the river

Take a high-speed train from Roma Termini to Firenze Santa Maria Novella. Italo and Trenitalia sell the route. The ride is roughly 90 minutes, but the morning also includes leaving one hotel and reaching the next.

Walk from Piazza della Repubblica toward Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio after lunch. If you stay in the Oltrarno, continue across the river toward your hotel. There is no museum booking today. Sleep in Florence, night four.

Day five: Uffizi and Sant'Ambrogio

Make the Uffizi the morning's main event. At Botticelli's Birth of Venus, follow the wind and the movement toward shore: the museum notes that the painting shows her arrival, rather than the moment of birth. Pick a few works to spend time with rather than trying to give every room equal attention.

Cibrèo Trattoria, Via de' Macci 122r, sends lunch east toward Sant'Ambrogio. Try pappa al pomodoro, the Tuscan tomato-and-bread soup, or the chicken-liver pâté with crostini if they are on the day's menu. This is a useful introduction to Tuscan cooking beyond a large steak.

Spend the afternoon around Sant'Ambrogio. Cibrèo Caffè is a separate nearby venue at Via Andrea del Verrocchio 5R if you want a later drink; its menu includes a house Negroni and alcohol-free choices. Sleep in Florence, night five.

Day six: cathedral art and the Oltrarno

Choose one part of the cathedral complex for the morning. The Opera del Duomo Museum is worth considering if you want to study sculpture and the original Baptistery doors. The cathedral authority explains why the originals are preserved in the museum. Choose the appropriate pass rather than buying a climb simply because it is the most familiar option.

Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina, Piazza Pitti 16, makes lunch on the other side of the river. Cheese, charcuterie and a wine recommendation suit a shorter meal; its tasting menus suit an afternoon you want to spend at the table. Continue toward Piazza Santo Spirito afterward. Sleep in Florence, night six.

Day seven: a short train journey, then the old center

Take the direct train from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Bologna Centrale. Italo advertises a 37-minute ride; use the duration on the service you buy. A short ride still means a hotel change, which is why this route gives Bologna three nights.

Start at Piazza Maggiore and walk into the Quadrilatero. Look at the food counters before choosing what to eat. For dinner, All'Osteria Bottega, Via Santa Caterina 51, is the traditional-cooking option; its published services run Tuesday to Saturday. Move the dinner within your stay if necessary. Sleep in Bologna, night seven.

Day eight: breakfast, markets and Morandi

Pappare', Via de' Giudei 2, offers coffee and pastries, with eggs on toast or pancakes if you want a bigger breakfast. Then browse the Quadrilatero. If you want someone to explain the counters, Bologna Welcome's food walk includes tastings; use an offered morning departure and let those replace a separate large lunch.

The Morandi collection at MAMbo is a change of scale after the Vatican and Uffizi. Look at how the bottles and vessels relate to one another across the paintings. Monday is normally closed, so exchange this afternoon with tomorrow's neighborhood walk when needed. Sleep in Bologna, night eight.

Day nine: make pasta, then cocktails

Book the morning Cesarine cooking class through Bologna Welcome. The listed experience includes preparing food and eating the meal, so this is lunch as well as an activity. The private-home address arrives after booking.

Walk around Piazza Santo Stefano afterward. Ruggine, in Vicolo Alemagna, is close by for cocktails in the evening. Its menu includes Il Profeta, a Negroni variation with cucumber and fennel, and small plates. After the class lunch, you may prefer that to another full dinner. Sleep in Bologna, night nine.

Day ten: leave from Bologna

Use the Marconi Express from Bologna Centrale or a direct taxi to the airport. Your flight time determines whether breakfast is the only plan today. This is the departure day already included in the ten-day count.

Keep days one to three in Rome as above. On day four, stay in Rome: spend the morning walking between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon area, then choose a long lunch or revisit Monti. This extra day is also where St. Peter's fits if it would have crowded the Vatican Museums day. Sleep in Rome for the fourth night.

Move to Florence on day five. Use day six for the Uffizi and day seven for the cathedral and Oltrarno, following the meals above. Those are Florence nights five, six and seven of the trip.

On day eight, return to the side of Florence you have liked most. If you want more art, choose another collection; if you have had enough museums, spend the morning around Sant'Ambrogio and the afternoon browsing the Oltrarno. The value of this version is having the choice once you are there. Sleep in Florence, night eight.

Day nine can be a Bologna food day without changing hotels: take the direct train, visit the Quadrilatero and have a restaurant lunch before returning. Skip the cooking class and museum combination from the three-night version. If a day trip defeats the purpose of slowing down, keep the day in Florence instead. Sleep in Florence, night nine, and depart on day ten.

This version gives up Bologna evenings and a dedicated cooking day. It buys a third full Rome day, more Florence time and one fewer hotel change. For detailed hotel and arrival advice, use our Rome and Florence guide.

Hotel Artemide, Rome: choose it for the rooftop restaurant, breakfast and small 24-hour gym. Via Nazionale fits the Termini and Monti side of the route. It is a practical choice when you want the hotel to handle part of your downtime.

AdAstra, Florence: choose it for a slower stay, individually decorated rooms, roll-top baths and a terrace overlooking a private garden. Check the room category for garden versus street views. The Oltrarno address particularly suits the five-night version if you want to spend afternoons at the accommodation as well as out sightseeing.

Hotel Pendini, Florence: choose it for central walking access around Piazza della Repubblica and breakfast before the museums. It is the more direct fit for the shorter Florence stay when most of your time is out in the center.

Hotel Metropolitan, Bologna: choose it for the fifth-floor roof garden and a substantial breakfast, with a location between the station side of the center and Piazza Maggiore. The rooftop gives you somewhere to return for a drink after a day of food and walking.

For a trip centered entirely on Emilia-Romagna, see our Bologna week. For a shorter Italian trip, compare the seven-day routes.