We used this driver in Rome and absolutely loved him. https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g187791-d2414683-Reviews-Luke_Limousine-Rome_Lazio.html 

Lots of good tips for getting in to attractions.

We loved Orvieto. Are you staying there? I ask because you did not indicate that it's a day trip. It was a day trip for us while we were in Rome, after our Rick Steves tour concluded. The duomo in Orvieto is amazing!!! On the RS tour, we stopped at a winery located just outside of Orvieto. In fact, from Orvieto, you can see the winery off in the distance. I would highly recommend trying to work in a visit to Tenuta Le Velette for a tour/wine tasting. The tasting is held in the dining room of the family home and is paired with appetizer type foods.

We rented bikes and rode on the city wall in Lucca. And climbed this tower

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinigi_Tower

(because you can climb all the way to the top unlike Pisa, which was important to ds).

And had delicious bread from this bakery: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187898-d1023846-r301019104-Forno_a_vapore_Amedeo_Giusti-Lucca_Province_of_Lucca_Tuscany.html

In Venice, we ate at this restaurant on Mazzorobo:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g2642447-d1817529-Reviews-Venissa_il_Ristorante-Mazzorbo_Veneto.html

Pricey, but good food and a wonderful location.

We did a food tour in Venice as well and I really liked that.

In Rome, we did a night tour of the Colloseum and I highly recommend that. Much cooler (we were there in summer) and no crowds. We also went to the Basilica St. Clemente which has layers of history underneath. https://archaeology-travel.com/readers-write/see-a-mithraeum-in-rome/

We also did a day trip from Rome to Ostia Antica, which was really interesting. The ruins are extensive and you can walk through them and even touch them. We did a guided trip via the subway. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostia_Antica

And we did another day trip to a cooking class, where we made pasta from scratch and ate our delicious meal. This was a last minute booking for us and we enjoyed it a lot. They picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel. https://m.viator.com/tours/Rome/Small-Group-Cooking-Lesson-in-Roman-Countryside/d511-5034COOKING?pref=02&aid=gdsarlsa&mcid=28353&tsem=true&supag=44245498559&supkl=kl&supsc=s&supai=212836666440&supap=1t3&supdv=t&supnt=g&supti=aud-301244703583:dsa-372840532684&suplp=9029602&supli=&gclid=CjwKCAjwwo7cBRBwEiwAMEoXPIcrk1c8ictdHyfiIjiMNPrec3hvFhFi8hVDaaLJCRlIOFauEGx4TRoC64AQAvD_BwE

Thanks everyone. We are staying overnight in Orvieto.

I have had terrible luck travelling in Italy. Rail strikes seem to be par for the course. My travelling companion was pickpocketed in Rome and lost his passport and rail pass, so instead of seeing the Vatican, I got to see the police station and the British Embassy (outside only, because I'm not British).

That was many years ago, but my impression from reading is that pickpockets are still a big problem in Rome, so be extremely careful with your stuff.

FWIW, ds and I were there the summer of 2016 and had no issues with trains being delayed or pickpockets, though people do warn about them. I am sure it was mostly luck for us. I carried our passports in a money belt and had a crossbody purse firmly under one arm hoping to discourage pickpocketing.

I will second crl's recommendations of Basilica St. Clemente and Ostia Antica!!!

In Venice (I was just there the last week of May), we did a cicchietti & wine tour one evening. I'll ask my friend the contact info for our guide, if you're interested. You can also go to the cicchietti bars on your own. We loved Cantina Do Mori.

For dining, we loved our lunch at La Zucca (we did all vegetarian as it was so hot). (reserve)

One night, meeting a friend who lives in Venice, we dined at Estro. Another great place. (reserve)

I highly recommend See Venice Guide Tours with Luisella Romeo. She's friends with my friends, and we met her for drinks. She was already booked up for the Doges Palace, but recommended another woman, who gave one friend and I a private tour that was 3 hours.

It's been awhile since I've been to the other places, but I'm heading to Sicily and Rome soon.

Thanks. I'm so disorganized this time. We have a food tour booked in Florence and I can't remember if we booked one in Venice. We were 8 days in Rome a few years ago, so we're really just going to relax for a day and a half before we get home.

I visit Italy often and one of the hidden treasures in Venice is to cross the Rialto bridge and go to the other side. It was once a total Jewish community and there is an amazing temple there but the shops, jewelry, restaurants are all wonderful and much more affordable than the St. Mark's square side. There are street musicians playing all through the area which makes it so charming.

Thanks everyone. We’re ataying at the JW Marriott in Venice, which is its own island. I could probably just spend the full two weeks there!

If I’m repeating someone else’s recommendation, forgive me. I’m running short on time this morning and haven’t read the other comments. We were in Italy for 3 weeks in May.

One of the highlights of our trip was Florence for Foodies tour. Loved every minute of it!

Download the Rick Steves app, “Rick Steves Audio Europe.” It has wonderful walking tours of Venice, Florence, and Rome. You need to open the app, go to ”Find Tours & Interviews,” go to “Italy (Venice, Florence, and Rome)“ and download the tours that you are likely to use to “My Playlist.” Then you can listen to the tours without streaming. On the just plain “Italy” section, there is a track that is a Siena City Walk.

I second seeing the Peggy Guggenheim museum! It is closed one day a week (Monday? Tuesday?).

One day is not enough time in Siena, in my opinion. Make sure to see the inside of the cathedral. It's quite hilly there, and so be prepared for some uphill hikes.

Florence is a great place to buy leather items, but I don't remember exactly where we went, although it was only two blocks from the Uffizi. I think Just don't forget to look into all store windows - something I do anyway, but my brother does not. I bought a very nice purse there and he bought anice soft leather attaché case (almost like a large messenger bag). He also bought two pairs of shoes, and I bought some very nice sandals. Don't forget the VAT vouchers.

We hope to go to Venice next time - we only sent to Rome, Florence, Siena, Pitigliano, Tivoli, and then back to Rome. We got a traffic ticket in Tivoli and had to pay for it via bank transfer almost two years later. Be very careful if you drive and make sure you understand what the signs means - we didn't, and we're lucky we didn't get more tickets.

Are you taking the train or driving from Florence to Orvieto? I only ask because it's not always a common stop. We loved Orvieto but only stayed the night. I think Duca di Orvieto is the restaurant with the ancient recipes (no tomato, before the New World influence) and Antica Cantina was fine if all the others are closed. If by car, I highly recommend the city of Montepulciano (go to the Mazzetti copper workshop for a handcrafted piece) or Montalcino (and the Brunello wine tastings). Lucca was terrific as well, but I don't have a recent recommendation for there or Siena. It sounds like you are set for Rome, but I've enjoyed Yotvata in the Jewish quarter (Jewish-Roman cuisine) and a small, no sign/no menu restaurant run by a couple near the Vatican.

In Rome, we saw some things at off hours, if we could. We got to the Pantheon one morning as it opened. The only others visiting at that hour were art/architecture students making drawings.

From there, we wandered over to Piazza Navona and managed to see it before the hoards descended. Someone had suggested that we have lunch at the restaurant at the Museum of Rome, which is at the south end of Piazza Navona. We reserved a table by the window, then visited the Canaletto exhibition whetting our appetite for Venice. We had lunch while watching the people on the Piazza Navona. I particularly enjoyed watching the people taking pictures in front of the fountains. One must have been a fashion blogger. She strutted and posed and strutted and posed while her friend handled the camera.

We went to the Tivoli Fountain at night to avoid the crush. We got there about 8 p.m. Ten p.m. would have been even better!

We ate at Pizzeria Ristorante di Nonno Mede in Siena, which was half a block from our hotel, and we both liked it a lot. Great Calzone and very good gnocchi. We only had lunch there, and it was not crowded.

Again, thanks for the recommendations. We’re on the train for this trip. We are staying five nights in Florence (Marriott points, book four nights and get the fifth night free). We usually pick a couple day trips and may or may not take them. I’m keeping track of the recommendations.

We hired a driver in Florence and went to Lucca (which is also accessible by train) and then on to Tellaro for lunch. We particularly liked Tellaro. It was beautiful and had virtually no tourists. We spent about three or four hours there total and that was enough, imo. If you are interested, I will see if I can find the name of the restaurant. It was very good—some of the best food we had in Italy.

https://www.miomyitaly.com/tellaro.html

Oh oh, I almost forgot one thing that you *must* do in Venice - have dessert in the evening at Florians in St. Marks’ Square while the orchestra plays. Yes, it is cheesy. Yes, it is pricey. And, yes, it is worth it!

Robo - I'm curious - what was the approx cost of your day's tour with Luke - and for how many people. I'd be interested in doing that

Oh, how could I forget. The opera in Venice.

Just getting back to this

DYH - what tour group did you use for the food tour in Venice? There were a couple I saw.

TIA

Let me get the contact info from my friend who arranged it. I'll be back soon.

Awesome. Thanks. We'll be there through Friday. I have not started packing yet....

My friend originally tried to book Monicacesarato.com, but she was unavailable and recommended our guide, Romena Brugnerotto (I hate to spell out her private email address, but it you search for her, you'll see various ways to contact, through Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

Another friend used Cecelia Sitran from TasteVenice.it

You can't go wrong with any of these (per my friends).

Excellent! Thanks. We’re sitting in the Atlanta Sky Club waiting for our next flight!