Travel Diary: 11 Days Visiting Rome, Florence, and Assisi in Italy!

Of all the countries my husband and I have visited, we agree that Italy is one of our favorites.

So we were obviously ecstatic when my family decided to take a family trip to Italy at the end of March this year!

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When my family first started planning an Italy trip, we were leaning toward visiting Cinque Terre in summer. However, we ultimately decided to visit Florence and Assisi in spring to coincide with my niblings' spring break. 

Truthfully, I was a little disappointed not to visit Cinque Terre — I've seen so many travel guides and social media posts about the stunning Italian coastline in the summer — but I ended up loving Florence and Assisi!

My sister had used Bethesda Travel Center for her honeymoon to Italy in 2011, and we decided to use them for this trip because, with so many people (11 total, including 2 children), it seemed smarter to put the planning in someone else's hands!

This was my first time ever using a travel agency, and Bethesda Travel Center made it so easy!


In Rome's St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro), overlooking Saint Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro)
Sunglasses: Illesteva | Jacket: Old Navy (old, similar here) | Dress: Asos

here's what to know

  • Know the airline exchange policy: It was only on this trip that I learned about airline exchange policies, so I'm putting it at the top, haha! When we arrived in Rome and picked up our checked suitcases, I was dismayed to see that my (fairly new!) Delsey suitcase had a chunk broken off, including a back wheel. I was stressed about lugging a broken full-size suitcase around Italy for 11 days! Luckily, airlines have an exchange policy, so we were able to exchange my broken suitcase at the airport for a functioning similarly-sized one.
  • Confirm the outlets: If you're an American, outlets in Europe are different and require an adapter to use your electronics. Our hotel in Florence still had older Italian outlets (with 2 prongs instead of 3), so our usual travel plug adapter (with 3 prongs) didn't work. However, the hotel front desk was able to provide us with adapters!
  • Pack your own conditioner: I feel like I've never stayed in a hotel in Europe that had free conditioner, only free shampoo and body wash! So I was glad I'd packed my travel conditioner in my toiletry bag.
  • Protect yourself from mosquitoes! Apparently mosquitoes are bad in Florence. We slept with our windows open our first night, and I woke up the next morning with 7+ bug bites just on my face. So exercise caution if you're like me and attract mosquitoes! (Meanwhile, my husband didn't get bitten once.) We also asked the front desk for mosquito repellant to plug into the wall.
  • Beware of scams! On our last trip to Rome, people attempted to scam my husband and me on 3 separate occasions — trying to sell us a fake tour of the Colosseum, fake tickets to the Vatican, and help with purchasing metro tickets. It's always smart to be aware of your surroundings and think critically!
Outside the Colosseum
  • Wear comfortable shoes: We did a lot of walking in Florence, and the cobblestones can be treacherous.
  • Know what to expect from restaurant menus! I've read so many stories online of people being surprised by their checks at restaurants in Italy. Here's my understanding based on what I've read online:
    • Coperto is a flat per-person fee/fixed cover charge. It's a remainder from the days when people would bring their own food, so they'd simply be charged for the space at the table and the tableware. It's illegal in the Lazio region (which includes Rome), so avoid eating at restaurants that indicate they charge this.
    • Sometimes bread has an extra fee (pane) rather than being free or on the house. (This is how some restaurants in Rome get around coperto being illegal.) You can always refuse the bread if they bring it and you don't want to pay for it.
    • Tipping is not common or expected, but if you see servizio on the menu or bill, that is essentially a tip.
    • Coffee prices can vary depending on whether you sit down, in which case you might be charged for the space (tavolo). Banco is the bar/standing price.
    • Check the menu to see if items are being priced by weight versus the actual total cost for the meal.
    • Try to avoid from eating and drinking near popular tourist sites, and avoid places that have staff at the door or menus outside in English, as those will likely be overpriced.
  • Visiting St. Peter's Basilica for religious purposes? Use the Prayer Path: In 2023, the Vatican introduced a separate “prayer path" entrance for those who want to enter St. Peter’s Basilica for Mass or to pray, rather than for tourist purposes. It seems like they're still working out some issues, but this is nonetheless a good option for those who want to pray rather than sight-see.
  • Any Vatican visit will likely feel rushed no matter what: I had read online that Vatican group tours aren't worth it because they'll feel rushed, but I think we would have felt rushed no matter what. The Vatican museum is very crowded (though, admittedly, we were visiting during Holy Week, an even more popular time than usual), and museum staff are constantly telling the crowds to keep moving.
  • Start your day early in Florence: It gets crowded, especially near the Piazza del Duomo. My husband and I woke up early one day and had it more or less to ourselves at 8am, but by 11am, it was shoulder-to-shoulder.
Outside the Florence Cathedral (aka La Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore) at 7:15am
  • For fun, watch Medici or House of Gucci before your visit: When we got back from Italy, my husband and I started Medici, which ran from 2016-2019 and is about the powerful and influential Medici family. While it's not entirely historically accurate, we still wished we'd watched at least the first season before our trip, as it made the historical family seem more real and thus helped us keep track of all the family members better. You could also watch House of Gucci since the Gucci fashion house was founded in Florence!
Outside the Florence Cathedral 
View of the dome and the bell tower from Piazza del Duomo

itinerary

We gave Bethesda Travel Center a general sense of what we were interested in, and then the agency planned out our trip for us in Florence and Assisi. Here's our itinerary!

  • Saturday 3/23: My husband and I left the U.S. on an afternoon flight out of D.C. 
  • Sunday 3/24: After a layover in Istanbul, my husband and I landed in Rome and took an Uber to our hotel, UNAHOTELS Decò Roma.
  • Monday 3/25: Since we arrived earlier than my family, we decided to go to St. Peter's Basilica just before 8am to try to make the 8:30am Mass. The long line delayed us, but we were able to make the 9am Mass instead. We left a few minutes early to dash over to the Vatican Museum for our 10am group tour. Afterward, we explored Rome on our own, from the Trevi Fountain to the Pantheon. We actually ended up seeing Pope Francis drive around St. Peter's Square as we left the Basilica!!!
The pope circled St. Peter's Square a few times :)
My selfie with Pope Francis
Sunglasses: Illesteva | Sweater: Banana Republic Factory
  • Tuesday 3/26: We took a morning train from Rome to Florence, where we checked into Hotel Botticelli, then met up with my family. We ended the night with a family dinner at Trattoria Zà Zà (reservations made by Bethesda Travel Center).
  • Wednesday 3/27: Bethesda Travel Center booked a local guide to give us a morning tour of the Uffizi Gallery. Afterward, my family and I climbed the dome of the Florence Cathedral (which is formally known as La Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore or the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, informally known as the Duomo). Our dinner was at Hosteria da Ganino (reservations made by Bethesda Travel Center).
Hanging out with some nude dudes outside the Uffizi Gallery
Sunglasses: Illesteva | Earrings: Bauble Bar (old, similar here and here) | Jacket: Old Navy (old, similar here) | Dress: Lulus | Purse: YSL (also available here or here) | Watch: Tory Burch
  • Thursday 3/28: Bethesda Travel Center booked the same local guide to give us a morning tour of the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze, where we saw Michelangelo's David. Afterward, we visited the Basilica di San Lorenzo, including the Medici Chapels. My husband and I climbed Giotto's bell tower, then attended Maundy Thursday service at the Florence Cathedral.
  • Friday 3/29: My family visited the Museo Galileo, but my husband and I chose to explore the streets of Florence instead. We walked over to the Ponte Vecchio (literally "Old Bridge" in Italian) and checked out a few churches. We returned to the Florence Cathedral for Good Friday service.
Exploring Florence!
Sunglasses: Illesteva | Earrings: Bauble Bar (old, similar here and here) | Jacket: Old Navy (old, similar here) | Dress: Lulus | Purse: YSL (also available here or here) | Watch: Tory Burch | Shoes: Vince Camuto (they're old but I love them so much, the Breshan Ankle Strap Espadrille Wedge)
  • Saturday 3/30: Bethesda Travel Center arranged for drivers to take us from Florence to Assisi! Along the way, we briefly stopped in San Gimignano, then had lunch and wine tasting at Podere La Marronaia, before arriving at Santa Maria degli Ancillotti, our home for the next few days.
 
Taking in the sights (and aperol spritzes) in San Gimignano
 
Wine tasting at Podere La Marronaia
Sunglasses: Illesteva | Sweater: Banana Republic Factory | Dress: Pink Lily | Sandals: Steve Madden (also available here or here)
  • Sunday 3/31: Easter Sunday! We attended Easter Mass at a church in Assisi, then spent the rest of the day relaxing at Santa Maria degli Ancillotti.
Easter Sunday
Sunglasses: Illesteva | Dress: Amazon | Purse: YSL (also available here or here)
On the property of Santa Maria degli Ancillotti
Sunglasses: Illesteva (also available here) | Jacket: Old Navy (old, similar here) | Dress: Asos | Purse: YSL (also available here or here)
  • Monday 4/1: Bethesda Travel Center booked a local guide to give us a tour of Assisi, during which we visited Rocca Maggiore (a castle), a former gladiator arena, and tons of churches: The Assisi Cathedral (also called the Cathedral of San Rufino); the Temple of Minerva (a Roman temple transformed into a church now called Santa Maria Sopra Minerva); the Basilica of St. Claire (la Basilica di Santa Chiara); the Basilica of St. Francis (la Basilica di San Francesco); and the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels (la Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli).
  • Tuesday 4/2: Since our flight home was out of Rome, Bethesda Travel Center arranged for drivers to take us from Assisi back to Rome, where we did a quick highlights tour that included the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, and St. Peter's Basilica. Unfortunately, we were too late to climb the dome at St. Peter's. That night, we stayed at the Hilton Rome Airport Hotel.
Quick stop at the Colosseum
Sunglasses: Illesteva (also available here) | Jacket: Old Navy (old, similar here) | Dress: Asos | Purse: YSL (also available here or here) | Shoes: Vince Camuto (they're old but I love them so much, the Breshan Ankle Strap Espadrille Wedge)
On the Spanish Steps!
  • Wednesday 4/3: The end of our trip, as we flew home to the United States.

what i recommend

In Rome
  • Visit St. Peter's Basilica: Whether you're religious or not, St. Peter's is an experience. The basilica is huge, stunning, and contains so much history and art (St. Peter's is the site of Michelangelo's La Pietà, formally known as the Madonna della Pietà). Highly recommend purchasing a ticket to climb the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica, which has 551 steps in total. You'll likely have to wait in a long line to enter, though in my experience the line does move quickly. (If you use the Prayer Path, you will likely still have a wait but not as long of one).
Inside St. Peter's Basilica
La Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica
My husband and I were leaving the Basilica when we realized a car was right behind us, so we moved to get out of the way... and then at the same time, we realized no one else would be in a car in St. Peter's Square except for the pope!
  • Tour the Vatican Museum: You can't come to Rome and not see the Sistine Chapel! I also recommend Raphael's Rooms and the statue of Laocoön and His Sons. Fun Fact: While the original sculpture of Laocoön is in the Vatican Museum, artist Baccio Bandinelli was commissioned to create a replica that's now in Florence; his version has some differences, including restoring the arms that had been broken off the original. We saw Bandinelli's version at the Uffizi in Florence!
  • See the Colosseum: You can check out the outside of the Colosseum for free, but you'll need tickets to go inside. Purchase these in advance if you can, from a legitimate source!
The Colosseum during the day
Coat: Lulus | Jeans: Old Navy
And at night
  • Take a Big Bus or Hop On Hop Off Bus: I truly believe these kinds of buses are the best way to see a city quickly! You can rest your feet while learning about the sites via the audio guide, then hop off and explore all the highlights at your leisure before climbing back on!
In Florence
  • Visit the Florence Cathedral and climb the dome: I looove climbing to the top of buildings because it's a fun way to see the whole city! This duomo has 463 steps. While climbers used to use the same path to go up and down, they changed it during the pandemic so that now the climb is one way and timed (I believe you have a 30-minute window to climb up and look out over the city before you have to go back down). (Also, "duomo" simply means "cathedral" in Italian, so there are lots of duomos — more than 300 — throughout the country!)
The ceiling of the dome of the cathedral
The climb to the top of the cathedral's dome
 
Looking out
On top of the dome!

 

This is Giotto's Bell Tower, which you can also climb. You can see people peeking through on each of the floors and then encased in the protective area at the top!
  • Climb Giotto's Bell Tower: The bell tower is right next to the cathedral and has 414 steps. Unlike the Cathedral, people climb up and down the same way, and some of the stairs are very narrow (and winding). I personally thought being at the top of the Bell Tower was much more scary than being at the top of the Duomo — it felt less stable, though maybe it was just a windier day. Note that you can buy multiple combo tickets: Our ticket to climb the Duomo came with a climb of the Bell Tower within 3 days!
Climbing the bell tower
The day before, we'd been one of those people at the top of the dome!
 
Views from the bell tower
Here's what the top of the bell tower looked like
  • Check out all the art, especially at Uffizi Gallery and the Galleria dell'Accademia (site of Michelangelo's David): Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, with the Medici family playing a significant role, so visiting the art museums is a must. Truthfully, I have never been interested in art, but all the art in Florence grabbed my attention — in part because of our fantastic tour guide Cindy! My favorite pieces were Sandro Botticelli's paintings The Birth of Venus and Primavera (meaning "Spring"), as well as Artemisia Gentileschi's painting Judith Slaying Holofernes (depicting the Biblical scene), all of which are at the Uffizi Gallery.
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
Michelangelo's sculpture of David
  • Visit the Basilica di San Lorenzo, including the Medici Chapels: The Basilica di San Lorenzo is one of the largest and oldest churches of Florence, and major members of the Medici family are buried here. My favorite part was the Chapel of the Princes!
Inside the Chapel of the Princes
 
  • Walk the Ponte Vecchio (and the 2 neighboring bridges Ponte Santa Trinita and Ponte alle Grazie): The name of this bridge translates to "Old Bridge," and it's the only bridge that wasn't destroyed by the German army during WWII — according to legend, Adolf Hitler explicitly ordered that the bridge be spared.
On the Ponte Santa Trinita overlooking Ponte Vecchio in the background
 
  • Visit the Basilica of Santa Croce: This is another church with a stunning exterior, and Michelangelo is buried here.

Inside the Basilica of Santa Croce... this picture does not capture the total size of the basilica, this is only of one small area!

In Assisi
  • Visit the Rocca Maggiore, a castle built in 1316: We only stopped outside the castle, since we didn't have time for a full visit inside, but the views were fantastic.
Outside the castle — the haze is from sand from the Sahara Desert blowing across Italy!
View of the Basilica of Saint Francis from Rocca Maggiore
Wandering Assisi
  • So many churches! In Assisi, we visited the Assisi Cathedral (also called the Cathedral of San Rufino); the Temple of Minerva (a Roman temple transformed into a church now called Santa Maria Sopra Minerva); the Basilica of St. Claire (la Basilica di Santa Chiara); the Basilica of St. Francis (la Basilica di San Francesco); and the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels (la Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli).
Inside the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, a church inside an old Roman temple
Outside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
Frescoes inside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

And no matter where you are in Italy: Eat lots of gelato!

what else was on my list

Here are the things we didn't get to, but I wish we had!

  • Check out the Florence Wall.
  • Find a wine window in Florence.
  • Visit Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence.
 
  • Grab a cocktail at the rooftop restaurant Sesto On Arno at the Westin Excelsior in Florence: My husband and I stopped by this hotel lobby for a brief break, and even just the lobby was gorgeous! Unfortunately, it was too early to head to the rooftop.
  • Make a reservation at the rooftop of Rinascente in Florence for views.
  • Take a day trip from Assisi: From Assisi, you can visit Cinque Terre, Siena, Pisa, or Tuscany.
  • Purchase tickets for the Roman Forum.

where to eat and drink

In Rome

Gelato from Come il Latte
Dinner at Il Bocconcino — this restaurant had Roman and Jewish dishes/influence!

  • Also on my list: Pinsere for pizza; gelato from Giolitti; and Trapizzino, La Dispensa Dei Mellini, Grazia & Graziella, and Due Ladroni for meals

In Florence

Bethesda Travel Center booked dinner reservations for my family at Trattoria Zà Zà, Osteria Ganino, Trattoria Antico Fattore, and La Bussola dal 1960.

Amorino was our favorite gelato in Florence!
My husband and I grabbed lunch from Trattoria Mario, since it was right around the corner from our hotel, and it was just the authentic experience my husband wanted!

  • Also on my list: Mercato Centrale; Gusta Pizza; Acqua Al 2 (reservation needed); La Giostra; Francesco Vini; Fattoria Rossi Firenze; La Giostra (cash only); Il Gato e la Volp; I'Pizzacchiere; Antico Noe; and Gelateria dei Neri (recommended by a friend!)

In Assisi

All of our breakfast and dinners were included at our bed and breakfast Santa Maria degli Ancillotti — and every meal was not only delicious, the presentation was charming!

 

 

 

  • Also on my list: Il Vicolleto (make reservations); Trattoria Pallotta; Bibenda Assisi (chocolate and wine tastings); Ristorante Bar San Francesco (with a view of the Basilica of St. Francis); Taverna dei Consoli; Le Terrazze di Properzio; Bar Giardino San Lorenzo; Osteria Piazetta dell’Erba; and Taverna dei Consoli

what i packed

If you have read any of my other travel diaries, you know that I have a real problem with overpacking! Here's what I brought for this trip:

I also brought my travel T3 blow-dryer (updated version here), T3 curling wand, ghd straightener, and of course travel adapters. All of the hair tools can be used worldwide without having to adjust voltage!



where we stayed

Since my husband and I arrived in Italy earlier than the rest of my family, we booked our own hotel in Rome. The remaining hotels/accommodations during our trip were handled by Bethesda Travel Center.

Here are photos of my room at Santa Maria degli Ancillotti!
Walking into our room, the sitting area was first, with the bedroom and bathroom off the door to the left
Our bedroom, with attached bathroom
View at Santa Maria degli Ancillotti from the patio outside our room, once the air cleared up!
We were sadly a few weeks too early for the pool at Santa Maria degli Ancillotti to be open, I would love to sit out here with an aperol spritz!

links i used

check out my travel diary of my 2017 trip to rome!

Italy remains one of my favorite countries to visit. So far I've visited Rome, Venice, and now Florence and Assisi. 

Obviously there's so much history that's been captured anywhere you go in Europe, but I think what I like best about Italy is that every city I've been to feels so different, from the structures of Rome to the canals of Venice to the art in Florence to the religion in Assisi. And then there's the pasta, wine, and gelato!!

While I'm still daydreaming of a summer trip to the coast of Italy, I'd happily go back to Florence and Assisi!


Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

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