Italy 🇮🇹

10 Days in Italy: Rome, Siena, Florence & Venice

ROME

Hotel (3 nights, 3 people): B&B JONIO Roma $197/night during summer (free breakfast and airport pickup). I recommend staying closer to the Pantheon or in Trastevere. To book with points or avoid completely breaking the bank, book far in advance as Rome is extremely busy during the high season.

Day 1: Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, sunset at Terrazza del Pincio

Day 2: Castel Sant’Angelo, Ponte Umberto I, shopping on via del corso, The Highlander Scottish Pub, Campo de’ Fiori, Trastevere, Pasta e Vino

Day 3: Vittoriano monument, Finnegan’s Irish Pub, Monti neighborhood, Roman Forum, Colosseum, Palatine Hill, bite to eat at NUMA al circo in Circus Maximus

Day 4 (morning): Vatican & Sistine Chapel (2 hour guided tour) followed by St. Peter’s Square & Basilica. The guided tour includes: Pio Clementino Museum, Gallery of the Candelabras, Gallery of the Geographical Maps, Gallery of the Tapestries, Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel.

Car Rental (5 days, drop off in Venice): After the Vatican, we headed to the airport (FCO) where we rented a car from Alamo for $367 to drive through Tuscany, stopping in Montepulciano, Siena, and Florence. We drove the car to Venice and dropped it off before exploring. Another option: drop the car upon arrival in Florence, as you don't need a car to explore the city, and take a train to Venice. Both are great options.

Day 4 (afternoon): We left Rome around 12pm for the 3.5 hour drive to Siena, in central Tuscany, stopping along the way in Montepulciano (photo above) for lunch and wine. The drive was gorgeous and there are so many stunning places to stop. If you have more time, there are unlimited options.

SIENA

Hotel (1 night, 3 people): Casa Di Campagna in Toscana $176/night, includes breakfast.

Day 5 (morning): Siena Cathedral and Duomo Complex, Piazza del Campo, Torre del Mangia, Palazzo Pubblico, Basilica of San Domenico, Santa Maria della Scala, Chiamata (restaurant) on Via di Città for wine and a quick bite.

FLORENCE

We left Siena after lunch for the 1 hour drive to Florence through gorgeous Tuscany. Upon arrival, we stumbled upon Piazzale Michelangelo and pulled over to take photos of the incredible view of Florence.

After finding our apartment and dropping off luggage, we headed into town to find parking, often a chore but we got lucky, and checked out the following sites: San Lorenzo Market, Basilica di San Lorenzo, Basilica and Cattedrale di Santa Maria, Piazza del Duomo, rooftop drink at the Angel Roofbar & Dining, Piazza della Signoria (replica of Statue of David, Neptune Fountain), and Piazza della Repubblica.

Apartment (2 nights, 3 people): Casa Belvedere Firenze $184/night, free street parking

Day 6: Palazzo Vecchio, Basilica di Santa Croce (burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli...), Vasari Corridor, stroll across Ponte Vecchio, Porta San Niccolo

VENICE

Day 7: We left Florence for a 3 hour drive to Venice where we dropped off the car and hopped on a bus to our accommodation on the island.

Hotel (2 nights, 3 people): Residence Modern Art $280/night

Day 8: Doge's Palace, Rialto Bridge, Bridge of Sighs, Grand Canal, St Mark's Basilica, St Mark's Campanile, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute

Day 9 - Departure Day (or not): Our Vueling flight to Barcelona (3 one-way tickets for a total of $377) was cancelled due to a rough landing that damaged the wing, so the airline provided transportation and a night at the Voco Venice Mestre - The Quid on the mainland, including dinner and breakfast vouchers. After checking into our room, we took a public bus to Mestre for Thai massages and returned to the hotel for dinner.

Day 10 - Bonus Day: Our flight didn't leave until late afternoon, so we took a public bus to Venice and a water taxi to the islands of Murano for lunch and glass blowing and Burano (photo below) to photograph the colorful buildings.

*After the vacation, I filed for EU261 flight compensation and received a wire transfer of $840 to my checking account, more than double the price of the original plane tickets. We also used the Chase Sapphire Preferred for all expenses and filed a Trip Delay claim with Chase who then reimbursed $260 to my credit card. For details on how to file for EU261 and Chase compensation, read Trip Delay Compensation.

Along with the airline putting us up for the night in a hotel with food vouchers and getting a bonus day to see Murano and Burano, the reimbursements made it worth the hassle.

PACKING SUGGESTIONS

• Travel light: use a Samsonite Underseat Carry-On or backpack and packing cubes or vacuum sealed bags

• Bring a crossbody bag, travel wallet, portable charger, toiletry bag and European travel adapter (and this small travel adapter)

GETTING THERE

I transferred Chase points to Air France/KLM for three one-way tickets from Minneapolis to Rome (stopover in Amsterdam) for only 22,000 points + $105 taxes per person.

We flew Venice to Barcelona on Vueling for $126 per person, Barcelona to London Standsted on Ryan Air for $73 per persons and London Heathrow to JFK on Virgin Atlantic for 15,600 Chase points + $240 taxes per person.

We stayed the night at the Hyatt Regency JFK Airport for 15,000 points and used 16,000 Delta Skymiles + $6 tax per person to get home to Minneapolis the following morning.

All flights totaled 53,600 points + $550 per person. That was a decent deal for summer high-season travel to Europe.

BUDGET (3 people)

Flights: $1650 + 160,800 points

Hotels: $1692

Transport: $991 (rental, $309 Rome Ubers, $39 tolls, $27 parking, $90 gas, $140 Venice transport, $50 JFK Uber/Lyft)

Restaurants: $1067

-$66 Rakuten (Booking.com)

-$260 Chase Trip Delay

-$840 EU261 compensation

TOTAL: $4234

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