Seven days: Rome, Florence, Venice by train

Three bases in seven nights, Rome 3, Florence 2, Venice 2, on a spine of high speed trains: 1 hour 35 minutes Rome to Florence, 2 hours 14 Florence to Venice.

The three journeys, in minutes

Roma Termini to Firenze Santa Maria Novella takes 1 hour 35 minutes at best, with a median of 1 hour 41 across direct Frecciarossa services and 48 of them counted on a weekday in September 2026, the slowest direct run being 1 hour 57.

Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Venezia Santa Lucia takes 2 hours 14 minutes on the fastest direct service. Roma Termini to Venezia Santa Lucia direct takes 3 hours 59, with a median of 4 hours 4 and a slowest direct of 4 hours 20.

Read those three numbers together and the case for the middle stop makes itself: adding Florence to a Rome and Venice trip costs you almost no travel time. This is why American travelers average 9.04⁹ nights in Italy but only 2.92⁹ per property, across roughly 2.2 places. Prices throughout are in euros.

Days 1 to 3: Rome, and a ticket released 30 days out

Colosseum tickets go on sale 30 days before the date of visit, carry the buyer's name and a compulsory time slot, and the standard 24 hour ticket limits time inside the amphitheater to 75 minutes.

It costs €18, €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25 and €11.50⁴ for Roma Pass holders, and covers the first and second levels with the terraces, the Colosseum museum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine.

Put this on day 2, not day 1. Jet lag and a fixed entry time are a bad combination, and the release date is far enough out that you can choose the hour.

Day 4: south to north in the middle of the week

With 48 direct services counted on the sampled weekday, the mid morning train is never the last one, and you check into a Florentine hotel by lunch.

Book seats rather than turning up. High speed tickets are tied to a train and a seat, unlike regional fares, which is the single biggest difference between the two systems in Italy.

Days 4 and 5: Florence, and the pass that costs less

The 5 day PassePartout costs €40 and covers the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Garden; with the Vasari Corridor it is €58. The corridor supplement on a single visit is €20.

That €40 is less than the sum of its parts: an advance Uffizi ticket alone is €29 and Pitti is €19. Anyone staying more than one day in Florence is losing money by buying separately.

The Uffizi's own tariff is worth reading twice, because it inverts the usual logic: €25 for a same day ticket, €29 booked ahead, €2 reduced, and a €16 afternoon rate for entries after 4:00 pm introduced in January 2026. There is also an annual pass at €80, €120⁵ for a family and €25 for Boboli alone.

Day 6: Florence to Venice, 2 hours 14

The fastest direct service takes 2 hours 14 minutes, which leaves a full afternoon at the other end. Arrive at Venezia Santa Lucia and you are already in the city, with no transfer.

Buy the transport pass at the station, before the first boat. The timed passes cost €25 for 24 hours, €35 for 48, €45 for 72 and €65 for 168⁷, and validity runs from first validation rather than from midnight. A single ride is €9.50, so the 24 hour pass pays for itself in under three journeys.

Travelers aged 6 to 29 can take the 72 hour pass at €27 after buying the €6 Rolling Venice card. The 24 hour Venezia Daily Pass also covers regional Trenitalia services inside the city boundary.

Day 7: leaving Venice, and what you do not pay

Venice's access fee has not applied since July 27, 2026, after a 2026 trial that ran from April 3 to July 26 over 60 non consecutive days. Any later season needs a fresh council decision, so this is a fact with a date on it rather than a permanent state of affairs.

It never applied to people staying overnight in any case. On a seven night trip with two Venetian nights, it was never your charge.

For the city pages behind this route see Rome, Florence and Venice.

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