How to Spend One Week in Italy
It would be easy to spend a month in Italy without running out of experiences, but with just seven days you must stay focused. You can get the gist of the country (and not spend forever in transit) by visiting three major cities: Rome, Florence, and Venice. From art and history to food and romance, these three offer an excellent introduction to all things Italian and are easily accessed by train, making it possible to get the most out of an inevitably magnificent week.
Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Roma RM, Italy
Fontana di Trevi is, as it should be, one of the most visited landmarks in Rome.Seeing it is worth the blind stumble throughnarrow stone streets and alleyways. But do so at night (and in the rain, if possible)to be rewarded with the stunning sight...
Piazza della Rotonda, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
This 1st-century wonder will take your breath away. Not only is it one of the city's most ancient sites, it's been in continuous use for centuries. Originally built as a private temple, today it is a Catholic church and the resting place of...
Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Città del Vaticano, Vatican City
One of my most memorable stops in Rome was of course the Piazza San Pietro and with it, the Basilica, and Vatican City. This huge square was laid in 1657 and holds the 400,000 worshippers and visitors who crowd this vast area in times of...
00120, Vatican City
Painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, the frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling are considered some of the finest art ever produced. These religious paintings include nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, of which The Creation of Adam is...
Piazzale Michelangelo, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy
Via S. Zanobi, 33, 50129 Firenze FI, Italy
There are many excellent restaurants in Florence, but this one was recommended to me by a local, and I'm so glad it was. Alessandro, the chef, recently returned after working in New York City for eight years. Located on a small street near the...
Via di Campestri, 19/22, 50039 Vicchio di Mugello FI, Italy
How tempting is it to run off to a rustic Tuscan villa? To just drive the rolling, vineyard- and olive grove–lined hills of Tuscany until you find the perfect one to painstakingly, lovingly restore, à la Under the Tuscan Sun, where you can produce...
Piazza del Duomo, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy
The cathedral, usuallycalled the Duomo, is Florence’s most recognizablebuilding. You are able to catch glimpses of itsmagnificent red-tiled cupola from just about anywhere in the city center. Construction on the church complexbegan in 1296 and the...
Piazza San Marco, 1, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Campo San Giacometto, Ponte di Rialto, 122, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy
At the foot of the Rialto Bridge with fantastic views of the Grand Canal, Osteria Bancogiro sits under the archway of the Bancogiro (a bank founded in 1600) from which the tavern gets its name. Here, you'll find a ground-floor wine bar serving...
The Ponte dell'Accademia is one of four bridges that span the Grand Canal, and will get you quickly from San Marco to the labyrinthine Dorsoduro neighborhood. Originally built in 1854 out of steel, the current wooden bridge was built in the 1930s...
Piazza San Marco, 1, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
This pink-marble waterfront edifice in Piazza San Marco dates back to the 14th century, when it was the residence and seat of government for the doges (rulers) of Venice. Today the ornate Byzantine- and Moorish-influenced Gothic Palazzo Ducale is...
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