Last week I shared A Museum Lover’s Guide to Amsterdam, and today I’m excited to share the next part of our trip: Italy! We were originally supposed to go to Italy as part of our honeymoon, but plans changed and we were excited to incorporate the country in this trip.
Just like with Amsterdam, I created a short video for Italy that you can see below!
Day One – Arrival & Florentine Steak Dinner
Travel & Accomodations
We took an early flight from Amsterdam to Florence (the Florence airport is so miniature!) and rode the train into the city. We stayed at Palazzo Alfieri Residenza D’Epoca – Alfieri Collezione and it had the most beautiful view. The location was also wonderful and we were able to easily walk everywhere.
Exploring & Lunch
We set out to see the Duomo and then had a delicious pizza lunch.
Dinner at Ristorante Buca Mario
The highlight of the entire trip for me was having dinner at Ristorante Buca Mario. We spent three and a half hours on our meal, with each course more delicious than the last, and our waiter Aldo was the sweetest. I cannot recommend this place enough and make sure to get a reservation if you want to experience it.
Day Two – Accademia Gallery & History Walking Tour
Accademia Gallery
We started our day at the Accademia Gallery where you can see the Statue of David, among other pieces of art. Getting there for the first time slot of the day was essential and we got tickets through Get Your Guide. They were very easy to pick up and it was a smooth process to navigate getting into the museum.
After the museum, we got breakfast at Ala Grande Caffe and it was superb.
History Walking Tour
Our afternoon activity was a walking tour to learn about the history of Florence. We always enjoy Airbnb experiences, and this was no exception. I will say that although it is advertised as a Medici tour (tickets), it’s really more of a general history tour.
Day Three – Uffizi Gallery, Pitti Palace, & Boboli Gardens
Uffizi Gallery
Again, we chose the first slot of the day so we could experience this museum with the least amount of crowds as possible. You can get timed tickets here. The museum is arranged in a u-shape and there are digital maps you can access with recommended routes. Our heads were spinning with the amount of art we could take in and it was nearly overwhelming.
Pitti Palace & Boboli Gardens
Another overwhelming experience. I could not wrap my mind around the splendor and sheer magnitude of all of the art these locations have. We tried to get a count of the pieces and it’s absolutely impossible. I could have spent a solid week just visiting this one location.
We got a combo ticket and could have also visited the Bardini Gardens, but we were wiped.
Day Four – Photoshoot, Train to Rome, & Villa Borghese
Photoshoot
I love a good photoshoot (see what we got up to in Lisbon!), and I wanted some pictures to commemorate our trip to Italy. I booked through Airbnb experiences and am so happy with how the photos turned out. We did a 7:30am private shoot and were able to get so many good pictures without people in the background, plus it was nice to experience the city when it was quiet and just waking up.
Train to Rome
After the photoshoot, we packed up and walked over to the train station. It was super simple to purchase our tickets in advance here, and we were in Rome in an hour and a half.
Villa Borghese
Last time I was in Rome I didn’t have time to visit this museum, so I was very excited to incorporate it into this trip! It was another location that blew us away with the amount of artwork and the beauty of where the artwork was housed.
We walked through the gardens and enjoyed the breathtaking view of the city from above. It was a great way to start our first day and get excited for all that was to come.
On our way back to our Airbnb (more on that below), we went down the Spanish steps and saw the Trevi Fountain.
Day Five – Accommodations & Food Tour
Accomodations
We stayed in an Airbnb in Rome so we could be in the heart of the city, allowing us to walk to all of our destinations. We loved the space and location we stayed in, but be warned that it was quite noisy as this apartment is right above a restaurant that has an extensive outdoor dining area. You literally have to walk through people dining to get to the door of the apartment building.
Food Tour
Another city, another food tour! This was a leisurely Airbnb Experiences tour through the Trastevere neighborhood where we learned about history and food. We recommend this tour to meet other people and enjoy delicious bites!
Day Six – The Vatican, St. Peter’s, & The Colosseum
The Vatican & St. Peter’s
This continues to be my favorite experience in Rome! We got our tickets here, which allows you to skip the loooong line of people you will see waiting to buy tickets. Be sure to go to the line for people who already have tickets and once you’re inside you’ll convert your voucher for a paper ticket.
I love visiting the Vatican for the sheer magnitude of art and for the opportunity to experience the majesty of the most mind blowing church I’ve ever been inside of at St. Peter’s.
There’s no way to skip the line at St. Peter’s since you can go in for free, so just be prepared to wait.
The Colosseum & Forum
We decided not to do a tour of the Colosseum and Forum (this is the tour I did in 2018) and instead wandered around the outside. Our art and history cups were so full by this point that seeing it from the outside was more than enough.
Final Thoughts
The number one tip I have is to plan plan plan ahead when it comes to what days of the week museums are open and to buy your front of the line passes. It took a good amount of legwork to figure out this itinerary and make sure we were hitting everything we wanted to see because museums are simply not open every day of the week and you need to take into account when you can get timed tickets. By doing your research ahead of time and keeping your priorities top of mind, you’ll be just fine!
I hope this post gives you inspiration for any trips you want to plan and we were so glad to experience Italy together 🙂
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