7 day itinerary of The Grand Cities Of Italy

“You may have the universe, if I may have Italy.”
Giuseppe Verdi

Day 1: Exploring the streets of Rome:

While roaming at Rome you should use your legs as a vehicle as the best way to experience Rome is by walking on it’s pebble stoned roads .

If you want to make use of your stay get started by planting a rough map of Rome in your head. Start by exploring it’s streets.

The street art prevalent in the Roman Streets

We stayed at Piazza Di Spagna so it was convenient for us to first make our way to Vatican by walking on the roads beside the Tevere river. If you cross the bridge of Ponte.S.Angelo you will come across the Castle S.Angeles. Turn left and go round the Castle S. Angeles. Turn left again and go straight via Della Concuizigni where you will find the spectacular Vatican City.

If you cross the river Tevere again and take any of the roads you reach the Piazze Navona which is a great spot to click some pictures. If you take Rinascimento turn left and go straight take the third left via Deicstar you will find the grand Pantheon. It’s quite the place to explore and is filled with beautiful fountains. No matter which road you will choose, you will arrive at Piazza Venezia and going straight from there you will find the great example of Roman architecture, The Colosseum.

You will find this awesome guitarist and singer in front of the Pantheon

If you take the metro to Cavour and walk straight you will find the S.Maria Maggiore. You can go up further north to explore more or you can take the metro to Spagna. You can go north of Spagna to experience Villa Bourghese or experience the night life.

Day 2: The Vatican City and The Colosseum:-

The top sites in the Vatican City includes the:

Sistine Chapel
St.Peter’s Basilica
The Vatican Museums
St.Peter’s Square
Vatican Necropolis
The last judgement

I recommend to book it’s tour tickets several days before your arrival as this place is very famous and you may not get the tickets if not booked priorly.

The Museum and The St Peter’s Basilica
They truly are excellent examples of architecture and art

The Colosseum: The Colosseum is the main symbol of Rome. It is an imposing construction that, with almost 2000 years of history, bring you back in time to discover the way of life in the Roman Empire.

The Colosseum remained active for over 500 years. The last recorded games in history were celebrated in the 6th century.

At present the Colosseum is, along with the Vatican City, Rome’s greatest tourist attraction. Each year 6 million tourists visit it. On 7th July 2007, The Colosseum became one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World .

The gladiators used to play here in Ancient Rome. Unbelievable, huh?

The best way to avoid lines is to buy Roma Pass, a discount card that offers free entrance to the Colosseum without having to wait in line.

Transport: Metro, Colosseo, line B

Nearby places:

Basilica di San Pietro in Vinci (421m)
Basilica di San Clemente (473m)
Arch of Constantine (144m)

Day 3: Some more spectacular spots in Rome:-

Pantheon: You can start you day by visiting the Pantheon. The building consists of two principal parts— the porch, which is very Classical Greek in presentation, and the circular main building which is much more Roman in style and reminiscent of the architecture of the large Roman baths. At the very top of Dome, is an opening to the sky ( Oculus) which is 8.8 meters in diameter. The Pantheon may well be the first building from classical architecture where the interior is deliberately made to outside the exterior.

Galleria Borghese, piazzale del Museo Borghese: Also known as the “queen of all private collections in the world”, the art collection housed by the Galleria Borghese, started by Cardinal Scipione in the seventeenth century, exhibits masterpieces from Titian, Bernini, Caravaggio and Canova.

Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Roma Capitale: Built in 1925 The Galleria offers a detailed picture of art and culture in Rome from the last quarter to the nineteenth until after World War ll.

Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini: This gallery exhibits paintings and objects d’art from private collections dating from the 12th and 18th centuries (Torolina, Barberni, Sciarra, Chigi) as well as acquisitions and bequests.

Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in Palazzo Corsini: This gallery exhibits paintings dating from the 14th to the 18th centuries, housing in particular seventeenth & eighteenth century artists, ancient & modern sculptures, small bronzes and eighteenth century furnishings,thus providing a through representation of the Roman and Bolognese schools of the “Seicento”.

Galleria Spada: Started by Cardinal Bernardino, this small but important art collection still recalls the 17th century aristocratic collections, whose paintings were accurately ordered with a view to enhancing their decorative value.

Day 4: Florence:-

Florence is a city in central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany. UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site. The city is noted for the culture, Renaissance, architecture & monument.

The iconic red dome and the aerial view of Florence

Things to do:

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiery– Medieval cathedral with iconic red dome.
Galleria dell’Accademia – The gallery owes it’s popularity to the presence of several sculptures by Michelangelo— The Slaves, St.Mathew and especially the famous David. The holdings comprise mostly religious paintings by major artists working in and around Florence between the mid 13th and the late 16th centuries. There is also a collection of plaster sculptures by the 19th century sculptures Lorenzo Bartolini and Luigi Pampaloni and the collection of Russian icons.
Galleria degli Uffizi: The museum houses some of the absolute masterpieces of all time, in particular from the fourteenth century and the Renaissance. The collections of German Dutch & Flemish paintings are also important. Today the museum also houses the famous Drawings and Prints Hall and the collection of Classical Antiques.

Museo di Palazzo Vecchio: Saloons and private rooms sumptuously decorated by some of the most celebrated artists of the Florentine Renaissance with antique furniture and exceptional works such as Donatello’s Giuditta. Michelangelo’s Genius of Victory and Verrocchio’s Putto. The mezzanine floor houses a remarkable collection of paintings and sculptures from the Middle Ages and Renaissance left to the city of Florence by Charles Loeser.
Galleria d’Arte Moderna Palazzo Pitti: The Gallery located on the second floor of Pallazo Pitti, houses paintings and sculptures, mostly Italian, from the late eighteenth century to the First World War.
Galleria del Costume Palazzo Pitti: With roughly six thousand pieces including modern garments, accessories and theatrical costumes, it can be considered as the only museum of the history of fashion in Italy and one of the most important at an international level.
Galleria Palatina e Appartamenti Monumentali Palazzo Pitti: The Palatine Gallery occupies the entire left wing of the first floor of the Pitti Palace which was the residence of the Medici Grand Dukes whose masterpieces mainly coming from the collections of the Medicis, are on display in the Palatine Gallery.
Museo degli Argenti Pallazo Pitti : The silver museum houses the Treasury of the Medici family, the stone vases of Lorenzo the Magnificent the cameos and carvings of Cosimo I the crystals of Francis I, the ambers of Mary Magdalene of Austria. The silverware which gives the name to the museum comes from the so-called “Treasury of Salzburg”.
Museo Giardino di Boboli Palazzo Pitti: Extending behind Palazzo Pitti are the wonderful Boboli Gardens. The Medici Family first created it, inventing the model of the Italian Garden which became the model for many European courts. The vast green area is indeed an outdoor museum filled with ancient and Renaissance statues large fountains and grottoes. The grotto hosts the refined marble Bathing Venus, sculpted by Giambologna around 1575.
Museo delle Porcellane Palazzo Pitti: The museum collects the finest porcelain in Europe bought by Peter Leopold & Ferdinand III together with porcelain from stately homes of Parma, Piacenza and Sala Baganza that, since 1860 were Looted to furnish the Savoy apartments in Florence.

Although there are 87 museums to explore at Florence, here I just shortlisted the above museums as the must visit basis.

We made Florence our centre for exploring the other spectacular places at Italy like Venice, Pisa and Milan by train to experience those places of interest.

Day 5: Venice:-

We had started our journey from Florence to Venice by train— which you can easily check the availability in the Euro Rail Service website. It will take 2hours 24 mins from Firenze Santa Maria. I recommend to book the tickets prior to journey.

Places to visit:

St.Mark’s Square: Landmark basilica dominated square. The Basilica of St.Mark located in the St.Mark Square (Piazza San Marco) where it is possible to visit other magnificent museums of Venice.
Saint Mark’s Basilica: It is a landmark Cathedral with glided domes. The Basilica of St.Mark is the most important religious place in the city of Venice. It is located in the St.Mark square (Piazza San Marco) next to the Doge’s Palace, and has always been the centre of the public and religious life in the city. The entrance to St.Mark’s Basilica is free, but the entrance line is usually very long, so it is advisable to book a guided tour of the Basilica to avoid unnecessary waiting in line.

Doge’s Palace: It is The Gothic style palace & museum. To start, next to the basilica is the Doge’s Palace, this sumptuous building was the home of the rulers of Venice for centuries and still today is a monument to wealth & power. Here it is possible to choose between several routes but the one of the “Secret Itineraries of the Doge’s palace” will surely surprise you. This is a tour through the political and civil history of Venice passing through the secret places of the Palace protagonist of the activities of the Serenissima.
Correr Museum: In the same square you can visit this museum, a building rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century in an elegant neoclassical style. Here is also the Marciana Library, which is open to anyone interested in reading, studying, consulting, researching or just walking through its rooms & visiting it.
Islands of Venice: On a short distance from the Basilica of St.Mark is the departure pier to visit the wonderful Islands of Venice, Murano with its spectacular crystals, Burano with its elaborate lace & Torcello which with only 17 residents has an invaluable archeological heritage .
Rialto Bridge: This is the most beautiful ornate foot bridge over the Grand canal. It will remind you definitely of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice.

Gondola riding: Venice is known for its canals. Even you know that you must not miss out the Gondolas which Venice is famous for.

Day 6: Pisa:-

The place of iconic leaning tower of Pisa, Italy.

Again travel from Florence to Pisa by train. The average journey time by train between Pisa Centrale and Florence is 1hour with around 53 trains per day. Again you should check the availability prior to your planning.

Things to do :

Leaning Tower of Pisa: The leaning tower of Pisa was actually the result of a human mistake. Just one little miscalculation made in the 11th century left us with an amazing 14,500 ton leaning tower. In 1987 the leaning Tower of Pisa was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with the entire Piazza Del Duomo, but in 1990 it was closed. It’s bells were removed and the tower was anchored only to reopen in 2001. Nowadays tourists can safely visit that spectacular architectural miscalculation of human civilisation.

Piazza del Duomo: Piazza del Duomo houses a group of monuments known throughout the world. Standing in a large green expanse, enclosed by the city walls, the former Ospedale della Misericordia and the Palazzo dell’Arcivescovato, the Piazza del Duomo at Pisa comprises one of the most renowned constructed landscapes in the world. The four masterpieces of medieval architecture— the Cathedral, the baptistery, the bell tower (the ‘Leaning Tower’) and the cemetery.
Cattedrale di Pisa: It is a medieval cathedral with a marble facade.
Camposanto: Cloistered cemetery with unique frescoes.

The exploration of any place is a continuous process so after visiting of this spectacular monuments the day does not end here ,you may continue your exploration just by walking through the streets of little big city.

Day 7: Milan:-

We move onto the last phase of this Itinerary and it’s time to explore Milan, the city of trend setting fashion and style.

It is 190 miles from Florence & it will take almost 1hour 41 mins from there.There are almost 64 trains running everyday and again bookings to be done prior to journey. You can stay in Milan as we did.