Italy was our first destination on our trip to Europe. Which was our summer vacation trip in the year 2017. We spent 6 days in Italy starting in Rome. And by all means these were very beautiful and enchanting days. They comprised of couple of days each visiting Rome, exploring Florence and cruising in Venice. While we did feel, a couple of days is not enough to explore all that each of these places are to offer. And moreover, we really wanted to take a road trip in southern Italy. However, constrained by time, we picked just 3 cities and tried to make the most of our 6 days in Italy. And here we bring the story of our 6 days in Italy, along with some more recommendations as per our research. We hope it will help you plan your own best 6 days in Italy. And, we would also like to hear what you would do with your 6 days in Italy, if anything, different from what we did. So, here goes the details of our trip in Italy.
Day1 : Arrival in Rome
Our 6 days in Italy began with an arrival in Rome. As our flight landed on the Rome airport early in the morning around 7:00 am. However, it was the easter weekend. So, it took a lot of time to get through the long queue at the immigration counter. Thereafter, we started for our hotel, Best Western Blu Hotel, Rome using this pre booked transfer from Rome Fiumicino Airport to the city center. And by noon we checked-in into the hotel. But we decided to take rest since we had our little daughter with us. And she definitely had the jet lag. So, did we.
So, basically we didn’t do much on this day, except going on a stroll in the surroundings of our hotel in the evening. Having said that, if you can combat the jet lag or you don’t have kids with you, you can take this Rome hop on hop off big bus tour on the day of your arrival. Since, you can take it on your own pace. And you can start anytime in the day when you feel ready for it. As we initially had planned for the same. But, couldn’t.
When we stepped out in the evening the streets were all inviting. With a soft cold breeze and beautiful lights all around. Finally, we went to a grocery shop nearby and did our first grocery shopping in Rome. And after that, we took takeaway meals from a nearby pizzeria.
Day2: One day guided tour of Rome
On the second of our 6 days in Italy, we woke up fresh. We had recovered from the jet lag. And we were ready to start our day, exploring Rome. It began with a tour to the Vatican city. We first explored the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel followed by the Saint Peters Basilica. It was the day before the Easter. And Vatican was busy with the preparations for the Pope to address the city. Although it was crowded. But, we didn’t mind.
As, to see the Easter celebrations in Rome is an experience in itself. Post lunch, we proceeded to the Colosseum , the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, Trevi fountains and some more places worth visiting in Rome. Finally, we came to the Piazza Navona and sat here along the fountain to enjoy our evening. You can read the details of our one day of roaming in Rome here. We did a one day guided tour of Rome for today:
This is the trip we booked – Rome in a day covering major attractions
Day3 : Rome -> Florence
On the third day of our 6 days in Italy, we started in the morning for Florence. After checking out from our hotel, we headed to the train station in Rome. From here, we boarded our train for Florence at 10:30am. And we enjoyed every bit of our first train ride in Europe while traveling from Rome to Florence today. Especially the Tuscany countryside that just stole our heart. We arrived in Florence by 12:15pm. And by noon we had checked-in into our apartment, Palazzo Dei Ciompi .
After getting fresh, we stepped out. And to our delight, found a vegan café just besides our apartment. Upon seeing this vegan cafe, our hunger instantly became stronger. Thus, after having lunch here, we headed on our self-planned, self-guided free walking tour of Florence. And we covered a lot of sight along the banks of river Arno as a part of this trip and finally returned back to our apartment by 9:30pm at night. Thereafter, we prepared our dinner and called it a day.
Day 4: More of Florence & Pisa
Today being the fourth of our 6 days in Italy, as we woke up early in the morning, we got the feeling that our vacation in Italy was more than half way through. And this gave us an extra boost to make the most of the remaining of our 6 days in Italy. Thus, post breakfast, we started our day with an early morning self-planned and self-guided walking tour of Florence that covered places around the Duomo, Academia Gallery and other important places in the center of Florence. And in noon, we took a trip to Pisa and visited the Leaning tower of Pisa. Finally, we returned from there by night.
This is the trip that we booked from Florence to Pisa : Florence to Pisa half day bus tour .
Although we could have returned earlier. But we had taken a bus trip to Pisa. And it turned out to be a busy road pertaining to the long weekend. But, we were glad as we arrived back in Florence by 9:00pm. Since, we got to view Florence by the night. Wherein all the beautiful structures including the Duomo were glittering in the night light. Finally, we reached our apartment. Although we were suspecting if the main gates would be closed by now. Since, we had forgot our keys. But, luckily they were not. Thereafter we retired to our beds. But not before enjoying a self prepared hearty meals. Where, each one of us provided some contribution in the meal preparation. Thus making it all the more tasty and enjoyable.
Day 5: Florence -> Venice
On the fifth of our 6 days in Italy, we said goodbye to Florence and took our next train journey to Venice. We enjoyed the previous two days in Florence too much. Particularly because we stayed in the heart of the town with all the beautiful places worth visiting nearby. Also, we took our self walking tours. And we stayed in an apartment. You can read our recommendation on how best to spend 48 hours in Florence.
We arrived in Venice by noon from Florence via Milan. Actually, if you have a couple of more days at hand, we highly recommend you stop in Milan. Here’s a list of top free things to do in Milan. Particularly not to miss is the Milan Duomo. Here, our hotel, Hotel Continental, was located just 300 meters from the train station. So, we just grabbed our luggage and walked to our hotel. And after checking into the hotel, we soon headed our for lunch. We bought some slices of Pizza from the nearby pizzeria and settled near the Grand Canal, just in the backyard of our hotel, for lunch. And our little one shared her lunch with the pigeons here. She was super excited chasing them and trying to make friends with them. Thereafter, we embarked on yet another of our signature self designed walking tours, to explore Venice.
Day 6: Venice hop on hop off
Finally arrived the last day of our 6 days in Italy. Since, today was the day to explore Venice, via the means of communication that Venice is renowned for – the canals and lakes. So, we took a hop-on-hop-off tour through Venice today. And as a part of this tour, we explored Murano, Lido, the Saint Marks Square and several other lovely stops across Venice. We also had lunch and snacks sitting in one of the open air restaurants by the water. Finally, it turned out to be one of the most memorable days for us during our stay in Italy. And we enjoyed every bit of it. You can read the details of our Venice hop on hop off trip in details here in this post.
Want to book this exact Venice hop on hop off trip? Here’s the link: Venice hop on hop off city sightseeing boat tour
After the spectacular day in Venice, all we can say is that any amount of time spent in Venice will not be enough. The place is just magical. While we walked it’s cobbled streets. And also sailed through it’s waters. Plus we spent time exploring most of the beautiful places in and around Venice. Still, we left from Venice carving for more. And we are sure, we will be returning here once more. That will be an even slower travel than the current one. All we wish to do is sit by the beautiful canals or hover over a bridge for hours. Just seeing the lives in Venice go around as usual!
Onwards Journey : Switzerland
After having spent 6 days in Italy, that felt like 6 very beautiful days, finally arrived the time when we had to say goodbye to Italy and embark on our further journey. Although we must admit 6 days looked very less to spend in Italy. If you intend to spend more time in Italy, (And you definitely should!), check this week long Italy vacation plan. There are many more beautiful locations in Tuscany and the beautiful coast of Italy like Siena, Lucca, Amalfi and Cinque Terre to name a few. So, you can plan a longer vacation here, exploring more grounds. Also don’t forget to try the best Italian cuisines, wine, mouthwatering gelato and Italian coffee while in Italy.
Also, do plan your trip keeping in mind that Italy is a favorite amongst travelers – be it group or family or solo. In fact, if you travel solo, here’s a perfect guide for you: how to solo travel Italy. While when with family, do remember to include some perfect family friendly activities in your plan. Like this family friendly pizza making course with kids when in Rome, A tuscan cooking class in Florence. You can also create your own carnival mask in a workshop in Venice. Or, even learn painting with an artist in Venice.
There are many more interesting things to do when you travel to Italy. You could go wine tasting in Tuscany, use this Naples Pizza Guide to have some of the best Italian pizza or take a cooking lesson. We left Venice the next day morning and boarded a train to Lucerne. Thus, began another chapter in our Europe journey. We spent 4 mesmerizing days in the Switzerland, staying in Lucerne as the base. As a part of this trip, we did a self designed walking tour across Lucerne. We also went to Engelberg and Mount Titlis to play in snow. And further we did a beautiful day trip each to Bern, Grindelwald and Interlaken, visiting Kambly cookie store and a cheese factory in transit. Click the links to get the details of each trip.
Summary of our 6 days in Italy
Although we spent 6 beautiful days in Italy, we do intend to come back here once more. Since, we feel there is a lot more to explore here. Including a lot of interesting things to do in Bologna and Sienna, taking some instagram perfect pictures in Cinque Terre. Roaming around the ancient wonders in Naples and Pompeii. And driving through the beautiful Amalfi coast. For now, here’s a recap of our 6 beautiful days in Italy:
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Day |
Things done |
Timing |
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Day1 |
Arrival in Rome Exploration around the hotel in evening |
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Day2 |
The Vatican City |
8:00am-12:00pm |
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Lunch outside of Vatican City while on way to Colosseum |
12:00pm |
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Roman Colosseum |
1:00pm-3:00pm |
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Roman Forum & Palatine Hills |
3:00pm-4:30pm |
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Pantheon, Trevi fountains, Piazza Navona |
4:30pm-8:00pm |
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Day3 |
Train from Rome to Florence |
10:00am-12:15pm |
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Florence walking tour along the river Arno |
3:00pm-9:00pm |
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Day4 |
Florence walking tour covering Duomo etc. |
8:30am-11:30am |
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Half day tour to Pisa |
12:30pm-9:00pm |
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Day5 |
Florence -> Venice train |
7:30am-12:00pm |
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Venice walking tour |
3:00pm-9:00pm |
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Day6 |
Venice hop-on hop-off tour |
8:30am-7:30pm |
Tips on spending 6 days in Italy
- Comfortable walking shoes is a must. Mostly we walked for 6-8 kilometers daily.
- Another must is a bottle of drinking water. You will easily get fountains and public taps all over Italy to refill your water bottle. Keep yourself hydrated.
- Carry an umbrella when visiting in April-May. It can rain.
- Book your accommodation near most of the sightseeing places in the old part of the cities. That way, you will save a lot on commute.
- If at all you have to commute, try other means like buses, trams etc. instead of taxi which is costly.
- Except for Rome, we always could do with walking around in Florence and Venice since our accommodation was very close to the train station and so were most of the places of our interest.
- Always prefer takeaway food. Slices of pizza or portions of pasta that you can get packed and eat while you explore the city. Saves time as well as money.
- We would recommend apartment stay over hotel stay as it gives you much more flexibility in terms of cooking and staying as a bigger group when traveling with friends and family.
- Check the entrance tickets to the places of your interest and if possible book online.
- If traveling with toddler, carry a stroller with you. Florence and Venice are particularly very stroller friendly. In Rome, the Vatican was an exception where we had to take stairs a few times and it was difficult to carry the stroller along the stairs.
- Beware of tourist scams in Italy. We witnessed some like someone giving a rose to a tourist which seemed like a gift initially but then they started pestering them for a good amount of money like 5-10 euros.
- Last but very important, be aware of pickpockets. They are dominant in the crowded tourist destinations and popular places to see in Italy.
Booking Details for our 6 days in Italy
Where to stay in Italy – hotels that we booked
There is a huge list of accommodation in Italy ranging from budget hotels & hostels to luxury 5 star hotels. We suggest you book yours a few months in advance to choose the best in any category. You can book via one of our partner websites, through the links provided below. When you do so, we get a small commission, without causing any extra charges to you for the booking.
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Rome |
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Florence |
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Venice |
Guided tours and day trips in Italy that we took
A guided tour from Florence to Pisa
Venice hop on hop off boat tour
PS: Some of our links are affiliated, this means we will earn a commission when you buy a service or product by clicking those links. However, this will have no extra cost for you.
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i so wanna go to Italy. the food it totally makes me want to be there for like a good 6 months then 6 days. the countryside looks amazing.
Oh..how I too want to be there for 6 months or even more..lazying around, walking randomly through those cobbled roadways and not having a single worry in the world..but alas there are other things to take care in life. Maybe one day I will be able to make this dream come true
6 days of great Rome and other places journey! Love your tips there Neha! and I agree with Sandy too, Italy is like a museum alive and out in the open waiting to be explored by many!
So true. Now, we are looking for recommendations to other parts of Italy so we can plan a second trip there
Beautiful pictures. I always wanted to visit Rome. I hope, one day I will.
You surely will..
Beautiful photos! I love Italy One of my favorite countries, I'm in love with Rome and Venice 😀
Even we feel completely in love with Italy
Italy is such a beautiful place. Your pictures are simply stunning! You have some nice tips there are the end warning about scams and pickpockets. Good reminders for anywhere!
Thanks Stacey. A very beautiful country indeed. Longing to visit again
Italy is so beautiful.. and you have written such a useful guide for travelling in Italy. Happy Travelling!!
Thank you so much
That seems like an amazing way to spend a week exploring some of the best Italy has to offer. I shall save it for my future trip to Italy and along with this I would love to spend a couple of days in Tuscany. Ever since I have watched the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, I have been dreaming of spending a few days in the countryside in Italy. Btw, how did you manage walking 8 to 9 kms each day with your little one? How about the food? I m always very skeptic about the food outside india. My son only loves traditional Indian foods and doesn’t eat any breads/pizza or sandwiches. This is the main reason I haven’t yet dared to plan a vacation outside India.
The little one sometimes walked, sometimes travelled in a crib and sometimes we carried her, all three of these went on in cycles. Luckily, she is very supportive when it comes to our travel and she herself enjoys the travel. Initially I was a little skeptical about this trip myself. But then it all went on really smooth. We took ample breaks in-between walking around. Coming to the food Sindhu, you get pizza slices, pasta, burgers and fries there. My daughter is a junk food crazy 😀 Although I cook pasta for her regularly at home, she really likes it. So many a times, she had pasta there. She also liked the pizza there since it was very bland, no spices at all. While on the walk, we used to buy pizza slices, or packed pasta or fries and eat while on our way. It was easier to feed her that way instead of sitting. Also, I carried packs of some ready to eat food like poha, some curries, oats etc. You can carry a very small electric rice cooker if you plan your journey and then you can cook idlis, rice, poha, upma and many other stuff in that. We also bought fruits like banana & organic milk regularly for her there. I am going to write about it in a post in details, hope that will help you plan your trip with the little one.
You truly owned a great time ambling around Italy for 6 days. I like all the places that you’ve visited and there all seemed to be really fun. Your photos are really stunning as well. You have just brought me to the beautiful places in Rome by reading your blog post. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Thank you! The 6 days that we spent in Italy were no doubt very beautiful
It’s amazing what you’ve seen and done in 6 days. When I go there I hope I can stay there for 1 month hahaha… Honestly, Italy is a dream and I am inspired to take the same trip as you. I think I would be the happiest if I get to go there.
I can totally understand that feeling. We also aspire to return there for longer duration
Ahahah funny thing those are my first route in ITALY. Florence, Venice then Rome. I want to go back now.
I guess these are any first time traveler’s favorites
So many things to see and discover in Italy! I would love to visit this place soon! Your photographs were all stunning too!
Thanks Blaine!
Very good itinerary . It covers all important places of Italy. The rose scam is common all over Europe. I was targetted in Athens. I saw the woman with roses nearby but in no second I found 1 in my hand. I was too shocked to react initially.
That’s true Indrani, we have to be really alert to beat these scammers, still at times, we can’t help it
This is such a great post – I love your itinerary. I absolutely adore Rome and all of it’s amazing history! Something new at every corner!
Kristie – you.theworld.wandering
I totally fell in love with Rome and then Florence and then Venice 🙂
Wow! When I did this with my parents some years ago, we limited ourselves to just Rome and Venice precisely because it does seem like a lot of things to pack in just a week! The difference I think is mainly that there’s a bit more time to soak in the incredible Renaissance architecture and indulge in al fresco dining while sightseeing.
With parents it might feel like a hectic schedule. But I can’t imagine going to Italy and not visiting Florence. That is such a beautiful walkable city, I just loved the vibes there. Will surely return back one day
You did a great job fitting all that in 6 days! we have just come back from Italy and just loved our time there. I agree with your tips about good walking shoes and bringing a water bottle. Our children were walking up to 6-8km a day. It is really the best way to explore. It is a shame about the scams. we were hassled in Venice to try and sign a petition, but I had read that it is a way to scan your credit cards in your pocket…they are becoming very crafty.
Oh is it…I didn’t know about the credit card scan thing. Really, the traditional ways are exposed now so seems they are coming up with more crafty and advanced ways
You definitely managed to pack a lot of stuff into your days in Italy. I love seeing places but I personally have begun to slow done. There was a time when I used to be go go go. See everything you can as fast as you can. Now I drink it in. Savor it. 🙂
We did most of it via walking tours which were slow and really beautiful. We do love slow travel. But with full time jobs thats not always possible for us
It sounds like a great first trip to Europe and you have more adventures to come. I love taking trains through scenic places, so it sounds like your first train ride was like that. Lovely that you had such a lovely experience in Italy.
Right Kavey. it was a beautiful experience
This is a really good itinerary with timings that is gonna make my trip more effective! And the tips are very detailed. I’m definitely gonna have some sightseeings along the banks of river Arno! Thank you so much!!
Thanks Maze. We will be overjoyed if the piece of information that we compiled together helps you plan your own trip more efficiently
I had followed your this series of Europe trip and it is very clear that you had an awesome time. I should say you made complete use of each day and time in Italy. This post will be a great help for planing a weeks trip to Italy. I liked the tips and summary you mentioned at the end. Your pictures are grreat.
Thank you so much Suruchi. This is just the beginning. We are still to start writing about the next part of the trip that starts in Switzerland 🙂
Italy is indeed like a living museum. The cities of Rome, Florence, Venice are artworks out in the open. There is so much of history, art, architecture and heritage in these cities. We hope to explore more of the interiors of Italy on our next sojourn, so much to experience in the countryside too.
We felt exactly the same. This being our first visit, we covered the main tourist favorites – Rome, Florence, Venice and Pisa. But we left carving for more of the beautiful Italian countryside and beaches. We will definitely return back for more.