Tuscany and Venice. Please help me plan my trip.

[Ilikegherkins]

We are planning a trip to Tuscany (Luca / Florence/ Bologna ) then on to Venice and are looking to book a few nice things to do. It’s our first trip to that region of Italy. We will be travelling to each by train and don’t plan on hiring a car ( but we might hire a scooter for the day). I like the look of the vineyard tour from Florence to Chianti. Has anyone done this and do you have a company you would recommend?

Any other recommendations in that area greatly appreciated

Lucca: yes to cycling around the wall! And up the tower with the tree on top.
Florence: go inside the Santa Croce, not the Duomo. Book Uffizi in advance if you want to go in to avoid the queue (great views of the river from the gallery). Nerbone in the Mercato is brilliant. Picnic at Piazzale de Michelangelo will give you the perfect view for lunch.
Bologna: depending on how long you're there, train over to Modena for a quiet lunch and some balsamic vinegar tasting

All the essentials . Perfect. Thankyou

We are staying in the Santa Croce region so will definitely do this. Thankyou

If you are interested in art, architecture or engineering, ignore the people saying that the Duomo is empty inside; they’ve massively missed the point or are fans of the baroque and should have gone to Rome.
stick an afternoon in Vicenza in the list - short train from Venice and lots of Palladian architecture (strictly classical and formal so again not for the fans of the obvious). It’s a peaceful afternoon out of the city. Would also recommend Padua for the scrovegni chapel.
It’s a major tourist trap, but for a good reason and well worth the price of the coffee so I will always go to cafe Florian on piazza s Marco in Venice (while the orchestra is playing). It’s been a tourist trap for a reason since 17something-

Definitely the sunset, as everyone else says. It was an amazing time to see the view over the city, but the atmosphere was incredible too, with so many people gathered together to see it.

There are some lovely little restaurants and bars that side of the river too - it's less busy that side.

There's a big department store with a rooftop bar on Piazza della Repubblica - go there for a drink, or lunch. The view of Duomo was great.

Lucca was a great place to visit too. I think it's there where there's a tower with fully grown trees at the top. Great views!

We did a wine tasting day at a vineyard, which included a visit to the village of Vinci, which was beautiful.

It's a stunning region, you'll have a great time.

The issue is the Duomo has a massive queue to get in, which is horrid on a hot day, and a waste of your time if you only have say 3 days in Florence.

Yes, the architecture is v important but you could have walked to San Marco and back and had a lovely time practically alone with the Fra Angelico there, in the time you were wilting in the Duomo queue.

Fine if you have unlimited time or no queue, otherwise not a must do. More fun going in the Baptistery and climbing the Dome.

I'm pretty sure you can pre-book Duomo to avoid the queues, if you really want to go in though. I agree, I wouldn't stand in the queue for hours, but it was an amazing building and I was glad we went in.

You can prebook everything for the Duomo except the building itself which is free so massive queues. The Dome has to be booked.

Does a ticket to climb the dome include entry into the Duomo itself?

You go in a different door and then straight up the steps. So, if you wanted to do both, I think you'd have to queue twice.

No it doesn't. Two queues.

The Duomo is lovely from the outside, all the best bits of sculpture are in the museum opposite, and you get a good view of the frescoes inside the dome on the climb up. Baptistery also has stunning mosaics.

After all of that the inside of the Duomo is a bit of a let down.

An aperitif on one of the rooftop bars in Florence for the 'golden hour' is a must - it's surreal, the hills all around, swifts darting about, feeling as if you could reach out and touch the top of the Duomo. The bar at the top of the Machiavelli Palace hotel is a good one, though small and unposh.
Trattoria Za Za Firenze gorgeous food.
I think arriving in Venice is better by train than water. All is dull grey train station then- Bang, Grand Canal.
Doges Palace tours fascinating. The whole Doges thing is.
St Marks - there's a special time of day that the sun comes through and hits the mosaics and it's quite magical - is it noon? Someone else will know. I like St Marks, much more interesting than St Peters, and I like to have a little sit for ten minutes.
And I like the violin museum in Florence, and the typewriters in Venice (sad person, I know).

This is all amazing information. Thankyou everyone. I might book a few more nights to fit everything in.

Has anyone done any kayaking near Luca - was this any good ?

Venice tips from me

We had 2 v good meals - both at the treat yourself end of the range! But highly recommended. Need to book ahead for both.

Took 12 waterbus to Burano. For a wander and then lunch at Al gatto nero … wonderful food, atmosphere and service. (Was about £130 for 2 ... wine, dessert wine, lemoncello, starters, mains and cheese)

Amazing dinner at Osteria Campo Santa Marina (£170 for 2 for the tasting menu with a bottle of wine).

Academia and then Guggenheim for contrasting art. Both buildings also great and lovely view of the grand canal from terrace of Guggenheim. You need to book for Guggenheim and not sure about Acadamia

Secret Itineraries tour of St Marks and Doges Palace

Loved Venice!

I lived 20 years in Italy. Be careful of pickpockets they are everywhere. Don't go in august. Avoide Florence Centre. Go to quieter toscana, siena area and montepulciano area. I have owner friends in toscana they can help you with accommodation.

We have booked accommodation in the Santa Croce region. Hoping this is slightly quieter than the very central region (this may be central ?). I've been pickpocket in London - we will be on the lookout. Thankyou

Didn't know about the Guggenheim - will definitely look into this. Thankyou

Personally I would book everything and have a spreadsheet. But then I am obsessional.

In Florence especially it is difficult to keep track of all the various opening hours plus time queuing is time wasted. Walking straight up is worth it.

Tourism is picking up this year but there are still no Chinese tourists obviously and not that many Japanese. I was in Florence last August and it was pretty quiet.
Street crime is the same as any big tourist city but I've only ever been pickpocketed in Manchester Last year also due to Covid checks mainly, but security in general, there were police and soldiers on every corner. We commented on how safe we felt both in Rome and Florence.
There used to be a big problem with Roma children tricking tourists but during lockdown they were pretty much shipped out (rightly or wrongly) didn't see any last summer at all, in either city.

@Bolognesedoc You must be fit as fuck 😂

Unfortunately I offset any benefits by having a big pastry and cappuccino at Billi bar (at the foot of the steps) afterwards! (Which I also recommend- just avoid the loos 😂)

This is me - I love to plan and book a few things in advance. My daughter used to make fun of me but then I caught her doing exactly the same thing on her last trip abroad

The taxi ride into Venice is unbeatable.

For cheapskates - train ride into Venice is unbeatable. Going out on the lagoon, station delivers you straight onto the Grand Canal.

Florence is v safe. There are the usual street scammers targetting teens on school trips with friendship bracelets but if you are not in their target age group you will basically be ignored. One attempted to sell one to me and I got rid of him with a look of 'Are you serious, I am blatantly middle-aged?'