Venice and Rome

fitzparker

Planning on doing this in January with the wife.

Have a fair idea of itinerary etc but wondering is it enough time, price wise its cheaper to go to Venice first.

Fly into Venice early Friday morning leave early Sunday (train, around 4 hours), Get to Rome midday Sunday fly home early Tuesday morning

Not sure of a lot of things to do in Venice but want to get to as much in Rome, is it worth doing the above? would we be able to fit it all in or is it best to just do 3 nights in Rome?

Ideally id rather do 3 nights in rome or 2 nights in each.

coylemj

One night in a place is no good because as soon as you arrive, you're thinking of leaving. You'll do a lot of walking in Rome so Sunday afternoon and all day Monday might be about as much as you can handle before you just want to jack it in. I'd say two nights in each place will be fine.

In both cities, try to avoid cafes and bars that are very close to the main attractions - especially St. Marks Square in Venice and anywhere within sight of St. Peters in Rome. And remember that a coffee at an outdoor table costs more than one that you have at a table inside.

solerina

Drop Venice and focus on Rome, there is more than enough in each city for the amount of days you are going for....it’s not enough time to properly see either place if you try to squash in both

miamee

You definitely will not see all of the main sights in Rome in a day and a half so pick the most important ones that you want to see and book tickets in advance to avoid queues. The queues might not be too bad in January but on a tight schedule I'd recommend doing it anyway.

rossie1977

January is best time to visit Rome as weather is mild and queues short.

I would agree with others, if you only have 2-3 days just stay in Rome as there are lots of things to see and visit which will take more than one day. Sunset is around 5pm in Rome in January.

The Davestator

I'd allocate more time to Rome than Venice. (although I prefer Venice as a city)

Venice is easy to do in a day just by walking around, whereas Rome is bigger.
Could you leave Venice on Sat PM and get up and at it in Rome on Sunday AM

anacc

You could do Venice in a single day. Outside the train station get the water bus down the grand canal to one the last stops, such as S.Elena. You'll see a lot of Venice on that journey. Once you are back on land you can then walk your way back to the train station, taking in many of the main sights such as Piazza San Marco along the way -- just plan your walk in advance via google maps. You can get on one of the many Gondolas that you'll see all over the place, we got a nice one from Campo Santa Sofia that went under the Ponte de Rialto.

On the other hand, you could spend a week in Rome and still not see everything. I've been there a few times and still have more I want to do. Obviously you'll have to prioritise, but I found guided tours (e.g. Collosseum and Forum, the Vatican) to be great. Don't eat anywhere near those attractions, or others like the Spanish Steps or the Trevi Fountain. You WILL be ripped off and the food will not be good. Try to find a small local place in around the blocks of apartments that are just off the beaten track.

fitzparker

Thanks All, we have never been to Italy before so was planning on surprising the wife.

Venice isn't really a necessity was just trying to get it in while I was there I suppose.

Rome is the main one, so maybe I will just do 3 nights there and be more relaxed than just the 2 nights of I was adding Venice aswell.

In terms of staying in Rome, i understand the attractions are all over the city, so staying beside one you could be a few KM from another, so does it really matter where?

anacc

I haven't been there in winter but I'd imagine you could get a decent hotel in the area of the Via del Corso for a good price, that's fairly central to a lot of the attractions and is the main shopping street.

The Davestator

fitzparker wrote: »

Thanks All, we have never been to Italy before so was planning on surprising the wife.

Venice isn't really a necessity was just trying to get it in while I was there I suppose.

Rome is the main one, so maybe I will just do 3 nights there and be more relaxed than just the 2 nights of I was adding Venice aswell.

In terms of staying in Rome, i understand the attractions are all over the city, so staying beside one you could be a few KM from another, so does it really matter where?

Venice is lovely (but cold) at that time of year- much better than summer when it is rammed.

rossie1977

I would pick somewhere near main train station (blue building on map) https://romemap360.com/carte/image/en/rome-attractions-map.jpg

it's not most touristy part of town but it will have lots of accommodation varying from budget to the more expensive chain hotels, easy access to metro which has stations close to main attractions, access to taxis or a place to get dropped off by taxi that everyone knows and obviously access to trains out of Rome if you decide on day trip..just over 2 hour trip from Rome Termini to Pompeii e.g by high speed train via Naples.

Stephen15

rossie1977 wrote: »

I would pick somewhere near main train station (blue building on map) https://romemap360.com/carte/image/en/rome-attractions-map.jpg

it's not most touristy part of town but it will have lots of accommodation varying from budget to the more expensive chain hotels, easy access to metro which has stations close to main attractions, access to taxis or a place to get dropped off by taxi that everyone knows and obviously access to trains out of Rome if you decide on day trip..just over 2 hour trip from Rome Termini to Pompeii e.g by high speed train via Naples.

I wouldn't recommend staying near the train station unless you're stuck. It's a bit of a dodgy area that's very rundown and dirty and very loud at night.

anacc

Stephen15 wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend staying near the train station unless you're stuck.

That's good advice for ALL European cities in my experience.

meeeeh

Stephen15 wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend staying near the train station unless you're stuck. It's a bit of a dodgy area that's very rundown and dirty and very loud at night.

Not exactly besides the train station but we stayed close (about 500 meters) and the area was quiet and the hotel fairly decent. It was also central and we walked the whole of Rome and didn't need to use public transport.

Anyway as suggested drop Venice, if you are unlucky with weather the wind could cut trough you at that time of the year. I was never as cold than on windy February day in Venice.

miamee

We stayed near the main train station in Rome about two years ago. It wa a pensione about a 2 minute walk away, yes there are a few didgy characters around the place but never felt unsafe as such just a bit more on your guard with bags etc. We only used it for sleeping at night, with the metro so near we could head off in whatever direction we wanted for the day.