Sight
Colosseum, Rome
The great amphitheatre of ancient Rome. Tickets carry your name and a timed entry, and must be booked; bring ID.
Itinerary · Italy, Italy · 7 days
One Week in Italy: Rome, Florence and Venice by Train
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Rome, Florence and Venice in one week is the classic first trip to Italy, and it works if you give Rome three days and travel between the cities by high-speed train. This plan does ancient Rome first, then the Vatican, then the fountains and squares of the old centre. In Florence, one afternoon covers Michelangelo's David and the cathedral, and the next day comes down from the hills to the Uffizi. Venice ends the week with a slow arrival along the Grand Canal and a last day around St Mark's and across the water.
Updated October 2026
- Best forFirst-time visitors who want the classic three cities in one week, linked by high-speed train, without day trips
- SeasonSpring (April to June) and autumn (September to October) are the most comfortable; Venice's high tides, which can flood St Mark's Square, come mostly in autumn and winter
- PaceBalanced28 stops over 7 days
- Budget$$Half of the twenty-eight stops are free (among them St Peter's, the Florence cathedral, the Ponte Vecchio, the Rialto Bridge and the Venetian churches of San Giorgio and the Salute); the main costs are your hotels, two high-speed trains and the timed museum tickets
Rome → Florence → Venice
- Day 1The Colosseum, the Forum, the Capitoline and the Aventine
- Day 2The Vatican, Castel Sant'Angelo and Piazza Navona
- Day 3The historic centre and Villa Borghese
- Day 4San Lorenzo and the Duomo
- Day 5San Miniato, the Oltrarno and the Uffizi
- Day 6The Grand Canal, San Polo and Dorsoduro
- Day 7San Marco, San Giorgio Maggiore and the Salute
Solid line: on foot · Dotted line: a ride (train, bus, boat or taxi) · Each day's stops are numbered from 1.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Day 1Rome: the ancient city4 stops · The Colosseum, the Forum, the Capitoline and the Aventine
- Day 2Rome: the Vatican and the river4 stops · The Vatican, Castel Sant'Angelo and Piazza Navona
- Day 3Rome: fountains, the Pantheon and the Borghese4 stops · The historic centre and Villa Borghese
- Day 4Florence: Michelangelo's David and the cathedral4 stops · San Lorenzo and the Duomo
- Day 5Florence: from the hills to the Uffizi4 stops · San Miniato, the Oltrarno and the Uffizi
- Day 6Venice: the Grand Canal and San Polo4 stops · The Grand Canal, San Polo and Dorsoduro
- Day 7Venice: St Mark's and across the water4 stops · San Marco, San Giorgio Maggiore and the Salute
Day 1
Rome: the ancient city
Why this orderTake the first Colosseum slot of the day; your ticket also covers the Roman Forum and the Palatine, which you walk straight into afterwards. Climb out of the Forum to the Capitoline Museums, whose Tabularium gallery looks down over the ruins you have just crossed. End the day on the Aventine Hill in the Orange Garden, a quiet terrace with a view across the river to St Peter's dome.
Getting aroundOn foot all day. The Capitoline to the Orange Garden on the Aventine is about 20 minutes on foot.
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Roman Forum
The centre of ancient Rome's public life and the hill of the emperors' palaces, one connected site on the same ticket as the Colosseum.
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Capitoline Museums
Often called the world's oldest public museum, on the square Michelangelo designed, with the original bronze of Marcus Aurelius indoors and a gallery looking down over the Forum.
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The Orange Trees Garden
The Orange Garden on the Aventine, a free park with a terrace looking over Rome to St Peter's. The Knights of Malta keyhole is a few steps away.
If it rains: Trade the Orange Garden for the Basilica di San Clemente near the Colosseum, a medieval church built over an earlier church and a Roman building, which you can visit underground.
Day 2
Rome: the Vatican and the river
Why this orderBook the earliest Vatican Museums slot you can get; the Sistine Chapel comes at the end of the route. St Peter's Basilica is next door and free. In the afternoon, walk down to Castel Sant'Angelo, Hadrian's tomb turned papal fortress, then cross the river on the Ponte Sant'Angelo to Piazza Navona for the evening.
Getting aroundOn foot all day. St Peter's to Castel Sant'Angelo is about 20 minutes on foot along Via della Conciliazione, and Piazza Navona is a little over a quarter of an hour beyond the bridge.
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Sight
Vatican Museums, Rome
The popes' collections, ending in the Sistine Chapel, where photography is not allowed. Book online on the official site only.
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Saint Peter’s Basilica
The basilica is free to enter, with Michelangelo's Pietà inside; shoulders and knees must be covered. The dome climb has its own ticket.
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Castel Sant'Angelo
Built as Emperor Hadrian's mausoleum, later a papal fortress linked to the Vatican by an elevated passage, now a museum with its own ticket.
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Piazza Navona
A long square laid out on the site of an ancient stadium, with Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers at its centre. Free, and best at the end of the day.
If it rains: Trade the time in Piazza Navona for San Luigi dei Francesi next door, a free church with three Caravaggio paintings of St Matthew.
Day 3
Rome: fountains, the Pantheon and the Borghese
Why this orderStart at the Trevi Fountain early, before the crowds; it is free to see from the square, and the steps down by the water have a ticket during the day. Walk to the Pantheon, the temple rebuilt under Hadrian, then north to the Spanish Steps. Finish in the gardens of Villa Borghese at the Galleria Borghese, where a booked time slot is compulsory, so plan the morning around it.
Getting aroundOn foot all day. The Spanish Steps to the Galleria Borghese, up through the gardens, is under half an hour on foot.
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Sight
Trevi Fountain, Rome
Rome's most famous fountain, free to see from the square. A ticket is needed during the day for the steps down by the basin.
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Sight
Pantheon, Rome
The Roman temple rebuilt under Hadrian around AD 125, later a church, with Raphael's tomb inside. Entry needs a ticket, sold online or at the door.
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Sight
Spanish Steps, Rome
The 18th-century stairway from Piazza di Spagna up to the Trinità dei Monti church. Walk up for the view; sitting on the steps is not allowed.
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Galleria Borghese
A villa in a park, filled with Bernini's sculptures, including Apollo and Daphne, and paintings by Caravaggio. Every visitor must book a time slot.
If it rains: Trade the Spanish Steps for the Galleria Doria Pamphilj on Via del Corso, a private collection in a palace, with Velázquez's portrait of Pope Innocent X.
Day 4
Florence: Michelangelo's David and the cathedral
Why this orderTake a morning high-speed train north. Everything today is close to the station: lunch in the Mercato Centrale, then the Medici Chapels behind San Lorenzo, with Michelangelo's tombs for the family. Walk on to the Accademia for David at a booked afternoon time, and end at the cathedral, free to enter, under Brunelleschi's dome.
Getting aroundHigh-speed train from Roma Termini to Firenze Santa Maria Novella. Then on foot: each stop is a short walk from the last.
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il Mercato Centrale Firenze
Florence's 19th-century iron-and-glass market hall: fresh produce on the ground floor, a food hall upstairs. The easiest lunch near the station.
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Cappelle Medicee
The Medici family's burial chapels behind San Lorenzo, including the New Sacristy designed by Michelangelo with his sculpted tombs.
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Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze
Home of Michelangelo's original David, carved between 1501 and 1504, since 1873. Book a time slot; the statue is the reason to come.
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Sight
Florence Duomo
Santa Maria del Fiore, free to enter. The dome climb, bell tower and baptistery need a pass, and the dome needs a booked, named time slot.
If the Accademia is sold out: Visit the Bargello instead, Florence's sculpture museum, home of Donatello's bronze David.
Day 5
Florence: from the hills to the Uffizi
Why this orderInstead of saving Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset, this plan goes up in the morning and comes down through the day. Start at San Miniato al Monte, the Romanesque church on the hilltop, walk down to the Piazzale for the view over the city, and cross the river on the Ponte Vecchio. Keep the Uffizi for a booked afternoon slot.
Getting aroundThe climb to San Miniato is steep: walk up through the Oltrarno or take a taxi. After that the day is downhill on foot, and the Piazzale to the Ponte Vecchio is under half an hour.
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Basilica di San Miniato
A Romanesque basilica on the hill above the city, free to enter, where the resident monks still sing Gregorian chant.
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Piazzale Michelangelo
The 19th-century terrace with a bronze copy of David and the whole city below: the cathedral dome, the river and its bridges. Free.
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Sight
Ponte Vecchio, Florence
The 14th-century bridge lined with jewellers' shops, with the Vasari Corridor running along its roof line.
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Museum
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
The great Renaissance collection, home of Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, next to Piazza della Signoria. Book a time slot.
If it rains: Trade the Piazzale for the Palazzo Pitti, the Medici palace on the Oltrarno side of the Ponte Vecchio.
Day 6
Venice: the Grand Canal and San Polo
Why this orderArrive by train and take the slow vaporetto down the Grand Canal: it is the best first view of the city. Get off at the Rialto Bridge, then walk into San Polo for Titian at the Frari and Tintoretto next door at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. End in Campo Santa Margherita, a lively square where the evening starts.
Getting aroundHigh-speed train from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Venezia Santa Lucia, then vaporetto line 1 down the Grand Canal to Rialto. On foot after that: the Frari is under 15 minutes from the Rialto, and Campo Santa Margherita a few minutes beyond San Rocco.
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Sight
Rialto Bridge, Venice
The stone bridge completed in 1591, the oldest of the four that cross the Grand Canal. Stand in the middle for the view both ways.
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Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
A Gothic church with Titian's Assumption over the high altar and Titian's own tomb. Entry has a ticket.
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Scuola Grande di San Rocco
The building next to the Frari that holds Tintoretto's great cycle of paintings, made over more than twenty years. Entry has a ticket.
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Campo Santa Margherita
The largest square in Dorsoduro, with a market in the morning and student bars in the evening. Free, and the right place to finish.
If it rains: Trade the square for Ca' Rezzonico, the museum of 18th-century Venice in a palace on the Grand Canal, a short walk away.
Day 7
Venice: St Mark's and across the water
Why this orderBe at St Mark's Basilica for an early timed entry, then go next door to the Doge's Palace, which takes you across the Bridge of Sighs into the prisons. Cross the water by vaporetto to San Giorgio Maggiore and ride the lift up its bell tower for the view back over St Mark's. Finish at the Salute, the domed church at the mouth of the Grand Canal.
Getting aroundVaporetto line 2 from San Zaccaria, by the Doge's Palace, to San Giorgio; back to San Zaccaria, then line 1 to Salute.
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Sight
St. Mark's Basilica, Venice
The gold-mosaic basilica beside the Doge's Palace. Entry is ticketed with a time; shoulders and knees must be covered, and large bags are not allowed.
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Doge's Palace
The seat of the Venetian republic, from the council halls to the Bridge of Sighs and the prisons beyond it. Book ahead.
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San Giorgio Maggiore Church
Palladio's white church on its own island facing St Mark's. The church is free; the bell tower has a lift and a ticket.
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Basilica Santa Maria della Salute
The great domed church built in thanks for the end of a plague, free to enter. Paintings by Titian and Tintoretto hang in the sacristy, which has a ticket.
For a longer last day: Add the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice's collection of Venetian painting, a short walk from the Salute.
Practical notes
Opening days and hours vary.
They change by place and season, and many museums close one day a week. Check each place before you go, and book a time slot wherever one is offered.
What to book ahead.
Required: the Colosseum (named, timed tickets; bring ID), the Galleria Borghese and the Florence cathedral dome (named, timed). Strongly advised: the Vatican Museums (official site only), the Accademia, the Uffizi, St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace. The Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain's basin area are ticketed but can be bought on the day.
Trains.
High-speed trains run by Trenitalia (Frecciarossa) and Italo link Roma Termini, Firenze Santa Maria Novella and Venezia Santa Lucia. Book seats ahead.
Venice.
Vaporetto line 1 runs the length of the Grand Canal; travel passes are sold for visitors. Day-trippers pay an access fee on set high-season days. If you stay overnight in Venice you are exempt, but you still need a free exemption code from the city's official site.
Dress.
St Peter's and St Mark's require covered shoulders and knees.
Where to stay.
Rome: the historic centre or Monti, walking distance from Days 1 and 3. Florence: near the cathedral. Venice: anywhere in the centre, close to a vaporetto stop on line 1.
Questions travellers ask
Is one week enough for Rome, Florence and Venice?
Yes, for a first visit, if you skip day trips and travel by high-speed train. Each city gets its essentials; none gets its quieter corners.
Why three days in Rome and two in the others?
Rome's ancient sites, the Vatican and the old centre each fill a day. Florence and Venice are smaller and more walkable, so two days each covers their essentials.
What do I need to book ahead?
The Colosseum, the Galleria Borghese and the Florence dome require booking. Book the Vatican Museums, the Accademia, the Uffizi, St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace ahead too, and reserve your train seats.
Do I have to pay Venice's access fee?
Only day-trippers pay it, and only on set high-season days. Overnight guests are exempt but must request a free exemption code from the city's official site before arriving.
Is the Trevi Fountain free?
Seeing it from the square is free. Since 2026, the area by the water, down the steps, has a ticket during the day.
Keep exploring Italy
Photo credits
- The façade and dome of St Peter's Basilica, daytime, with one of the fountains of St Peter's Square in the foreground: carlo75, CC0 · source
Place names from Google Maps.
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