10 days 6 cities: My first and Fast Italy Trip

Here is my route and my initial impressions on Rome, the Vatican, Florence, Pisa, Venice, and Milan.

Hey! I haven’t been here for a while. I went to Italy that is the city I want to see the most and I’ve just come back to Turkey and I want to share my experiences and feelings before forgetting any of them.

Actually, I have a travel notebook. You can see a page from my travel notebook below. So, you can understand how important collecting and keeping special memories are for me.

A random page from my travel notebook

So, after this little intro let’s see what’s going on in Italy. I spent 10 days there and went to 6 cities: Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa, and Rome. I’ll discuss my initial thoughts on the city and the way I planned this trip in this post.

I make a list of the places I want to visit the most before visiting the famous cities. and then I decide on the route. The same arrangements were also prepared for Italy. Even if my itinerary is in Turkish, I’ll still share.

My travel plan

Rome

So, as you can see from the travel itinerary I planned, Rome was my first stop. I stayed in Rome for three days, and I organized my days as follows:

First Day: City Center “Centro Storico”
-Spanish stairs
-Pantheon
-Trevi Fountain
-Navona Square
-Via dei Coronari
-Holy Angel Castle
-Popolo Square ”People’s Square”

Second Day: Ancient Rome
-Colosseum
-Palentine hill
-Roman forum
-Largo di torre argentina
-Trajan’s forum
-Capitol hill
-Santa Maria Ara coeli

Third-Day: Vatican
-Museums
-Raphael Rooms
-Maps Gallery
-Sistine Chapel
-St. Peter’s Basilica
-St. Peter’s Square

The landmarks were beautiful and magical, but once I was out on the streets, I didn’t feel as if I was in a fairytale. Also, I must advise you to verify your tickets at least a few days in advance if you are planning a trip to Italy. Because it was so overcrowded everywhere, even not the best time of year for travel in Italy.

Lots of friends of mine weren’t able to see the Sistine chapel because of the crowd. So, I was nervous about it. I didn’t take my tickets before, but I was in line at 8 am, and the museum opened at 9. At the end of the day, I was able to see the Vatican museums and saw the excellent works live by waiting for an hour.

So Rome is beautiful, but it seems it was just an opening.

Forance

And Florance… Yes, I like Rome, but I fall in love with Florance. I stayed two days in Florance, and I have to chance to visit:

-Florence Cathedral (Duomo — S.Maria DI.Fiore)
-Duomo Square
-Giovanni Baptistery
-Vecchio Bridge
-Boboli Gardens-Pittti Palace
-Uffizi Gallery
-Piazza Della Republica

If you go to Florance seems you have to go to Ufizzi. And I was so lucky because that day was Ufizzi’s free day. I waited for just 1.30 hours in line to see beautiful Venus, but it was worth it!

Pisa

On my second day, I went to Pisa. For the city, a couple of hours is enough. Train travel from Florance takes an hour. Not as stunning as I had hoped. Of course, you can go if you have the time, but I’m not sure whether I’d miss anything if I went.

Venice

Venice, Venice, and Venice… As much as I found Pisa exaggerated, Venice seemed less exaggerated. It’s literally a city of love. It is really hard to believe that such a city exists.

The places I listed as must-visit locations are:
-Bridge of Sighs
-St. Mark’s Bell Tower
-St. Mark’s Basilica
-San Marco Square
-Rialto Bridge
-St Mark’s Clock Tower
-Scala Contarini Del Bovolo

But even if I didn’t add these places to my list I would still see them. Because Venice is a small city, and while walking around the city, you encounter all of these landmarks.

Seeing Rialto Bridge was a very interesting experience for me because it was all about one of the first illustrations I made. So it was like being in a poster.

There was also a fantastic location to eat pasta. I don’t believe I need to say it is budget-free. You can carry your pasta with you and eat it as you go around. If you visit Venice, you should think about staying here.

The pasta and the place

Milano

Finally, I traveled to Milan. I only have a certain amount of time to travel due of my employment and obligations. Also, I wanted to make a good strategy and visit a few cities. I noticed that I had less energy when I got to Milan.

I began to feel exhausted because I walked everywhere. I took between 28,000 and 30.000 steps total. Still, I crossed everything off my bucket list. They were also included:

-Milan Cathedral
-Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
-La Scala Opera House
-Via Monte Napoleone Shopping Street
-Brera District

The wealth of the city is apparent as soon as you step foot in Milan. I stayed in Milan for two days, but if you’re there for shopping, you might want to extend your stay. Whenever you look, you can see the most well-known brands in the world and shoppers.

It was a significant journey for me. I’ve never traveled to this many cities at once. Rail rides, switching hotels, and touring multiple towns at once… Italy suited me just well.

In conclusion, Venice and Florence were two places that impressed me more than I had anticipated. I hope I get the chance to visit again.

If you are planning a trip with us, I think my route may be useful for you. That’s why I wanted to share this article. I’m thinking of sharing some details about my trip to Italy in separate posts. Like the Sistine Chapel, the Vecchio bridge, etc. If there is a topic you especially want me to share, do not forget to comment, I will definitely evaluate it.