Best Italy Trip Itinerary: 7 Days

Seven days in Italy is not enough. Italy deserves two weeks, a month, a lifetime. But if you have seven days — and most people do — you can see Rome, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast if you plan the logistics right. The key is: don't try to see more. Three places in seven days. Not four, not five. Three.

Day 1-3: Rome

Day 1: Ancient Rome

Arrive at Fiumicino airport. Take the Leonardo Express train to Termini station (€14, 32 minutes). Check into your hotel in Monti — the neighborhood between the Colosseum and Termini. It's central, authentic, and cheaper than the areas near the Spanish Steps.

Afternoon: Walk to the Colosseum. If you booked the underground tour (€24, book 2-3 weeks ahead), you enter through the gladiator gate and see the hypogeum. If not, the €18 combo ticket (Colosseum + Forum + Palatine) is fine — go at 2 PM when the queue is shorter.

Walk through the Forum to the Capitoline Hill. The Capitoline Museums (€17) have the best view of the Forum from the Tabularium window — you look down the entire ancient street. The museum itself has the original bronze she-wolf and the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.

Dinner: La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali (Via dei Fori Imperiali 1, €30-40). Book ahead. The carbonara is the best in Monti.

Day 2: Vatican and Trastevere

Morning: Vatican Museums. Book the 7:30 AM early entry (€35) through the Vatican website. You'll have the Sistine Chapel nearly empty. The Raphael Rooms are on the way and equally extraordinary. Plan 3 hours.

After the Vatican, walk to Castel Sant'Angelo (€15) — the papal fortress with a secret passage to the Vatican. Climb to the top for the view of Rome.

Cross the river to Trastevere for lunch. Da Enzo al 29 (Via dei Vascellari 29, €25-35) — no reservations, queue at noon. The carbonara and the amatriciana are the reasons to come.

Afternoon: Walk through Trastevere to the Janiculum Hill. The view from the terrace is the best in Rome — the entire city spread below, domes and towers in every direction. Free.

Dinner: Roma Sparita (Piazza di Santa Cecilia, €30-40). The cacio e pepe served in a pecorino bowl. Book ahead.

Day 3: Baroque Rome and the Borghese

Morning: Galleria Borghese (€13, book ahead, timed entry). Two hours. Bernini's Apollo and Daphne, his Rape of Proserpina, and Caravaggio's David with Goliath. The most concentrated art experience in Rome.

Walk through the Villa Borghese gardens to the Pincio Terrace — the view over Piazza del Popolo and the city beyond.

Afternoon: Walk to the Pantheon (€5). Then to the Caravaggio churches — San Luigi dei Francesi (three Caravaggios, drop €1 in the light box) and Sant'Agostino (Madonna of the Pilgrims, free). Both near Piazza Navona.

Walk to the Trevi Fountain. Go at 6 PM — the light is best and the crowds are thinner than midday. Throw a coin. Walk to the Spanish Steps (5 minutes) for sunset.

Dinner: Armando al Pantheon (Salita dei Crescenzi 31, €40-50). The best restaurant in central Rome. Book 3 weeks ahead. The saltimbocca is the dish.

Day 4-5: Florence

Day 4: Travel to Florence + Renaissance

Morning: Take the high-speed train from Roma Termini to Firenze Santa Maria Novella. Book ahead on italotreno.it or trenitalia.com — €25-45 if booked 2-3 months ahead, €85 on the day. Journey: 1.5 hours. The train is clean, fast, and has Wi-Fi.

Check into your hotel in the Oltrarno neighborhood (south side of the river, quieter and cheaper than the center). Walk across the Ponte Vecchio to the Duomo.

Afternoon: Climb the Duomo dome (€30, book ahead, timed entry). 463 steps, no elevator. The view of the city and the cathedral interior from the top of the dome is the best in Florence.

Walk to the Uffizi. If you booked ahead (€25, timed entry), go at 4 PM — the last entry is at 6:45 PM and the crowds thin after 5. The Botticelli room (Sala 10-14) has The Birth of Venus and Primavera. The Caravaggio room (Sala 90) has Medusa. Go to the window in the corridor for the view of the Ponte Vecchio.

Dinner: Trattoria Mario (Via Rosina 2r, €20-30). No reservations, lunch only, queue at noon. If it's dinner, go to Il Latini (Via dei Palchetti 6r, €30-40) — the bistecca alla fiorentina is the Florentine dish. A 1kg T-bone for two people, €55.

Day 5: Florence Deep Dive

Morning: Accademia Gallery (€16, book ahead). Michelangelo's David. The sculpture is 5.17 meters tall and carved from a single block of marble that two other sculptors had rejected. Go at 8:15 AM (first slot).

Walk to the Mercato Centrale (San Lorenzo). The ground floor is a food market — buy pecorino, prosciutto, and bread for a picnic. The first floor is a food court — fresh pasta made in front of you, €10.

Afternoon: Walk across the river to the Pitti Palace (€16). The Palatine Gallery has Raphael and Titian in rooms that are still decorated as the Medici left them. The Boboli Gardens behind the palace are the best gardens in Florence — 45,000 square meters of formal hedges, statues, and fountains.

Walk up to San Miniato al Monte — the church above the Piazzale Michelangelo. The church is 1,000 years old, has the best Romanesque facade in Florence, and the view from the steps is better than the Piazzale (and less crowded). Go at 6 PM for evening prayer — the monks sing Gregorian chant at 5:30 PM.

Dinner: Osteria Santo Spirito (Piazza Santo Spirito 13, €25-35). The best restaurant in Oltrarno. The ribollita (Tuscan bread and vegetable soup) and the pappardelle al cinghiale (wild boar pasta) are the dishes. Book ahead.

Day 6-7: Amalfi Coast

Day 6: Travel to Sorrento + Pompeii

Morning: Train from Florence to Naples (high-speed, €40-65, 3 hours). At Naples, switch to the Circumvesuviana local train to Pompeii (€2.80, 35 minutes). Get off at Pompei Scavi station.

Afternoon: Pompeii (€18). Go at 2 PM — the morning crowds are leaving and the afternoon light is better. The highlights: the Forum, the Villa of the Mysteries (the best frescoes), the Lupanar (brothel with explicit frescoes), and the plaster casts of the dead in the Garden of the Fugitives. 3 hours minimum.

Take the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento (€3.20, 30 minutes from Pompeii). Check into your hotel in Sorrento — the best base for the Amalfi Coast because it's on the train line and has better restaurants than Positano.

Dinner: Trattoria da Emilia (Via dei Principi 22, €25-35). A family restaurant since 1947. The gnocchi alla sorrentina (potato gnocchi baked with tomato and mozzarella) is the dish. The lemon delizia dessert is a Sorrento specialty.

Day 7: Amalfi Coast

Morning: Take the SITA bus from Sorrento to Amalfi (€8, 75 minutes). The bus follows the SS163 — the cliff road with 1,000 bends. Sit on the right side for the views. If you get carsick, take the ferry from Sorrento to Amalfi instead (€15, 40 minutes).

In Amalfi: Visit the Cathedral of St. Andrew (€3, free to enter the cloister). The cathedral is a mix of Arab-Norman and Baroque, with a black-and-white marble facade and a cloister that's a miniature paradise.

Walk to Atrani (10 minutes, the next village). It's the smallest municipality in Italy — a tiny square, a church, and a beach. Less touristy than Amalfi.

Take the bus or ferry to Positano (30 minutes). The vertical town — pastel houses stacked on the cliff, a beach at the bottom, and a church with a majolica-tiled dome. Eat lunch at Chez Black (€25-35, on the beach) — the pizza and the spaghetti with sea urchin are the dishes.

Afternoon: Take the ferry back to Sorrento (€18, 40 minutes). The view of the coast from the water is the best view you'll get — the entire cliff face with the towns stacked on it.

Farewell dinner: Ristorante Bagni Delfino (Marina Grande, Sorrento, €35-50). On the beach at the end of the harbor. The seafood risotto and the grilled branzino are the dishes. Eat outside, watch the sun set behind Capri.

Logistics

Trains: Book high-speed trains 2-3 months ahead on italotreno.it or trenitalia.com. Prices are dynamic — €25 if booked early, €85 on the day. The Circumvesuviana (Naples-Pompeii-Sorrento) is a local train — buy tickets at the station, €2.80-3.20.

Hotels: Rome (Monti or Testaccio, €80-120/night), Florence (Oltrarno, €70-100/night), Sorrento (€80-130/night). Book directly with the hotel — booking.com charges 15% commission and the hotel may give you a better rate.

Attractions: Book ahead for: Colosseum underground tour, Vatican early entry, Borghese Gallery, Uffizi, Accademia, Duomo climb. All require timed entry and sell out in high season.

Total cost: €1,200-1,800 for 7 days including hotels, trains, food, and attractions. Budget €150-200/day plus €200-300 for trains.

What to Skip

Don't go to Pisa. The tower is a 2-hour detour from Florence for a photo op. Don't go to the Cinque Terre — it's a full day each way and the trails are crowded. Don't try to add Venice — it's 2 hours from Florence and deserves 2 days, not a few hours. Save these for your next trip. Italy rewards coming back.