Venice or Florence

[shootingstar1]

Husband and I are looking at going away for a few days and fancy Italy . We will be there for about 4 nights and can't decide between Venice or Florence . Can anyone help and share their experience / recommendations?

I’m in Venice right now. It’s beautiful but very busy ( no doubt Florence is the same).

What time of your are going, what’s your budget, what do you want to do / see?

I really like both, though I'd say there is a bit more to do in Florence than Venice, but from Venice you can also easily visit Verona which is one of my favourite cities ever. I've been to both in August, very busy - Florence was heaving but that never really puts me off anywhere (and Venice was not smelly...).

Both beautiful but Venice is so unlike anywhere else if I had to choose I’d go there. Both will be super busy but Venice has the other islands nearby, a beach and of course all the wonderful food and architecture that you’d find in Florence too.

Venice.

I think Florence is outrageously over rated.

Florence. So much more to do and experience. Hotel Orto de Medici is lovely. Well it was in 2009 for our honeymoon.
Venice is very crowded and geared towards cruise ships and tourists there for a few scant hours. The Guggenheim is worth a visit . Wandering around is okay but,as I say ,it's very busy.
Because there's so much more space in Florence you can actually wander and enjoy the city.
Orto de Medici sorted our tickets for the museums we chose to go to and that was cheaper than purchasing from the museums.

I massively prefer Venice but depends what you are after and when. Venice is quite unique and really special. Florence found a bit underwhelming.

You can also travel between Venice and Florence is just over 2 hours on the trains which are excellent.

Venice every time. There's nowhere else quite like it.

Could you do both and get the train between? We did this and was brilliant

Florence! I have been to both but have never returned to Venice yet I go back to Florence every couple of years

Buy a couple of guide books before you decide to compere what you'd like to do and see.
With both destinations and early start to your day allows you to see lots before the hordes descend.
You can retire to your accommodation at lunch time and emerge once things are more quiet.
Try finding places to eat that aren't on the main squares as not only is it cheaper but the quality is better and you're not being rushed to vacate your table.
I would recommend having a drink in the square near the Duomo because you can people watch and soak in the atmosphere.
You're only a stone's throw from Sienna in Florence.
I thought I'd adore Venice but Florence had such a huge impact so many aspects of history I'd go again at the drop of a hat.
And David's bottom is even better in the real actual marble.