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The Best Things to do in Italy in 10 days

Do you want to see as much of Italy as you can in 10 days? So did we! We did a whirlwind tour of Italy recently and wanted to see as much as possible in the little time that we had. It was only possible by renting a car and not spending much time in each place. Here is our itinerary, followed by more details of our travels…

Itinerary for 10 days in Italy

• Day 1: arrive in the morning on a red-eye flight; spend all day in Rome; overnight in Rome
• Day 2: half a day in Rome; drive to Venice; overnight in Venice
• Day 3: all day in Venice; another overnight in Venice
• Day 4: drive to Florence; all day in Florence; overnight in Tuscany
• Day 5: all day in various Tuscan towns of Siena, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, and Certaldo Alto; another overnight in Tuscany
• Day 6: another all day in Florence; another overnight in Tuscany
• Day 7: all day in Lucca and Pisa; drive to La Spezia; overnight in La Spezia
• Day 8: most of the day in Cinque Terre; drive to Rome; overnight in Rome
• Day 9: all day in Pompeii; another overnight in Rome
• Day 10: drive to the airport for early departure

It was a very ambitious itinerary! Everyone told us to take the time and stay north or stay south, but we don’t back away from a challenge. I wish we had 2 more days (we would have spent them in Tuscany), but we did it and didn’t spend long days in the car doing it.

With 10 days in Italy, we decided that this Great Italian Road trip would be about seeing the absolute musts and that we would plan to come back later to take our time in the areas we most enjoyed. That meant that we only walked around the coliseum, that we didn’t visit Palantine Hill in Rome, that we didn’t venture into every museum in Florence, and that we didn’t hike the entire Cinque Terre trail. However, we could live with the lack of intimacy so that we could see more of this beautiful country.

If you would rather use this itinerary as a guide you could also stay in Rome and do many of these towns as a day trip from Rome.

Find out what you need to do before you go to Italy!

We would have loved to spend 2 days in Bologna, Positano, Genoa, and Puglia, but we now have an excuse to go back!

Planning a family trip to Italy

If you have kids under the age of 5, I would recommend doing a much less strenuous itinerary. Do Rome and Florence, or Rome and Naples. If your kids are good in the car and a little older, you can do a similar itinerary to ours. (Or the exact same one!)

How to plan a multi city trip for 10 day Italy Itinerary

It can seem overwhelming to plan a multi city trip anywhere, but Italy is particularly hard because there are so many iconic spots.

We started by making a list of things we absolutely had to do, a second list of things we wanted to do if we had time and a list of how many days we needed in each place.  We then had enough to start to flesh out our timeline.

Our timeline is not the best for everyone, but it is a great guide if you want an easy to follow itinerary.

The best time of year to visit Italy

Spring and fall are generally considered the best times of year to visit Italy. The crowds are less, the weather is beautiful, and some entry prices are less. We loved the weather in April and would recommend it highly. It was a beautiful time to see Italy as there were flowers blooming and trees budding.

If you plan on summer in Italy, you will still have a great time! Just plan on more time to do things and dress for warm weather!

If you want to visit in the winter you can take advantage of the low prices of hotels and enjoy Italy without the crowds.

2 days in Rome

The story of Rome is one steeped in the myths of early Romans. The brother’s Romulus and Remus (two demi gods and sons of the mighty god of war, Mars) fought over who would rule their new city and Romulus killed his brother Remus and named the city after himself.

Rome is one of the oldest cities in the Western World, and the antiquities that are scattered throughout the entire city make Rome a spectacular city. Rome has been inhabited since the 8th century B.C. There is history on every corner, modern stores are built into buildings that have stood in place for centuries, cobblestone streets are worn smooth by hundreds of years of foot traffic, roads are narrow lanes that modern cars can just barely squeeze through, Vespas dart in and out of traffic.

Driving in Rome

Driving in Rome is an experience not to be taken on lightly. The rules of the road seem to be used merely as a suggestion. Smaller roads parallel larger roads, and it is hard to figure out which is the right road to take. Vespas seem to have different rules than everyone else and zip though traffic wherever they happen to squeeze. On top of that parking is impossible. I tell you all of this to help you make better choices than we did! We decided to drive in and around Rome, and I wish we hadn’t. My husband did a great job with the actual driving, and it didn’t seem to phase him at all, but the parking proved to be a huge problem every day except Sunday!

How to see the Coliseum in Rome

This is the biggest attraction in Rome! The coliseum was built in AD 80 and is the largest amphitheater ever built. It could hold an audience of 80,000 people, which is comparable to the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Spectators came to watch gladiator battles, animal fights, and theatrical productions.

Today the Coliseum is visited by 4 million people every year and is one of the largest tourist draws in Rome. It is a big tourist hub with people offering to give your tours, get you in faster, and more. I recommend buying a skip the line pass here at least 3 weeks in advance. We looked 2 weeks before we went, and we didn’t have a great selection of times to visit.

Plan on 1-2 hours.

Vatican Museum

In reality, you could visit the Vatican Museum for weeks and weeks and not see all the treasures it holds. However, if you are like most of the thousand people ahead of you in line you have come to the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was painted by the famous artist Michelangelo. It took him 4 years to complete the ceiling, which is considered one of history’s finest works of art. Each panel tells a story from the Bible, and surrounding the ceiling panels are prophets from the New and Old Testaments. We found this Khan academy lesson on the Sistine Chapel to be a great introduction for us and our kids. No photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel itself so here is a stock image for your perusal.

Signs clearly mark the way to the Sistine Chapel, and as long as you follow the throngs of people you will end up in the right place. However, if you just make a beeline for the Sistine Chapel you will miss some pretty amazing exhibitions along the way. I recommend you visit the Egyptian mummies, the gallery of maps, and any of the courtyards!

This is a great post for a more in depth look at Visting the Vatican.

How to skip the line at the Vatican

This is one instance where a skip the line ticket is worth gold! The line to get in was two and a half hours long the day we were there, and it can swell to 4 or 5 hours in the middle of the summer. The skip the line entrance is not clearly marked, but it is the same entrance as the disability entrance. You show your skip the line ticket and are able to get in a shorter line that leads directly to the 2nd floor. There you will get in another short line where your ticket will actually be printed out. You can then head to the turnstile and enter.

We ended up being about 15 minutes late, but no one questioned the time on our ticket. I’m not sure that is always the case and maybe we just got lucky!

Plan on 2-5 hours depending on how deeply you want to delve into art or how long the line is.

Visiting the Saint Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter’s is the largest church in the world and one of the most intimate as well. It is considered to be one of, if not the, holiest churches in Catholicism. According to Catholic legend the body of Saint Peter is buried under the altar in the church. Since that time countless popes have been buried there as well.

The current church was built between 1506 and 1626 and sits in Vatican City. One of the largest domes in the world (designed by Michelangelo himself) sits on top of St. Peter’s Basilica. The dome itself is intricately decorated on the interior as well as the exterior.

Famous artwork, tombs of historical significance, and sculptures all make the church worth the visit. My favorite sculpture is The Pietà, a sculpture of Mary holding the crucified Jesus. It is a moving piece.

Plan on 30 minutes to an hour.

Tips for the Vatican

When exiting the Sistine Chapel, don’t go out the main door to the left, but try to blend in with a tour group in order to slip out the tour-group-only door in the right rear of the chapel. It will take you directly to the entrance of St. Peter’s allowing you to skip another long line and avoiding a 1 kilometer walk around the perimeter of the Vatican!

Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain was made famous in the movies Roman Holiday and La Dolce Vita. (These are a few of the movies you should watch before heading to Italy.)Legend says that if you throw a coin in the fountain over your left shoulder you will return to Rome again. I have done it myself and keep returning to Rome, so there must be something to it.

The fountain has been in place since 19 BC, but the facade we know today was created in the 1700’s. The sculpture surrounding the fountain is Triton taming the seahorse Hippocamps.

Plan on 10-15 minutes.

Tip:

• Trevi fountain is a very busy site, so if you want to get a good up-close look plan on visiting early in the morning, on a weekday, or after 8 at night.

 

The Pantheon

Pantheon means “temple to the gods” in Greek. It was built as a Roman temple in AD 126 making it one of the oldest buildings in Rome (and it looks great for its age!). The Pantheon has survived the fall of the Roman Empire, invasions, and fires and is still in one piece. Many credit the fact that it was converted to a Catholic Church in AD 609 and was therefore spared.

The Pantheon is of note because of the dome. The dome is held up by horizontal arches and the use of weight. Heavier bricks line the bottom of the dome and lighter weight bricks make up the top of the dome. The dome is the exact size of the room underneath, so it would make a perfect circle if there was a descending dome. The diameter of the dome is the same as the height of the room below.

It is fascinating that this building was built so exactly and so perfectly over 2000 years ago without the use of modern technology or building materials.

Plan on 30 minutes.

Tip:

• No tickets are required to visit The Pantheon, so don’t try to buy them from unscrupulous vendors.

What to do at the Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps are steps that run from the Piazza di Spagna to the Trinita del Monti church. There are 174 steps in total. The Spanish Steps were the result of an architecture contest in 1717 and were designed by Francesco de Sanctis.

The steps were made famous by the movie Roman Holiday (the same movie that made Trevi fountain a must see) and have become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Rome. Beautiful flowers line the steps, and visitors sit on the edges of the stairway and chat and rest. We were so tired of walking by the time we made it to the Spanish Steps that we didn’t even climb them!

Plan on 15 minutes.

Piazza Navona

I remember visiting the Piazza Navona as a child and thinking that it was the most beautiful place in the world. Every time I have returned I feel exactly the same way! This town square was originally a large oval stadium during the early Roman Empire, (hence the name “Navona,” which means big ship) but was eventually turned into a town square.

While in the piazza visit the Fountain of Four Rivers. You will be able to easily find it as it has a large obelisk in the center of a fountain. The sculptures surrounding the obelisk are the embodiment of the 4 great rivers: The Nile, The Danube, The Ganges, and The Rio de la Plata.

The other fountain of note is the Fountain of Neptune that depicts Neptune, god of the sea, seated amongst sea nymphs.

I recommend visiting the Piazza at nighttime. You will find artists, street performers and a general air of festivity.

Plan on 30 minutes to an hour.

Tips:

• Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon are all in the same area of town. They are great to group together in one visit.
• Piazza Navona often features artists who will draw your children’s portraits. My parents have portraits of all of us that were drawn here.

 

Where to eat in Rome

Hosteria Trevi

This restaurant broke all of my usual good eats rules! It was near a tourist attraction (Trevi Fountain), it had pictures of their food in the window, and it looked like it had been decorated for tourists. We ended up eating there to wait out a torrential downpour. Thank goodness for bad weather!

The pasta was so good that we returned at the end of our trip to get it again. The cacio de pepe pasta (a roman specialty of black pepper and Parmesan) was among the best bites I have ever had. My husband and the kids loved the pesto (over gnocchi or pasta). The restaurant even served gluten free pasta for my favorite celiac child.

Tips on finding good restaurants in Italy:

I usually turn to Trip Advisor to look for good restaurants when we travel in Europe. But it is rare to find a restaurant that isn’t well rated in the big Italian cities. I’m not exactly sure why, but I know that it is hard to have a bad meal.

So use it to your advantage. Check out Trip Advisor during lunch and dinner and you can often find 10-30% off deals when you make a reservation.

If you want authentic Italian food you may have to do some research before you go, or head to a small town.

Where to stay in Rome with a family

There are so many neighborhoods in Rome it can feel overwhelming top pick a great place.

• The Trastevere neighborhood is a popular one for tourists as there is great night life and lots of restaurants. It is also an easy walk into many sights in Rome. For Trastevere hotels look here. 

 

• The Vatican neighborhood is a quieter and less touristy area to stay. You can often find good values with Airbnbs or hotels in the Vatican neighborhood because it is slightly farther away from night life. I recommend the Cosmopolita Hotel! It has family rooms that sleep 5 people (a rarity in Europe) and is in a quiet and nice neighborhood.

 

• Center City or Centro Storico is great for the tourist who wants to avoid public transportation when visiting Rome. The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona are within a 5-10 minute walk and the area caters to tourists. You will find English spoken everywhere and stores with lots of souvenirs. I recommend The Pantheon Inn. Room for a family of 5, breakfast is included and you are close to so many beautiful attractions. Plus some of the rooms feature balconies!

 

• San Lorenzo is a neighborhood very near Termini Train Station (Rome’s train station). It is a great place to stay if you plan on a quick stop in Rome en route to other parts of Italy. While it is often referred to as the “student district” there are still fabulous restaurants and nice hotels. If you are looking for hostels and cheaper accommodations you will find them here as well. The Borromeo Hotel is large enough for a family of 5 to sleep and it offers a continental breakfast.

The best things to see in Venice

We were able to do Venice in just one day! If you have more time allotted for Venice you could easily spend 2-3 days and not run out of things to do. If you are planning on visiting Venice you will want to read our Venice in just one day post for all the details!

Venice in one day

The best things to see in Florence

Florence is the birthplace of art, music, and literature! It is one of the most magnificent cities in Italy and should be a stop on your road trip in Italy!

Florence History:

Florence hasils from the Etruscan culture and was built by Julius Caesar in 59 BC. Today, Florence is one of the most visited cities in the world!

Tourists flock to Florence to see the the Uffizi Gallery, The Dumo, Boboli Gardens and much more!

We loved our visit to Florence and you can read about everything you need to plan your visit here!

What to do in Tuscany in 3 days

I’m not sure there is a Tuscan town that isn’t worth visiting, but I have been to Tuscany before and wanted to see my favorites plus a few new ones. We enjoyed every one of them, and wish we had another week to visit more. If you are wondering what else there is to do in Toscana (the Italian word for Tuscany) all you have to do is go for a drive and you will find something charming and worthwhile.

 

Siena in one day

Siena, arguably the second most well-known city in Tuscany, was settled around the same time as Florence, and at one point was Florence’s biggest rival. It’s a much smaller and more walkable town than Florence but with all (if not more) Tuscan charm.

The Duomo in Siena

The Duomo in Siena was built to rival the Duomo in Florence and you will be amazed at their similarity in design, although the one in Florence is much bigger. Siena’s Duomo is as beautiful on the inside as on the outside and is well worth the ticketed entry.

White and green marble and carvings are as intricate in the interior as the exterior. The floors are decorated in large mosaics telling stories beloved of the Tuscans.  I can’t recommend this enough!

Plan on 30 minutes to an hour.

Piazza Del Campo

This town square is the most well known in Siena. It is a very different piazza in that it is shell shaped and slopes down to the center of the square. It is a great place to get a bite to eat or relax in the sunshine surrounded by ancient buildings and churches.

Plan on a walk-through only.

Palazzo Publico

This palace was the seat of power for Siena during the 1300s. It is set on the Piazza Del Campo. Frescos decorate almost every wall and the palace is a well preserved example of Gothic Architecture. The best known fresco is the allegory of Good vs Bad Government.

Plan on 1 hour.

Basilica Cateriniana San Domenico

This church is a lovely church to visit and is one of the few churches dedicated to a woman, Catherine of Siena. It supposedly contains the head of St. Catherine (a little gruesome but still interesting). The basilica also offers spectacular views of Siena. (The picture at the top of the Siena section was taken from the Basilica.)

Plan on 30 minutes.

The best things to eat in Siena

Osteria Permalico

This was one of our very best meals in Italy! It was also one of the least expensive. I loved the ricotta gnocchi with a light pistachio cream sauce, while my husband loved the peposo (peppered beef stew). The boys were happy with pomodoro pasta. They have outdoor as well as indoor seating.

San Gimignano in an afternoon

San Gimignano is pronounced San jeem-een-YAH-no. The first time I visited the town I struggled with the pronunciation, but after a lot of practice I seem to have mastered it. San Gimignano is a beautiful town to visit and  I can tell you why you want to visit this off-the-beaten-path town.

 

GELATO! The gelato world champion owns a shop in San Gimignano. The Gelataria Dondoli has dozens of flavors and plenty of different sizes for every appetite. My favorite was Amerena, but the lemon and hazelnut were standouts as well. The line is long, but it moves very quickly.

 

If gelato doesn’t excite you, you could also visit for the towers of San Gimignano. Fourteen of the seventy-two original towers remain in the ancient city. The towers were used a symbols of wealth and power, and the wealthiest families built taller and taller towers.

Be sure to climb Torre Grossa (the tallest tower) for a beautiful look at San Gimignano and the Tuscan countryside.

Certaldo Alto

We came upon this lovely hilltop town by fortunate happenstance. We booked the only Airbnb in the entire walled city. The town is on top of a hill overlooking Certaldo below and is completely walled in. No cars are allowed without a resident pass, and even those are parked away from view.

This is a small town kept from expansion by the confines of the hilltop. It dates back to the Etruscans and has been revitalized with each successive conquorer. It makes exploring this city of red brick an adventure. Everything seems to be built on top of the next with small alleyways and roads in haphazard locations.

The best thing about Certaldo Alto is that it isn’t in any guide book we read, so we had the place to ourselves for much of our stay in Tuscany!

Tip:

• If you aren’t fortunate enough to stay in Certaldo Alto you can ride to the top in the funicular from the train station in Certaldo or walk up the steep hill along several different paths or the road.

Tips for visiting Lucca

Lucca was one of our very favorite towns in Tuscany. It is one of the best examples of a walled city in Italy, and the walls are very well preserved. It was the 2nd largest city state in Italy (Venice was the 1st) and was eventually conquered by Napoleon. He gave it to his sister who took it on as a pet project, and it is therefore one of the better preserved cities in the area.

Our favorite part was the walk through the outer walls into the city. Passage ways through the walls are cobblestoned, have interesting sculptures and some great lighting! Park outside of the city walls so that you can walk through these otherworldly walls.

Once you get out of the wall, you will walk up to the top of the walls and join other people walking, riding bikes and riding group bikes. Rentals are available at a number of different locations along the promenade  atop the walls.  You can rent single bikes, tandem bikes or bikes for big groups.

Another great stop in Lucca is Guinigi Tower! Walk up 232 steps to the top of the tower and get a great view of the entire city. The top of the tower has trees on top, which makes it an unusual change from most towers in Italy.

Visiting Pisa

The leaning tower of Pisa needs no introduction! The tower began leaning while it was being built and has leaned ever since. Uneven and inadequate foundation led to the leaning, and today it is 5 meters off of a straight line. It was built as a tower for the Cathedral of Pisa.

Pisa is a busy place. There will be lots of people visiting at any given time, so you will want to get a skip the line ticket to climb the tower at least a week in advance (especially if you have time constraints). You can visit the tower area without a ticket and your kids will have a blast taking pictures of the tower of Pisa.

Plan on 1 hour.

Cinque Terre 

We only had one day to spend in Cinque Terre and we wanted to see as much as we possible could. We started super early and  and got to see tons of beautiful coast line as well as some very charming towns.

To find out how to do Cinque Terre in one day check out this post.

How to do Pompeii in one day

Pompeii has captured the imagination of architects and lay people alike for over 100 years. A town completely entombed in mud and ash and then discovered again 1000 years later!

Mt. Vesuvius is a volcano that erupted in AD 79 instantly killing the inhabitants of Pompeii. They were killed because of the heat and not because of the ash like it was previously postulated. No wonder people flock to visit one of the oldest cities still on earth.

This place is massive! You could spend the day rambling down ancient road after ancient road and still just scratch the surface. And there is even more remaining to be uncovered.

My favorite ruins are ones that have retained the paint treatments, sculpture, and tile. Some have come through the volcanic eruption better than a Roman ruin 500 years younger!

Now the bad news . . .  This is one popular place! This is a picture of the line to get in.

Plan on 3-5 hours.

How to skip the line at Pompeii

Buy the skip the line tickets at least a week in advance so they won’t be sold out.

We had skip the line tickets on our phone, but even that line was 2 hours long! My recommendation is to get the skip the line ticket and get there as early as possible!

 

What to wear to Pompeii

• Plan on wearing some layers. It was quite cool on an April morning, but by mid day we were all sweating.
• Wear some closed toe shoes and there are lots of uneven rocks and old paving stones that will catch little toes.
• Your shoes will be dusty, don’t wear your pretty pink shoes! (Mine are now a very dusty, dirty grey!)

Tips for visiting Pompeii

• There are different entrances to Pompeii but only the main one offers the skip the line option. If both the skip the line and the regular line are eternally long, try a different entrance. You can buy a skip the line ticket on your phone when you get there.
• There is a place to leave your luggage in Pompeii if you need to.
• There are not many eating options in Pompeii! Plan on bringing a snack.
• Bring water!
• Use the bathroom at the entrance, as there aren’t good bathroom choices once you enter.
• Don’t bring your stroller if you have other options. The roads are rutted and the sidewalks aren’t always passable. It would be much better to bring a baby carrier or backpack.
• Pompeii is very near to the beautiful Amalfi Coast, plan a visit if you have time.  Positano was on my list!

1 Week in Italy

This itinerary is very easily adaptable for just 1 week in Italy. If you only have 1 week to spend in Italy you will either have to skip Venice and Pisa or Pompeii.

You just need to decide what is most important to you and your family.

Traveling to Italy tips

• Brush up on your Roman and Greek gods. We were so glad that we had a working knowledge of Roman and Greek gods. It made the art and statuary understandable to all of us and helped us appreciate it more.
• Research the famous artwork before visiting. Your kids will be much more willing to do another museum if they are already familiar and excited about the artwork they are visiting.
• Get your skip the line tickets at least a week in advance in the low season or many weeks in advance during the high season.
• Decide what you want to buy for souvenirs ahead of time with my awesome post on Italian souvenirs.

Get 5 more great tips for your trip to Italy for free when you subscribe to our blog!

 

Check out my other Italy content here:

Facts about Venice

Quotes about Italy

Movies about Italy

The best gelato in Italy

Best souvenirs in Italy

Things to do before your trip to Italy

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