For you, I’ve built five itineraries of places that are among the most popular in the country. For your trip, please choose not the summer months and certainly not August. Many of the itineraries do not require renting a car.
Option 1. Rome.
If you have the opportunity to see only one city in Italy, then let it be Rome, the great, multifaceted, both noisy and cozy, recognizable and not fully known. Going here for 2-3 days, if you are going for the first time to both the city and the country, is not a good idea. A week is the amount of time that can be considered adequate.
When planning your days in the city, please allow enough time to see not only the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, and to be overwhelmed by the beauty and number of tourists, but also to get to know the other, residential, quiet, but no less beautiful Rome. Here in this post I talk in detail about one of these neighborhoods.
Option 2. Bologna and the surrounding area.
Bologna is a benchmark, one might say, Italian city. Not small, not large, beautiful, colorful, instantly identifiable as Italy, interesting, with wonderful museums, restaurants and stores. In addition, Bologna is a major railway hub, so it’s easy to get to neighboring cities from here.
Option 3. Rome, Florence, Milan.
These three cities are famous, beautiful, and conveniently connected by rail. Spend 3-4 days in Rome, from there go to Florence for 2-3 days, and from there, again by train, a few days to Milan. This way you can compare Italy north and central, see many of the country’s major architectural masterpieces, and get an idea of the different types of cuisine and wine.
Option 4. Venice, Trieste, Verona, and Lake Garda.
Venice deserves at least 4-5 days of your schedule. I’ve been to the city many times at a variety of times, coming in for a day as well as two, three or more days, so I can tell you for sure that the only thing you’ll have time for in a day is to hate the city, which doesn’t deserve it at all. Venice has a hard time – it can’t live without tourists and it doesn’t like them at the same time. About why you can not come to Venice for a day, I told in this article.
Option 5. Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi, Capri.
I wrote about Rome above. Four days in this city is probably the minimum. From Rome, it’s an hour by train to Naples, which will be a great contrast to the Italian capital. Don’t be intimidated by this city – I was totally enthralled by its beauty and chaotic nature. For the rest of the trip you’ll probably need a car – the way is down the coast, towards Amalfi, where the railroads are not really there, and the bus service leaves much to be desired. It would be more comfortable with a car. I was in this part of Italy without a car: I took a train to Salerno, and then a bus to Amalfi, where I took the boat to Positano, Sorrento, Capri.