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Top Accessible Italy Vacations

By John Sage

accessible-italy-vacationThese top 7 accessible Italian vacation itineraries include stays in Rome, Florence, and Venice as well as the Tuscan countryside!

Romance, art, wineries, beautiful Tuscan scenery, and some of the most interesting and well-preserved ancient history of any other European country—Italy really has something for everyone.

Relax as you sip an authentic Italian cappuccino in Venice, marvel at Michelangelo’s David in Florence, step back in time as you visit ancient Roman ruins, or enjoy an accessible tour of a Chianti winery outside Siena. On an accessible Italian vacation, your options are limitless!

 

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#16 – Rome, Florence, and Venice in 10 days

top-10-accessible-vacationThis accessible vacation in Italy is without a doubt one of the most popular European vacations…we get requests for this trip all the time.

One of the first considerations you’ll have is in which order to see the cities.  I’ve done it both ways, and I recommend starting in Rome and finishing in Venice.  That way you can do a lot of Rome sightseeing while you have a healthy appetite for history and culture, and when you finish in Venice you can slow down your pace and relax in one of the most unique and beautiful cities in the world.

  • accessible-italy-vacationRome – With 4 days in Rome, you can visit many of the highlights that you’ve heard about your entire lifetime.  I recommend dividing and conquering the enormous amount of sightseeing opportunities in the Eternal City.  The actual order of your sightseeing will depend on the days of the week, but here’s an example itinerary.Day 1 is spent visiting the sights of Ancient Rome including the Colosseum, Trajan’s Market, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.  Day 2 includes visits to the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums, the Raphael Rooms, St. Peter’s Square, and St. Peter’s Basilica.  Day 3 includes walking/rolling between the various sights in the Centro Storico region including the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Vittorio Emanuale monument, the Pantheon, and numerous churches.  On Day 4, you can spend time visiting smaller churches like St. Peter in Chains, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterno, and Santa Maria degli Angeli, as well as world-class museums like the National Museum of Rome, the Capitoline Museums, and the Borghese Gallery.
  • accessible-italy-vacations-1Florence – A comfortable first-class train ride will bring you from Rome into the heart of Tuscany.  With 3 days in Florence, you will be able to see Michelangelo’s David, Boticelli’s Birth of Venus, and Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise.  The Florence city walking tour is one of my favorite walking tours in all of Europe…you’ll hear about the origins of the Renaissance which transformed religion, art, and science for the Western World.  The first dome built since ancient Roman times towers above you at the Duomo Cathedral, and you can visit the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo in Santa Croce church.  Souvenir shopping can include the leather goods near the Medici Chapels or the historic jewelry shops on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge!
  • accessible-italy-vacations-2Venice – Your Italian vacation finishes with 3 days in Venice.  After a first-class train ride from Florence, you’ll be greeted at the Venice train station by a wheelchair accessible taxi to bring you to your accessible hotel.  If you’d like to avoid the 409 bridges in Venice, we can recommend hotels with step-free paths to accessible restaurants and attractions.  A guided tour showing the Doge’s Palace and its adjacent Bridge of Sighs will tell you the fascinating story of the Republic of Venice.  You can take an accessible boat tour on the Grand Canal (shown in the photo on the right), and visit attractions like the Guggenheim Museum, St. Mark’s Basilica, and the Frari Church.  Be sure to get away from the tourist crowds and dine in the hidden piazzas and along the small canals where the locals do!

#17 – Rome, Florence, and Venice with an Extension in Tuscany in 14 days

accessible-italy-vacations-3While visiting Italy, many people like to extend their stay in Tuscany to experience some of the beautiful small towns and wineries.  The easiest way for disabled travelers to do this is add 4 days to the Accessible Vacation #16 described above.

By adding two days in Pisa or Tuscany, you’ll be able to spend one day exploring the attractions in Lucca and another taking a quick day trip to see Pisa and its famous Leaning Tower in the Field of Miracles.

With two days in Siena, you’ll be able to visit the churches, museums, and famous Piazza del Campo (shown in the photo on the right) in town.  Although Siena is hillier than Lucca, we can show you the flattest routes to get around town.  From here, you can easily take a day trip that visits a Chianti winery & the numerous medieval towers of San Gimignano.

#18 – Focus on the Renaissance – Rome & Florence in 7 days

This vacation is a shortened version of Accessible Vacation #16.  You’ll get to experience Ancient Rome and the Vatican with 4 nights in Rome.  In Florence, you’ll be able to concentrate on art, Renaissance history, Italian cuisine, and Chianti wine!

#19 – The Eternal City – Rome in 7 days

accessible-italy-vacations-4top-10-accessible-vacationTo truly see all the highlights of Rome, you’ll need at least 7 days.  This accessible vacation also has the added benefit that you only have to unpack once!

On this accessible vacation, you’ll be able to spend relaxing afternoons sipping coffee and people watching in scenic piazzas like Campo de Fiori (shown in the photo on the right), the Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona.  You will also have the option to take a day-trip to Pompeii, Ostia Antica, or Florence

#20 – Southern Italy – Rome, Naples, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast in 8 days

accessible-italy-vacations-5This accessible vacation spends 4 days in Rome followed by 4 days visiting the incredible attractions in the Naples region.  After visiting Rome (attractions described above), you’ll be able to take a first-class accessible train ride down to Southern Italy.  While here, you’ll have the option of staying in the bustling and historic city of Naples or in the charming slower-paced town of Sorrento.

Often overlooked by first-time visitors to Italy, the region surrounding Naples contains some of the most impressive attractions in Europe.

  • The ancient city of Pompeii and its residents were buried by an ash cloud from the Mt. Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.
  • The wealthier Roman city of Herculaneum was buried by a pyroclastic slide which better preserved many of the building roofs and woodwork.  It also has some good accessibility for ancient ruins!
  • With special permission, you can hitch a ride to the crater rim of Mt. Vesuvius where you can see steam escaping inside the crater and the city of Naples sprawling below it!
  • The Kingdom of Naples has a rich history still preserved in landmarks like the Teatro San Carlo, the Royal Palace, the Galleria Umberto, the Castel Nuovo, and the Piazza del Plebiscito.  You’ll also want to spend some time visiting the National Archaeological Museum which houses almost all of the artifacts recovered from Pompeii.
  • The town of Sorrento is perched on cliffs high above the Bay of Naples and offers a small town Italian experience.  The scenic Amalfi Coast can easily be reached by car from Sorrento.
  • The spectacular island of Capri is a short ferry ride away and is so scenic that it was a summer residence for Roman Emperors!  A cable car leads to amazing views (shown in the photo above on the right) and a moderately accessible boat tour is available.

#21 – Taste of Tuscany – Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, Pisa, and Lucca in 7 days

accessible-italy-vacations-6The Taste of Tuscany accessible vacation visits all of the towns described in Accessible Vacations #16 and #17.  You can fly into Rome, then take an accessible train ride or a quicker accessible van transfer to reach Tuscany.

While in Tuscany, you can choose to make Florence your home base the entire time so you only have to unpack once.  Alternatively, you can spend part of your time staying in accessible hotels in Siena, Pisa, and/or Lucca.  Either way, you’ll be able to visit accessible wineries in Tuscany (shown in the photo on the right) in the beautiful Tuscan countryside!

#22 – Three Weeks in Italy – Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri, Rome, Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, and Venice in 21 days

accessible-italy-vacations-7This is the deluxe accessible Italy vacation.  You’ll spend 21 days visiting southern Italy, central Italy, and northern Italy.  You’ll also be traveling through the centuries:

  • Ancient Roman sights at the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Trajan’s Market, the ruins of Pompeii, and the ruins of Herculaneum
  • Medieval sights in the Centro Storico district of Rome, the late medieval palaces of Florence, the 14 towers of San Gimignano, the walled fortifications of Lucca, St. Mark’s Basilica of Venice, and Florence’s Ponte Vecchio bridge
  • Renaissance sights like the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Florence’s Duomo cathedral & Strozzi Palace, Naples’ Piazza del Plebiscito, and the Santa Maria del Popolo & St. Peter in Chains churches in Rome
  • Baroque sights like the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Royal Palace of Naples
  • Modern sights like the Vittorio Emanuale Monument (shown in the photo above on the right), the windows in the Vasari Corridor above the Ponte Vecchio, and the Galleria Umberto in Naples

You’ll also be able to see some Italy’s best natural beauty including the rolling hills of Tuscany, the steep cliffs on Capri Island, and the volcanic crater of Mt. Vesuvius.

The itinerary that I suggest for this accessible vacation is 2 nights in Naples, 3 nights in Sorrento (including day-trips to Pompeii & Capri), 5 nights in Rome, 4 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Siena (including a day trip to San Gimignano), 2 nights in Lucca (including a day trip to Pisa), and 3 nights in Venice.  We can of course plan a trip based on an itinerary customized for you.

 

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Learn more about the Top 50 Awesome Accessible European Vacations:

1-6: London & Paris
7-11: The Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and more)
12-14: Baltic Cruises
16-22: Italy
23-25: Mediterranean Riviera
26-27: Ancient Civilizations
28-31: Europe-wide Vacations
32-34: Mediterranean Cruises from Barcelona
35-38: Mediterranean Cruises from Rome and Istanbul
39-43: Mediterranean Cruises from Venice
44-45: 3 to 4 Week Mediterranean Cruises
46-50: Luxury Mediterranean Cruises

 

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