Hi everybody!
My boyfriend and I are planning a two week trip to Europe. Italy is the one place we know we want to go to for sure. We'd love to hear anyone's suggestions or thoughts on other places to visit. Thank you in advance
*Edit- We want to return to Edmonton from Rome.
**Edit - We are travelling mid July.

paris to rome flights are really cheap through ryan air, we paid $25 for one way

thank you John!

Just remember with Ryan, they charge for every bag.

Two weeks, where do you want to fly in and out of? 2 weeks is enough for 2-3 cities... You could do just italy.

We are really open. We were actually thinking if we wanted to stay in Italy. Thanks!

Janice Phung i would stay in Italy. For 2 weeks only, you want to avoid airports in my experience... Do your big italy cities, like florence, rome, venice, with 1 or 2 day stops on the way

If I only had two weeks I'd go Rome-Florence-Padua-Venice and back. It's too little time unless you're just going like Rome and flying to one other city then back.

We were in Italy for three weeks and did Rome, Pisa, Florence, and part of the Amalfi coast. Although we considered leaving Italy, I'm glad we didn't.

Thank you!

Austria boarders on Italy. Very pretty there

We've heard such great things about Austria!

We drove from Venice to Austria and just the drive alone was worth it

Christin No way! We didn't even think of that. thanks!

I haven't been to Italy, but have been to other places in Europe. I find a pace of one city or town every 3-4 days is perfect... Enough time to see the highlights and not be rushed, and you won't feel like you're missing out if you sleep in here and there. Keep in mind that moving on to another city often takes the bulk of a day, once you check out of your hotel, line up transportation, travel, find new hotel and check in, feed yourself, etc.So I think you should just stay in Italy and pick a few cities or towns to explore. Also, allow 1-2 days at the beginning of the trip with no plans to deal with the jet lag. We followed this type of pace in Croatia and it was perfect

Thank you so much!

i agree - 4 days in each city is perfect.

Cinque Terre is amazing. Venice is a favorite as well. The one big tip I have is not to leave from Rome - the chances of that flight being quite delayed are higher than other airports in Italy.

Great insight. Thank you!

Going to Vernazza this summer for the second time. Love Ci nque Terre.

We have been 9 times and have learned a few things. You dont more than three days in most places, unless its Paris, Rome or London, then 5 days. Stay in small towns when possible. Go to the tourist places... And do the tourist things. Who wants to go to Venice and not ride in a gondola?? You can stay and eat cheap, but pay for the sights. Use a Rick Steeves guide book. Hes usually right about everything and has great maps.

You the man Norman!

Janice Phung when you plan your travel, look at the trenitalia website -- if you book in advanced you can get train tickets for as cheap as 9 eurp

Josh What?! That's crazy - thank you

Janice Phung it's super crazy. We paid less than 80 bucks each for trains to and from amalfi, rome to florence, florence to venice!!

Josh *heavy breathing

Great info here. Rick Steves has an amazing website. Download his podcasts. Great info that isn't overwhelming. Take time to get to know his website. It is most that you will need. Find a good website for rentals to stay at. So much better (and cheaper) than hotels. Drink wine, eat local meat and cheese and make a pact to have gelato everyday. It is truly an amazing country.

Go to cinque Terre in Italy! So beautiful. Would recommend staying there overnight. Take the train from la spezia to get there
Hikes between the island are so worth it with some pretty sweet views. If you don't want to hike there is a train that goes between the five islands. Have fun!

Thank you!

Consider staying at the beehive in Rome and the Tasso hostel in Florence!!

Thank you!

Just got back last month , second time since August. We did Milan ,Venice ,Florence ,Pisa (1/2day), Cinque Terre ( stayed in Riomagiore and Manarola ),Rome and Day trips to Pompeii and Capri. Check viator for Day trips , they have some deals all the time. In Rome & Florence check FreeTour with guide , they meet daily and you can have a guided tour for 3 hrs and just need to tip them . My favorite town is Cinque Terre , Riomagiore & Manarola are just a piece of heaven here on earth.

Cinque Terre seems to be a crowd favourite! We must go

You won't regret it. I never found it to be crowded and we also did the hiking . It's a must !

Just remember that the places you'll be staying aren't like Hotels ( except in Monterosso). There's no lifts so you'll have to carry your luggage on lots of stairs . So have a really good luggage and be prepare to carry it , cobblestones are everywhere. If you want to stay in Manarola , i can recommend Ca de'Gianchi, an absolute gem ?

The classic trip would include flying into Venice (stay for a few days to enjoy the sites with a day trip to Murano and Burano 3-4 days). Train to Florence to enjoy the Uffizi and Accademia (minimum 3-4 days). Maybe consider a day trip to Pisa. Then catch the train to Rome (4 days minimum) maybe a couple of day trips to Pompeii and Capri. As mentioned in a previous post viator was the only tour company available a couple years ago for the day trips to Pompeii and Capri, but I would highly suggest Walks of Italy for local tours in Rome.

Great idea to start in Venice! thanks so much

As someone earlier mentioned, the Rick Steves book was a good resource. If on a budget, you can download his app and then download audio tours for different locations/attractions. The audio guides when purchasing as you enter attractions were more detailed, but having the Rick Steves audio helped when reviewing pictures and creating photo books once we returned home.

You can follow this itinerary and add 2-3 days for Cinque Terre. Last Summer we did Venice/Burano/Murano (3 nights), Cinque Terre (2 nights), Florence/Siena (4 nights), Rome/Pompeii (5 nights). You can stop in Pisa on your way from Cinque Terre (check your luggage in at train station) on your way to Florence (a 2-3 hour detour).

It's going to be super, super hot in July but great for swimming in the ocean! The Rick Steeves guide is awesome as are the audio guides (and they're free!). There are no direct flights from Rome to Edmonton. We flew Rome to NYC (3 nights) and flew home from there.

There is just so much to see and do in Italy and the different areas all offer such a variety of landscapes and cultural experiences. We spent 3 1/2 weeks and did very limited locations. We flew into Venice and rented an apartment right in the centre. Great to walk around and soak it all in day and night. The trip up and down the Grand Canal at sunset by vaporetto (water bus) is one of the cheapest yet most beautiful things you can do there. We rented a car and drove throughout Tuscany for 4 days, 5 nights. Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, and all the rest of the stunning countryside. Drove to Sorrento, turned car in, did Capri, Pompei, and Amalfi Coast. Stunning scenery. Bussed to Rome. 5 nights. Stay central so you can walk to most everything in the historic centre. Book a Vatican tour and a time at the Villa Borghese gallery. Also recommend Rick Steve's books.

This is awesome Ron!

I grew up in southern Germany and we used to spend many summers in italy/Austria and I have been back quite a few times since I moved to canada. I am not sure what time of year you're planning on being there, but if it's peak season I personally wouldn't spend more than 2 full days (one night) in Venice. It gets crazy busy. If you're gonna be in the northern part of Italy, I would hop across into Austria for a few days even. Beautiful nature, mountains and really really friendly people especially if you go off the beaten path a little bit. Lots of little bed and breakfasts that really let you experience the European culture more so than staying in bigger hotels. Flights within Europe are really cheap as well as they have great train connections that will take you to all the larger centers. I have taken the train from Rome to Venice and it wasn't bad at all. You can Google the train times to make sure you do lots of your traveling early morning/late at night so that you aren't wasting too much of your holiday on travel time.

Thank you so much Ilona! We are planning to go mid July.

The weather will be amazing for you guys!! Be prepared for it to be busy, but looks like you are going to be well prepared and you can make so many reservations in advance online now that you won't have any issues
have an amazing trip!!

We have been there in July and it was nice (30°C+ during the days) - Venice was very humid (not use to that). Can recommend the Starhotels Splendid Venice located fairly central between St. Mark's Square and the Rialto bridge. Visit Doges Palace early, line gets long in the afternoon. As first time visitors to Venice you will probably get lost, but after a short while to you figure it out (find a map if you desire). Can do Venice with an over night stay - but that depends on what you want to see and do there, you should be able to get in all the highlights (Palace, Murano, square, etc) depending when you arrive and leave. Visit Murano for their glass blowing art.
Will also recommend visiting Tivolo and seeing Villa d'Este, the Roman ruins of Villa Adriana and the gorge of Villa Gregoriana. Takes a full day.
We stayed at the River Place near the Villa Borghese (large park) in Rome and also would recommend this, a bit out of the way, but all the "tourist" places are within walking distance (about 20 minutes to the Forum/Coliseum). Most other things are in between (metro station close which you can use to go to the Vatican - you can also take the Metro to the Coliseum, but there is so much to see on the way there).
Of course there also all the other places that others have mentioned. You won't see everything in 2 weeks, but you can see a fair amount. Plan a full day at Pompeii as well.
Just a reminder, nothing is "free" in Italy - if someone gives you flowers/etc. they expect you to give them cash (they will come up to you and hand it to you and want cash when you take it, just decline taking it unless you want it). Also be aware of pick pockets and resist the urge to buy that Gucci bag/etc. from a sidewalk vendor (these are knock offs) and the Italian police don't not look kindly on them or the people that buy from them.

We flew into Venice spent a couple days there and did a 6 day cruise from Venice with MSc cruises...you could check vacations to go for great rates. Our cruise did Santorini mykanos Athens corfu and dubrovnik we ported back in Venice and flew to Rome super cheap and spend the next week there

Thank you !

It was great we got to spend a day everywhere...didn't feel like we missed any big sites and the cruise was the same price as hotel and food would have been

We did Milan, Venice, lido, Burano and Bologna in 8 days. Venice is a must see!
Venice and surrounding you can do in 2-3 days sufficiently. Skip the gondola ?

I agree. Skip the gondola. The equivalent of $120 (80€) and the jerk we had spent most of the time on his cell phone and we were back at the dock in 24 min.

Check out Expedia.ca , I got a $40 Gondola ride for 30 min.

Elaine Macalolooy wow! we definitely will check expedia for that. THanks

Croatia! Especially Dubrovnik. It is the most beautiful place I've seen. And that includes Italy.

Thank you!

Let's just say that Italians massively go to Croatia in August. My favourites are Island Vis, and Korcula. Dubrovnik is nice, but so overexposed at that time, it takes away a lot from the experience.

?

Taylor Kulba info for future reference

Like everyone else said, stay in Italy. I spent 6 weeks there and didn't get to see enough! Cinque Terre is beautiful. If you love beaches do the amalfi coast. I would also personally recommend Ischia (small thermal island with some nice hikes, beautiful thermal spas and tons of culture. Off the beaten track but you get to interact with some very friendly locals!) I spent two days in Rome/Vatican and felt that was sufficient (depends if you're interested more in nature or culture though, it was too touristy for my liking and small enough that I was able to walk around in a day to the major sights). Other places, I would stay at least 4 days. Florence is also a must in my books.

Thank you Van!

Rick Steves Europe. Google it.

If you are going to Firenze (aka Florence), take at least a day trip to Siena. Climb the clock tower for the view. The walled city itself is stunning, as is the cathedral. It's one of my favourite places. Also, if you can, WALK in the cities. We walked all over Rome and Firenze. It was amazing to see all the places close up. We generally walked 5 - 6 hours a day. (We're in our mid-50's so it's doable!)

Thanks for the tips! Siena is now on our list

There are some amazing vineyards around there, too, if you are into wine tasting.

There's a Day trip I paid for $73 that included: San Gimignano, Siena , Greve & Chianti with wine tasting tour .It was an all day Guided tour from 7am-8pm . Worth the Day trip especially if you're not renting a car. Check CityDiscovery.com for Daytrips.
For Pisa tower, go to www.opapisa.ita and buy your ticket to climb the tower (€18Euro).You'll need a time reservation . We left Florence by train at 7am, climb Pisa at 9:30am and took the next train for Cinque Terre at 1:30pm.
CITY-DISCOVERY.COM
Sightseeing tours, attractions and things to do worldwide.

Thank you !

you can leave your luggage at the Train station ( Pisa Centrale) for a small fee . And make sure to photocopy your Passport to leave for the attendance. In Pisa Tower , you're not allowed to bring any bag , just your camera. Please stay at least 2-3 days in Cinque Terre , do the famous hike the next day and take the boat from each town all the way to Porto Venera . Italy will be limiting tourists soon in Cinque Terre and I guarantee you that you'll want to come back there again. I know I did ?

I just remembered , we did a Day trip to Switzerland (St.Moritz) from Milan . Worth the one day trip , stunning view of the Alps!

Elaine Macalolooy this is incredible help! Switzerland sounds amazing.

Janice Phung , just so you know, we also did Nice , France after Cinque Terre and its only 4-5 hrs by train . French Rivieria is a lovely place to stay and Monaco is only 22minutes by train from Nice. Train Tickets are so cheap ! Also , When you buy your train ticket in Trenitalia website check out the 2for1 weekend deals they have for offer.

Elaine Macalolooy which company or website did you book that through? The Switzerland day trip **

I used viator. But you should wait awhile because they have sometimes 10% or more discount that you can use for your booking .

Amalfi coast...Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi - beautiful.

Do a day trip to Pompeii with a tour or rent a car Amazing. Pay for the guides. It's worth it

You should seriously consider checking out Capri. Seriously.

I agree with everyone that the amalfi / pompeii / capri area is beautiful, but if it's your first visit to Italy you are much better off travelling between rome, tuscany (florence, siena, and area) and perhaps venice... For your first trip. You'll get much more out of it than the amalfi region, and the amalfi region is incredibly expensive (I found) compared to the other areas.