Close-up of the Roman Colosseum's stone arches and exterior structure under a cloudy sky.

8 DAYS IN ITALY: FIRST-TIMER’S ITINERARY

bonjourno!

Italy is a favorite among travelers worldwide. It’s a place we could go back to time and time again. The food is superb! The historic cities each have a vibe all their own. The coastlines are stunning. It’s steeped in interesting history, and the landscape is beautiful too. From the mountains of the Dolomites to colorful seaside village on the Amalfi Coast. Italy is pure joy!

View of the Florence Cathedral’s large terracotta-tiled dome with intricate black and white marble facade, overlooking the city of Florence, Italy, with a cloudy sky in the background.

Day 1: Venice

Hopefully you’ll arrive in Venice fairly early, but don’t plan too much this first day. You’ll be tired, and travel is riddled with delays.

Tour St. Mark’s Cathedral
Enjoy a Gelato and limoncello on St. Mark’s Square

Take a sunset gondola ride on the canals.
Enjoy a symphony: We recommend Vivaldi’s Four Seasons if it playing.

View from inside a gondola under a stone bridge in a canal, with buildings and another bridge in Venice, Italy.

Day 2: Venice

Get up early and stroll the canals before the other tourists awake. This is the best time to take photos.
Take the vaparetto taxi over to Santa Maria della Salute. This gorgeous church is full of fantastic murals by Titian and has a funny history that is linked to the plague.
Tour the Doge’s Palace and Correr Museum.
Stroll along the Grand Canal at night.

View of the Florence Cathedral, also known as the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, with its large red-tiled dome. The cathedral's intricate white, green, and pink marble facade is visible, along with surrounding buildings and a distant cityscape under a partly cloudy sky.

Day 3: Florence

Leave on the early train and get to Florence in the morning. Drop off your bags and head straight to see David
Tour Galleria Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David and more fantastic sculptures by the master.
Tour the Florence Cathedral (duomo): the ticket includes admission to the baptistery, the crypts, cathedral, and the Duomo museum. Make sure to visit the museum. It’s one of Abby’s favorite on Earth. You can pay extra to climb the dome of the cathedral, but you get the same experience by climbing the bell tower, for free, and it gives you an up close view of the famous dome.
Hop on over to Palazzo Vecchio and marvel at the monstrous murals of Vasari and the decadence of the Medici home.
If you still have some time in the day, you can choose between visiting the Uffizi Gallery, home to the world’s greatest Renaissance art, or tour Pitti Palace and gardens, ultra- decadent palace of the rulers of Florence.
Make sure to pop into Vivoli for the best gelato you have ever had in your life.
If you have an interest in seeing an opera, Florence is a great place to do it, as the main opera house shows English translations on a screen to the side!

Day 4: Pisa Day Trip

On day four, you could elect to stay in Florence and explore a few more museums and stunning cathedrals, but we recommend you hop the morning train for the hour ride to Pisa. Pisa is a stunning little city, famous for its university (one of the oldest in Europe) long before it become ultra-famous for its leaning tower.
Take the Rick Steve’s audio tour of Pisa in his app, and take your time getting to the Field of Miracles.
Tour the Field of Miracles- there are multiple combo tickets available, but we recommend you at least tour the cathedral, the baptistery, and the attached cemetery.
Hop the train back to Florence and spend the afternoon in Oltrarno, or the “other side of the Arno.” This area is where the leather workers, glassblowers, and fine artists of Florence plie their trades, and if you get there early enough, you can watch them at work in shops on every street.
Alternatively: visit the amazing outdoor San Lorenzo Leather Market for some budget-friendly finds.

Ancient Roman temple with large marble columns and a pediment. Inscription in Latin on the frieze.

day 5: Rome

Begin your day at the Vatican Museums- make sure to get tickets in advance to avoid the horrendous line.
Tour St. Peter’s Basilica, the crypts, and climb the famous dome for a wonderful view of Rome.
Tour Castel San Angelo.
Wander the city from Piazza Navona to the Spanish Steps.
Eat Dinner at Cacio e Pepe.

Day 6: Rome

Visit St. Peter in Chain- one of the oldest churches in Rome.
Tour the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.
Wander by Trajan’s Market.
Eat lunch and tour the Pantheon.
Do some souvenir shopping around Trevi Fountain
Tour Borghese Galleries and Gardens
Take in the night view of the Forum from the garden of the Capitoline Museum.

A large sculpture of a human head in front of ancient ruins with columns and steps, and a mountain in the background, at an archaeological site.

Day 7: Pompeii & Herculaneum

For this leg of the trip, we recommend you stay in Sorrento. Naples is a wonderful historic city, but it’s big and a bit gritty, and many travelers, especially their first trip enjoy the small town vibe of Sorrento more.
Take the Circumvesuviana train to Herculaneum.
Tour the archaeological site of Pompeii
If you want to climb Mount Vesuvius, the whole adventures take about 3 hours, so you will need to cut out one of the previously mentioned archaeology sites.
If you have time in the evening, pop into Naples to eat at the oldest pizzeria in the world and see the Naples National History Museum where most of the artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum are located.

Day 8: Capri

Hop the ferry from Sorrento Harbor to Capri.
Take the combination boat tour of the island and Blue Grotto Tour
Bus to Anacapri and lunch at Villa San Michelle.
Take the chairlift to the Monte Solaro for a fabulous view of the island.
Bus to Capri town and wander the back alleys and neighborhoods admiring the gorgeous architecture and incredible seaside overlooks.