I booked my train from Rome to Florence for 30 July 2026 a couple of months ago. Yesterday I received an email from Trenitalia saying that RFI has scheduled infrastructure upgrades at the Florence Intermodal Hub and that my train (Frecciargento 8556) has been cancelled.

If I want to reschedule, I have to either go to a station or call them, which is pretty difficult when I’m not in Italy yet and don’t speak Italian. To avoid that, I was thinking of just requesting a refund and booking another train instead.

The strange thing is that the exact same train that was supposedly cancelled is still available to book on their website!

I haven’t been able to find any announcements or news about these infrastructure upgrades, so now I’m worried that if I book a different train, it could end up being cancelled too.

Does anyone have any more information about what’s going on? Would you still book another train, or would you avoid trains altogether and take a bus instead?

Thank you!

UPDATE: Thank you all so much for the advice. My husband agreed that Pompeii would be waaaay too much to do. We instead are going to Ostia Antica that day and enjoying more of Rome. We modified this itinerary from WheatlessWanderLust’s 10 days in Italy but wanted to double check with others to see if it was good. Yes, I know it’s going to be hot in July. Unfortunately, we have no other time to go unless it’s August. I’m a teacher and I can’t take off during the school year and spring break wouldn’t work because it aligns with Easter / my husbands blackout travel dates for work. We plan on only doing one major attraction per day early in the morning and spending the afternoon being more leisurely strolling around. We’re still on the fence on the day trip to Siena with Walks of Italy because we’ve heard great things about it. Again, thank you so so much! We are so excited and I cannot wait to see my home country ❤️
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My husband and I have never internationally traveled and we are starting to plan out our 10-day trip to Italy in July 2027 for our honeymoon. We have a decent budget for this trip because we have been saving for it for 2 years but we want to make the most out of it since we will not be coming back for a very long time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Day 0 → Monday, July 12th Fly Into Rome FCO

• Hoping to land pretty early so we can walk around, leave luggage at hotel
• DINNER TBD

Day 1 → Tuesday, July 13th Rome

• Spend rest of day walking around Rome shopping
• Dinner at Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina

Day 2 → Wednesday, July 14th Pompeii & Positano

• Day trip to Pompeii & Positano w/ Walks of Italy
• Late Dinner at Da Enzo

Day 3 → Thursday, July 15th Rome 

• Early Sistine Pristine Tour w/ Walks of Italy
• Afternoon walking around site seeing the major locations & shopping and lunch
• Pasta Making Class for dinner
• Late night drinks & walking around Rome

Day 4 → Friday, July 16th (Travel Day) Rome → Florence via high speed train

• The Duomo Tour & Climb to top
• DINNER TBD

Day 5 → Saturday, July 17th Florence

• EARLY Florence in a Day Tour w/ Walks of Italy (Uffizi, Statue of David)
• Lunch, Afternoon Sightseeing & Shopping
• DINNER TBD

Day 6 → Sunday, July 18th Day Trip Bologna

• Early train to Bologna
• Exploring Bologna
• Bologna Food Tour for dinner
• Train back to Florence

Day 7 → Monday, July 19th Day Trip to Sienna

• Tuscany Day Trip from Florence with Chianti, San Gimignano & Siena w/ Walks of Italy
• Late Dinner TBD

Day 8 → Tuesday, July 20th (Travel Day) Florence → Venice

• Early high speed rail from Florence → Venice
• Lunch, Walking around, Shopping
• Exclusive Alone in St. Mark’s & Doge’s Palace Tour w/ Walks of Italy
• Late dinner TBD

Day 9 → Wednesday, July 21st Venice

• Walking Around Venice & Sunset Food & Wine Tour w/ Walks of Italy for dinner

Day 10 → Thursday, July 22nd Venice

• TBD??

Day 11 → Friday, July 23rd FLY HOME OUT OF VENICE

We've heard that Venice can really be done in a day but our trip allocates 2.5 full days. We only have 2 full days in Rome since we are not counting day 0 (our landing day) and the day we are going to Pompeii and Positano. We are still early enough we can change our hotel reservation dates to maybe an additional day in Rome and one less day in Venice. Also, any dinner recommendations in Florence or additional ones in Rome and Venice? I heard the restaurants are more authentic, cheaper, and higher quality the further away you go from hot tourist spots like The Trevi Fountain. Also any recommendations for shopping or sightseeing? I have a more detailed Itinerary with times, shops to go see, and sightseeing but didn't want to overload the post more than I already have. Thank you so much!

Hi! I am working on planning our honeymoon for June 2027.

Is it a bad idea to go to Ortisei/the Dolomites for five days if you’re not super into hiking?

Every photo I see of the Dolomites shows somebody with intense hiking gear, but we just want to go for the pretty views and relaxing spa amenities at a nice hotel and do beautiful nature walks/easy hikes. But definitely no multi-hour gear-required treks.
We don’t even own hiking gear. I’m more of a nature walk in a sundress kind of girl, haha.
But we are generally active city people who will gladly walk 10k-20k steps.

I searched this sub, but most of the answers about tipping are (a) specific to dining (which I'm clear about) or (b) 1-4 years old.

We will be in Rome, Florence, and Venice for about a week before a cruise, and have booked (via travel agent) multiple drivers & tours. Should we tip either driver or tour guide, and if so, what's a reasonable amount? Is 5€ too much or too little? Most of our tours are half days, but drivers might be just someone who walks us from Florence train to our hotel.

(I have some euros left over from a prior trip, but mostly 20€, so I'd like to make sure I have small enough denominations before we leave.)

Thanks!

Driving to Naples by car and B and B is near ZTL zones in the center and I plan on keeping car parked, is there any way to avoid the ZTL? I would like to drive as far away from the ZTL zones as possible park my car and take bus or train to our place. Won’t take the car again until our stay in Naples is over. I was thinking of parking at the train station but apparently I have to go near ZTL’s to hey there.

We are currently on our long Italy trip, and we finished Rome, Amalfi coast, Florence, and Bologna. We took the Frecciarossa from Florence to Bologna today. We had seats assigned but someone was already sitting in them from a previous stop. They were assigned the same seats.

We couldn’t find a luggage rack in our coach and there seemed to be nothing in the next coach. We had to stand with our big suitcases and backpacks in the vestibule.

No conductor showed up. Thankfully it was a 30-min ride, so we managed it fine.

But we have a train to Venice on the Regionale train tmrw morning. If Frecciarossa was like this, im wondering if we should just accept the loss on our current ticket and book Italo. We had a positive experience with Italo from Salerno to Florence.

We booked the economy tickets so we know that we don’t have much flexibility. But our first Frecciarossa was not bad. Were we just double booked? What train should we go with for Venice?

I’m looking to book a trip to Italy for a week in late September. It will be my first time in the country, my partner has been to Rome before as a teen.

We live in Birmingham UK and I have been trying to figure out where would be best to fly out to and spend a few days in before getting a train to Rome for a few days and flying back from there to Birmingham. It looks like our options for direct flights from BHX on a Saturday or Sunday (because I don’t fancy a connecting flight) are Milan (Bergamo), Verona, Venice (Treviso or Marco Polo), Naples or Pisa. Or there are direct flights to Rome on Sundays so could do it the other way around.

As a curveball I have also been toying with the idea of getting the train to Turin via London and Paris before heading on to Rome, but I’m aware that we would likely need to stay overnight in either London or Paris for that to be achievable without being stressful.

Turin seems to be an underrated city; we are quite big foodies and I’ve heard it’s good for that and less busy than other cities so might be a nice antidote to Rome for a more relaxed time. If anyone has done a similar journey I would appreciate your thoughts on it.

There are direct flights from Stansted, Luton and Gatwick outside of skiing season, but that feels like a bit of a trek and again would probably need an overnight airport stay as I don’t trust CrossCountry trains after one too many bad experiences.

Yesterday on July 4 I drove from the Amalfi Coast to the Naples airport. I had driven from Rome, up to Tuscany, and then back down all the way to Maiori without any issues with tolls -- until this drive. I'm not sure of the exact toll booth location, but it was between Angri and NAP on E45 highway. I got into the toll lane that accepted credit card, and assumed I'd just have to tap my card to pay the 2,60 euro toll -- easy enough. First, there was no tap -- had to insert my card. The Visa I've been using for every toll did not work. Then tried a Mastercard. Didn't work. Then AMEX -- didn't work. No attendants to be found. I was struggling for almost 5 minutes. Finally, a receipt printed out -- and with my luck, before I could grab it, it fell out of the machine, and the wind blew it away. It was gone. The toll arm opened, I panicked as there was a huge line of people behind me, and drove away. I noted the license plate of my car when I dropped it off at Avis, and asked the attendant. He said to make an account on Autostrade where I could pay the toll. I made the account, and I'm struggling with where I can pay this toll with solely the license plate number. These forms are asking for a 'Unpaid toll receipt' or 'file number' which I do not have since I don't have the receipt. Does anyone know what I should do in this situation? Should I call Avis and explain to them? I will gladly do anything to pay the 2,60 euro to avoid any possible fines. Thanks for your help!

So, I am going to visit Pompeii in September and I am a bit confused about the tickets

The plan is to hike Vesuvio in the morning starting at 10:00, eat something and then enter Pompeii at about 15:00. However, there are only tickets for 13:00.

On the website they say:

>From 16 March to 14 October , the following time slots will apply for admissions

• From 9.00 am to 1.00 pm, a maximum of 15,000 admissions (subdivided into 12,000 for Pompeii express and 3,000 for Pompei +)
• From 1.00 pm to 5.30 pm, a maximum of 5,000 admissions (subdivided into 3,000 for Pompeii express and 2,000 for Pompei +)

>It is also recalled that from November 15th, the daily limit of 20 thousand visitors and the nominative ticket were introduced.

Does that mean I have to buy the 13:00 tickets and can just freely enter once until 17:30 as last access?

Is my entrance safe, or is it possible that 5,000 people enter before 15:00 and we can’t get in anymore?

My husband and I recently returned from a month long stay. We decided on Abruzzo, as part of the trip was to meet a distant cousin who I had connected with on Facebook from the town of Roccacasale where my GGF emigrated from in 1905. We did meet and it was a wonderful experience. We did want to be near the sea during our stay and ended up renting an apartment in Silvi for the month of June.

We flew into Rome and arrived on a Tuesday morning. The new entry system wasn’t working, but our wait wasn’t long. From the airport, we took the train to Pescara where we had arranged for a taxi to take us to Silvi. The train took you through some beautiful Italian scenery.

Our apartment was across the street from a small beach, we had a balcony view of the snowcapped mountains on one side and the sea on the other where we paid in advance for an umbrella. The water was heavenly! Clean, shallow and generally calm. Also, so very salty that floating was nearly effortless.

The town of Silvi on the Adriatic coast is a place where Italians go to vacation, not tourists. We never ran into any other Americans until our bus trip back to Rome out of Pescara. Most of our days were spent shopping locally or at the weekly market, going to the beach, getting gelato most evenings with a nighttime stroll along the promenade and beach. We took the train to the beautiful town of Pineto and later to Ortona where we rented e-bikes. Not sure I’d recommend it if you’re older like us. Very little instruction was given, I ended up hitting the wall inside one of the tunnels and bending the front rim. The bike rental charged 80eu for the damage. And we were sore and tired!

We were not interested in hitting the “sights” of Italy and really enjoyed the feeling of being a part of the Silvi community even for just a little while. We do not speak Italian other than a few words and there were not many in town that spoke any English, but greeting and thanking those folks we did meet and do business with seemed welcomed and appreciated. And thank goodness for Google Translate!

Hello fellow locals. Me and my family visited Lombardy last year and had an intensive trip with lots of different locations. we really enjoyed it and there was a question in my mind which I would like to ask now since we reconsider another trip again.

When we were in Sirmione, we waited bus LN026 which indicated that it goes to Brescia but in fact it went till Desenzano and we took train from there. Many people also asked to the driver if it goes to Brescia and after they heard that the destination is Desenzano, they didn't take the bus. So I wonder if they waited another hour for the next bus or somehow like every second bus goes to Brescia directly? (Same to Verona or to Peschiera del Garda?) Can you please enlighten us?

Thanks!

Hi everyone! 😊

I’ll be traveling to **Rome, Italy this October**, and I’m wondering what people actually wear during that time of year.

I know the temperature is around **15–23°C**, but I’m not sure how that feels coming from our tropical weather.
For those who’ve been to Rome in October:
\- What outfits did you actually end up wearing?
\- Do I need a coat, or is a light jacket enough?
\- What shoes would you recommend for walking all day?
\- Any fashion tips so I don’t look obviously underdressed or overdressed as a tourist? 😅

Bonus points if you have photos of your outfits! Thank you! ❤️

**\*\*For reference, I’m a 30-year-old Filipina, 5’0”, and I prefer comfortable, classic outfits over trendy ones since we’ll be walking a lot.**

Hey everyone! After my succesful trip to Emilia-Romagna (felll in love with it), I am planning my second trip to Italy, and this time it is Tuscany!

My home base will be Florence. As you can see, I like staying busy and walking fast, I realize is overly planned with no room for spontaneity, but I liked this pace in my previous trip. Please let me know if I am missing anything else, thanks :)

(I created the schedule with all its details, took me several weeks, but used AI to summarize it for this post since it was way bigger, sorry MODs.)

Travel Date: First Week of September.

• Day 1- Florence: Tram from Airport to hotel near San Lorenzo → Rose pistachio gelato at My Sugar → Tour San Lorenzo Basilica & Orsanmichele → Quick walk through Piazza della Signoria & Ponte Vecchio →Pegna dal 1860→ Evening pasta-making course at Cucciolo.
• Day 2 - Florence: Accademia → Quick looks at San Marco & Museo degli Innocenti → Hit the Medici Chapels & Bargello → Quick panini at Qui Panini e Vino → Palazzo Vecchio Hall of Maps → Marbling workshop at Il Papiro → Uffizi Gallery → Dinner at Amorini → Evening walking tour.
• Day 3 - Florence: Breakfast at Sant'Ambrogio market → climb Brunelleschi’s Dome + Duomo complex (Baptistery/Opera museum) → Lunch at Il Vivandiere → Santa Croce → Badia Fiorentina & Buonomini → Santa Maria Novella church + historic pharmacy → Ognissanti, Villoresi, Signum, and Aquaflor → Evening opera at Santa Maria Vergine della Croce → Dinner at Il Pizzaiuolo → Fig & ricotta gelato at De' Medici.
• Day 4 - Florence: Breakfast at Mò Sì → Palazzo Pitti + Boboli & Bardini Gardens → Schiacciata lunch at Lo Schiacciavino → La Specola & Palazzo Davanzati → Santo Spirito → 3-hour wooden inlay artisan workshop → Dinner at Bella Italia.
• Day 5 - Florence: Quick pastry at Vecchio Forno → Opificio delle Pietre Dure → Food tour through Mercato Centrale (Buy from Savini truffles) → Brancacci Chapel video & tour → Lunch at Il Ricettario → Casa Buonarroti → Climb Arnolfo Tower at Palazzo Vecchio → Shop for leather at Scuola del Cuoio → Arancini & cannoli dinner at Arà: è Sicilia → Spend the evening jumping between piazzas (Felicita, Signoria, San Giovanni, SS Annunziata) for the Festa della Rificolona (Festival of the Lanterns).
• Day 6 - Florence: Breakfast at Nab → Cloister of the Scalzo → Museo di San Marco → Cenacolo di Sant'Apollonia → Quick visit to SS. Annunziata → Artisan hopping: Scarpelli Mosaici, Medici Riccardi Palace, Cecilia Falciai, Mosaici di Lastrucci → Lampredotto lunch at Il Cernacchio → Afternoon artisan/leather run south of the river: Madova, L'ippogrifo, Castorina, Autentiqua, Bronzetto, Romanelli studio, Bottega del Chianti, TACS, Alberto Cozzi → Tuscan rose gelato at Perche No → Evening climb up the Giotto Bell Tower → dinner at Osteria Cipolla Rossa. Planning to cut some stores to squeeze in Galileo Musuem.
• Day 7 - Pisa & Lucca: Early train to Pisa for breakfast at Al Dolcemente → See Leaning Tower/Cathedral (outside) + Baptistery & Camposanto → Train to Lucca → Walk the Renaissance walls → Duomo di San Martino & Santi Giovanni excavations → Lunch at Ciacco → Climb Guinigi Tower → Momo Gelati → Explore Anfiteatro & San Frediano → Train back to Florence → Dinner at Cinghiale Bianco (wild boar ragu) → Gelato at Della Passera.
• Day 8 - San Gimignano: Bus to Poggibonsi then San Gimignano → Breakfast at Il Criollo → Sant'Agostino → Truffle hunting at the local food market → Torre Grossa & Duomo → Wine tour & lunch at Tenuta Guardastelle → Gelato at Dondoli → Bus back to Florence → Pasta-making course at Locanda Ariosto.
• Day 9 - Siena: Early bus to Siena → Pastries at Panifici Sclavi → San Domenico → Climb Torre del Mangia & see Lorenzetti frescoes at Palazzo Pubblico → Tour Duomo complex (Cathedral, Piccolomini, Facciatone view) → Lunch at Il Bocconcino → Relax in Piazza del Campo → Santa Maria della Scala → Bus back to Florence → Pizza at Lucia Rustica & gelato at La Sorbettiera.
• Day 10 - Pistoia & Fiesole: Train to Pistoia (Cathedral, Baptistery, Piazza della Sala, Ospedale del Ceppo) → Train back, then Bus 7 up to Fiesole → Roman Theatre & lunch at Il Giglio → Hike to Convent of San Francesco terrace → Bus down, then hike up to San Miniato al Monte for Gregorian chant → Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo → Charcuterie at La Prosciutteria & granita at Carabè.
• Day 11 - Arezzo: Early train to Arezzo → Cathedral → Breakfast at Bar Stefano → Explore the monthly Antique Fair around Piazza Grande → Roman Amphitheatre, San Domenico, and San Francesco → Lunch at Antica Osteria l'Agania → Catch the Bishop's blessing at the Cathedral → Watch the Giostra del Saracino (Joust of the Saracen) → Train back to Florence for late pizza at MIRÓ. Still looking for a place to buy gold jewerly here.

Hi all, as the title suggests - have just gotten into Sorrento through Naples, only to discover my luggage has been left in Zurich (including all my clothes, makeup, essentials!) the airport reported it would take 48-72hrs to send my luggage to the hotel but I am in desperate need of essential clothing, socks, underwear etc! Can anyone please recommend places near Sorrento? (We don’t have a car)

Hi folks—we delayed booking specific tickets to sites in Florence and we’ll be there in about three weeks (July 18-22). I’d love your tips on the following:

- Accademia—will this be like Disneyland crowds on a Tuesday? Is the best plan to go before opening and try to get in line for tickets? Or to book the evening tickets that still show up on their website? Which option gives us the better shot of seeing things without being elbow to elbow with crowds?

— Pitti Palace— will this be an interesting destination for a 12-year old? He’s less interested in art than he is in the buildings themselves. He’s curious about seeing the lavish living spaces of the old rulers and weird dark stuff like torture chambers. Are these tickets we need to book in advance? Would the Medici chapels be better suited?

—Boboli Gardens picnic—we’ve heard many delis in Florence offer ready-made picnics. We’d love to do this in Boboli Gardens. Is that allowed? Do we need to plan a specific deli ahead of time, or is this the kind of thing we’ll be able to easily get when needed?

—Duomo—we want to start our first full day in Florence doing Rick Steve’s Renaissance Walk. It starts at the Duomo. We DEFINITELY want to do the climb, but we don’t necessarily need a guided tour of the place. (12-year old will only last through so many guided tours.) I am confused about various parts of the Duomo complex. Does it open at 8:25, 8:30, or 10:15? I’m also seeing things about a special crypt-side entrance? I would love anyone’s insight on understanding these options and what would be best to book in advance!

—Galileo Science Museum and Da Vinci Museums—the 12-year old is very interested in these! Do we need to book in advance, or are these things we’ll be able to walk up to and get in without a crazy line?

Thank you so much for any detailed tips and insights!!!

One night in Milan. If you could only recommend ONE restaurant for the most authentic Milanese dinner, where would you send me?
Looking for:
Open late after 9pm on a weekday
Traditional Milanese/Italian cuisine
Homemade tiramisù
Happy to drive anywhere around Milan
Nice restaurant is a plus but don’t have to
No budget
Grazie! 🇮🇹

Planning a milestone bday trip for mid-October for a large group with kids (3, 4, 6) - everyone will be in charge of their own hotels for their own family units for whichever days they plan to be there, but I’m in charge of the overall itinerary.

Been to Italy several times and are choosing to go back because we felt it could add to the “easy” factor because there would be no pressure to do and see everything because we’ve done it before.

The plan was to do roughly a week in Rome and then roughly a week in Florence. But now that I’m starting to actually plan it, I feel like wanting to add a third place just for a little extra variety.

We initially thought we might do an agriturismo, but we ultimately decided we really don’t want to have to rent cars and would rather things be accessible by train.

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions for a mid-October trip with kids?!

Hey everyone,

Currently in Florence right now with my mom. Yesterday (July 3) I was celebrating my 25th birthday and we arrived a little early to a restaurant one of my colleagues recommended. It wasn’t open yet so we walked across the street to a cafe. At that cafe were 2 Italian men sitting outside and asked us what we were looking for, we said a bathroom, and spoke to the friend who spoke better English. He let us know there was a bathroom inside of the cafe. At that time, I went to use it and my mom ordered an espresso.

We decided to sit outside of the cafe and my mom wanted to film a kind of podcast moment so we were chatting. The initial Italian man who spoke to us approached me and said I was very beautiful, I said thank you. He asked where we were from and we said America, I took it as friendly conversation. He told me he was 47 and then began translating on whatsapp and showing me a message “you are very beautiful and I’d like to have sex with you tonight” he then proceeded to pull up a nude image of himself to show me. I quickly told my mom we needed to leave and we left as he began apologizing. Crazy experience!

Italy Backpacking Itinerary (3–13 September)

3–6 September | Florence ( Fixed- Can't change)

Stay: (already booked)

6 September | Florence → Bolzano

Travel

• Morning high-speed train (3–3.5 hrs) to Bolzano.

Stay: Bolzano (Night 1)

7 September | Dolomites – Seceda

Travel

• Bus to Ortisei.

Do

• Cable car to Seceda.
• Hike the ridgeline.
• Lunch at a mountain hut.
• Return to Bolzano.

Stay: Bolzano (Night 2)

8 September | Dolomites → Bari

Morning

• Visit Alpe di Siusi (if flight timings allow).

Afternoon/Evening

• Train to Verona.
• Flight to Bari.
• Evening walk through Bari Vecchia.

Stay: Bari (Night 1)

9 September | Day Trip – Monopoli & Polignano a Mare

Travel

• Regional train from Bari.

Stay: Bari (Night 2)

10 September | Bari → Matera

Travel

• Bus/train to Matera.

Do

• Explore the Sassi di Matera.
• Visit Casa Grotta.

Stay: Matera (Night 1)

11 September | Matera → Rome

Morning

• Sunrise walk through Matera.
• Breakfast.
• Explore cave churches if time permits.

Afternoon

• Travel via Bari to Rome.

Stay: Rome (Night 1)

12 September | Rome

Do

• Colosseum.
• Roman Forum.
• Pantheon.
• Campo de' Fiori.
• Trastevere.
• Sunset at Giardino degli Aranci.

Try:

• Carbonara
• Cacio e Pepe
• Supplì
• Gelato

Stay: Rome (Night 2)

13 September | Rome → Departure

Accommodation Plan

Dates	Base
3–5 Sept	Florence
6–7 Sept	Bolzano
8–9 Sept	Bari
10 Sept	Matera
11–13 Sept	Rome

Major Transport

• 6 Sept: Florence → Bolzano (High-speed train)
• 7 Sept: Bolzano ↔ Ortisei (Bus)
• 8 Sept: Bolzano → Verona (Train) → Bari (Flight)
• 9 Sept: Bari ↔ Monopoli ↔ Polignano a Mare (Regional train)
• 10 Sept: Bari → Matera (Bus/train)
• 11 Sept: Matera → Bari (Bus/train) → Rome (High-speed train)
• 13 Sept: Rome → Fiumicino Airport (Leonardo Express or regional train)

Hello everyone,

I am going to a concert in 2 weeks by myself in Florence and will have to walk alone after to my hostel.

It is from Visarno Hippodrome to close to Piazza dell'Indipendenza.
Last time I was in Florence, during daylight, there were some sketchy types at the Piazza so I'm kind of worried. I grew up in Brussels so I'm used to some shit but it's still different in a whole other country.

Are there better options to get there then walking? I see the trams still run late at night?

I'm hoping to meet some people at the hostel going to the some concert but you never know of course.