Tourists to Italy are often forced to decide between staying in either Venice or Rome on their Italian holiday. While it’s not possible to stay in two places at once, it is possible to see the best of both cities without breaking the bank. Venice is in Northern Italy and Rome is in Central Italy; the cities are 530 kilometers apart (330 miles).
The temptation is to stay in one of the fine Italian hotels in either city and hire a car before leaving one city to drive to the other city for the second half of your holiday. This is not practical as neither city is particularly easy to drive in. Both cities have very heavy traffic and parking is notoriously difficult to find. Both Venice and Rome were built before automobile were invented so the streets are exceptionally narrow and often one-way. Unfortunately, the major tourist attractions in each city are located in the older sections of the city where the streets are the narrowest.
The roads between Venice and Rome are not easily traversed by drivers unfamiliar with driving in Italy. You will encounter tolls, and just finding the correct change can be frustrating. The autostrada is a very fast roadway between the two cities, but the speed limit is about 130 kilometers per hour or 80 miles per hour. As in many countries, most drivers exceed the speed limit. In an unfamiliar car on an unfamiliar roadway, these speeds simply are not safe.
The most practical method to tour Venice and Rome is to take a train between the two cities. The high-speed Frecciargento trains travel at up to 250 kilometers per hour or 155 miles per hour. You can book your train ticket online, along with hotels in each city. Many tourists use this train, there is ample room for a reasonable amount of luggage per person on the train. If you plan on doing any shopping, save the city where you plan to shop the most for last so you won’t have to transport extra items on the train. The train is definitely the easiest way to see both cities as it’s too difficult to pick just one.
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