Travelkip

Hi all, we are in europe this summer to see a singer you might have heard of called Taylor Swift. haha. We see her show on August 8 in Vienna. We arrive in Vienna on the 5th and spend those 4 days exploring Venice. Then we have some options. My daughter is desperate to see Venice, so we were thinking we'd take a train there and stay for 2 nights and then train to Florence for 3 nights, and head back to London on the 14th, ahead of our flight back to North America on the 16th.

My questions are: is 2 days enough in Venice? We take the train on the 9th to Venice but it's a long train ride. So then most of the day is done, and we really only have 1 full day there.

Should we skip Florence and stay in Venice longer? I understand it will be crowded and hot.

Any advice VERY appreciated. THank you

Travel_Nerd

Have you already booked your flights? If not, I'd fly into Venice and home from Vienna.

I'm a little confused about your actual arrival date. You say you arrive in Vienna on the 5th, concert is the 8th. Are you planning on spending any time in Vienna at all? And please clarify how many days on the ground you truly have.

if you are flying RT, then you need to get into Venice and then back to Vienna and you need to figure in this transit.

5 nights in Italy would only net you 4 full days of sightseeing, less if you are coming from Vienna. In order to have 2 days for Venice, you would need to be spending 3 nights there. Also need to figure in time in Florence, too. Same logic.

Imho, no, you do not have time for both. Venice is so often rushed by travelers that only giving it a flyby when it deserves longer. Same with Florence.

It will be very hot and humid (little shade!) and extremely crowded. If you want to do any sightseeing in the museums and churches in any of the cities (Vienna included) you will need to prebook in advance, especially in Italy.

Even if you're accustomed to heat in NA, you are also accustomed to AC. Do not expect many sightseeing places in Europe to also have AC. Walking around all day in the humid sun and stuffy buildings WILL weigh on you and tire you easily.

Travelkip

Thanks for your reply. I should have been more specific. We are flying into and out of London. We arrive ~ mid morning on the 5th in Vienna and then the concert is the 8th. I have not booked the train so assuming I can get a seat, it will be Vienna -> Venice which shows a 7 hour trip, leaving early morning on the 9th I think. We are flying out of Florence (not booked yet, we can also fly back to London from Venice) to London.

Does this change anything? Would you prefer Florence or Venice? I think I have to go to Venice as it somewhere my daughter very much wants to go to.

Thanks again

Travel_Nerd

Ok. When are you flying to London from Florence? If it is not on the same ticket, you may have to be in London the night before that flight. Have you booked the flight from Florence to London?

It's not about my preference, its about yours. If Renaissance art is not a preference to you or your daughter, then Florence may have little interest to you. Me, I like both cities but for different reasons. I'd spend some time researching both cities, maybe peruse some guidebooks.

I don't mean to be harsh, but your itinerary seems really, really complicated now that London has been added to it.

shelemm

3 nights in Venice. There is plenty in Venice to explore for 2 days. You can then move on, but it doesn't have to be Florence which becomes unpleasant in the summer. You could also consider Padua, Viecenza, and Verona.

SusanP

I think the confusion is from the OP's original post where he said they would explore Venice for those 4 days.I think that is a typo and he meant Vienna.
The way I read it is that they fly from London to Vienna, have 4 days in Vienna before the concert, then have 5 nights for Venice and/or Florence before flying back to London.
Maybe he could either confirm that this is correct or clarify if it isn't.
Since the whole day is going to be used on the train to Venice, 2 nights there is not enough, and since that's where his daughter really wants to go, it would not be difficult to spend 4 full days there and fly back to London from Venice.

Travelkip

Yes!! I meant we arrive in Vienna and spend 4 days exploring there. THEN we are going to Venice!

raincitygirl

SusanP I thought the same as you.
Travelkip, my suggestion would be to spend all your five nights in Venice, that gives you four days and you can really explore and enjoy. It will likely be hot and crowded but you can go out to Burano and Murano to cool off on the boat ride, you could also have a daytrip out to Lido to go to the beach; get up and out early to see the main things and then enjoy in the evening when so many of the day trippers have left. We were there once in July and found if we got away from the area around San Marco the crowds drastically thinned out. Taking a nap in the afternoon in the worst of the heat can be a good idea too.
You can fly back to London from Venice. Unless you are both stuck on the train trip you may want to consider flying from Vienna to Venice, that would give you a little more time. Venice is like no other city, I'm sure you will enjoy.
A word of advice, not meant to scare, just to inform, be very aware of pickpockets there. If you must carry a backpack around, make sure to carry it on your front, your daughter should wear her handbag on the front, be really aware, they are rampant and they are slick.

I love Florence but it sits in a bowl and is a heat trap in summer and the crowds are horrendous. I'd save Florence for another month. I was there this past November and it was not too bad crowd wise.

mendota98

Hotels in Vienna have doubled their prices for the Taylor Swift concerts. I hope you have a place to stay.

the train to Venice may be very crowded. In Austria the government sells a train ticket in the summer allowing cheap traveling. Perhaps look into flying.

Venice holds many great attractions and there are several fun day trips to be taken. Such as Verona or Trieste. It’s easy to take the train from Venice to explore Italy for a day.

I would skip Florence as it will be very crowded.
How did you obtain tickets?