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After taking a Trafalgar bus tour in Italy last winter, I felt I had to return to Rome to toss more coins into the Trevi fountain. The problem I experienced with bus tours is that you only get a g limpse of a city. That’s fine when it comes to small medieval towns like Assisi, Ravenna and San Gimignano where you can peruse through the town in half a day. But for places like Florence, Rome, Naples, Siena and Venice - two days was not enough. We left Assisi in the early hours to reach Ravenna by lunchtime. After a brief visit to the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, the bus headed north to Venice where we toured the canals at sunset via a romantic gondola ride. The next day, we quickly toured the Piazza San Marco before the group was split into two. Seafood lovers and photographers took a side tour to the color ful island of Burano while others stayed on the Venice island to tour the Doge’s Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge and to sample some Venetian cuisine.
I’m curious to hear from other travelers that have visited Rome, Florence, Venice, Siena and Naples on the ideal time to spend in each of these cities. I returned to Rome last November and spent two days on our own. We spent one day at the Vatican, visiting the museum, Sistine Chapel and touring St. Peter’s Basilica. The second day, we spent roaming around the Roman ruins, Trajan’s Market, Piazza Navona, Trevi fountain and the Pantheon. We were disappointed that we didn’t have time to explore the Colloseum, Piazza Venezia and the Borghese gardens and museum along with Castel Sant’Angelo.
In order to see and appreciate the art, history and landmarks of a city in Italy, give yourself plenty of time. Book tours that are led by highly qualified tour guides that speak english. Most of the tours in Rome will pick you up from a centrally located hotel, provide you return transportation and admission tickets. I highly recommend tours that include admission to museums. Most often, these tours will bypass the line and go directly to the front entrance for special entry. This alone is worth the tour price because it saves you waiting in line to buy tickets that may sell out.
If possible, try to book tours with an European based tour company. It makes perfect sense to use a tour company located closer to where you’re traveling to. ISANGO is your choice. They sell tours all over the world including Italy.
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