My wife and I are taking our Mom's on a 12 day European trip. Looking for recommendations of areas or even specific hotels to stay in. Rome, Venice and Zurich/Lucerne are the destinations. Thanks TexAgs

here's a previous Rome thread.

https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/2844601

I wouldn't spend more than one day in Venice.

Why not? We were planning on two days there plus the day we arrive in.

Bring comfortable shoes for walking.

aggdave said:

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Why not? We were planning on two days there plus the day we arrive in.

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We are planning an Italian vacation in September so I'd also like to know your detailed thoughts. Venice seems to get very mixed reviews...some people could spend two weeks and for others 1-2 days is plenty. Seems like a "must see" location from a historical relevance perspective, but if 1 day is enough, I'm not sure it's worth the train ride, switching hotels, etc.

I think Venice deserves 2 full days (3 nights). That's a day to see the sights and a day to just wander around and enjoy the city.

Look at staying in the Trastevere area of Rome.

If your only options in Switzerland are Lucerne and Zurich, spend all your time in Lucerne (you can even stay there on departure night if you're flying out of ZRH, as long as your flight isn't like 6 a.m.), but, honestly, I'd stay in the Berner Oberland (Wengen was my choice) or somewhere in the mountains--Switzerland is about seeing the Alps and riding the rails, more than it is about the cities, particularly if you are seeing cities elsewhere on your trip.

Ag_N_Houston said:

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I wouldn't spend more than one day in Venice.

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Agree, not much to do there and the food is not good, I would do Florence instead.

I enjoyed Venice and we spent 3 nights there. However, we went in late February and it was not terribly crowded. I am sure it would be terrible with huge crowds. Just the crowd that I saw with one cruise ship in port made me run away from St Marks.

If I went back to Rome I would stay at the hotel pantheon based on recs from here. I loved that area, but have stayed at the international de la ville (great hotel in an area with great shopping) at the top of the Spanish steps the two times that I have been.

In venice, I stayed at Westin Europa and Regina very close to st marks square and on the grand canal. I'd stay there again.