Italy has a reputation for being expensive, and parts of it are. But a two-week trip covering Rome, Florence and Venice doesn't have to break the bank if you know where the money actually goes. Here's a real, itemized breakdown from a mid-range trip for two people — no guessing, no padding.
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Accommodation: €1,540 for 13 nights
Mid-range hotels in Rome, Florence and Venice averaged €118/night across the trip — cheaper in Florence (€95/night, 3 nights), more expensive in Venice (€145/night, 3 nights) where hotel supply is naturally limited. Rome sat in the middle at €120/night for 4 nights. Booking 4–6 weeks ahead, rather than last-minute, kept these prices reasonable — Venice in particular spikes hard for last-minute bookings.
Internal transport: €340
High-speed train tickets (Rome–Florence, Florence–Venice) booked 2 weeks ahead cost €29–49 each way per person — about €280 total for two people on both legs. Add local transport (Rome metro/bus passes, Venice vaporetto multi-day pass, Florence is entirely walkable) at roughly €60 for the trip.
Book train tickets early. The same Rome–Florence Frecciarossa route can cost €19 (booked 3 weeks ahead) or €69 (booked the day before) for an identical seat. This alone can save €150–200 over a two-week trip.
Food: €980
This is where Italy actually offers great value if you eat like locals do. A trattoria dinner with wine runs €25–35/person; lunch at a tavola calda or simple pasta spot is €8–15/person; espresso standing at a bar counter is €1.20–1.50 (sitting down at a table can triple the price — this is normal and not a scam, just how Italian cafés price seating). Across 13 days for two people, food averaged €75/day combined — about €37.50/person/day including a mix of casual lunches and one proper dinner.
Attractions & activities: €410
The big-ticket items: Colosseum + Forum combined ticket (€18/person), Vatican Museums (€21/person), Uffizi Gallery (€25/person), Doge's Palace in Venice (€25/person), plus smaller church/museum entries throughout. Two people doing the major sights in each city spent roughly €410 total on entrance fees over the trip.
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The real total
For two people, 13 nights, mid-range comfort level: €3,270 excluding international flights — about €126/person/day. International flights (transatlantic, booked 2 months ahead) added roughly €1,400 for two round-trip tickets, bringing the grand total to about €4,670 for the full trip.
Cutting accommodation to hostels/budget guesthouses (€50–70/night) and eating more casually could realistically bring the daily cost down to €70–90/person/day. Conversely, staying in 4-star hotels and dining at higher-end restaurants nightly could push it to €250+/person/day. The €126/day figure represents genuinely comfortable mid-range travel, not minimum-budget backpacking.
Frequently asked questions
A mid-range two-week trip for two people covering Rome, Florence and Venice costs approximately €3,270 excluding international flights, or about €126 per person per day. Including round-trip international flights from the US, total cost is typically €4,500–5,000 for two people.
Yes, generally. Venice's limited hotel supply (it's a small island with no room to expand) keeps prices roughly 20–25% higher than Rome or Florence for comparable quality. Food prices in heavily touristed areas of Venice (near San Marco) can also run higher, though this is easily avoided by eating a few streets away from the main square.
Booking high-speed trains 2–3 weeks in advance instead of last-minute is the single biggest lever — it can save €150–200 across a two-week itinerary. After that, eating where locals eat (standing at espresso bars, trattorias away from major piazzas) saves significantly compared to restaurants directly facing major monuments, which charge a location premium for identical food.