Rail journeys, walkable cities, old neighbourhoods and short trips that reward planning the route as carefully as the stops.
Three art-heavy cities are enough for ten days. The route works because the trains are fast and the itinerary leaves space for mornings, meals and one city that surprises you.
Rome's major sights deserve their reputation. The mistake is putting all of them into consecutive ticket slots and leaving no time for the streets that connect them.
Trains are better for the classic art-city route. A car becomes useful when the accommodation, landscape or village sequence sits beyond the station — and a burden the moment you enter the historic centre.
Rome rewards walking, but the centre is larger and more uneven than it looks. Choose a base that fits your evenings and the attractions you will visit early — not simply the closest pin to the Colosseum.
The museums are only the beginning. A genuinely good free day in London mixes one collection, one long walk and a neighbourhood you might otherwise have crossed by Tube.
Rome is easier to eat well in when you choose the neighbourhood before the restaurant. These four areas suit different days: a market lunch, a lively night, a central stop between ruins or a calmer dinner after the Vatican.
