Venice, Rome and Cinque Terre

Of course. you can't go to Italy without seeing Rome in all of its glory. Although it is largely a busy city now, the ancient ruins and history give it such vibrant cultural life. The first day we took a typical hop on hop off tour of Rome, which I actually recommend if you have less time in such a big city and want to see all the sights. We visited the Coloseum first (of course) you can walk inside of it and around it and get those amazing pictures you always see. Next, the Roman ruins - not far off from the Colosseum you can walk through and see ancient Roman ruins that have withstood the test of time, seated right in the middle of the modern city.

After that, we went to The Trevi Fountain where I had my Lizzie McGuire moment. Don’t forget to make a wish! I recommend trying to go REALLY early morning to beat the crowds and get the best pictures without people if that's important to you. Other sights included the Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna, and the Pantheon. In between stops, you can take as much time as you want to grab a cappuccino, lunch, or just rest. It’s 28 euro per person! It’s a full day affair, so come prepared with what you’ll need for the day.

We dedicated day two to visiting The Vatican/ Vatican City. Buy your tickets a couple of days early to tour. There, of course, you'll also see the famous Sistine Chapel and its beautiful painted ceiling, among other gorgeous rooms with incredible ceilings and wall work. You’ll also learn about the Vatican, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Pope.

After the tour, we shared a pizza on drinks right down the street before visiting St. Peter's Square just outside the Vatican. If you want and are there on a Sunday, you can catch the Pope giving mass there, or if you're lucky and he has a speech planned, you may be able to catch that as well. Of course, it will all be in Italian! Otherwise, its beautiful in general. For dinner we found a smaller, local looking place and sat on the patio. The pizza, pasta, and roma tomates (duh) in all of Italy are to die for!

Must eats:
Pizza - of course!
Italian Gnocchi / pasta of your choice

We visited any sights we missed on day 1, including the Da Vinci museum. Then, we got ready to take our train around midday to Venice; about a 3.5 hour ride, and settled in for the evening at our hotel in Venice. We stayed in a smaller, more rustic hotel nestled into one of the side streets off the Grand Canal. These types are usually cheaper and have a little bit more of the local experience.

Venice is really small so you really only need about 2 days there, unless you plan to visit every island, then I would maybe do 3. On our first day, we simply explored the canals and Piazza San Marco and got lost in them. Its easy to do there. Venice also has amazing shopping and of course, food. You can’t pass on gelato a couple times a day as you meander around. We also took a Gondala ride through the canal - it really is kind of dreamy, and the gondolier will sing! For early evening drinks we went to Harry’s bar, where the bellini was invented. It’s a fun spot, but super pricey. We then had dinner at La Zucca, a locally owned vegitarian spot with s unique menu!

We visited the island of Murano in the morning. This island in Venice is the glass-blowing capital of the world and you can find the Glass Blowing Museum there as well as countless shops with gorgeous glass blown pieces and demos to see. Its quite a small island and would take us just a couple hours in the morning to shop and have breakfast.

A water taxi takes about 10-15 minutes there. Then, you can take the taxi to Burano; this island is known for its vibrantly colored homes and buildings and is known for its lace work. Its really fun to go even just for a lunch across the lagoon!
For dinner, we ate at Al Covo - another small local family owned Venetian cuisine restaraunt!
All of the food we had in Venice was delicious, and sometimes the best food came from our hotel breakfasts. There is no wrong place to land when eating in Venice.

Fly or Train to Genoa, Italy (we took an early train, you just have to take two different trains and it’s about 6 hours). It’s the easiest city to get to Cinque Terre from, as it’s kinda tucked away. We arrived around mid afternoon and settled in for our early morning the next day, as we did Cinque Terre and Portofino in one day. Genoa has a really nice harbor to get dinner on, enjoy a sunset, and do some meandering or shopping.

Cinque Terre is very famous string of 5 ancient seaside villages on the Italian Riviera coastline. We visited all 5 in 1 day as we didnt have much time, but I wish we took 2 days to really explore. They are all extremely close to one another and accessible by one train line that goes up and down the 5 cities throughout the day. Its 18.50 euro to travel between all the cities as many times as you want all day. You can also walk between some of the cities on hiking footpaths (7.50 euro trekking card needed; some of them are very close).

We took a 2 hour train from Genoa to Monterosso (the first of the 5) at 4am and and returned around 9pm. Long day, but so worth it! We arrived at Monterosso around sunrise and made our way steadily south to each next town by train. We hiked one leg between the towns to see the coastline and some fresh air, and they were very close. At each village, we popped into as many local restaurants and shops as we could - you never know what you will find! We also went swimming, so bring a change of clothes because some of the towns, have little coves where its safe to swim and the water is lovely (Monterrosso has an entire beach).
You can also do other things like
Go kayaking, take a boat tour, or simply lay out and relax, but we were pressed for time .

As a bonus, on the way back to Genoa, we stopped off in Portofino, as its exactly on the way back. With its beautiful brighlty colored buildings along a cove with cliffs and ridges, its one of Italy's most popular villages. We ate dinner at Da I Gimelli, run by to twin brothers, and it was absolutely delicious and in a stunning location, but a bit pricey.

We headed back to Genoa by train at the end of the night and flew out of Genoa the next morning home.